Benefits of Professional Credentials

Meet Joe Kramer. He was in the inaugural Certified Arborist class offered by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA). So perhaps it was inevitable that his tree care business, Kramer Tree Specialists Inc., would emphasize professional credentials.

Of the 69 full-time employees the West Chicago tree service had earlier [2016], 17 were ISA Certified Arborists®. Another five were Certified Treecare Safety Professionals (CTSP), offered by TCIA. And one was an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist®, the highest level of certification offered by the organization.

That’s 23 certifications on a staff of 69. Even the office manager is a Certified Arborist.

It’s easy to draw a connection between this emphasis on learning and safety and the success of Kramer Tree Specialists, which Kramer started more than 40 years ago.

“We want people to have a sense of making a contribution to the company and to the industry,” Kramer says. “We want people to have a sense that they can rise in our company. When our staff members attain certifications, there are salary increases.”

As the saying goes, happy employees make happy customers. It’s more than employees being well-compensated and feeling professionally satisfied, however. What they learn through the certification process (and the ongoing educational opportunities then made available to them) obviously helps them on the job …which helps them win jobs.

Customers appreciate when a sales team member understands their needs and concerns and can respond with knowledgeable and insightful solutions. The emphasis on certification also helps Kramer Tree Specialists attract and retain employees, which is one of the biggest challenges in the tree care industry.

“The opportunity for professional development, one, it’s good for anybody’s career and, two, it’s good for attracting potential employees because there are these opportunities available to them,” Filary says.

“What we really are hopeful for is that when one employee sees that another employee has reached a certain level and has gotten compensated accordingly, that it encourages others,” Kramer says. “We encourage this any way we can and on every level.”

Filary says being certified opens up other educational opportunities, such as seminars, that further build upon the professionalism of the staff.

It’s just a team spirit here,” he says. “One Certified Arborist walking down the hall may see another Certified Arborist, and there’s a little bit of a knowing look between them. So it’s a team reinforcement thing.”

This piece was provided by Vermeer, a TCIA Partners Advancing Commercial Tree Care (PACT) CROWN partner. Note: An extended version of this piece was originally published on TreeViews and is available here.

Vermeer delivers a real impact in a progressing world through the manufacture of high-quality underground construction, surface mining, tree care, environmental and agricultural equipment. With a reputation for durability and reliability, that equipment is backed by localized customer service and support provided by independent dealers around the world.

PACT partners provide financial support for a variety of TCIA safety and training programs.  For more information on the PACT program, visit www.tcia.org, or contact Amy Tetreault at atetreault@tcia.org or 800-733-2622.