It’s no secret that much of the workforce in the green and white industries is Spanish speaking. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that, nationally, just over 44% of those working in "landscaping services" are Hispanic or Latino. In some areas of the country, that figure is much higher.

For companies hiring these employees, there can be barriers – both in language and culture – to overcome. Successful businesses take the approach that overcoming these barriers is critical; and they make it a priority to do so, devoting the time and resources needed, just as they would to solve any other business challenge.

One great example is ImageWorks Landscaping, which services the northern Virginia market. Owner Mike McCarron and Operations Manager Angel Campos-Chavez have been partners in that mission.

McCarron started ImageWorks Landscaping in 1998 as a residential-only company. Today, that number has shifted to 80% commercial and 20% residential but only provides snow services to commercial clients. The company has about 25 employees year-round, with that number swelling to as many as 60 in the winter, with between $2 million and $3 million in annual revenue.

The client base isn’t the only thing that’s changed over the last twoand-a-half decades. When he formed ImageWorks, McCarron’s early workforce was less than half Hispanic. "It’s grown to be way more than that now, maybe 80 percent," he says. While the majority of the office employees, including the sales and contract personnel, are native English speakers, most of those on the production side, from management to those working in the field, come from Spanish-speaking backgrounds.

Clearing up communications

As the ethnic makeup of the company diversified, communication challenges arose. "Sometimes words, even when translated, mean different things in different languages. Adjectives and descriptions can mean different things. We started getting a little bit of distortion in the company as far as training and understanding," McCarron says.

Committed to keeping the company one cohesive unit, McCarron looked for solutions. He credits the key role Campos-Chavez has played in that mission (see "Paving a Leadership Path" for more on his growth within the company). "For many employees, their English is really rough; so, I try to always be around during the trainings, because we have had issues when sometimes the language barrier is really big," says Campos-Chavez, who was born in El Salvador and is bilingual.

Campos-Chavez says overcoming the language barrier benefits both the employees and the company. "We use all the technology we can to help with that; we use tablets and software to make sure that everything that comes from the office is translated in both English and Spanish. When we have meetings about big projects, we are always running them in both languages. I think we do a pretty good job with that."

The company also started conducting company-wide, dual-language meetings every Monday morning. "Once we started doing that, it started taking away a lot of the miscommunication," says McCarron. The meeting is conducted in both languages using PowerPoint presentations that include photos, which McCarron says can often help to clarify things. "When we figured that out, it started bringing everybody onto the same page," he notes.

A unified, bilingual approach

McCarron has also worked to develop his own Spanish-language skills. "I speak to the employees in Spanish as much as I can," he notes. "It’s something I’ve picked up over the years. It’s a benefit to be able to do that, and it also shows them that you’re trying."

Campos-Chavez says it really helps employees to hear the owner, as well as himself as the manager, speaking in Spanish. "This way, the guys understand that language isn’t a barrier – it makes them feel safe, at home," he notes. "If they have something they want to ask, they can hear the answer in both English and Spanish, coming directly from the owner and the manager, so they don’t have to question it; the information is coming from the top. They feel like they’re really safe in that."

Conversely, if all they ever heard in Spanish was instructions by a foreman on a site, they might wonder what important company information they were missing and not feel truly included in company operations. After all, the goal isn’t simply to ensure that employees understand their jobs, but that they’re able to be active, integral parts of the company. "There are no people being held back here because of the language barrier – that’s what we try to make sure of," Campos-Chavez says.

That includes advancement in their careers. "Language is not a barrier to advancing because everyone has access to all the job details and job descriptions in Spanish," says Campos-Chavez. If they show a work ethic and potential, there are opportunities, he emphasizes. "If you see they are not willing to show leadership, it’s not because of the language – it is something else."

A family feel

Campos-Chavez says that while he is fluent in the native language of the Spanish-speaking employees, there are still cultural differences since the team hails from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. "All those people, they have some different cultures. And I learn a lot about that all the time," he says.

Regardless of their country of origin, one cultural aspect seems to be universal among the Latino team members: "They like to feel like family all the time. They understand their job as a second home, and they’re so proud of that."

Campos-Chavez does much of the hiring for his operations team, so he makes it a point right from the initial interview to try to learn about the employee, and to convey that the company culture within ImageWorks Landscaping is one of family. But he says that must be a continual commitment, not a one-time hiring pitch. And he says one of the most successful ways of building a culture of family within the company started several years ago when McCarron began cooking for all the employees on alternating Fridays.


