Schill Blog

You hired a commercial grounds maintenance firm to care for your property. The contract is signed. The crew is prepared to service your Northeast Ohio landscape. But, who is responsible for ensuring quality—suggesting enhancements, managing your property like a true asset? And, what if there’s a problem with the service?

The landscape provider caring for your grounds should have dedicated staff and a communication system in place to ensure quality, safety, value and return on investment.

At Schill Grounds Management, our C.A.R.E. commitment to consistency, accessibility, reliability and expertise includes getting a dedicated Client Care Specialist. This is a trusted adviser who helps create a customized landscaping plan for your property that suits your goals and budget.

Many landscape companies assign Account Managers to oversee properties. At Schill, we go deeper with a Client Care Specialist who is in constant contact with the crew servicing your grounds, your management team and our leadership.

With a dedicated Client Care Specialist, here’s what you can expect:

Just in case you haven’t heard, Schill Grounds Management recently earned the SN 9001:2012 quality management system (QMS) certification after an audit by Smithers Quality Assessments (SQA). 

We are only the second snow contractor in the state of Ohio to achieve the SN 9001 standard. And we are one of just 22 snow contractors in North America (United States and Canada) holding this certification.

What’s that mean exactly? Great question.

In mid-June, Landscape Management released its 2015 LM150 list of the largest landscape companies ranked by 2014 revenue. Schill Grounds Management, based in North Ridgeville, Ohio is experiencing substantial growth and is proud of the recognition.

Finding a new commercial landscape contractor is a lot like choosing the best college or picking the right babysitter. If you don’t ask the right questions — or enough questions — you can make the wrong decision and end up full of regret.

Maybe there’s a reason you’ve been putting off that renewal contract. Property managers in Northern Ohio, are you in the market for a new commercial landscape maintenance contractor? Has your current or last landscape provider given you more headaches and broken promises than attractively installed and maintained landscape beds?

Whatever the story, you’re ready to part ways and build a partnership with a new commercial landscape contractor. Before spring is in full swing, use this time to interview several contractors to find the one best suited for your property. When it’s your turn to start asking questions, make sure your potential landscape contractor offers the following:

You have March 20 circled on your calendar — the first day of spring. And while you know as a Northern Ohioan that the chance to experience spring doesn’t really happen until April, you’re ready to get out there and get your hands dirty. All you want to do is shake off the cold and make things beautiful again.  

But this time around, you want to do it with a different team, a different boss. Maybe you’re interested in turning your love for the outdoors and landscaping into a career. Or maybe the culture at your current company isn’t doing you any favors when it comes to improving your skillset as a landscaping professional. Whatever the reason, you’ve decided it’s time to look elsewhere for work — particularly in the commercial landscape industry.

If that’s the case, it’s time to start asking some questions. Commercial landscape firms around the area are ramping up for spring and ready to hire, which means that there are plenty of landscaping jobs.

Do you know what to look for in an employer — in the commercial landscape industry? Or what questions to ask to put yourself in a position to succeed and grow?

Leaders like to talk to other leaders. When leaders connect, share best practices and shed light how their operations work behind the scenes, they gain tried-and-true insights and practical information they can take home to their businesses.

Leaders improve by learning from the mistakes, and successes, of their peers. Whether you’re running a business, or working as a manager—perhaps overseeing the landscape of a commercial or retail property—the opportunity to learn from successful operators is invaluable.

At Schill, we believe great leaders have a responsibility to share what they know to make the industry better, and to give other leaders and managers the tools to do their work more successfully. That’s why we participate in events that give leaders a platform to connect, share, learn and grow together.

There’s no price we can assign to the ultimate “service.”

Service to our country—giving one’s life to protect our freedoms—is the ultimate sacrifice. The value, and valor, is so great, yet we often take our veterans’ efforts for granted as we get mired in our own everyday activities and busy lives. Last week at Schill, we paused to reflect. We poured our talents, our service, into the solemn landscape at Arlington National Cemetery during PLANET’s annual Renewal & Remembrance.

For the green industry, Renewal & Remembrance is our ultimate day of service. It’s a way for hundreds of professionals from all over the country to gather at Arlington Cemetery and pay our respects to fallen veterans. It’s a day of hard work giving back what little we have to offer in comparison to what men and women in uniform have given us. It’s humbling.

As a commercial property owner, you have the power to make an impact on the environment and your community by the way you treat your landscape.

Sustainability matters. Environmentally-focused landscape practices set an example for those who shop, eat, work and play on our northeast Ohio properties. Whether you’re a retail center, corporate headquarters or local business, it’s important to send a message to the community that you care about the way your grounds are maintained.

Schill Grounds Management makes it easy for commercial clients to mind Mother Earth because of our commitment to sustainability and nurturing a healthier environment. This promise impacts every service we provide, every product we offer, and every way that our experienced team members execute a commercial landscape plan on your northeast Ohio property.

Here’s what we mean by sustainability, and how that commitment makes our commercial clients in northeast Ohio better community stewards.