Do you know when you should think about hiring a second gardener? You might have a gardener already who is great. They fit in well and work hard and do things the way you like them to be done in your outside space. But for some reason, maybe not all gardening tasks are getting done. Is your gardener feeling like they are running out of time to get the things done they want to do? Or, perhaps you have recently moved house and your outside space has changed. Whether smaller or bigger, it might require a different setup for your gardener, with more and different tasks being added.
So when should you hire a second gardener?
Tasks Are Not Getting Done
The first thing that will flag you with regards to hiring a second gardener, is when you noticed tasks are not getting done. Or they might take a lot longer to be completed than they did before. Is your gardener struggling to get on top of things? Or are they getting things done but in a rushed way? So that they are not doing a thorough job anymore.
These could all be signs that there might simply be too much to do for one gardener. Many reasons can lead to that. Firstly, it can be really difficult at the start of employment, to judge how long certain tasks will take. And how much time and effort the outside space actually needs! So it is not unusual to only find out once your gardener has actually started working for you, what the reality of the work really is. And how long it takes!
Also, perhaps – and this is not a negative thing at all – you expect the gardening work to be done to extremely high standards. And this is an absolutely fair thing to demand in your own home. Your outside space should be kept up to exactly the level you want it to. But just realise that this can potentially be very time-consuming!
You Have Moved House / Extended Your Outside Space
There might be a completely different reason why you might want to consider hiring a second gardener. When your outdoor space and garden have changed, you might need different, or more work done. If you have moved house and you are taking your current gardener with you. Then you really need to re-evaluate the works needed. A new outside space can enormously change the tasks at hand. And that does not necessarily only count for bigger spaces. Even a smaller space can require much more work than your old garden that was bigger!
If your gardener was maybe just about able to get all their gardening tasks done in your old garden. Then having new, bigger, or different grounds to work with can really change things up. So at this stage, considering getting even some part-time extra gardening help is very realistic.
Two Gardeners Can Work Efficiently Together
So if any of the above sound familiar, now might be the right time to consider hiring a second gardener. It can be a great solution to make sure everything that needs to get done, indeed will be done, and also to the highest standard possible. By having two gardeners, tasks can be divided and the pressure will be off just one person to carry everything.
This is especially suited if you have a lot of daily tasks that need to happen, or some very heavy specialist skills are required. Some heavy gardening tasks are safest when done by two people. So from a health and safety perspective, as well as time-efficiency, it might be suited to having two gardeners. It does not have to mean two full-time gardeners. The second gardener can be part-time or even ad hoc for any big jobs that need doing.
Is Your Gardener Right for the Job?
Finally, there is one more thing to consider before hiring a second gardener. There is another question you should ask yourself first,
Are the reasons you are considering a second gardener fair? Is there genuinely too much work to do? Or, perhaps, is your gardener not the right person for the job? It might just be that they are not the right match, or not skilled or experienced enough to keep up with the work.
Are they physically struggling and is that slowing them down? If your gardener has lots of aches or pains, they might simply struggle to keep up with all the gardening tasks. So then hiring a second gardener might give your first gardener some relief, but you won’t fully solve the problem.
Simply put, before you hire a second gardener, make sure that your original gardener is still the right person for the job.
Are you not sure they are working well, or efficiently? Before you do anything else, have a conversation with your gardener about this. In a friendly and professional way, flag your concerns and give them the opportunity to share theirs too. They might not feel happy in their role anymore but were afraid to say so. So then you might both be better of parting ways, and for both you and your gardener to find the right job, and employee that suits you. Rather than rushing into hiring a second person that might not solve any issues.
How can Polo & Tweed help?
Are you not sure whether you should hire a second gardener, and where to start? We can help! Our highly experienced recruitment consultants are here to speak to you, to identify the issues, and see what can be done. We only have the best gardeners and groundsmen on our books who all come with many years of experience and many different skills. So we will be able to find the right people for you with ease. Why not contact us now to see how we can help!