Engaging employees with training

Continuing education can be more than just training; it can be a way to engage your employees and make them feel like they're really a part of the team. At Cultivate'22, attendees got the chance to hear from both growers and retailers about their strategies for employee development. Here are just a few takeaways:

1. Send out emails with sales data, goals and other pertinent information on a regular basis, said Ryan Van Wilgen, vice president of Van Wilgen’s Garden Center. And find tools to pull that data so that you don’t have to spend time gathering it. “We’re trying to get rid of employees saying, ‘I didn’t know,’” he said.
2. Costa Farms is working on ‘gamifying’ training, said Elizabeth Gomez, director of learning and organizational development at Costa Farms. Using the game-based learning platform, Kahoot!, employees can take fun quizzes after the complete their training.
3. An internal website keeps the team at Rockledge Gardens in the know, said Managing Director Liz Lark-Riley. The website is not only an educational resource with links to training opportunities, it also houses schedules, goals progress and a company directory.
4. Ritters Garden & Gift uses Group Space to house its information all in one spot, and Homebase to see how employees’ days are going. “They can rate their day and leave a comment about why,” said Ginger Wyman, owner. “That helps us immensely.”
5. To help all employees of all backgrounds participate in meetings, training and feedback. Costa Farms uses Alfalit to help staff learn to read and write in English.
6. A Google Forms job application helps Rockledge Gardens solicit and organize potential new employees.
7. A Facebook group for your business is a great way to communicate knowledge, said John Kennedy, owner of John Kennedy Consulting. “It’s a simple way to keep connected and share knowledge on a platform that already exists,” he said.