Administrative Outsourcing for Tree Care
Overwhelmed by the tedious and mundane tasks associated with running a tree care business? Outsourcing could be the solution.
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As your tree care business grows, things get busier. And in today’s fast-paced, technology-driven world, seeking out ways to improve efficiency and reduce costs is a strategic business decision for remaining competitive.
Tree care companies often face unique challenges like managing schedules, customer inquiries, and invoicing alongside their core operations. Handing some of these tasks off to a third-party administrative service is one strategy many companies are choosing to pursue.
“Outsourcing allows companies to offload non-core activities to dedicated professionals,” Paula Veloza, vice president of commercial strategy at Tree Care Office, explains. “This frees up time and resources to focus on core business activities like tree maintenance. Tree care companies need to focus on gaining more market share, working with their crews, and attracting more clients. That’s where outsourcing becomes critical to their overall business strategy.”
Meeting a Need
In industries like tree care, business owners and their staff will often take on more tasks than they can handle, resulting in overwhelm and eventually burnout.
“While talking with tree care business owners, we saw a need,” Shayna Shadowen, founder of My Office Help, says. “Owners are answering the phones while out in the field. Then they come home and push papers, send invoices, and return calls. As an external service provider, our goal is to provide freedom for these owners so they can go home and be with their families.”
Hunter Sambrick, owner of Inspire Green, Inc., agrees that there is potential for outsourcing administrative tasks in the tree care industry.
“Tree care companies are busy,” he says. “They have 10 to 12 weeks of in-season work to make most of their money. Some are in a 12-month market, but not everyone is. In my opinion, outsourcing is one way to scale and grow a business.”
Industry Specific Services
According to Sambrick, not just any administrative service will do.
“Hiring an administrative service specialized in the tree care industry ensures streamlined operations, compliance with industry standards, and efficient scheduling,” he explains.
Outsourcing to a service that is knowledgeable in the tree care industry provides businesses with a wealth of specialized skills, including managing permits, coordinating crews, and maintaining client records. They also understand tree care jargon, have an established network, and often hold industry-specific certifications.
“Such expertise can handle the intricacies of tree care business administration,” Sambrick says. “This allows the tree company to focus on its core competence of arboriculture while ensuring professionalism and reliability in its administrative processes.”
Benefits of Outsourcing
There are several additional benefits associated with outsourcing: access to a pool of skilled professionals, use of modern technologies, and a higher level of quality customer service.
“The goal is to free business owners from the desk so they can focus on strategic tasks and operations,” Veloza says. “The quality of customer service we offer is simply unmatched.”
Bilingual Professionals
One benefit is that outsourcing gives access to a group of trained professionals that not only focus their entire workday on administrative tasks but are often also bilingual.
“Having access to bilingual resources gives tree care companies a competitive advantage,” Veloza says. “For businesses looking to scale, having someone on your team that can speak Spanish is critical. Not only can you communicate more effectively, but you also gain a new market that you otherwise would not.”
Modern Technologies
Outsourcing may also help expedite emergency protocol when necessary. At My Office Help, tasks are managed by humans during office hours. At all hours of the day, however, cutting-edge AI technology is employed to decipher between emergency and non-emergency calls.
“The AI technology allows us to be more efficient,” Shadowen says. “If it detects a tree emergency, we know to prioritize that call over non-emergency calls.”
Customer Service
Customer service representatives are often trained to speak in a respectful and friendly manner. According to Sambrick, this alone can go a long way.
“That initial call with a prospective customer is so critical in today’s world,” Sambrick says. “Studies suggest that if a call is not answered, or a representative is rude, the customer moves on to another business. This is a missed opportunity. Along with great customer service, we want to ensure you never miss out on those business opportunities.”
When to Outsource
Leading a small to mid-size tree care company requires you to wear many hats, making it difficult at times to figure out which hats — or business functions — to hand off and when. Determining when to outsource requires taking a step back and analyzing the business.
“When the business owner finds themselves spending significant time and resources on non-core business activities, that’s when we suggest outsourcing,” Veloza explains.
According to Veloza, outsourcing should be part of the overall business strategy, allowing for flexible scalability. This enables tree care companies to adapt to seasonal fluctuations in workload without the need for hiring and training additional staff.
Consider outsourcing when:
- Administrative tasks become overwhelming for you or your team
- Business support tasks are new to your company and you need trained support
- The business is growing. Handing off tedious tasks like answering daily phone calls and managing crew schedules frees up time to focus on core business activities.
- You’d like to cut costs to increase efficiency
“There’s a myth that outsourcing is expensive,” Sambrick says. “But often, it’s cheaper than hiring someone in-house. If you think about it, hiring someone includes overhead costs like insurance, worker’s compensation, payroll expenses, benefits, and training. It’s much cheaper to outsource these days.”
What to Outsource
Running a successful business includes delegating tasks that take your focus away from core activities.
“We’re here to take the load off of your plate,” Sambrick explains. “We offer a wide range of services including call answering, following up on proposals, invoicing, and helping with accounts receivable. We also offer industry-specific services like in-field consultations for lawn care, soil testing, and plant health care consultations.”
