The GROW team is pleased to announce the launch of the Employers of Choice program for 2026.

As winter begins to ease, growth is already happening beneath the snow—and in Employers of Choice as well.

While most of the 2026 EOC sessions have taken place, the GROW team is pleased to add two workshops. These sessions continue to support landscape and horticulture leaders with practical learning in people management, workplace practices, and organizational success.

Please join us for these learning opportunities as the season shifts toward spring growth!

Please note: session topics, dates, and times are subject to change.

Wednesday, March 11th 2026

10am-12pm ET

Module 1 - Recruiting: How to Get Your Right-Fit Employees the First Time

Facilitated by Havilah Vangroll - of HAVe Strategy Consulting

This module will cover how to:

• Prepare

• Attract

• Interview

• Hire

You will learn what you need to do to prepare your company for incoming new hires.

You will learn what you need to do, share, and provide to be an employer of choice in the marketplace.

You will be shown how to write job descriptions that clearly communicate what the job is, the expectations of the job, and what working for your company looks like.

How to interview:

• What questions to ask

• What to look for in answers

• How to share expectations and know they are understood

• How to make “HECK YES! Offers”. 

Having the right hiring process before you start hiring will create great success, faster. How you hire tells your just right fit job seekers you are the place they want to

work. It builds Raving Fan Employees, before they are even your employee.

Wednesday, March 18th 2026

10am-12pm ET

Module 2 - They said YES - Now what? How you keep the hires you make.

This module will cover how:

1. Orientation vs Onboarding - how to get it right the first time

2. Retention - discover what you need to do for them to want to stay

• Existing personnel audit

• Who should be mentoring/leading (or not)

• Training and career opportunities

• Turn them into Raving Fan Employees - whether they stay or leave

3. We will review how to build and maintain a HAVe Strategy C4 Culture 

4. How to gracefully exit employees

You will learn how to build teams that are coherent, work together, communicate well, and will work hard for you. We do this by clarifying what is orientation vs onboarding.

We will review how to build a HAVe Strategy C4 Culture for your company so you build Raving Fan Employees. You will understand what it takes to be a stand out company in a competitive job market.

You will get to do an audit of your existing staff and walk away with clear objectives and goals for how you want your teams to function. You will be provided with the information and tools to help make high employee retention a reality for your company - no matter the size. You will be give the tools to help exit the employees that need to leave or that choose to leave. 

You will leave feeling confident in how to grow, maintain, and manage your employees

Reserve your enrollment seat in this exclusive program tailored for Canada's landscape and horticulture sector; applications will close once all seats are filled. Join industry leaders by submitting your application today.

Click here to apply:  EOC Application

Please note that the schedule of session topics, dates, and times is subject to alteration.

Need help? Have questions?
Send us an email at: grow@landscapeontario.com