If you’re a business owner and you think you know your team, consider these stats from a 2024 Gallup poll:
- Only 27% of employees trust their company’s leadership
- 53% of employees do not feel properly trained to work with new technology
- 51% of the workforce is actively seeking a new job
- Only 26% of employees feel engaged in their company’s team structure
While these figures may not fully reflect jobs in floriculture, they are still pretty striking. They were brought to light by Todd Downing, Managing Partner at BEST Human Capital & Advisory Group, who moderated a panel discussion on employee engagement strategies at Cultivate’24. Joining Downing on the panel were Susie Raker, Vice President of Raker-Roberta’s Young Plants; Mike Vallafskey, CEO of Dan and Jerry’s Greenhouses; and Dana Valley, Head of Human Resources — Americas at Dümmen Orange.
Here are just a few insights, strategies, and words of wisdom from the panel.
How You Learn About Your Team’s Needs and Concerns
Vallafskey: “We have multiple locations, but our employees are treated the same at each location. Today’s employees are much more focused on ‘what’s in it for me’ both professionally and personally than they were in the past. Because of this, we want to create an environment that offers opportunities for growth.”
Valley: “Don’t just have annual performance review-type conversations with your team. Try to talk to them frequently.”
Downing: “Your employees will also hold you accountable for addressing their concerns, and you need to let them do this.”
Training and Development Programs
Vallafskey: “Employee development has not been a strength of ours in the past, but we are trying to address it in a more intentional way, including doing leadership style assessments with our team.”
Raker: “We constantly push for professional development. During the offseason, we set up cross-functional team training where employees from one team will work in other areas of the business to learn those processes.”
How to Keep Employees Engaged During Times of Dramatic Change
Vallafskey: “The ‘Great Game of Business‘ book taught us that change management is constant, and so we try to share as much information with our team as possible, including business finances and strategy. We want to get all of our employees involved in the strategic planning process, and we seek their feedback.”
Raker: “We went through a company acquisition and ownership change a few years ago, and communication and transparency were critical during that process. Since then, I’ve made sure we have an open-door policy on everything.”
Valley: “If you’re a business owner, you want to make sure your leadership team has the same open-door policy as you. And don’t be afraid to say you don’t have all the answers; if your team trusts you, they might help you find those answers.”
How to Go Beyond the Business and Focus on the Social Why
Raker: “We are located in a very rural area, so connecting to our local community is key. We support local organizations as much as possible, in the area as a way to grow our team.”
Vallafskey: “Our company motto is ‘Growing to serve you’ which means our community focus is paramount. We even recently hired a marketing specialist to help us extend our brand into the community.”
Getting Creative With Benefits
Valley: “We’ve completely redone our benefits package, which allows our employees to take from a bucket and personally choose which benefits best fit their needs. We’re also offering new programs such as pet insurance and legal benefits.”
Vallafskey: “While flexibility is key, we also know that during the peak growing season, flexibility can be challenging. We used to restrict personal time off during the peak season, but now we’re focused on building our bench strength so we can be more flexible.”
