Monday Mention: Introducing The Mills Boys

At Groundcover Landscaping we live by four core values, it is our Groundcover PACT – Pride | Agility | Care | Trust and we can hand on heart say that our two foremen, Luke and Kieran live these values daily in everything they do.

We are so proud of them, where they have come from and who they have become, and we think it may have quite a bit to do with … Mum and Dad – you see Luke and Kieran are brothers. Both working at Groundcover, both Foremen and both with an incredible work ethic, and drive to do their best alongside a cheeky sense of humour.

Ask them who’s the “best” brother and Kieran (the youngest of the two) will modestly say Luke. That may come from years of older brother bullying but Kieran also has a genuine respect for his big brother saying that “Luke is the MAN at landscaping and taught me most of what I know.” Kieran is quick to add that “I still have to carry him at Warzone though” so we know the competitive streak is alive and well between the two of them. Luke on the other hand is quick to say he is the BEST and that he’s surprised when people get him muddled with Kieran. The respect for each other is evident when Luke (obviously feeling a little guilty) quickly follows up with “I’ve got to give Kez credit where it’s due, he’s been smashing it since he was promoted to Foreman last year. At his age that’s impressive and puts me in my place a little. Still not enough to call him better than me though!”.

Luke and Kieran started their landscaping journey with their dad, working in school and uni holidays and they both attribute their work ethic to him. Now that they are both Foremen, they don’t work alongside each other quite so much but when they do get the opportunity they quickly slip back into an easy rhythm. They understand each other’s skillsets and are not afraid to give each other a cheeky nudge (that’s big brother speak for making Kez pick up a shovel).

Kieran started off as a labourer at Groundcover in 2018. His quiet nature, and willingness to learn saw him pick up the art of landscaping really well. He says he’s learnt a lot from Luke over the years, who is often showing him methods and techniques to make the job easier and more efficient, often over snapchat in the evenings. He says his biggest highlight was being made foreman last year, aged 23! “Another highlight of my job is turning up to a site and transforming it from something average to something awesome”.

Luke started at Groundcover in 2015. He was part of the original crew and says it was awesome to learn “The Groundcover Way” from Graeme and Paul when he first started out. He spent the next few years developing his skillset and has been foreman for several years. With that came a whole new set of skills required – people management, time management and communication skills. Luke has excelled in all these and is well respected and an asset to the team.

Luke still really enjoys supporting Kieran in his role, although admits the calls are fewer as Kieran rapidly grows into a very competent Foreman, bringing his jobs in on time, to budget and to the highest of standard.

Luke jokes about Kieran still needing a teddy, but Kieran gets the last laugh when he shares Luke’s undeniable love for his 3 cats!