In 1985, Rob Szrom started Lakeshore Landscaping, Inc. with a $2,000 personal income tax refund and a small life insurance policy loan of the same amount. At first, we did smaller commercial and residential design/build work, with a full-time crew of 2 or 3 assisted by part-time college labor. Since then, we've grown substantially, currently employing 35 full-time people (up to 50 at the height of the season), and contracting work with over 150 commercial and institutional customers from South Suburban Illinois to Michigan City, Indiana.
Rob, and his wife and Vice-President, Heidi Szrom, are Landscape Architecture graduates of Purdue University, and both are registered Landscape Architects in the State of Indiana.
Twenty-some years later, we haven't lost our zeal for creating pleasing and functional outdoor spaces, nor our entrepreneurial spirit. We need both passions to face the challenge of continuing to satisfy our loyal customers and employees. Rob frequently reminds all of us to remember a few key points regarding our relationships with customers and employees; these guidelines are listed below as a general summary of our philosophy.
IDEAS.
We try to listen carefully before rushing to the drawing board (a computer these days, but the analogy still fits). Each customer is unique, and so is each project. We want to be more than just the people who show up to present a plan, mow the lawn, shovel snow, install a water feature, or plant trees. We hope that our clients consider us to be an extension of their marketing and human resource departments, and we endeavor to generate ideas with those groups in mind.
ENERGY.
Human energy is as much psychological and mental as it is physical. Our company's drive to continually improve our service and the quality of our work is a result of the combined enthusiasm of the owners and our dedicated employees. We pride ourselves on meeting deadlines and overcoming the weather as much as possible. Our customers should not expect excuses for our missing a grand opening or failing to clear an emergency entrance at 3 a.m. in a snowstorm.
SERVICE.
This is widely understood to be the most important element of any business relationship. We consider our safety and training programs to be a vital part of customer service. We've been a Drug Free Workplace since 2000, and regularly participate in general and equipment-specific training sessions. We take seriously our responsibilities as guests on client properties, and see a crucial role for ourselves in enhancing customers' reputations among their customers and employees.
DIGNITY.
Just as every customer is unique, so is each employee, and each position has value. Every office employee except our Accounts Receivable Manager, Carrie, has spent at least a summer on a landscape crew---but Carrie has spent many summers (and winters!) working on her parents farm, so she, like the rest of us, appreciates the endurance and perseverance required to perform manual labor outdoors, in good weather and bad. We try to make work as enjoyable and as safe as possible.
GROWTH.
Advancement within the company is encouraged, and we try to provide every opportunity for ambitious and capable employees to do so. In addition to industry-provided training and accreditation programs, we have an in-house ESL (English as a Second Language) program, with a Certified ESL Instructor, for Hispanic employees who know that greater
fluency enhances their chances for success in our company and in their personal lives.
STABILITY.
This particular element is the one least under our control, but our retention of key employees indicates reasonable accomplishment of this goal. We offer most of the requisite benefits (health insurance - for now(!), retirement and college savings plans, vacations, etc.), but we also do a fair amount of company-wide, "esprit de corps" activities, from summer Safety "Field Day" contests and Water Park Family Night, to our company Christmas party at Carrie's parents' farm, where each employee's family cuts and takes home their own Christmas tree.
