WHAT DO RECRUITMENT AGENCIES BRING TO THE TABLE?

Without a doubt, recruitment adds value. We work anonymously and we work hard, and we can add professionalism and credibility to the recruiter.

On some occasions we’ve had to tidy up people’s reception areas to help create the right impression and attract the right calibre of staff. There are some businesses that don’t understand the importance of selling themselves, they think that by giving someone a job, they’re doing them a favour. Quite frankly, you have to fight for the right candidates now.

Unfortunately, sometimes agencies are perceived as lazy and expensive. We’ve tried to change that by being cost-effective and business-like in our operations and by adding value all the time, if you think a recruitment agency doesn’t add value, then don’t use them.

HOW DO YOU STAND OUT?

Our absolute differential is that everyone who works for us has a background in horticulture. They’ve all worked in the sector and we’ve got around 160 years-worth of experience sitting in this office.

We believe that it adds value to our business. When we advertise, all our ads are different, we don’t use the same ads again, how boring would it be if all the ads were the same. It’s about catching someone’s eye as they flick through a magazine.

WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND?

I’ve got a degree in horticulture from Nottingham, I’d always loved plants and gardening; I was fascinated by plants.

My father advised me to keep my options broad, however, and I looked to study agriculture, but I saw there were two outcomes: I could either be a farm manager, or an agricultural sales rep. There were 20 people on the course who would become sales reps and a further 30 who would be looking for work as farm managers.

On the horticulture course, there were eight people in total, and none of them appeared to be too bright or interested in sales. I decided that my chances of getting a job would be better if I did that course. I’m a little worried that those were my reasons now; it doesn’t reflect well on horticulture.

IS THAT AN ISSUE BEING ADDRESSED BY THE COLLEGES?

Right now, you can’t do a degree in horticulture anywhere other than Reading, and that’s mainly science or technical-based, they are not looking at sales or management and that’s a real worry for me and should be for all the fresh produce industry.

DOES THE SECTOR HAVE AN IMAGE PROBLEM?

Horticulture and produce do not have the best image. People look at it as long hours, dirty work, unsociable and seasonal. There are a lot of family businesses and that doesn’t offer much opportunity for career progression.

However, people are beginning to say that image has changed a lot over the last few years and I think the salaries that are being paid are now competitive with the rest of the food industry and career opportunities are much better than they were. The sector has got more professional, the businesses are much bigger than they were 10 years ago.

WHAT’S DRIVEN THAT?

There’s been massive consolidation in the industry and the supermarkets are buying more and more produce and the businesses supplying them have had to get bigger and bigger. That’s driven a much more professional approach.

One thing I learnt a long time ago, is that if you supply the retailers and do a good job, then you have no choice but to grow with them, and if you don’t want to grow with them, then you’re out. It’s a case of all or nothing. They’ve helped make business better by challenging them to be innovative, pro-active and constantly improve.

When I was supplying the retailers, you never got a brilliant report back on your business, there was always something you could be doing better.

HOW DO YOU SEE THE RETAIL SECTOR?

I’m a big fan of the supermarkets. I’ve spent most of my life dealing with them. I’m a professional grower, and I do empathise with the suppliers who are concerned with the power the supermarkets have. But I have dealt with them and I’ve always found them to be fair, firm, generally straight and quite pragmatic about what they do. I’ve never been ripped off or shafted by them. There’s a Moretonism of mine which says the customer is not always right, but the customer is always the customer.

People will always whinge and whine, but at the end of the day, you still have a choice. You don’t have to deal with the retailers.

IS THERE ENOUGH EMPHASIS BEING PUT ON TRAINING?

I’m a big fan of training and development. Recruitment can help solve problems for companies, but sometimes recruitment is not the only answer, sometimes it’s better to try and improve your existing staff. I’m very passionate about training, I always have been, but I don’t think enough horticulture businesses take it seriously; it’s not looked at enough; the majority of the businesses in the produce industry do not have a training budget.

We do a training and development programme, which focuses on future managers and leaders of the sector. It’s a 12 month course, one day a month, and focuses on personal skills, management skills, negotiation techniques and presentation skills among others.

We have teamed up with Tesco, to offer a Tesco-ized version of that for its suppliers - producing something that the suppliers feel will add value to their business and Tesco believes that it will add further value to the consumers.

But businesses need to be able to measure the impact of training. There needs to be mechanisms in place to see where and how it has added value to the company. If they can clearly see the effects it has, then they’ll be more keen to do it.

DOES THE INDUSTRY HAVE THINGS TO OFFER NEW RECRUITS?

The industry is going through phenomenal change and there’s a huge emphasis on produce from things like the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme and the government’s 5 A DAY campaign and that’s only going to expand our industry. So there will be lots of job opportunities.

ARE WE TACKLING THE POTENTIAL SKILLS GAP IN THE SECTOR?

I’m not sure where we’re going to be getting the bright talent of the future from. Universities are not churning out people. There are more people doing golf course management rather than commercial horticulture and that’s a big worry.

Companies need to be broad-minded when recruiting and perhaps look for people outside of the produce sector. Why does a national account manager need to have produce experience. As long as he has the core competencies you’re looking for, why not bring some fresh new people into the industry? If nothing is done, we’ll be facing a big problem in 10 to 15 years.