"I’ve found two things that the Spanish community really appreciates, and that’s food and family," says McCarron. "When we started cooking, it really changed the dynamic here. It started tightening up the group and made everyone feel like a family." The company’s annual food budget is significant, "but the benefits are definitely worth it," he says.

McCarron says that being able to share a nice meal, often with some of their native flavor to it, gives everyone a chance to sit down and hang out as buddies. Conversations tend to be more open. "And you hear some crazy stories!" he adds. "You start learning about their kids and their family and their brothers and their sisters. When you start taking an interest in their family, it really helps develop relationships."

Campos-Chavez agrees that bonding happens more naturally with a group meal. "That’s when we’re joking around and learning about what they like, their favorite foods, their home countries – all of that. Once you get involved in that kind of stuff you make it personal; they see that this guy is really interested in learning about me."

And the benefits extend even beyond building rapport with current employees. When they see and experience that type of family culture at work, they are more likely to recommend the company to friends and relatives. McCarron says this is how the company finds most of its new employees. And, as an added bonus, these new employees tend to be high quality. "The current employees usually only recruit the type of people that they would want to invite into this family atmosphere," he notes.

McCarron says he’s had people join his company for less than they were making elsewhere due to the company culture and opportunity for advancement. He’s also occasionally had employees leave for less money somewhere else. But as a general rule, he’s learned, "if you treat people like family, and you pay them correctly, you won’t have a high turnover rate."

Paving a leadership path

Angel Campos-Chavez joined ImageWorks Landscaping in 2009 as a driver. Since then, his aspirations and leadership skills have helped elevate him to his current role as operations manager.

"I noticed early on that Angel had more capacity, and he had more drive than other people," says ImageWorks Landscaping owner Mike McCarron. "Some people have no desire to go up another level; they want to be a laborer or a foreman or a crew leader, and they want to stay at that level, and that’s fine. But to grow a company, you also have to find people who want to take it to the next level." That’s exactly the spark that McCarron noticed in Campos-Chavez: "I knew he wanted more responsibility than what I was offering him at first," he states.

Around that time a manager left the company and Campos-Chavez realized he had prior industry experience in some of the areas that that manager was in charge of, so he decided to take the initiative. "I thought, ‘I can do that,’ so I asked Mike for the opportunity. I told him I would need more training on certain things, so he helped me get that training and that’s how it started."

McCarron provided him with many opportunities to learn professionally and be exposed to the industry. "We started locally with some seminars and visits to equipment dealers," Campos-Chavez recalls. "Then he started taking me to the SIMA annual conference, the GIE show, the NALP Elevate Conference. That’s been a lot of opportunity for me; I know my company is putting a lot of money into my career. And the relationship I have developed with Mike is more important than going to look for another job."

Relationship building

As Campos-Chavez began moving up and assuming more responsibility, McCarron says they discovered a common bond: "We found out he had computer skills in addition to everything else, which was a total blessing – he is a tech junkie, kind of like I am. And so that made our relationship mesh even more, because I could talk about technologies and he was right there with it." Campos-Chavez was also able to translate and explain to the Spanish-speaking crew members just what the various technologies could do.

McCarron says that Campos-Chavez’s continued growth has created a cascading positive effect that has benefited both the company and the employees. "It’s helped us to start promoting within our own organization. Now that Angel understands what the growth pattern looks like, he has been able to help guide others and tell them, ‘Hey, there’s more opportunity; all you have to do is raise your hand and say, ‘I want to earn more. How can I get to the next level?’ And Angel really launched this for us."

McCarron says his relationship, both personal and professional, with Campos-Chavez has reinforced for him the importance of business owners truly investing in their employees. "Angel purchased a home just a little over a year ago – that’s sort of the American dream," says McCarron. "And now I’m personally trying to help make sure both of his kids get through the college admissions process, which can be daunting."

That type of relationship building extends throughout the company. McCarron has also helped team members learn how to navigate the U.S. banking system, resolve landlord disputes, and connect with community groups that can help with housing, affordable food sources, and even learning to speak, read and write English.

"We focus so much on training and supporting our teams in their professional roles; but giving them the tools to succeed off the field can yield powerful results, too," he says. "In our company, we believe that taking the time to help our team members become more educated about things outside of work that they may not fully understand builds trust and, ultimately, a stronger team at work."

Patrick White has covered the landscape and snow and ice management industries for over 25 years.