BUSINESS NEWS
Attract, select and retain the best staff By Sheena Kane, Kane Independent Consulting Over recent years, the horticulture sector has found it increasingly challenging to consistently source labour for full time and seasonal employment. Adding to this are the challenges faced by many employers during the COVID Pandemic.
very early on about the value of attracting and retaining the best staff.
A considerable positive of the pandemic has seen significant increased demand for horticulture products as a result of many people spending more time at home. Which has only exacerbated the labour shortage issue across the industry
I can bore you with lots of statistics, so I’ll keep this part short:
This labour shortage has been magnified by the COVID pandemic in the following ways:
Some companies use 20 per cent of an employee’s wage as a benchmark of what it costs to replace someone. This is a big chunk of company profit through direct and indirect costs. So, it makes sense to put some real effort into both attracting and retaining staff.
» Labour supply interruptions due to lockdowns » Labour supply interruptions due to isolation and quarantine requirements
» Labour supply interruptions as a result of employees choosing not to comply with vaccination mandates
» Reduced transient labour supply, typically made up of backpackers, students and other seasonal workers
» Significant limitations in overseas and domestic travel and movement I remember working in a factory back in the mid 90’s where the attitude of management was if you didn’t like it, the door was right there. I began to notice that even though most of the jobs were very low skilled (including mine) that it took a bit of time before a new employee really knew how the place worked. I also saw how many unwilling and unreliable workers were hired and promptly stopped showing up. It got me thinking
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» Average cost of replacing an employee in Australia – $23,860 » Average replacement time – 40 days
Attracting Staff How do you recruit? I’m talking to a lot of NGIV Members and companies in other industries who are all telling me it is very difficult at the moment to just find staff. So what are some companies doing?
» Figure out where your potential new recruits are hanging out online. Are they on Facebook or LinkedIn? TikTok or Instagram?
» Tell your current employees you are hiring. No one wants to be embarrassed by suggesting a bad fit. Maybe give rewards such as gift cards for successful hires?
» Become an employer of choice. Have you put the same thinking into your ‘employer brand’ that you have into attracting potential customers?
