3 minute read
Resilience retained
3 STAFF retention in the horticulture industry is a priority, but rarely achieved.
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BY MELISSA DENNING LABOUR SCHEME FACILITATOR
International Day of Rural Women passed on October 15, 2020, without much fanfare.
The theme of ‘Building Rural Women’s Resilience in the Wake of COVID-19' is based on current topics, but even without COVID-19, the importance of women in the horticulture sector is understated. Three members of the vegetablesWA team, Sam Grubisa, Amber Atkinson and I, decided to find out more about a farm that has a significant number of women in supervisory and management roles. The farm I am referring to is Loose Leaf Lettuce Company (LLLC) and at the forefront of this operation is a group of extremely experienced, competent and passionate women. Located in Gingin, Western Australia, LLLC is one of the largest growers of lettuce, spinach and rocket in the State. Owned by Maureen and Barry Dobra, along with their son Kevan Dobra, the operation also processes fresh, gourmet salad vegetables. Maureen and Barry have been operating the farm for more than 20 years and several employees have been with them for most of that time. LLLC process manager Bianca Jacques has just passed her 18-year work anniversary working for the Dobra’s. Staff retention in the horticulture industry is a priority, but rarely achieved, so I was keen to find out why Bianca and the other women in the LLLC team have stayed for so long. Abbey Crossley is one of the newest recruits to the farm and freely admits that she stumbled into a career in horticulture by accident. She developed a love of farm life after spending time at her grandfather’s farm and was recruited by Maureen Dobra to work on the packing line. Since then she has moved to a supervisor role and is now the second-in-command (2IC) of Ashby Farm. As well as on-the-job training, Abbey has also been able to attend formal training at Muresk Institute, fully supported by her employer. Abbey said she gained a greater understanding of tractors, chemicals and crop management from the five-day Muresk course. The idea for cross training amongst the staff came from Baylee Deaton, the 2IC at Sativa Farm. Baylee said that much of her role is training new staff that are employed out in the field, but by understanding what happens in other areas of the business workers gain a better understanding of the products and processes. Zoe Nowell is another long-term employee that has moved from the process line, to dispatch, and is currently in the accounts department. Zoe said that being able to take her knowledge from one department to another helped her to succeed in the each of the new roles. She appreciates that she can easily slip into previous roles if there is a huge order or someone has called in sick. Deanne Joubert is only new to the safety role at Loose Leaf Lettuce, but one of
her first challenges has been to conduct a survey of past and existing workers. The Dobra’s are trying to establish if past and present workers would recommend Loose Leaf to their friends as a workplace and how can they improve. Deanne believes constant improvement will benefit LLLC in the future and make it a better workplace for everyone. It was evident amongst the entire group that Maureen Dobra was the driving force behind the training culture at LLLC. The women said that not only did she encourage all of the staff to undertake training, but that she too would attend courses and learn more about areas of the industry. While LLLC has not been immune to staff turnover, it is not as high as other farms in the industry. The staff attribute this to the positive culture and the high level of respect given to all employees. vegetablesWA would like to thank Maureen and the team at LLLC for their time and contribution to the industry.
