Mar 22, 2016
Where It All BeginsBy Abby (Kleckler) McGarry

Last week, I had the opportunity to head down to Central America to visit three of Dümmen Orange’s cuttings facilities.

This was a new look for me at varieties long before they ever hit benches at retail. I could go on and on about all the different protocols and processes at each of the three farms — and I will in upcoming issues of our sister publication GPN.

Today, however, I wanted to talk about the last farm we went to, Red Fox Las Mercedes in El Salvador, and how it went above and beyond for employees.

There is no doubt it’s a different world in Central America, so the ideas might not be literally translated to garden centers in the U.S., but the idea of providing that little something extra is key for employee morale.

Greenhouse workers can help themselves to the coffee and snacks that are always set out throughout the day.

Employees have to shower every morning when they come in and every afternoon after lunch. Something as simple as providing warm water is a luxury that many of them do not have in their homes.

The children of workers can draw a picture or write a poem, and Dümmen Orange will give them $30 for school supplies.

Other employees enroll in the company’s program to help them get their high school diploma, while some are chosen to take online college courses for a degree.

One of the farm managers made a comment that stuck with me: “When we first built this farm, people didn’t want to work here, but now since we treat our employees right, locals are lining up if we need to add more people.”

I’d love to hear what your garden center does year-after-year that gets seasonal employees excited to come back. Shoot me an email at [email protected].

Cheers,

Abby


Abby (Kleckler) McGarry

Abby (Kleckler) McGarry is the managing editor of Lawn & Garden Retailer. Contact her at [email protected].