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Hiring and running tree crews: roles, costs and the office
A tree company grows one hire at a time, and each hire changes how the day works. This guide explains the main roles, what a hire really costs, where to find people, how to build a safe crew, and when the office or a tool should carry some of the load.
By Umair Nawaz, founder of Lirevon Updated How we check facts
General information, not legal or tax advice.
The four roles
Every tree job needs the same four jobs covered. In a one-crew company, the owner and one or two helpers cover them all. As you grow, you hand them off one at a time. Know what each role is before you write a job post.
Groundsman
The groundsman is the entry job and the backbone of the crew. They drag brush, run the chipper, work the ropes from the ground, keep the site clean and watch for hazards. A good groundsman is reliable, strong, careful and eager to learn. It is also where future climbers and crew leaders are found.
Climber
The climber works in the tree: pruning, rigging and taking sections down. This is the highest-risk and highest-skill field job. A good climber has tree knowledge, rope and rigging skill, calm judgment and respect for limits. Skill checks matter more than a confident interview.
Crew leader
The crew leader runs the job site. They hold the pre-job briefing, assign the work, keep the schedule, talk to the customer, and make the safety calls. This role is about people as much as trees. A great climber is not always a great leader, so do not promote on skill alone.
Office or dispatcher
The office person answers the phone, books estimates, sends quotes, schedules crews, follows up, collects payment and asks for reviews. For many small companies this is the role that is missing, and the owner does it from the truck. Customers who reach voicemail often call the next company. Our guide on missed calls covers what that costs you.
What a hire really costs
The hourly wage is only the start. A hire also brings costs that are easy to forget until the bills arrive. We keep this section general on purpose. Your wages, state rules and insurance rates are your own, so use your own numbers.
- Wages and overtime. Long days and storm weeks can push hours over normal limits. Ask your accountant how overtime rules apply to you.
- Payroll taxes. Employers pay their own share of Social Security and Medicare. The employer share of FICA is 7.65% of wages. Other payroll taxes depend on your state.
- Workers' compensation. Tree work is classed as high-risk, so this cost is often large compared to many other trades. Get a real quote from your broker, since it changes with the role and your history.
- Gear and PPE. Helmets, chaps, gloves, eye and ear protection, boots, ropes and harnesses. Some of it wears out and needs replacing.
- Training time. The time you or a crew leader spend teaching is not free. Someone is not producing while they teach.
- Ramp-up. A new hire is not fully productive on day one. Expect a period where output is lower while they learn your way of working.
- Truck, fuel and equipment wear. More people means more miles and more use of chippers, saws and trucks.
- Turnover. If a good groundsman quits after three months, you pay for the hire twice.
The goal is a simple one: know what a hire has to bring in to pay for itself. Our hiring cost calculator lets you enter your own wage and add-on numbers and see the total cost of an extra person. To see what a full crew day needs to earn, try the crew day rate calculator. The results are estimates. Confirm real figures with your insurance broker and accountant.
Short explanation, not legal advice or tax advice.
Where to find people
Good tree workers are hard to find, and they are often already employed. The companies that hire well tend to use several sources at once rather than one big job post.
- Your own crew. Ask your best people who they know. A good worker usually knows other good workers. Many companies pay a small bonus after the new hire passes a trial period.
- Landscaping and lawn crews. People who already like outdoor work can grow into groundsman jobs. Be fair: do not poach in a way that damages a relationship you value.
- Local job boards and your own website. A clear "We are hiring" page with the roles, the work and how to apply helps. A fast website also tells candidates you are an organized company. See the tree service website guide.
- Trade schools and community colleges. Forestry, horticulture and arboriculture programs can be a source of motivated people.
- Trade associations and local events. Industry groups and local training days are places to meet people who care about the trade. Our associations list is a starting point.
- Veterans and career-change programs. People leaving other physical jobs often value steady work and clear rules.
- Seasonal and part-time help. Storm season and fall pruning can be busy. Trial a person on a short basis before offering a full-time spot.
When you interview, describe the job honestly: the heat, the weight, the early starts, the risk. Candidates who hear the truth and still want the job tend to stay longer. Use a short, paid working trial for climbers, with a crew leader watching. Check references. Hiring rules, background checks and driving record checks have legal limits that vary by state, so ask a qualified professional before you set your process.
