U.S. employers, including those in the floral industry, are still struggling to find workers. Two sessions at SAF Orlando 2022 will focus on strategies to attract skilled workers.
Signing bonuses. Flexible schedules. Record high wages.
Despite businesses’ unprecedented attempts to lure workers the past two years, much of the U.S. labor force is not eager to return to work. U.S. employers added 390,000 jobs in May, the slowest pace of growth since April of 2021, according to the Labor Department.
The labor woes extend to the floral industry, where nearly 60 percent of respondents to a Society of American Florists’ survey last year reported difficulty hiring non-seasonal employees.
So what does it take for a floral business to attract committed, skilled workers?
The answers may be in the way businesses think about how and where to recruit talent, according to two industry experts.
“There are so many types of jobs in the floral industry, from accounting to technology and plant biochemistry,” says Jazmin Albarran, executive director of SAF’s partner organization, Seed Your Future, which is building relationships and resources to build a pipeline of skilled workers for the floriculture and horticulture industries. “As an industry, we all need to seek out relationships with our local education institutions to introduce students to the joy of working with plants and the vast career opportunities within the industry.”
Finding talent starts with telling the stories about the benefits of flowers, and even more specifically, authentic stories about your business, says Bart David of the consulting firm R3Think.
Millennials, the largest generation in the workforce, look to social media to evaluate whether a business has a good culture where they will be able to grow professionally. By the time a millennial visits a business for an interview, they’ve likely already determined whether a business checks off that criteria, David says.
“They can see if it is fake or authentic,” David says, noting that while Millennials are sometimes scorned for their self-entitlement, they tend to be creative and know how to appeal to their peers, who make up a large percentage of florists’ wedding work.
Albarran and Davis will offer more strategies to recruit top talent — and keep them happy — during educational sessions at SAF’s 137th annual convention Sept. 6-8 in Orlando, Florida.
Albarran, who has been working with universities, trade and vocational schools, and youth groups to create resources and raise awareness of jobs in the floriculture and horticulture industry, will detail opportunities to create lasting relationships those types of organizations during her presentation, “Creating a Pipeline of Talent Through Schools.” She will also outline the Seed Your Future resources available to help cultivate those relationships.
David will give a two-part presentation on attracting and inspiring talent. His first presentation, “Cultivating Talent That Blooms, Part 1: New Talent” will focus on how to market the appeal of the floral industry to attract top talent, and what a great onboarding and training experience looks like. A second session, “Cultivating Talent That Blooms, Part 2: Existing Talent,” is about inspiring employees, optimizing their talents and nurturing their leadership skills.
For more about SAF Orlando 2022, including the full schedule and registration information, click here.
Amanda Jedlinsky is the managing editor of SAF NOW.