Common administrative tasks to consider outsourcing:
- Customer service tasks, like call and text answering, lead entry, and live chat
- Scheduling of estimates and tree work
- Lead management utilizing your preferred customer relationship management software
- Bookkeeping and accounting tasks
- Marketing functions like content creation, market research, and email and social media management
- Human resource-related tasks like completing reference and background checks on new employees
- Managing and filing proposals and service contracts
“We can pull permits, file warranty claims, and even deal with insurance companies,” Shadowen explains. “If it’s virtual, most administrative services can do just about anything.”
Nearshore vs. Offshore
Nearshore refers to service companies operating in countries with similar time zones, while offshore companies are located overseas. Both outsourcing models have their benefits, limitations, and risks. Depending on your budget and needs, you may find one model more suitable than the other.
Typically, offshore services are affordable but come with higher risks. Because they operate overseas, offshore companies likely do not share similar data protection laws.
Nearshore companies, however, operate in the same or similar time zones. Although nearshore services are pricier, these companies often share similar data protection laws, are more accessible, and are much lower risk.
Vetting
Outsourcing administrative services is a business expense that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’s important to vet and qualify the service company to ensure they are a good fit and integrate well with your team and systems.
To start, take a brief look at your short or long-term goals.
If you’re seeking short-term help, or just someone to answer phone calls, there are many services available. But, if you’re considering a long-term solution, Sambrick recommends looking for a service willing to become a more integral part of your team.
The onboarding process will also give insight into how the company approaches administrative tasks. Sambrick suggests taking advantage of scheduled onboarding sessions, asking questions, and making sure the service is gathering pertinent information about your business.
“When we onboard a new company, a 30-minute call is scheduled to identify the business’ needs,” Sambrick explains. “Starting at the top, we ask questions like ‘How do you want your phones answered?’ and ‘What hours would you like crews and estimates to be scheduled?’”
If the service provider is taking a deep dive into your business, learning, and taking notes, this is often a good sign.
“You want someone that will hone in on things like efficient routing aspects,” he continues. “Giving the arborists more estimates in a day in one region. Nothing is worse than unnecessary drive time. My team knows we must schedule tightly to help these companies be more efficient.”
Other vetting questions include:
- Will the service provider prioritize tree emergencies?
- Do they have industry knowledge and understand the lingo?
- Does the service have local market knowledge? If not, are they willing and able to learn?
Outsourcing Limitations
As with any external service, there are certain limitations to outsourcing. These include initial limited market knowledge, the inability to provide in-person services, and limited contract assistance.
“Many tree care companies work in small, rural towns,” Veloza says. “In the beginning, local market knowledge may be limited. But if you are proactive in communicating and training, the administrative person will learn and understand how to approach your market. It isn’t impossible, it just takes some time and training.”
Despite technological advances, some services, like job estimations, are limited to company staff being physically available.
“We live in a world of instant gratification,” Sambrick explains. “A customer wants you to pick up the phone and have an answer as quickly as possible. A quote, for example, typically cannot be given over the phone. We can schedule an estimate or consultation, but an actual tree care worker will need to help the customer with that service.”
Contracts also come with limitations. Although they can be filed and managed, third-party administrative companies cannot build service contracts. They can, however, recommend a credible legal service.
Liability Concerns
Mistakes happen. But if they do, it’s important to understand who holds the liability.
Before hiring an administrative service, carefully read through the terms and conditions outlined in the service agreement. Should something happen, liability is often determined by the individual circumstance.
If an error is due to negligence on the service provider’s part, they assume liability, and insurance may cover any resulting damages. However, if the mistake is influenced by you, the tree care company, then you may be held liable.
Double-booking an appointment is a common issue. A proactive administrative service, however, will catch these types of mistakes and correct them.
“Most of the time, mess-ups are small and manageable,” Shadowen says. “In the event something happens, we pull reports and data to figure out the root cause of the issue. From that point, we work proactively to fix the problem and create internal systems to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
Data Privacy and Security
Data privacy and security are top priorities for most external service providers. Security measures are implemented to safeguard sensitive information including encryption and access controls.
Veloza recommends looking for a third-party administrative service that complies with industry standards and regulations like the ISO 27 001 certification.
“This certification is related to cybersecurity,” Veloza explains. “It holds the service provider accountable and ensures cybersecurity compliance. The ISO 27 001 certification requires our team to undergo regular training on data protection best practices.”
In most third-party service contracts, strict confidentiality and data protection agreements are included to protect client privacy.
“Privacy is a big piece,” Shadowen says. “Everything that is shared with us is completely confidential. If we gather sensitive information, we make sure that it is handled in the most secure way possible.”
Final Thoughts
The bottom line is outsourcing is a strategic business decision that takes careful consideration, research, and trust. Giving full control to a third-party entity has its benefits and risks.
With clear communication, heavy vetting, and clear expectations, outsourcing administrative tasks may reveal opportunities for increasing efficiency, improving service quality, and lowering business costs, allowing you to focus on core tasks that matter most to your tree care business.