Nurture Landscapes Group are an award-winning horticulture, landscape and national grounds maintenance and winter gritting business who endeavour to champion care for the enviroment in all the work they do. Here they write about the effect that becoming a Living Wage Employer has had on their business.
Nurture Landscapes Group proudly became a Living Wage employer in October 2021, underpinning our desire to support each member of our nationwide teams in their respective careers and, indeed, their lives. The work we specialise in - grounds maintenance, winter gritting, and landscape construction- can be physically demanding, and it's only fitting that the people involved in keeping our client sites maintained are recognised for their consistent hard work and artistry.
It was important for Nurture Group to become a Living Wage employer as we have always been a business that strives to support our people in their career progression. The skills and expertise we possess across our company are built on years of dedication to the industry, which we believe should be rightfully rewarded.
We have already lifted 470 staff members onto the Living Wage and adjusted the salaries up of a further 545 team members. The response from everyone has been beyond positive.
Paying the Living Wage is an important incentive to retain our talent and entice new people into the industry.
Maintaining horticulturally complex sites is no small task. Our regional teams spend many hours out 'in the field', in all weather and temperatures, which can, understandably, be a challenge to some.
It is crucial that there is a constant flow of talent coming through the ranks to take the industry forward. The Living Wage makes a big impact on that.
In paying our staff the Living Wage, we have demonstrated how Nurture stands apart from the competition in showcasing the value we place on our team. And paying the Living Wage has facilitated a positive culture within our organisation, ensuring that workers are paid what they rightly deserve to earn to live comfortably.
Like so many industries, grounds maintenance has long faced challenges with staff retention, with workers opting for jobs with a better wage. Paying a competitive wage provides opportunities within grounds maintenance that prospective employees may not have considered. Above all, the Living Wage contributes to job satisfaction and fulfilment for both the employee, as they are getting paid fairly for the work they do, and us as an employer, knowing we are taking steps to ensure our staff's financial security.
Being a Living Wage employer is one of the most effective ways of showing staff that they are valued. We have found that this is more important than ever considering all the last two years' events. It's also important to mention that the Living Wage doesn't just stop internally - it is part of a broader cultural shift incorporating suppliers and contractors, both of whom play just as crucial a role in a site's upkeep as those operating the machinery.
Now more than ever, employees are keen to know that they are valued in the eyes of their employers. In such a skilled and creative industry as grounds maintenance, this is especially important.
We're proud to be named a Living Wage employer and are excited to see how it helps us as a business to grow and nurture our talented staff.