Editor’s Letter

Confessions Of The Technically Challenged

Time for confession: tech doesn’t really float my boat. I use it. I appreciate it. I couldn’t live without it. BUT… do I find new tech a bit scary? Yes. Do I tend to learn only the tech skills required to do my job? Yes. Do my husband and son joke that I should be a middle-aged tech product tester? Yes! (I am inevitably touching a non-touch screen and cursing aloud.) If a program is not intuitive, it’s not happening.

Sound familiar? If not, I salute you. If so, what can I say? We are the dinosaurs that likely have outdoorsy skills others don’t. Or maybe I’m just old…As Steve Mason, VP at GPS Insight points out in, “Tech & Attracting Young Talent,” the field service workforce is aging. Attracting new talent means rebranding the industry to reflect what it’s actually becoming “a high-tech, high-skill occupation, replete with as many smartphones and tablets as mowers and blowers.”

The authors of our articles on CRM software and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) would agree. They both illustrate how integrating tech and processes is key to “working smarter, not harder.” Not surprisingly, the 25-year-old owner profiled in Yardstick, who has rapidly grown his business in just five years, mentioned “building SOPs” as a main task. He’s also niche focused, created two companies, hired consultants, and is podcasting. This is the future of the industry, folks, and it looks pretty bright.

All industries must evolve. Even fertilizer is now a complex purchase of macronutrients, micronutrients, and more, so you’ll find a primer on label literacy from an industry expert. Another expert, who owned a design-build business for 25 years and served as director of Rutgers Gardens for 17 years, suggests several groundcovers that can serve as attractive, weed suppressing alternatives to high-maintenance mulch.

Yes, it’s a brave new world, but clearly we still need the wisdom only age and experience offer. This issue of Turf provides both. Old dogs can—and should—learn new tricks. But puppies should be taught the old, time-tested ones!

 

 

 

cmenapace@groupc.com
Twitter: @TurfMagazine

Turf October 2022 Issue | Table of Contents

FEATURES

CRM SOFTWARE | Customer Relationship Management software can transform a business. Which one is right for you?

FROM PROCESS TO PROGRESS | How written Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) can aid onboarding and overall success.

ATTRACTING YOUNG TALENT | Why tech plays a role in recruitment and retention.

GET EQUIPPED | Software

TURF CARE: FERTILIZER LABEL LITERACY | Micronutrients, acids, biostimulants? Today’s labels go beyond standard NPK. Here’s a primer.

TREE SERVICES®: LOTS OF GROUND TO COVER? | These weed-smothering, attractive groundcovers make great plant alternatives to mulch.

GET EQUIPPED | Equip Expo Highlights

NEW FEATURE! THE YARDSTICK | Peer Landscaping is just five years old—but growing rapidly due to cutting edge processes and philosophies.

Read the full article “Turf October 2022 Issue” on Turf Magazine.