Today (March 21, 2016), US Department of Homeland Security's Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that the H-2B cap has been met for the first half of the year.

Efforts have been underway by the Colorado Municipal League during the past year and a half to develop draft uniform sales and use tax definitions. This undertaking is in response to Senate Joint Resolution (SJR-038) passed in 2014 that “requested” and “urged” municipalities to adopt and utilize a system of uniform definitions by August 2016.  In addition, it requests a mechanism for maintaining these definitions -- a key oversight in a similar undertaking that took place in the early 1990s. 

Participants are still needed for the Colorado Landscape Industry Wage Survey, conducted by the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business. This survey will provide valuable data to business owners throughout the state.

Employers might ask, “Why bother? There’s so much free information available online about wages.” But that salary and wage data is often broad, using responses from businesses nationwide. What works in Minnesota or Oregon may not translate in Colorado.

It took a lot of planning for Phil Steinhauer, CEO of Designscapes Colorado, to pull off the leadership training event for his entire management team one afternoon last December and keep the details of what followed a secret from all Designscapes employees.

The recent warm weather has made consumers think about getting outdoors and about preparing their yards for spring and summer. There has been an increase in web traffic and phone calls to ALCC, looking for referrals to a professional who can help with landscape plans and maintenance.

Now is a good time, then, to do some spring cleaning for your landscape company’s online image. You take the time to prepare your equipment, hire and train staff, and get your finances in order. But don’t forget to make sure consumers can find you when they need you. Take some steps to spruce up your online presence.

If you haven’t already begun marketing your services to consumers, April is a great time to remind them to schedule their services for 2016. April is National Lawn Care Month—a great way to put landscape plans on the minds of customers.

There are many myths and misconceptions of the H-2B visa program. The H-2B Workforce Coalition has created a helpful, two-minute video explaining the program and how it is used by US businesses.

Get the facts about H-2B visas in two minutes. Protecting, creating and sustaining full-time American jobs with legal seasonal guest workers is smart policy. Video courtesy The H-2B Workforce Coalition.

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There is a package of employer-practice-related bills in the Colorado legislature that ALCC opposes.  We feel that the state should not legislate the employer-employee relationship. Good business practices will result in a responsible, respectful relationship. The landscape industry agrees that employee safety is paramount, as is treating employees with respect and offering benefits such as paid sick leave and time off for family-related reasons.

At ProGreen EXPO 2016, Colorado Green NOW met with Jamie Notter, a notable speaker, and consultant with deep expertise in generations and organizational culture. Notter spoke at two excellent ProGreen sessions focused on working with millennials, including an interactive session with his business partner, Maddie Grant, about developing a company culture that welcomes all generations, including millennials.

Colorado Green NOW spoke with him during the conference about his thoughts on working with the next generation. Some attendees were interested in what can business owners do to adapt to the growing number of millennials in the workplace. Notter said that he felt that there needs to be a shift away from old business models systems that reflect the current climate.