CNGA LooseLeaf Aug/Sept 2019

“Consumer habits have changed a lot. A lot of that is driven by the inventory and what’s available to them in the stores, compared to 20 years ago. After spring, if it was gone, it was gone. Now it can be replenished in little more than 24 hours. In three to four days, you can have a whole new crop in your store,” he said. With customers developing a less predictable, insatiable demand for plants, growers and garden centers have to plan their inventory more carefully. While growing or ordering too much can be costly, resulting in wasted plants, not growing or ordering enough can also be bad for the bottom-line. “We spend a lot of time on analyzing and forecasting. It’s by far the most important thing we do. If we do that, then we are going to have the right mix of inventory and hopefully not run out until we should,” he said, but added, “If you don’t run out of plants at some point, you’re probably not going to make a lot of money because you’re probably throwing some away. Running out at the right time is pretty important.” Precise inventory analysis is another task that is keeping people at work more during traditional off seasons. With so much more information at our fingertips, owners, managers and sometimes sales people spend much of the offseason analyzing and studying the numbers and trends. “The amount of information available to us grows more and more every year. Computers can do a lot for you. I was a lot more intuitive 20 years ago. I sat around and said this is what is left, so maybe we should not grow so many of those and we should grow more of these. I did it more by my gut, but now it is more data driven,” he admitted. Gregory doesn’t think the seasonal pace of business is going to change back to include off seasons again. Instead, he expects the green industry to require more and more year-round labor. “We go from starting with spring being extremely busy, shipping lots and lots of product, and that goes on for two to three months. As soon as we finish that, we start taking all the data we have collected and all the POS (point of sale) information from customers. We find out what worked and what didn’t work, look for trends, take that information, and turn it into a forecast. Then the forecast turns into a new production plan to tell us what to grow. From there, we start planting, and making sure we have all the labels and necessary supplies. All of a sudden, we find ourselves at spring again,” he lamented with a laugh. Not only do green industry employees have to work an all-hands-on-deck schedule each spring, but in recent years, the work keeps on coming right through summer, into fall and even over the winter. Still, companies need to encourage employees to take time off when it is practical. If possible, providing paid time off and other benefits can help retain employees throughout the year and bring back seasonal employees when March comes around again. Mark Van Hoef of Oregon Pride Nurseries said his company works year-round, only shutting down for two weeks at Christmas. “We work our people really hard during shipping season. It’s long hours, strenuous work, and lots of lifting,” admitted Van Hoef, the Owner/Operator of the wholesale grower located in McMinnville in the heart of the Yamhill Valley, about 40 miles west of Kraemer’s. To show appreciation to the employees for their hard work, Oregon Pride holds a brunch on a Friday that lands on a pay day at the end of June. The rush is over and work is slowing down, so it’s a good time to provide a special meal at the nursery or sometimes at a local Mexican restaurant. “It’s a time out, a break to reach out and say thank you for getting us through our busy time; now we’re going to coast. We’ll be busy but not hectic, not crazy busy. It’s an opportunity for them to catch their breath, and be recognized for how hard they work,” he said. How to Avoid Employee Burnout colorad o nga.org LooseLeaf Aug/Sept 2019 8 » continued from previous page Photos courtesy of Kraemer’s Nursery