How to hire a landscape crew leader

How to hire a landscape crew leader, step by step

Here's a step-by-step landscape crew leader hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a landscape crew leader job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new landscape crew leader
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a landscape crew leader do?

Post a landscape crew leader job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your landscape crew leader job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a landscape crew leader for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a landscape crew leader to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a landscape crew leader that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of landscape crew leaders.

   Type of Landscape Crew Leader	Description	Hourly rate
   Landscape Crew Leader	Grounds maintenance workers ensure that the grounds of houses, businesses, and parks are attractive, orderly, and healthy in order to provide a pleasant outdoor environment.	$13-24
   Keeper	A storekeeper is responsible for managing all a store's operations and overseeing the care and maintenance of stocks, including inventory management. Your duties will include receiving, unloading, and shelving supplies, inspecting deliveries for discrepancies and damage, and managing all documentation... Show more	$11-23
   Groundsman	Groundsmen or greenkeepers are professionals who take responsibility for the maintenance of materials and equipment. They make certain to provide enough stock of consumables... Show more	$12-20

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Grounds Maintenance
   • Landscape Maintenance
   • Taking Care
   • Mowing
   • GRASS
   • Landscape Installation
   • Snow Removal
   • Lawn Care
   • Blowers
   • Mowers
   • Work Ethic
   • Dump Truck
   • Retaining Walls

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage hardscape installation team and project
   • Use of hand tools such as shovels, rakes, saws, hedges, and brush trimmers.
   • Use hand tools such as shovels, rakes, pruning saws, hedge and brush clippers and axes.
   • Operate power equipment such as mowers, chain-saws, sod cutters, weed eaters, and blowers.
   • Operate vehicles and power equipment's such as mowers, tractors, blowers, chain saws, and electric clipper.
   • Repair irrigation lines, prune trees, till volleyball courts and pick up trash as needed.

   More landscape crew leader duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your landscape crew leader job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A landscape crew leader salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a landscape crew leader in Georgia may be lower than in Massachusetts, and an entry-level landscape crew leader usually earns less than a senior-level landscape crew leader. Additionally, a landscape crew leader with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average landscape crew leader salary

   $38,386yearly

   $18.45 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level landscape crew leader salary

   $29,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 28, 2026

   Average landscape crew leader salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Minnesota	$45,113	$22
   2	California	$45,025	$22
   3	Colorado	$43,973	$21
   4	Maine	$40,686	$20
   5	Illinois	$39,622	$19
   6	Ohio	$38,527	$19
   7	Indiana	$37,808	$18
   8	Michigan	$37,619	$18
   9	Iowa	$37,000	$18
   10	North Carolina	$36,845	$18
   11	Arizona	$36,382	$17
   12	Missouri	$36,074	$17
   13	Texas	$34,919	$17
   14	Oklahoma	$32,005	$15
   15	Florida	$31,878	$15
   16	Georgia	$30,960	$15

   Average landscape crew leader salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Stantec	$51,127	$24.58	20
   2	QUALITY ONE WOODWORK	$47,045	$22.62
   3	Cornell University	$46,615	$22.41
   4	Smoot Construction	$44,113	$21.21
   5	LSI	$40,507	$19.47
   6	University of Washington	$40,295	$19.37
   7	Ryan Lawn & Tree	$40,230	$19.34	3
   8	Medxcel	$40,207	$19.33	4
   9	Goodwin Recruiting	$39,891	$19.18
   10	Dowco	$39,852	$19.16
   11	The Davey Tree Expert Company	$39,441	$18.96	447
   12	Landtech Contractors, Inc	$39,400	$18.94
   13	Cross Creek	$39,397	$18.94	6
   14	Lingo International Inc	$39,397	$18.94
   15	Landscape Services	$39,397	$18.94	8
   16	Crossroads Diversified Services	$39,379	$18.93	3
   17	DJ's Landscape Management	$39,349	$18.92	1
   18	AAA Landscape	$39,345	$18.92	2
   19	BrightView Landscape Development Inc	$39,327	$18.91	359
   20	Acres Group	$39,323	$18.91

4. Writing a landscape crew leader job description

   A good landscape crew leader job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a landscape crew leader job description:

   Landscape crew leader job description example

   Job DescriptionSalary: $18-$20 hourly (DOE)
   

   SPORTS FIELD SOLUTIONS IS SEEKING AN:

   
   

   Mobile Maintenance Crew Lead

   To maintain immaculate sports fields and commercial properties throughout the DFW area.

   
   

   WHO YOU ARE

   You love sports and you love the beautiful fields or favorite teams play on. You spent your childhood summers on baseball fields, your fall Friday nights under stadium lights, and your winters on hard courts. You love the feeling of putting in a hard day’s work. You’ve got a vision for personal success and a work ethic to get the job done. You come to work each day ready to make a positive impact and be a part of a winning team. You are meticulous. You love being part of a team. Could you do it alone? Sure. Do you prefer the camaraderie of a team working to build a premium brand? Absolutely.

   
   

   WHO WE ARE

   We love sports fields. How much? As much as Texas loves its high school football. That's a lot. We know that the difference between feeling like a professional athlete and a high school walk-on is often the quality of the playing surface. We love nothing more than the glimmer of stadium lights on a freshly-cut, pristine natural grass playing surface. Finally, we believe that great people transform businesses. We provide a vision and then ask our people to creatively use their talents to achieve it.

   
   

   CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

   1. Assist in mowing, weedeating, edging, blowing on set schedule of properties.
   2. Prepare, maintain, and restore all baseball/softball clay areas where needed: including infield skins, mounds, home plate and warning track, and perform other tasks fundamental to athletic turf care.
   3. Assist in performing preventative maintenance operations on various pieces of equipment.
   4. Assist in performing irrigation checks to ensure the system is operating efficiently.
   5. Safely operate a truck with an attached trailer full of equipment.

   
   

   REQUIREMENTS

   If you read the description above and feel like it was written for you, please apply. Formal requirements include landscaping experience and a valid driver’s license. Informal requirements include a passion for learning and producing high-quality work, the ability to communicate effectively, and an inclination to value teamwork over ego.

   
   
   

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right landscape crew leader for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your landscape crew leader job on Zippia to find and recruit landscape crew leader candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with landscape crew leader candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new landscape crew leader

   Once you've found the landscape crew leader candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new landscape crew leader first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a landscape crew leader?