Are you overstaffed, understaffed, or just guessing?
Staffing is one of the most critical — and costly — challenges for floral businesses, and keeping labor costs in check can significantly improve your bottom line. During an education session at SAF Phoenix 2025, the Society of American Florists’ annual convention, Aug. 11–14 in Scottsdale, Arizona, a panel will discuss their strategies for keeping payroll in check.
“COVID made us much more efficient,” says panelist Monty Pereira of Watanabe Floral in Honolulu. “It forced us to take a look at every aspect of the business and figure out how we can do it better, quicker, and more efficiently — with less people.”
Pereira, along with Keith Rockcastle, AAF, of Rockcastle Florist in Rochester, New York, and moderator Sam Bowles, AAF, of Allen’s Flowers and Plants in San Diego, will share real-world strategies for analyzing labor needs and streamlining operations to shrink labor costs during the session “Are You Overstaffed, Understaffed, or Just Guessing?”.
At Allen’s Flowers, Bowles developed a custom spreadsheet that tracks payroll data against sales. He uses it to monitor labor costs both weekly and over time, and to guide conversations with store managers.
For Rockcastle, COVID also ushered in a more agile approach. “Pre-COVID, we were overstaffed,” he says. “After essentially resetting, we brought back who we needed and found we didn’t have to bring everyone back.” Since then, his team has focused on efficiency.
Pereira emphasizes the value of training and cross-training team members to improve flexibility. “We use the slower summer months to train people across departments,” he says. “The more positions they can fill, the more valuable they are to the company — and we pay accordingly.”
Both Pereira and Bowles note that incentives also play a key role. “Our designers are incentivized on production, not hours,” Pereira explains. “They want to work efficiently and get out, and we reward that.” Bowles adds that empowering managers to control staffing within a set number of hours — rather than micromanaging schedules — has improved morale and accountability.
Ultimately, Pereira says, staffing decisions must be grounded in financial awareness. “You should know what your sales are on any given day, and your labor percentage needs to be a priority,” he says. “If it’s not, the creative side of the business won’t be enough to keep you afloat.”
Learn more about the convention and the full education lineup here.
Amanda Jedlinsky is the senior director of content and communications for the Society of American Florists.
