Hiring and Training Tree Service Crews
How to find, hire, and train reliable tree service crew members.
Labor is the biggest challenge in the tree service industry. Finding people willing to do hard, physical, outdoor work with chainsaws is not easy. Keeping them is harder. Here is what works.
Where to Find Workers
Trade schools and community college forestry or horticulture programs are your best source for entry-level workers who already have some knowledge. Reach out to instructors and offer internships or apprenticeships.
Job postings on Indeed, Craigslist, and Facebook work, but expect to sort through many unqualified applicants. Be specific in your listing about what the job requires: physical labor, outdoor work in all weather, heights, and chainsaws.
Referrals from existing crew members are often the best hires. Offer a referral bonus ($250 to $500 paid after the new hire stays 90 days) to incentivize your team to recruit.
Military veterans often make excellent tree service workers. They are comfortable with physical work, understand safety protocols, and follow procedures.
What to Look For
- Physical fitness and willingness to do hard labor
- Reliability (this matters more than experience for entry-level positions)
- Valid driver's license (CDL is a bonus)
- No fear of heights (for climbing positions)
- Ability to take direction and work on a team
- Previous outdoor work experience (landscaping, construction, farming)
You can teach tree care skills. You cannot teach showing up on time.
Training New Hires
Start every new hire as a ground crew member regardless of their experience claims. Ground work teaches them your company's procedures, safety protocols, and communication standards before they ever touch a chainsaw or leave the ground.
Training should cover:
- PPE requirements and usage (hard hat, eye protection, hearing protection, chaps, gloves)
- Chainsaw safety basics (even if they are not cutting yet)
- Ground crew responsibilities (feeding the chipper, managing the drop zone, brush drag, rope handling)
- Communication with the climber or bucket operator
- Vehicle and trailer operation
- Basic tree identification
Retention
Pay competitive wages. Check what other tree services in your area are paying and match or beat them. Tree work is too hard and too dangerous for people to stay at a job that underpays them.
Provide clear advancement paths. Ground person to saw operator to climber to lead climber to crew foreman. Each step should come with a pay increase and new responsibilities.
Treat your crew well. Provide good equipment, take breaks, buy lunch on long days, and recognize good work. The companies that retain crews are the ones where people actually want to work.
Sources and Further Reading
- • International Society of Arboriculture: Provides certification programs, training standards, and crew safety guidelines for tree care professionals
- • Tree Care Industry Association: Offers accreditation programs, safety training materials, and best practices for hiring qualified arborists
- • Occupational Safety and Health Administration: Establishes safety regulations and training requirements for tree service operations and equipment use
- • National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health: Provides research-based safety protocols and injury prevention guidelines specific to tree care work
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