Everybody who employs staff appreciates the necessity to train. Retaining good employees is difficult in any industry, and horticulture is no exception. Although we work in an amazingly diverse environment, with limitless potential for learning, by the very nature of our trade, we have to consider the weather, seasons and the pressures and limitations these bring to bear on our working programmes.
Finding the time for training is one of the most difficult elements of programming an Annual Training Schedule. How many hours required will obviously depend on your workforce, but we all need constant training and updating on new products, techniques, Laws and Regulations, right across the workforce.
When is the best time to train? In some circumstances, snowy or inclement weather is conducive to some subjects, whilst others, of necessity, need to be taught ‘in the field’. What subjects need to be taught, and by whom? It may be that the Trainer requires legally regulated certificated training themselves, before they are able to train others. There is a wide range of training subjects e.g. chain saw use, cherry picker training, spraying PA1 & PA6, trailer towing etc, all must be taught by qualified people.
Training in essential sectors or in particular elements is obviously highly important in the first instance. So many operations require specific licences and certificates, and therefore employers tend to concentrate on staff training to gain those essential documents. Even if these are constantly updated for reasons of time limited clauses, and refresher courses are duly arranged, the elementary desire for learning is restricted to that particular skill.
Often, unless more and additional potential skills are presented to, or requested by, staff members, the temptation to limit your team members to their current skills set is usually sufficient for the owners and Directors of the business. This temptation may be difficult to overcome, and a Manager may find resistance from the employer to propose and implement.
Why should a company wish to offer a wider range of skills to a workforce devised and built around the current needs of the firm? What incentive does a company have to increase or alter the usefulness of its’ employees, especially those that may be transitory, seasonal or volunteer members? It may be argued that the viability of a company to survive difficult times due to singlemindedness and limiting skills within their workforce is not conducive to longevity, and a willingness to expand the abilities and knowledge of their labour is sufficient reason to consider a more expansive training programme, utilising the physical and mental potential of the existing team.
When setting budgets for the following year, the temptation to reduce, remove or defray the costs of staff training can be strong. Any meaningful figure is going to be in the region of £500.00 per person, without including any additional protective clothing or other possible costs of tools and equipment related to that skill. Obviously, all such expenses may be reclaimed against tax, including any equipment and personal protective clothing for each member of staff undergoing the training programme.
The most important element in any firm is it’s staff.
Yet everybody agrees that our staff are the most important part of our businesses. Without trained staff, willing and able to carry out their tasks in a positive manner, the whole company will suffer. Staff morale must be kept high, otherwise the team will gradually become degraded by ennui.
There are however, many other ways of promoting and encouraging staff training that do not involve spending a lot of money.
Each business or Estate will have different requirements, needs and opportunities, and number of employees. The primary thrust of interest must come from Management, which will involve a positive recognition of various factors.
In the production of a Training Programme, assessment should be made of the facilities available in such factors as dry, warm premises for staff, serviced with toilets and welfare, and sufficient space for a small group.
As most training will be selective and the potential numbers will be confined to a handful of people, the requirement for a ‘classroom’ is unnecessary, and in any event, some staff will not welcome a ‘school’ environment.
When choosing a training programme, ask each staff member to think about the subjects that interest them. Hopefully, you will be presented with a wide range of topics, including machinery, but also botany, plant and insect identification, soil mechanics and ecological subjects such as re-wilding and wildflower meadows.
If you have any staff members who have special expertise in any of the chosen subjects, invite them to lead the training discussion and help devise and decide what aids they may need in the way of identification charts, books and photographs.
By persuasion and gradual steps, build a training potential programme – not a set curriculum – which allows staff to actively become involved in learning, at their own pace if required.
By creating a library of information, allowing trained and experienced staff to teach others, as and when time permits (this includes being ready, without special fanfare, to offer training during inclement weather), with everything already in place to maintain a continual development programme, offered at a speed to suit the individual without creating a hostile and discouraging structure, the whole department becomes both trained and training aware.
This programme may be enhanced by a simple laboratory, complete with a microscope and various magnifying glasses (perhaps issued to individuals) and a library of books and photographs, staff will be encouraged to seek and identify a host of different insects, fungi, pests and diseases, which will enable them to appreciate the diversity of horticulture, and recognise there is far more to working in ‘gardens’ than simply mowing and weeding.
Staff training at this level is not expensive, and individuals are able to progress at a rate that suits their abilities and temperament. The whole world of horticulture becomes much more interesting, and encouraged by others, the diverse and often conflicting nature of gardening becomes more exciting.
Simple tasks such as pruning roses and apple trees can become something of a personal challenge, if people are encouraged to experiment with different techniques and tools, each task being subjected to scrutiny by their peers in a formalised manner.
Enthusiasm born of involvement and developing an environment that encourages questions. Team discussions and dissention, openly experimenting with informed logic, will not only serve the individual well, but help build and strengthen staff morale, and create a much greater awareness of our working surroundings.
Gardeners Question Time will no longer be confined to radio. It will replace football and television as the main topics of discussion in the mess-room!