High tree contractor employee turnover rates continue to plague utility vegetation management (UVM) operations in many parts of North America. Unhealthy worker turnover rates, particularly at the crew foremen level, can have significant negative impacts on many key components of UVM programs including worker safety, productivity, quality of work and customer relations. Many utilities assume worker turnover is the contractor’s problem to solve. However, the indirect “hidden” costs utilities incur related to the constant training and turnover of qualified line clearance tree workers can be significant. This presentation will explore the results of a strategic sourcing initiative undertaken by a large investor owned utility which, at its core, involved partnering with its UVM contractors to jointly address these challenges to find win-win solutions. The initiative was successful in justifying to utility executive leadership that investments in the contracted UVM workforce could lead to significant long-term cost savings and operational benefits; benefits which have been realized and sustained over the last 18 years.