Miami Company Competes for Employees – on the Soccer Field

In the middle of the full-length soccer field in his Homestead backyard, Juan Vila took a second before kickoff to address two eager soccer teams outfitted in bright uniforms.

“At Vila & Son, we’re all winners,” said the president and chief executive of one of the largest privately held landscaping firms in Florida. Then, he exhorted the teams to play hard and try not to get hurt in the Copa Vila tournament.

Vila can be excused for not choosing a favorite. The four teams competing in the round robin soccer tournament were all from various divisions of his Miami-based company.

The event is designed to enhance the company’s efforts to recruit and retain employees in an industry where there is a statewide labor shortage, and good workers are hard to find.

All the players are from Central and South America where soccer is king, and the Copa is a Latin American twist on the company picnic.

A few years ago, Vila & Son Landscaping Corp. tried setting up regular softball games, Vice President Ricardo Leal said. “They didn’t have great excitement,” he said. “Then, we noticed the guys playing soccer on their own. We decided to do a soccer tournament, and they really got into it.”

More than 300 employees and their families were bussed in from all over Florida for fun and games on the grounds of Vila’s 10-acre estate during the recent Copa game.

“Fortunately, we have referees to control things,” Vila said later. “Games get real competitive.”

The same thing can be said of the Florida landscaping industry where competition for workers is keen.

Vila & Son has been in business for the past 20 years and works on beautification projects from Miami to Orlando.

The firm, whose 200 acres of property include nurseries, earned 50 percent of its revenues from planting trees along highways and roads for local and state governments; the other half comes from commercial projects for such clients as Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the Dreher Park Zoo in West Palm Beach and the Cleveland Clinic Hospital.

Bob Burleson, president of the Florida Transportation Builders Association, said there is ample roadside work and revenue available for landscapers who have the manpower.

“There’s a lot of work right now. Lots of roads to build.” He said the Florida Department of Transportation contracted $2.5 billion worth of work in 2003. Local government contracted another $1 billion last year.

That means plenty of work for firms like Vila’s.

Vila & Son has grown briskly in recent years. Last year, its revenue was $50 million, up from $40 million in 2002.

Five years ago, Vila said, he decided to double his staff of 300 workers. In 2003 alone, Vila & Son added 175 workers and ramped up to 615 employees as it opened a new branch in West Palm Beach.

Next year, the company is contemplating opening a branch on Florida’s west coast, and Vila expects the staff will grow by 10 percent in the next two years.
“The soccer game is a good opportunity to meet people you talk to but never see,” said Claudia Fajardo, the corporate office manager. “It shows you're not just working for a company.”

The tournament, which is in its second year, is held on three Saturdays in the spring. The championship game is played in May. The winning team receives a trophy, and all the winning players get gold medals.

“On the final weekend, we do a big celebration,” Vila said. “There are fireworks, confetti and a trophy presentation.”

The Copa Vila tournament features teams from each of Vila & Son’s divisions: Orlando, which is represented by La Maquina Celeste; West Palm Beach, whose team is the Coyotes; Miami, whose team is the Blue Tigers, and the corporate and nursery division, whose team is Los Reales. The company buys uniforms for all team members.

After positive responses from workers the first year, the firm decided to make the tournament an annual institution.

For Obeth Candelario, captain of the defending champion Orlando team, being invited to Vila's home to enjoy a sunny afternoon with his family and the boss was almost as endearing as winning matches.

“When I come here for the games,” he said. “I feel special.”

Source: The Miami Herald