Training and safety culture
Tree work is among the more dangerous trades. A safe crew is built by habits, not slogans. A crew that cuts corners when it is busy will eventually be hurt, and a serious injury can end a small company.
Know the standard
ANSI Z133 is the American national safety standard for tree care operations. It covers topics such as training, personal protective equipment, climbing, rigging, chain saw use, electrical hazards and emergency planning. Your crew leader should know what it asks for. Read the official text, and see our short guide to tree care safety standards. How rules apply to your company is a question for a qualified safety professional. This is a short explanation, not legal advice.
Credentials in general terms
Several groups offer credentials for individual workers and for companies. Some focus on tree knowledge, some on climbing, some on risk assessment and some on safety. They can help you set a training path for your people and give customers a reason to trust you. They do not guarantee a safe job or a good result. Read our guide to arborist certifications to see what each one means, and only claim a credential that someone on your team holds today.
Habits that make a safe crew
- A pre-job briefing every time. Walk the site. Name the hazards: lines, structures, targets, weak wood. Agree on the plan and the signals.
- Gear checks. Inspect ropes, harnesses, saws and PPE on a schedule. Retire anything doubtful.
- Anyone can call a stop. Make it normal for a groundsman to say "wait" without being mocked.
- Learn from near-misses. A short talk after a close call is cheaper than an injury.
- Train in steps. Do not send a new climber into a large removal near power lines. Build up from simple work.
- Lead by example. If the owner skips the helmet, everyone will notice.
Write your rules down in plain words and keep them short. Review them with new hires on day one and with the whole crew each season.
Scheduling the crew
Scheduling is where money is made or lost. A day with too much driving, a job that runs long, or a crew waiting for a chipper all cost real dollars. A few simple habits help.
- Group jobs by area. Fewer miles between stops means more hours working.
- Match the job to the crew. Send the right climber, the right equipment and enough hands. A job that needs a crane or a bucket truck should not be sent as a small-saw day.
- Add buffer. If every day is booked to the minute, one flat tire or a bigger tree than expected breaks the whole week.
- Keep a "ready" list. Have accepted jobs that can slot in when weather cancels a day.
- Plan around weather and season. Our seasonal demand calendar and the storm season guide help you see busy and slow periods.
- Tell customers the window. A text with the arrival window and the crew leader's name reduces calls to the office.
Try the crew schedule planner to lay out a week, count crew hours against booked jobs, and see where there is room or where you are stretched.
The crew and office handoff
Most problems in a tree company happen at a handoff: from the call to the estimate, from the estimate to the schedule, from the schedule to the crew, and from the finished job to the invoice and review. Each handoff can drop something.
What the office should pass to the crew
- Address, gate or access notes, and the customer's name and phone.
- The agreed scope in plain words: which trees, what work, what cleanup, what is not included.
- The estimate notes and photos, including hazards such as lines, fences and slopes.
- The price and how it will be paid.
- Any promises made, such as "keep the logs" or "call before you arrive".
What the crew should pass back
- Job done, with a photo of the cleaned site.
- Any change to scope, extra work or issues the customer should know about.
- Time on site, so you learn what jobs really take.
- A happy customer, ready for a review request. See the reviews guide.
Keep the handoff in one place, whether that is a shared job list, a lead inbox or a simple board. A message lost in a text thread is a job done wrong. Our system includes a lead inbox with follow-ups so the office sees every open request. See our services.
When to add a second crew
A second crew doubles your capacity and also doubles many of your problems. Do not add one because you want to feel bigger. Add one because the numbers and the calendar say it is time.
Look for these signs together, not one at a time:
- Your first crew is booked out for weeks and you are turning away or delaying good jobs.
- This has held for more than one busy stretch, not a single storm week.
- You have a crew leader you trust to run a crew without you on site.
- Your office can handle roughly twice the calls, quotes and scheduling. If not, fix the office first.
- Cash flow can carry new wages, insurance and equipment before the new work pays back.
- Enough demand exists. More leads should be coming in, not just the same leads spread thinner. See the lead sources guide.
A common mistake is to hire the second crew before fixing the front of the business. If calls go unanswered and quotes go out late, a second crew will not fill itself. You will pay wages for a crew with nothing booked. Make sure the work is there and the office can move it, then add the crew. Use the hiring cost calculator and the crew day rate calculator to check whether a second crew day can cover its own cost.
