Horticulture groups are more successful than you may think...

One trade vetting scheme says that they represent over 400 different trades. The FSB has over 200,000 members. So, 200k divided by 400 equates to 500 members per trade.

It would be easy to criticise BALI/PGG/APL or even TGG for having low member numbers - but actually they don't.

Not only is horticulture just one industry, but each of the above organisations are specialists in their chosen field.

Inorder to gain an accurate picture of how well these organisations are supported you need to combine their member numbers. This shows that the horticultural trade as a whole is supported by many thousands of professional horticultural traders.

These organisations work seperately because their members have very different needs and priorities. Each has different strengths that appeal to different traders at different stages of their careers.

Currently, these organisations work mostly seperately from each other. However, rather than compete for members, maybe these organisations could work together and build stronger identities that could attract yet more professionals. They do not need to compete as their target audience has different interests and priorities - no one organisation can do it all. For example, political lobbying is a big concern for a large business with many employees but less of a priority for a self employed landscaper who will simply want to be updated. A self employed gardener will want cheap advertising but an employed gardener will not.

Working together could have other advantages. For example, while trying to arrange free business banking for our members we discovered that no horticulture group achieves their criteria - maybe together, we would - and for the benefit of all members.

How could they work together? Recommending each other would be a good start. We often direct people to PGG if our members would be unable to help. We would also happily display the PGG logo as well as others in exchange for mutual support. Regular meetings to share information? Joint pursuit of member benefits? Being able to buy benefits from another group without joining? (such as BALI training - and not necessarily at special rates) or access to the APL Trust Mark scheme?

Will be interesting to see if this could ever be achieved.

Gardeners come in all shapes and sizes

Some people may wonder why The Gardeners Guild only accepts gardeners with a horticultural qualification.

Being qualified used to be the minimum standard for any trade. Lately, more and more organisations seem to focus on insurance rather than competence.

A qualification shows dedication to the trade. Its a life long investment. A qualification also shows that the gardener has been assessed for a certain horticultural skill and passed.

Gardeners come in all shapes and sizes. Some have a fully sign-written van and have spent thousands of pounds on tools working quickly to service many customers at an affordable price. Others operate a gardening 'practice' and have a few clients with large gardens. A friend of mine has just 5 customers with gardens so large that he spends one day a week at each home. Because the gardens are so large it makes economical sense for the customer to supply the tools. As a result, he drives to each customer in his car and has no need for a van or a uniform or any kind of advertising.

You cant judge a book by its cover. All gardeners are different and operate a varied business plan depending on their client base and the kind of work they specialise in. Finding a qualified gardener will help you find a professional gardener.

Checking Public Liability Insurance

Thousands of people suffer work related injuries but are unable to claim compensation because they can not trace previous employers insurance details.

This is soon to change as The Department for Work and Pensions plans to create two new bodies to help injured employees. There will be an Employers liability Tracing Office to help find documentation and an Employers Liability Insurance Bureau to help compensate injured employees as a last result.

What about Public Liability Insurance? Many organisations have a requirement that their members have public liability insurance but only check that the policy is valid once a year. Surely it should be easier for the public to get access to public liability insurance details and should be able to contact the insurance broker at any time and receive confirmation that a policy is live at any time.

Every driver carries their insurance details - every trader should do the same. It should also be easy for the public to be able to make a phone call and check the insurance is current before the work starts and have access to the insurer should they need it.

Buy Cheap - Buy Twice

Having a qualification used to be the minimum standard for all trades. A qualification shows dedication to your trade and a serious attitude to quality work.

It is often the economic climate that forces many tradesmen to diverse and accept work other than their first trade. We all want a bargain and to get the job done as quickly as possible. However, the pursuit of cheap labour takes away any financial incentive for people to seek formal training - creating more and more 'jack of all trades' - but masters of none.

Qualifications indicate a dedication to a chosen trade. A qualified gardener (indeed any qualified craftsmen) can add real value - tips and advice that saves money and avoids waste. There is also much to be said for the knowledge that helps a qualified tradesman get the job right first time without causing unnecessary damage.

While it is true that if you buy cheap you buy twice, increasingly, non-qualified tradesmen will try to charge the same as a qualified tradesmen - so why not ensure that you higher a qualified tradesmen and at least get what you are already paying for?

Public Liability Insurance

Public liability insurance covers injury and damage to a third party - but what about injury caused to the tradesman?

Having home insurance is not a legal requirement but it includes an element of protection for third parties i.e. tradesman/postmen etc. What if a gardener is attacked by a customers dog or electrocuted by badly wired garden lighting. How will the gardener get compensation?

Let's face it - we often hire someone to do the jobs that we don't want to do ourselves or that are dangerous. Perhaps it is time for traders and customer alike to get into the habit of showing each other evidence of insurance before work starts.

It is a moral and legal obligation of any business to ensure that they do not mislead their customers. However, it occurred to me that many vetting schemes advertise that their members must have public liability insurance but can only confirm that the insurance is current when they meet the trader each year.

Unlike car insurance, there is no way of ensuring that a trader keeps their insurance and hasn't simply started a policy to get a certificate but cancelled the policy the next day. This has the potential to lull the customer into a false sense of security. Some vetting schemes claim that an approved trader is insured and then go on to list the kind of work that trader offers - tiling, gardening, general building - does the insurance company know they do all this? Many insurance policies are specific to a trade as different trades have varying levels of risk.

In addition, it is the customer who will need to make a claim against the traders insurance and what they receive is generally minus the policy excess. The customer will need to go to the trader for the excess amount and get it from them. The obvious flaw is that a bigger excess makes for a cheaper policy for the trader.

Some social forums suggest that their members adopt the forums customer charter. The charter is effectively a mission statement stating that the trader must have public liability insurance. Sadly, this also has the potential to give the customer a false sense of security and assume that the forum has done the vetting as they were the ones who issued the charter.

Many traders now 'self-certify' by simply carrying around all the information a customer may want to see - such as an insurance certificate. Many insurance brokers offer a 'to whom it may concern' letter stating that the trader has insurance and for what activities. The trader can photo copy this letter and give a copy to each new customer.

All traders should have public liability insurance - it isn't that expensive and is for the protection of the trader as well as the customer. Not having insurance doesn't mean a customer can't sue the trader for compensation but would mean that the trader would have to pay out of their own pocket - something few traders could afford without potentially having to sell their home.

Accidents do and will happen - hiring a qualified tradesmen rather than a 'jack of all trades' will help reduce the risk of accidents.

Rogue Logo's

I was disappointed to learn that some horticultural forums now give away logo's for their subscribers to use. Even more dissappointed that many gardeners are using these logo's and claiming that they are 'approved' by the social networks.

These forums have never met the subscriber and have no idea if the information the subscriber gives is accurate. Anyone can go to these social forums and download a logo to use with their stationary/website/van.

While the forums may claim that these logo's are simply to show that the subscriber uses the social forum, one logo in particular has no reference to a social forum but does include a large green tick - the universal symbol of approval.

What would trading standards would make of these logo's? How many customers will accept a tradesman on the face value of these logo's? It seems that making an effort to gain a qualification is worthless if anyone can set up business unchecked and receive a free logo.

Find genuine gardeners with qualifications at http://www.thegardenersguild.co.uk/