Seed Your Future and the American Floral Endowment have launched an in-depth survey to collect data on wages and benefits in the horticulture sector, including floriculture.
As the year winds down, Raya Ward, general manager of Nielsen’s Florist & Garden Shop in Darien, Connecticut, is preparing for annual reviews and contemplating what constitutes fair pay in today’s economy. With recent wage hikes to attract workers — and now inflation — employee pay is an issue Ward and many other floral professionals grapple with.
“It would be great to have an idea of what other floral businesses are paying, just to have a baseline and stay competitive,” Ward says.
In a few months, she and other floral professionals will have one more tool to help them determine fair wages — but it needs input from business leaders first.
Seed Your Future and the American Floral Endowment (AFE) have launched an in-depth survey to expand the understanding of wages and benefits in the horticulture sector, including floriculture, public gardens, garden centers, landscaping, fruit and vegetable production and more.
“As Seed Your Future works to promote green careers to students and their families, we often run into a roadblock — the perception that all horticulture and related sector jobs are low paying,” says Executive Director Jazmin Albarran. While entry-level positions may be low paying — a reality for many industries — there are many more horticulture careers that have robust salaries.
“You have the opportunity to be part of the research and solution in helping Seed Your Future — and everyone in the industry — understand wages and benefits, which will inform our next steps in marketing horticulture as a competitive career,” says Albarran. She urges businesses to complete the survey, which takes as little as 15 minutes, within the next seven days.
The data will give a better understanding of which positions provide living wages and higher and could serve as a valuable recruiting tool. Additionally, “the results will create a baseline for the future and help industry organizations understand how their own salaries and benefits rank in comparison to similar businesses,” says Debi Chedester, AAF, executive director of the American Floral Endowment. “As an industry, we must remain competitive to recruit and retain top talent.”
Broad participation is vital.
“The more people who take the survey, the more valuable the results will be for the entire industry,” says Albarran. The survey is confidential, and Albarran urges all businesses to share their salary and benefits information for positions throughout the organization. Results will first be shared with respondents and by spring will be made available on Seed Your Future and AFE’s websites.
“In order to attract both students and employees, we have to show that we’re competitive from a salary standpoint,” says Albarran. “Our goal in conducting this survey is to alert people to the wealth of opportunities in horticulture.”
To take the survey, click here.
Katie Vincent is the senior contributing editor for the Society of American Florists.
