Labor recruitment

Small businesses rely heavily on good reliable labor to produce, market, and deliver goods and services. Companies can no longer simply count on price, product, and packaging to make profits; they need talent. Recruiting is nothing more than the process of generating a sufficiently large group of applicants from which to select qualified individuals for available jobs. Without finding talented applicants a business will have to hire only those individuals who happen to be present, or to leave a job un-filled.

Recruiting for the green industry has become year round activity, whether it's for seasonal help during the spring and summer months at the retail garden center or for the scarcity of horticulturists and landscape architects for the managerial and professional ranks at nurseries. Many of the larger wholesale nurseries report that they have a difficult time finding experienced full time production and marketing staff. None-the-less effective recruitment results in a forming a true team (1) of workers than can make all the difference in how the company is perceived. Recruitment requires a patient careful selection of possible candidates. While a management team is looking for most effective employee, they are also using this time to promote the business.

Summer iterns
College students interested in exploring the horticulture can be recruited by having offers of scholarships from private industry. The Oregon State University Department of Horticulture sponsors an Internship Program for undergraduate students which allow them to gain practical industry experience plus get credit for their work (2). The Department requires that all students in horticulture complete a 10-week intern program before they can graduate. Only juniors and seniors can apply. In return for their efforts the students will receive 6-12 college credits towards graduation. Employers can offer to host

students by contacting the Department of Horticulture in Corvallis. Recently the major golf courses in Oregon have been utilizing this service predominantly, but there have been nurseries as well. By working closely with young people established nurseries have found that they can often recruit them as full-time employees upon graduation. In the Puget Sound region the Center for Urban Horticulture (3), as part of the University of Washington, offers Intern programs for undergraduates involved in urban horticulture and wild-land restoration.

Community colleges are another very good source of student interns. In the Willamette Valley of Oregon there has been a long tradition of nurserymen working with schools such as Clackamas Community College in Oregon City, Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, and Chemeketa Community College in Salem. In Washington some of the well known colleges with horticulture programs include Clark Community College in Vancouver, South Seattle Community College in west Seattle,

Career Fairs
Both wholesale and retail firms can also ask to be included during career fairs which are held once a year on college campuses all over the United States. Conversely, the larger wholesale nurseries have hosted their own career fairs on their own property (4). This technique has been found successful to attract both the temporary summer help as well as the seasoned veterans from other nurseries who are looking for a change.

Retail store recruitment
The chain stores have started a recruitment campaign within their stores by building carrels where people can fill out employment applications. By making jobs a front-store commodity, merchants are able to appeal to customers that already know the stores merchandise and theme (5). Retailers thus sell jobs in the same vein as selling plants and garden accessories. Point of purchase material can be developed and placed near the check-out counter to catch shoppers' attention. Within the store itself further ads can be placed near themed displays. Promotional ads can be placed in store newsletters, and highlighted during major sales weekends. By appealing to an enthusiastic gardening audience retailers will have a better chance of finding bright and cheerful future employees.

Media ads
Certainly the traditional use of newspapers to advertise positions should be employed. Ads that list the name of employer gain better recognition than those that do not. Ads can help screen selective applicants by being selective and well defined. In the Pacific Northwest industry ads are placed in the major newspapers such as The Oregonian and the Seattle Times, as well as the regional farming newspaper The Capital Press.

Finding good agricultural workers for a nursery or garden center is imperative. By treating workers with respect, a nursery owner will often their field workers will remain with the firm for many years.

In the area of industry magazines prospective job seekers can find adds for greenhouse, nursery, and garden center management positions on the electronic version of the Greenhouse Grower magazine, Nurseryman Pro, and Garden Center. Turn to the Green Bean web site, as hosted by Branch Smith Publishing Company. The Oregon Association of Nurserymen (7) maintains a monthly Employment Classified Ads page listing jobs throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Internal job recruiting
Both public and private enterprises often look inward when first considering the creation of a new position, or re-filling one that is vacant. Employees often look favorably at internal vacancies as a desirable promotion and transfer system (6). The public sector offers fills vacancies internally when they don't have adequate funds to fund a new position. Businesses that openly recruit from within often report higher employee job satisfaction.

Public and private employment agencies
Publicly funded employment agencies can be very helpful in securing support-level personnel. These agencies were established to match job openings, provided by employers, with available job seekers. In Washington employers should contact the WorkSource (8), which provides all the information, technology and services business needs to thrive, and job seekers need to achieve successful careers. WorkSource represents a unique concept in the labor market: everything in one place. WorkSource Center Services are delivered to customers in a variety of ways, including:

• Self-directed efforts, such as kiosks or via the Internet;
• Group programs and activities, such as workshops;
• One-on-one consultations; and
• Training programs and business consultations

In Oregon contact WorkSource Oregon (9) whose mission mirrors that of Washington.

Businesses use private employment agencies on a fee-for-services basis if a candidate is secured and latter offered a job. However if the newly hired individual does not work out in the first 90 days, most private employment agencies will agree to refund their fees.

Employee Referrals
Existing employees can become good company ambassadors and seek out qualified job seekers. Applicants gathered through this technique will often have a much better grasp of the requirements of the employer. Like minded friends often share some of the same personal values as well as work values. Employee referrals obviously don't incur the costs associated with hiring a private employment agency.


References cited
1. Building a team. John Stanley, In: The Complete Guide to Garden Center Management. Ball Publishing, Batavia, Illinois.

2. Oregon State University Horticulture Internship Program. Tom Cook at
cookt@science.oregonstate.edu, OSU Department of Horticulture Intern Director.

3. Center for Urban Horticulture Intern Program, University of Washington, Seattle WA.

4. Strategy for hire. Jim Van Dellen. American Nurseryman, June 1, 1998, p. 54-58.

5. How to sell jobs like any other product. 2000. Carol Miller, The Green Beam, Branch Smith Publishing.

6. Recruiting employees for small businesses: A little planning goes a long way. James Linder and Chris Zoller. The Ohio State University, Small Business Series CDFS-1382-97.

7. Employment Classified Ads, Oregon Association of Nurseries, Wilsonville, OR.

8. WorkSource, Washington State Employment Security Department, Olympia, WA.

9. WorkSource Oregon, Oregon Employment Department, Salem, Oregon.

First posted: December, 2004.