Programmed doesn’t stand still, we strive for continuous improvement, innovation and collaboration. We support innovation in our operations by encouraging our people to find new and better ways to undertake their work to mitigate risk, enhance quality, reduce environmental impact and provide our customers value for money.
Real-world Innovation
Through our service delivery, we provide a reliable service to our customers while using every opportunity to introduce continual innovation that achieves “more for less” outcomes for the community.
Some of our recent innovations have included the replacement of old plant and equipment with more environmentally friendly alternatives such as electric trimmers and mowers that produce less noise and CO2 emittance. Our focus in the first instance is to reduce and eliminate emissions, although, where this is not attainable, we look to reduce through route optimisation or to offset emissions through tree planting. Last year we planted around 92,107 trees, perennials/shrubs across Auckland while doing our bit for the planet.
First, do no harm
Programmed is also mindful of the impact that chemicals have on the environment when weeding. We aim to use the most environmentally-friendly product available on the market and have replaced chemical products with organic herbicides, flame weeding and manual labour.
Programmed works closely with customers to meet their requirements and frequently invests in upskilling our staff. We also engage with community-based Youth Connections advisors to help develop protocols, employment opportunities, training, mentoring, and skills programs. Through this, we have committed to taking on a minimum of three additional cadets within our workforce to develop, mentor and train. Additionally, we are building on our Strategic Iwi partnerships where we look to support pathways into employment for young Maori.
Strengthening our people
We are also keen to promote and support our talent within. Last financial year we worked with INVEST to create a Level 2 Horticulture course to upskill and develop our unqualified gardeners. The course consisted of a five-day session focusing on general plant growth and health, plant ID and basic care, pest plant ID and control, pest and disease ID and control, and pruning/deadheading. A total of 18 staff completed the course across multiple teams.
Programmed also offers in-house training to assist our people with literacy and numeracy skills to help improve their work experience and has been affiliated with Advance Training and Aspire2 for the last four years.
In 2018 we assisted 39 employees through this programme, ranging in ages (from 21 to 65), nationalities and ethnicities. With the increased use of technology in our business and the requirement for our people to be more “digitally literate,” we focused on understanding the needs of our people and the learning or coaching required.
Programmed is a forward-thinking company that strives to make a positive difference. We are not only dedicated to helping our employees and clients but also our communities and environment.
