Alex - Ground Control Ltd

I think it comes down to what you want to do in the future. If you want to climb for as long as possible then you might as well get payed as much as possible with the smaller companies.

If you want something more then large companies offer good training packages and career progression. I wasted to many years with small or family run companies where there was never a chance of being more than a team leader. . . . .

So what do you do for work now? Own business?

I work for a large firm (well, large for tree work anyway), and I think it treats is staff far better than I have ever been treated in small firms.

Thats exactly how i feel here at Ground Control. Even though i'm in the office rather than in the field, i can see that every employee is genuinely appreciated.

I've worked for MASSIVE international companies ($1.1 billion net assets globally) where people dont even know you exist unless you screw up, and for small family-run companies where i was expected to work well into the night for little to no recognition.

GC seems to be the balancing point where you're recognised and rewarded for hard work, and theres plenty of avenues to progress my career, too.

God, i sound like such a brown-nose.

I hope you've got naughty exhausts on it! I used to have one with race cans on...sounded awsome!! :thumbup: Till I hit a bus

I've got some Scorpion cans on it at the moment, but that may well change. The exhaust system was damaged when the woman hit me, so i might have to revert to stock; or upgrade to some really noisy high-pipes!

I had a storm some years back, nice motors!

Yeah this one has been treated really well by the previous guy - apart from some botched job on the front fairing. The fool put on some high handlebars and had to cut the edges around the windscreen to get any sort of clearance!

I wouldn't charge more to cut next to lines if powers off, I would charge on what the job is regardless of wires as if there of there ain't an issue.

Exactly. Why charge more for a non-hazard? Next thing you'll have your guys demanding more money for domestic driveways in case they get run over!

i no there are some bikers on here,,, so share your toys

I've got a couple of bikes. An old Kawasaki GPZ500s which has probably spent more time on its side than upright, and a '98 Honda Firestorm.

Though someone went into me on a roundabout recently (and drove off!) so I'm on a courtesy bike for the moment - a 1250 Bandit!

Napolean had that system sussed.

Execute one to encourage the others.

I will not mangle the French origional expression

The Romans were doing it well before him...

The word Decimation comes from the latin Decimatio which literally means one in ten. In acts of mutiny, desertion, etc. the legion would be split into groups of 10, an individual selected at random, and the remaining 9 soldiers would be forced to execute them by stoning or clubbing.

Certainly one way of keeping the troops in line, but probably not one to suggest to our HR department!

"Even our ultra-cheesy youtube recruitment video isn't helping!"

 

Love a bit of cheese.

Do you run a laundry service for your employees as well?

I've never seen a more sparkly reflective shinnnnnnie team than that!!

Haha! Well a lot of these guys are our new recruits. I dont think the old boys wanted their mugs on camera...

We'll see how shiny they are in another year, though!

I recently put up a post looking for a climber, experienced or trainee, to help out full time but not had any replies yet:sad:

 

There are also a lot of other posts on the employment board for companies looking for staff at present, and was wondering if we have gone from one extreme to the other.

 

I know I am the busiest I have been this year so far, and that is not because of the storm recently.

 

Anyone else struggling looking for staff?

 

Al.

We're in a similar position where our Arb division is expanding so rapidly, we're having to constantly recruit; particularly in our Utilities & Rail sectors.

Even our ultra-cheesy youtube recruitment video isn't helping!

How about perennial or as I believe it is called now the Horticultural benevolent fund? Anyone who works in Horticulture, arb and forestry can call on them in times of hardship.

Firstly, and most importantly... Hello everyone! :smile

Perennial is a charity that the Ground Control Group are already very aware of because of their work within the Horticultural industry. i wasnt aware that they covered Arb and forestry (though that would make perfect sense!) too.

Are there any Arb-dedicated charities, too? Excuse my ignorance; i'm a numbers, not trees, guy...