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SnowFighters Institute The Snowfighters Institute was formed so that those involved in snow and ice management services cou

Can't find good people? You might be looking in the wrong places, or moving too slowly.In our latest free webinar, Phil ...
10/21/2026

Can't find good people? You might be looking in the wrong places, or moving too slowly.

In our latest free webinar, Phil Harwood and employment immigration attorney Nataly Mualem dug into what's actually working in snow recruiting. A few highlights:
💖 Recruiting starts with retention. Happy employees are your best recruiters.

🧠 Look beyond the usual suspects. Retirees, firefighters, college students, women, etc. One Cleveland contractor's winter crew is almost entirely off-duty nurses.

⚡ Speed wins. An applicant can get hired somewhere else within the hour. Text them, don't call, and don't let one busy decision-maker become the bottleneck.

📁 Tighten up your I-9s. Nataly says penalties can reach $27,000 per violation. An internal audit every six months is cheap insurance.

Watch the full webinar in our Webinar Library now (link in bio).

The 6 p.m. news covers the whole metro. Your crews service individual parking lots.During GROW! Snow we heard from Frost...
10/19/2026

The 6 p.m. news covers the whole metro. Your crews service individual parking lots.
During GROW! Snow we heard from Frost Solutions on why individual weather stations can save companies time, money, and headaches. Some key points from this breakout session:

📉 One company saved 39% on winter operations by holding trucks until they were needed
🧂 A Maine customer cut salt use by 20%
😴 Fewer "just in case" call-outs means less burnout and better retention

The big shift: watch pavement temperature, not just air temperature. Slope, shade, and nearby water all change how a site behaves.

Bonus: sharing live site data with clients turns "why did you salt?" into "thanks for the heads-up." Some contractors say it's helped them win bids without being the lowest price.

What information you use to make your go/no-go calls? Drop it in the comments 👇

Quick gut check before the first flakes fall: ❄️❓ Is your applicant pool shrinking every season?❓ Are the people you hir...
10/16/2026

Quick gut check before the first flakes fall: ❄️

❓ Is your applicant pool shrinking every season?
❓ Are the people you hire gone by February?
❓ Are you short-staffed every time a big storm rolls in?

If you nodded along to any of these, this one's for you.

Watch Why Can't You Find Good People to Hire (And What Can You Do About It)?, a free Snowfighters webinar on what actually works in snow industry recruiting.

This session is live now in our Webinar Library! Head to our website (link in bio) to access it.

The Liquid IQ panel at GROW! Snow was full of real talk from contractors running liquids every day. 💧The ROI isn't just ...
10/14/2026

The Liquid IQ panel at GROW! Snow was full of real talk from contractors running liquids every day. 💧

The ROI isn't just less salt. It's fewer callbacks, fewer return trips, and fewer crew hours.

One panelist did the math on sidewalks: covering the same area costs about $5–$8 with granular vs. roughly $1.25 with liquid. Plus it was less mess, faster loading, and safer for crews.

The #1 mistake? Thinking you'll never throw granular again. One panelist runs four liquid trucks and still keeps two salt trucks ready "just in case."

Our group also shared a cautionary tale: someone rinsed a brine tote and left it filled with water, not brine. Backup granular trucks saved the night. 😬

Moral of the story: invest in a refractometer, check the salinity before applying, and have back ups just in case (as you should no matter your Plan A)

Where are you on your liquids journey: all in, dipping a toe, or not yet?

If your hiring strategy is "post an ad and hope," you're not alone. You're also competing with everyone else for the sam...
10/12/2026

If your hiring strategy is "post an ad and hope," you're not alone. You're also competing with everyone else for the same shrinking labor pool. 😬

Some snow companies struggle to find good people. Others seem to have cracked the code. The difference isn't luck. It's a roadmap.

In our next free webinar, Why Can't You Find Good People to Hire (And What Can You Do About It)?, we'll dig into proven recruiting strategies that:
✅ Grow your applicant pool
✅ Attract better-quality candidates
✅ Cut turnover
✅ Build a talent pipeline for your snow business

Because hiring the right people from the start = more profit. 💰
📅 October 13 at 10 a.m. (recording available on demand after this)

👉 Sign up to be notified when it's available on our website (link in bio)

Plot twist from GROW! Snow: the company stealing your plow drivers might be serving chicken sandwiches. 🍔Chris Psencik p...
10/09/2026

Plot twist from GROW! Snow: the company stealing your plow drivers might be serving chicken sandwiches. 🍔

Chris Psencik pointed out that seasonal workers have options. Chick-fil-A and Amazon offer warm buildings and steady hours. We offer 2 a.m. start times and "we'll let you know."

You can't control when the storm hits. But you can control:
→ How and when your crew hears from you
→ How dispatch and scheduling work
→ Paying people accurately and on time, every time

Chris says pay mistakes are the moment good people start looking elsewhere. And his favorite metric? Not how many you hired. How many came back from last season.

Have a tip to share? Comment below with something you've done that has made an impact on retaining your team 👇

10/07/2026

What a fantastic perspective shared on our most recent podcast episode with Eddy Zakes of Earth Development.

Have you caught this episode yet? If not, head on over to give it a listen.
https://www.snowfightersinstitute.com/podcast

It's taken us a week to get our thoughts together post GROW! Snow. What a couple of days. Thank you to every snow and ic...
10/05/2026

It's taken us a week to get our thoughts together post GROW! Snow. What a couple of days. Thank you to every snow and ice pro who joined us in Dayton, Ohio for this inaugural event.

A few highlights we're still talking about:
🏟️ Phil Harwood's challenge to all of us: what uncomfortable thing are you avoiding before next season?

🚜 The Grunder Landscaping yard tour: loaders, pusher boxes, salt depots, and a very loud train horn calling everyone back inside. Don't worry everyone: we fixed the microphone, too.

💧The actionable takeaways we have on liquids, weather data, contracts, H-2B, recruiting, emergencies, and culture from contractors who live it. We'll share more over the coming weeks.

The best part wasn't the slides. It was the hallway conversations, the shared war stories, the inspirational stories of pushing through adversity, and the ideas you're taking home to your crews.

We're already buzzing with excitement for next year!
https://www.snowfightersinstitute.com/grow-snow

What's the #1 thing you're bringing back to your team this winter? Drop it in the comments below 👇

Our third and final set of breakout sessions is underway now with sessions on building a strong company culture, support...
09/23/2026

Our third and final set of breakout sessions is underway now with sessions on building a strong company culture, supporting family businesses, and using AI for more accurate weather forecast.

Our goal with GROW! Snow was to provide the education and resources that teams need to be successful during snow events. Breakout sessions are a "choose your own adventure" where attendees can select the session that's most valuable to their role.

Thank you to our speakers for sharing their knowledge:
Katie Roell, James Wiand, Val Lesak, Scott Lesak, and Mike Bott

The second Power Panel today is on snow emergencies. Moderated by Vince Torchia and with insight from Jason Ostrander an...
09/23/2026

The second Power Panel today is on snow emergencies.

Moderated by Vince Torchia and with insight from Jason Ostrander and Joel Wollum, this session dove into the details of managing snow emergencies.

One big takeaway from their session: staying ahead on communication and being honest, open, and transparent with your team can make managing snow emergencies smoother and reduce a lot of problems. This panel shared some great tips for improving communication and ways to make a crazy situation a little bit less chaotic.

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