VALUES AND BELIEFS

The Garden Company is founded on the belief that dealing with each other on a basis of mutual trust, fairness, and respect leads to a healthy, creative working environment. In such an environment, we can work effectively in teams to produce superior products, thereby enhancing the company's reputation among our clients and within the industry.

We assume that you are here because:

That's why we are here, too. We value enthusiasm, efficiency, and dedication, as well as high productivity, a commitment to quality, an interest in personal and professional growth, and a "can do" attitude.

We also value and respect our clients, because without them we wouldn't exist. If a project becomes stressful or annoying, we will complete it to the best of our ability, learn from the experience, and do it differently next time. We will not bad-mouth the client and use them as an excuse to deliver a low-quality job that will do us more harm than good in the long run.


CUSTOMER RELATIONS

This is you:
You

This is you in relation to The Garden Company:
You in relation to TGC

This is you and The Garden Company in relation to a customer:
You and TGC in relation to the customer

When the customer hires The Garden Company to do a project, we assign you to work on the project but retain overall responsibility for the job. As a result, you bring to the job far more expertise and many more resources than you would as an individual. You are The Garden Company's representative and need to bear in mind the following:

In summary, good customer relations are built on respect. We want to avoid the situation where we do one project for a customer, do a good job, and then are left wondering why we were never asked to do anything else.


YOUR PAY

You are paid a specific rate for each hour you work for the company. Hourly rates vary and are based on a combination of factors such as:

Hourly rates are strictly confidential and not an appropriate topic of conversation with other employees.

Recording Your Time
Hourly employees are paid for the time recorded in the Timecard, which is tracked by management for client billing and payroll purposes. Record your time to the nearest (quarter) hour. Short breaks (10 minutes per four hours worked, in accordance with Washington State law) may be included in the time you record, but longer breaks should be excluded. For example, a 10-minute stroll around the building can be included in your recorded time, but a half-hour lunch break would be considered on your own time, and should not be recorded.

With this honor system, you can decide how to use your time to meet both your personal needs and the needs of the company. Please do not include personal phone calls, e-mails, and net surfing in the hours you record in the Timecard. You are welcome to use the The Garden Company facilities and equipment before and after work and during your lunch hour. Personal long distance phone calls and faxes should be tracked and paid for by you, not by The Garden Company.

For more information on personal use of The Garden Company time and resources, please refer to the Policies and Procedures.

Payroll Periods
We have two payroll periods each month: For the period worked from the 1st to the 15th of the month, payday will be on the 20th of that month. For the period worked from the 16th to the last day of the month, payday will be on the 5th of the next month. If the scheduled payday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, payday will be on the preceding Friday.

You will be provided with a pay stub with complete information about your income for the pay period and the year-to-date.

Performance/Salary Reviews
Reviews are conducted in January. Your team manager will give you feedback about how you are doing, areas for improvement, etc., and your hourly rate will be adjusted as your skills grow and your contribution to the company increases. This is an opportunity for feedback to and from your team manager regarding your work performance, goals, skills, etc. Please feel free to chat informally with any members of the management team between reviews.


YOUR BENEFITS

Medical and Dental Insurance
The Garden Company pays 100% of employee medical and dental insurance premiums for employees who regularly work at least 30 hours per week. Insurance for dependents is available, but must be paid for by the employee (this can be deducted from your check).

Time Off
For full information on sick leave, holidays, vacation, and other time off, refer to the Policies and Procedures.