Top Left: Anna Ball of Ball Horticultural; Susan E. Yoder of Seed Your Future; Diane Thielfoldt of The Learning Café; Jamie Notter of WorkXO; Barry Gottlieb of the Coaching the Winner’s Edge; and Glenna Hecht of Humanistic Consulting LLC are among the 38 speakers present at SAF Palm Beach 2017.
Despite an apparent epidemic of college graduates struggling to find a job and Americans’ growing appetite for plant-based movements, including farm-to-table restaurants and guerilla gardening, interest in horticulture careers lags considerably. What gives?
Through industry and public research — including focus groups of middle-schoolers, parents, teachers and counselors — the Seed Your Future movement has sought answers. From the research findings, it has developed an Education Plan and a PR/Marketing Plan that promotes horticulture — and floriculture — and encourages more people to pursue careers working with plants.
Floriculture Hall of Fame member Anna Ball of Ball Horticultural and Susan E. Yoder of Seed Your Future will present what they’ve discovered and what they’re doing to develop a strong pipeline of future talent at SAF Palm Beach 2017, the Society of American Florists’ 133rd annual convention, Sept. 6-9, at The Breakers in Florida.
Their presentation, “Breeding Future Floriculturists,” is among several sessions addressing how to find and keep quality employees presented by a mix of experts from inside and outside the industry.
Generations expert Diane Thielfoldt provides tips on how to recruit, welcome and retain young leaders and a panel of millennial industry members talks candidly about what they want from their careers during “Preparing Millennials for Leadership.” In another panel discussion, industry members participating in the American Floral Endowment’s Business Internship Program joins Thielfoldt to discuss “Internship Programs that Deliver.”
Author and culture expert Jamie Notter shares his ongoing research and stories from organizations that have cracked the code on attracting and retaining top talent during the Kick-Off Breakfast program, “Winning the Talent Wars with Culture.” He’ll also present results from an SAF survey of owners, managers and rank and file employees, revealing how members define their workplace cultures.
Does it seem like your want ads aren’t getting any bites — or that you’re constantly hiring and firing duds? Don’t miss “Recruitment Renovation,” a panel discussion when industry members reveal their strategies for recruiting promising candidates and setting them up for success.
Did you know that 90 percent of top performers have a high emotional intelligence (EQ)? Author and speaker Barry Gottlieb explains how decades of research shows how EQ is crucial to top performance in the workplace during “I Feel Ya: Why Emotional IQ Matters at Work.”
Back by popular demand, HR guru Glenna Hecht shares best practices to engage employees, inspire innovative thinking and keep institutional knowledge in house in her presentation, “HR Hacks that Win Loyalty.”
Along with these targeted talent sessions, the convention’s educational lineup covers a variety of other topics from floral design trends and social media marketing, to care and handling and pricing, online advertising and customer service. New this year are late afternoon hands-on floral design workshops and “BYOD” — bring your own device – tech workshops for participants to study and practice niche subjects in a small setting.
These programs are among the 39 idea-packed floral business education sessions and events taking place at SAF Palm Beach 2017. Register for SAF Palm Beach 2017 by Aug. 9, and save $205. Get details and register at safnow.org/ annual-convention/.
