As a Gardens Consultant, working in the Private sector i.e. Non-Local Authority, my work takes me to many different types of garden, including large Estates in the hands of Private Families, and a range of Amenity estates and complexes that are managed by Agents or Commercial owners, including Hotels and similar properties.
Whilst much of my work involves Dispute issues and Court Reports, due to the diverse nature of Consultancy, I am also commissioned to assist in handling difficult situations, where a fresh pair of eyes can be invaluable.
This paper is presented as a personal document, and should not be read as a legally robust statement, written as it is, based on personal experiences. It must be recognised that no two sites are the same, as each have their own structures, histories and backgrounds. In essence, this presentation is a mixture of several commissions, which has afforded me the opportunity to discuss and highlight issues, only some of which may be relevant or pertinent to any other site.
When does Outsourcing become a question?
The reasons for investigating the possibility of outsourcing labour and services currently being carried out with a Gardens Department are many and varied. Essentially they all involve money, and potential cost savings.
The catalyst may be a new owner, a new generation of owner/s, a new Managing Agent, either an individual or Company, or a Chief Executive who has been tasked with looking into all aspects of running the ‘business’ of maintaining the grounds and gardens of a property.
The bottom line figures, which show that the Gardens Department is costing a serious amount of money may be queried. What can be done to reduce those costs? Why do we have to have our own In House permanent staff looking after the gardens? How and where can we make savings?
Even if there are no serious issues with a Gardens Department, the questions may still be asked. If there are problems with finance, and cost saving are genuinely required, what impact on the grounds would there be if we changed from our own staff to engaging contractors?
A great deal will depend on the structure of a property or estate. If the grounds and gardens are important to that property, for commercial reasons i.e. events such as weddings or antique fairs, entertaining guests for business reasons, Historical Houses where the paying public are invited into the gardens……these properties will be making an income, no matter how large or small, towards the running of the site.
These ‘ticket sales’ are called the Income Stream, which would not be available to the owners if the gardens were not pristine. Nobody wants to pay to visit an untidy garden!
The expenditure involved in running the Gardens Department is known as a Cost Stream, to be set against the Income Stream. It is probably inevitable that the costs will outweigh the income and therefore be liable to scrutiny by the Directors or owners.
Whilst there are several levels of outsourcing – reducing the amount of time the indigenous garden team spend on carrying out mundane tasks such as mowing rough grassland, hedgecutting or fencing/boundary maintenance can all be identified and quotes obtained to remove these mundane and expensive jobs from the Gardeners diary.
Casual labour may be seen as another type of outsourcing, but I want to concentrate on the serious business of total change in the manner in which grounds are managed.
What financial benefits would arise if we outsourced the Gardens work?
Looking at the wages bill on an annual basis, let’s suppose that the total salary for a team of (say) six gardeners is £200,000 including Employers liabilities and costs. Add another £10,000 for insurances and other administrative costs.
Add to that figure, a cost of £10,000 for tools and equipment, plus £20,000 for transport, heating, lighting, water and upkeep of premises. Plus perhaps £10,000 for training, PPE, machinery servicing etc, bringing the total annual bill to £250,000.
At a cost of £40,000 per person, there must be big savings to be made by hiring an outside team of gardeners to replace the existing workforce!
At first glance, this seems to be persuasive argument for outsourcing…
Positive Advantages of Outsourcing
From the viewpoint of the Employer, and perhaps the property at large, one of the major benefits of going to an outside Contractor or Contractors is the potential to access a larger pool of talent and expertise that may be invaluable to the Estate.
New thoughts, new innovations, fresh eyes and ideas may be available. New equipment or better/different styles of working practice, no longer restricted by the skills set of a small group of In House gardeners, who may have become stale and disinterested over the years.
Sheds and outbuilding may be freed for other uses. No longer would there be a need to store machinery, tools and equipment. No more need to heat buildings and provide a clean office and canteen/mess room for the staff.
No requirement to purchase new equipment whenever the time comes to replace tools.
No more holiday pay, sick pay, wet and snowy weather losses.
No more fixed wages bill. Now have the ability to plan ahead and spend only when necessary.
Much more flexibility in programming works ahead, booking in labour as and when required.
No more problems with personnel, holding staff meetings and balancing the needs of a fixed work force; dentist or doctor’s appointments, maternity leave and the rest.
These, and other prima facie benefits of outsourcing can be attractive…
Disadvantages of Outsourcing
Contrary to the benefits as shown above, several factors become Contras or ‘Cons’ when examined more closely.
First of all, finding suitably qualified, experienced and fully equipped Contractors may prove very difficult indeed. You will be asking an established garden maintenance company to provide you with a full time team of five gardeners, even if you only wish to use them for (say) ten months of the year. Even during quiet periods, you will still need staff to keep the site clean of leaves and rubbish, and will have to negotiate accordingly.
Never forget that firms will have to include charges for their own staff to cover sick leave and holiday pay. Do not expect a company to provide you with their best staff. A more likely scenario would see one skilled Manager overseeing a group of less qualified labourers.
A Contractors rates will include Value Added Tax. If you are not able to reclaim that money, that will be an additional financial burden to the Estate.
The work force as employed by a Contractor may not work to the same high standards as the indigenous team. Maintaining quality control may be difficult.
The Estate will lose immediate control over the outside workforce, even if they engage a full time supervisor, there will be need for strong communication.
The risk of selling all of the existing tools and equipment is great. If the Contractor goes out of business, or things do not according to plan and the decision reversed, the Estate would need to purchase or lease all new gear.
Losing existing staff, some of whom may have been with you for years, but may not wish to move across to a new firm and seek redundancy instead is a high risk strategy. Their knowledge of the gardens will not be easy to replace.
The Estate would lose all control over the new workforce, potentially creating instability and a loss of standards, unless an In House Supervisor/Manager remained on the payroll to monitor the Contractors. This in turn will increase the overall cost of the Outsourcing arrangements, and would require a strict set of compliances to be agreed as part of the contract.
There may be issues with confidentiality and security, requiring all outsourced staff to be checked and cleared either by the Police or a Security Firm employed for that purpose.
Other Factors
The existing workforce cannot be ignored. Under The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Rules. The current workforce must not be disadvantaged in any way. In practical terms, this means that they must be offered the same terms and conditions by the incoming Service Company, meaning that a great deal of consultation must take place before any such outsourcing can occur.
Even mentioning the possibility of investigating outsourcing will be seriously destabilising for the current staff. Any owner or Director contemplating such a change should be very wary of the repercussions of such action, and carry out a lot of research and costings exercises before making any announcements to the Team.
I am not legally qualified to comment on these matters, but you can imagine the cost of transferring the existing workforce to a new employer is not a quick and easy transaction!
My job is to be completely unbiased in all matters as a Consultant, and I do carry out that using due diligence.
Somehow though, I feel that there is one very important element to any exercise in looking at Outsourcing. That is the ability of an Estate (of whichever size or nature) to have something akin to loyalty, between the Owners and Staff. Relationships built up over the years cannot be replicated between an Estate and a new team of outside contractors, whose personnel may change at regular intervals, replacing trained and skilled operatives, replacing them with new people to maintain profits.
From personal experience, I know the value of a team that knows what is wanted, and to do the work before being asked. To know what the House requires before the House does itself!
However, in the real world, money is the most important matter to most Estates, and the reality is that outsourcing – or preparing to outsource – Gardens Teams is becoming more and more common.