Finding and keeping employees has never been easy — and the pandemic has only heightened the challenge for floral business owners. In the Mar/April issue of Floral Management, owners shared their unique strategies to build a more reliable workforce as well as ideas on how to keep morale and productivity high ahead of a busy spring season.
Start Strong
It’s important to treat onboarding as a crucial step, not an afterthought. Sedona Mountain High Flowers in Sedona, Arizona, is doing just that. The shop is using the pandemic to improve hiring practices and informal onboarding. How? It starts with asking more questions up front during the interview – like addressing any COVID concerns and emphasizing the shop’s COVID-related policies to ensure new hires will fit in well with their existing workforce.
Even though it requires a time investment up front, cross-training is also important. Farai Madziva, former vice president of sales and chief of staff at Kitayama Brothers Farms in Watsonville, California, created customized roadmaps for the three members of Kitayama Brothers’ inaugural Management Trainee Program, who joined the company in June 2020. Madziva designed the program on a three-year schedule to ensure trainees have the opportunity to experience different departments and several crop (and holiday production) cycles. Kitayama staff actively works with the trainees on measurable goals and key performance indicators, shaping and adjusting their workload to better reflect their interests and the company’s needs.
Help People Grow
Helping employees see future roles for themselves at your business makes them feel more invested and less likely to leave. SAF Next Gen Taskforce member, Tyler Meskers of Oregon Flowers in Aurora, Oregon, is focusing on cultivating talent from the company’s existing workforce. For example, Luis Garcia, Oregon Flowers’ packing manager, started in an entry-level position seven years ago. Now, Garcia leads the packing warehouse, oversees a seven-person crew and has become a great example to other employees looking to move up.
Helping people grow can also mean seeing them in a new light, according to SAF Retailers Council member Rakini Chinery, AAF, AzMF, of Allan’s Flowers in Prescott, Arizona. Chinery was left in a tough spot when her longtime manager did not return after having a baby. After the initial panic wore off, she took stock of her team, thinking about what each member was good at and offering them the opportunity to take on more work and responsibility. The approach paid off with employees feeling more empowered and challenged, and more team members learning about the business across departments. And now, her team is functioning better than it ever has.
Communicate Clearly
Communication is key in normal times, but especially during the uncertainty of the pandemic. Team members need to trust their employers to share information as it comes and to keep the company focused. Oregon Flowers has implemented a few new protocols to keep the team on the same page. At the start of the pandemic, they began weekly meetings to review safety protocols and to share updates and they created an “exposure risk manual,” which outlines processes and procedures in the event of positive cases within the business.
HR expert Glenna Hecht of Humanistic Consulting — and a frequent contributor to Floral Management — has encouraged business owners to embrace new communication styles, including “intro” and “outro” messages. For example, using phrases like “Here’s what I know today …” and “I’ll let you know if anything changes.” This approach signals to the staff that the owners are vulnerable now, too, because plans can change.
Read more tips on tackling labor issues and keeping morale high in the Mar/Apr Issue of Floral Management.
Stephanie Brady is the Project Coordinator for the Society of American Florists.