When automation beats a hire
Before you hire another person to deal with the phone, ask what work that person would really do. If most of it is repeatable, such as answering a missed call, sending a first reply, following up on a quote or asking for a review, a tool may do it faster and at any hour.
The reason this matters is simple. About 27% of calls to home-service businesses go unanswered, and under 3% of those callers leave a voicemail (Invoca). Most callers move on to the next company. A crew in a tree cannot answer the phone, and a one-person office can only handle so many calls at once.
Automation is a good fit when
- The task is the same every time and has clear rules.
- Speed matters, for example replying to a new lead within minutes.
- The work happens at night, on weekends or when everyone is on a job.
- You need a record of every call, text and follow-up.
A person is a better fit when
- The work needs judgment, a site visit or a hands-on skill.
- The customer is upset, or the situation is an emergency that needs a real person.
- You need someone to build relationships, negotiate or manage the crew.
In practice, the best answer is often both. A tool handles the first reply and the routine follow-up, and a person handles the quotes and the exceptions. That lets one office person do the work of more. Lirevon sells this kind of setup to US tree service companies: missed-call text-back within 30 seconds, an AI receptionist, a lead inbox, online booking and review requests. See pricing, read how an AI receptionist works, or get a free audit of your own missed calls.
Lirevon is new and has no tree-service client stories yet. We would rather say so than invent any.
Common questions
What jobs does a tree service crew need?
Most crews need a groundsman, a climber, a crew leader and someone in the office to answer calls, quote and schedule. In a small company the owner often does the crew leader and office jobs. As you grow, you split those roles so no one person is the bottleneck.
How much does it cost to hire a groundsman?
It is more than the hourly wage. Add employer payroll taxes (employer FICA is 7.65% of wages), workers' compensation, boots, PPE and training time. Local wages vary a lot, so use the hiring cost calculator with your own numbers and ask your insurance broker and accountant for real figures.
Should I hire climbers or train them from groundsmen?
Many companies do both. Training your own gives you someone who knows your methods and safety rules, but it takes time and supervision. Hiring an experienced climber is faster but costs more and needs a careful check of skills. Either way, test climbing skills in a safe, supervised setting before they work alone aloft.
Do I need certified arborists on my crew?
There is no single rule for every company. Some states and cities have their own rules, and customers like seeing credentials. Read our certifications page for what each credential means, and check your own state and city rules. This is a short explanation, not legal advice.
What is ANSI Z133 and do I have to follow it?
ANSI Z133 is the American national safety standard for arboricultural operations. It is a voluntary consensus standard, but US safety regulators may refer to it, and insurers and customers care about it. Read our safety standards page and the official text, and ask a professional how it applies to you.
Should crew members be employees or contractors?
This is a legal and tax question that depends on how the work is actually done, and the rules differ by state. We cannot answer it here. Talk to an employment attorney or accountant before you decide. This is a short explanation, not legal advice.
When should I hire an office person?
Hire help when you or your crew leader are missing calls, quoting late or doing paperwork after dark. If the calls go to voicemail while you are up a tree, that is the sign. A missed-call text-back or an AI receptionist can cover part of that work for less than a full hire.
When should I add a second crew?
When your first crew is booked out for weeks, you are turning down good jobs, and your office can handle double the calls and quotes. Also check cash flow, equipment and whether you have a crew leader you trust to run it. Use the crew schedule planner to see if your work really fills two crews.
How do I keep a crew safe when the schedule is tight?
Set the rule early: no job is worth skipping the pre-job briefing, the right gear or a stop-work call. Build slack into the schedule so rushing is not the only way to finish. A crew leader who is allowed to say no is the best safety tool you have.
Can automation replace a hire?
It can replace part of one. Automation is good at repeatable work such as answering missed calls fast, sending texts, following up and asking for reviews. It does not climb, quote on site or run a crew. Use it to free your people for the work only people can do.
Go deeper: the glossary explains workers' compensation and independent contractor. See Lirevon for growing tree companies, for new tree companies and our offers.
This page is general information, not legal, tax or safety advice. Check your own state and city rules and ask a qualified professional.
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