Recruiting the plant passionate

You know the type. She’s the woman who comes into the store wearing a T-shirt that says “I have enough plants…said no one ever.” He’s the guy who walks through the greenhouse on his lunch hour instead of going to the deli across the street. They are good customers because they’re passionate about plants. Their enthusiasm can also make them great employees.

There are several ways to attract and recruit plant geeks. From direct approaches to invitation-only events, tapping into this pool of potential workers should be an ongoing process. We know that employees often come and go, so a smart IGC is always looking to recruit new staff.

Begin by creating a one-sheet that is readily available to distribute at a moment’s notice. A one-sheet is an 8.5-inch by 11-inch page that’s graphically attractive and has basic information about your business. one-sheets should be designed for the audience you wish to attract. In this case, it’s plant fanatics who might be future employees.

You might start with a photo of a current employee who is happily showing plants to customers. Another picture might be of a particularly rare or beautiful plant. List bullet points of the advantages of working at your IGC. Detail all employee discounts, health insurance, flexible hours and other benefits that you offer. If your company sends employees to green industry trade shows or professional organization events such as the Perennial Plant Association, include those details as well. At the bottom, add information about how people can apply.

One-sheet templates are available in Microsoft Word, Canva and other design and word-processing programs. Once you have the one-pager created, it’s easy to tweak for other purposes. For example, instead of employee benefits, you can substitute information about your business that’s aimed to landscapers, garden clubs or community organizations. The time spent on the initial one-sheet will pay off in other areas.

Keep the plant enthusiasts’ one-pager in convenient places where employees can quickly grab one. If your staff in the greenhouse, nursery or perennial section has had an enjoyable conversation with an avid customer, they might offer that sheet and say, “You know, we’re always interested in hiring people who love plants. Take this sheet home and think about it!”

In addition to spotting possible future employees among your customers, you might also solicit them directly. Search for the people in your area who are routinely posting photos of plants and gardens on their social media accounts. These accounts can be found by searching hashtags that include the name of your town or region, along with those that mention plants and gardens. When I compiled such a list, I looked for #capecod, #houseplants, #gardens and #perennials.

Once you’ve found passionate plant people on social media, invite them to an invitation-only, after-hours event at the garden center. At the end of that event, pass out a goodie bag that contains a small plant, a sample product and your work-for-us one-sheet.

Educational events and special-interest clubs are another way to bring in plant enthusiasts, both as customers and possible future employees. While IGC education is often aimed at newbie gardeners, we should remember to court garden geeks as well. In addition to your basic classes on pruning, vegetables and flowers, consider offering classes about specialized plant groups, advanced propagation or specific niche types of gardens.

At the very least, these ideas will help forge a strong relationship with new and existing customers. But they may also help you gain some eager employees.

Finally, consider signage inspired by real estate sales. You’ve undoubtedly seen the large banners on apartment buildings that say, “If you lived here, you’d be home now.” How about a sign in your greenhouse that says, “If you worked here, you’d be in plant heaven every day!”

Marketing experts are fond of saying that people buy from the heart, then justify that purchase with their heads. When your employees love what they sell, they communicate this to the customers. They will be speaking heart to heart with enthusiasm that’s contagious. And besides, garden geeks know that you can never have enough plants.