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Confidentiality Agreements may protect your Lawn Care Business customer lists and contract customers.

Start A Lawn Care Business


Free Tips on how to operate your own Lawn Care / Landscaping Business.
By: StartALawnCareBusiness.com   

This week's tip is how a confidentiality agreement can help protect your
lawn care customer list and annual customer contracts.

More information on confidentiality agreements and protecting your lawn care business can be found
within the business program available through StartALawnCareBusiness.com.

One large concern any Lawn Care Operator (LCO) has when hiring a new employee is if that employee will eventually leave the company to start a lawn care business. 
 
By the nature of the business, many lawn care employees are transient over a several year time span.  Only well established companies can hire employees year round.  When the end of season comes, smaller companies may have to let their temporary workers go.  Since the bars of entering the lawn care field are relatively low, there is always a chance the unemployed lawn care worker will start a lawn care business of his own.
 
We, at StartALawnCareBusiness.com, are very supportive of anyone who wants to start their own lawn care business.  However, we are also supportive of long standing business owners who want to protect their customer lists and annual contract customers.
 
If you have worked for years developing a substantial customer list, the last thing you need is a former part-time employee attempting to lure your customers by undercutting your prices.  There are certain precautions you can take to protect your customer list and a Professionally written Confidentiality Agreement may help protect you.

1)  Alert your new-hires to your Confidentiality Agreement. 

If a new employee has ideas of working in your company for only a few months, the presentation of a Confidentiality Agreement at the initial hiring process will let it be known this activity will not be tolerated.

 

2)  Lawn Care customer lists and all other documentation is property of the hiring company.

Require lawn care employees to understand that all paperwork, lawn care software, customer lists, pricing lists, and other documents are the property of the company.  The employee is not to disclose customer information, and lawn care customer estimating methodology to anyone outside the company.

3)  Lawn Care Business trade secrets.

Within the Confidentiality Agreement disclose which information you consider a "trade secret" and specify remedies you will seek if trade secrets are disclosed to outside parties.

4)  Employee Termination.

Upon termination of an employee, conduct an exit interview.  Reaffirm the acknowledgement of the Confidentiality Agreement.  Also, require the employee to submit all company property (paperwork, documents, software, etc) back to the company.

5)  Working for a new Lawn Care company.

If the terminated employee gains employment with a competing firm, contact the business owner to make him aware of the Confidentiality Agreement signed by that firms new employee.

6)  Lawn Care Customer relationship.

Maintain a close relationship with your customers.  Lawn Care Customers who look upon their LCO with the viewpoint of a
"service relationship" will be reluctant to hire that firm's former employee.

7)  Employee Management of lawn care workers.

Treat your employees fairly, pay them well, and attempt to employee them year-round.  An employee who looks upon you with respect will think twice before attempting to steal away your customers in an underhanded manner.

While Confidentiality Agreements do help deter terminated employees from luring away your lawn care customers, we have found that the best protection of your customer lists comes in the form of customer management and fair employee treatment. 

Keep in close contact with your customers even if your crews do all the work.  Let them know they can call you, the business owner, with any questions or concerns.  If a former employee is offering to do yards for a $5.00 reduction in price, your good customers will alert you to their antics.

Keep close contact with your employees too.  Give them a respectful and rewarding environment in which to work.  Let them know how hard you, as business owner, works.  Them seeing you working equally as hard as they do cutting lawns may be a deterrent to them wanting to steal your customers.

 

The above article is opinion only.  StartALawnCareBusiness.com does not dispense legal advice.
 
 
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Contact us anytime.  Best luck with your Lawn Care Business
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