Recruiting new blood into the fresh produce sector has often been challenging but, as the sector evolves, many agencies argue there are plenty of opportunities ahead.
However, the fresh produce sector still needs to make more noise when it comes to attracting talented individuals into the sector, says Guy Moreton, director of MorePeople.
“Despite some fresh produce companies being million-dollar businesses that are very successful, the majority aren’t household names so it is hard for the lay person to identify with the sector,” he says.
Moreton also makes the point that while many 18-19-year-olds may care about the environment and their carbon footprint, most do not know where their food comes from and how it is grown. “Yes, there is more food awareness and the educated few are showing more interest, but that is not being reflected by the amount of young people coming into the produce industry,” he says.
Nevertheless, he argues that, in recent years, people in the fresh produce industry have become more broadminded when it comes to recruiting staff. “Account managers, for example, sometimes do not have extensive knowledge of a fruit or vegetable, but they have a great understanding about supermarket protocols, capabilities of staff, etc and so they are more likely to be recruited into the sector,” he says.
Fresh produce companies that can offer personal development, a good support network when times are bad and can celebrate during the good times are those that are successful, according to Redfox director David Macaulay.
He says that if a candidate has an affinity with the company ethos, but not all of the necessary skills, it is more likely that a company will take them on and develop them. However, if a candidate has all of the skills but isn’t “culturally aligned” to the company, that candidate is unlikely to stay long term.
“We work very closely with Innocent Drinks and it is not difficult to see why it was voted the best place to work for by the Guardian in 2007,” Macaulay says. “Its company culture is really well defined, the staff believe in their core values, and they are focused, energetic and driven to achieve.” According to Macaulay, the best candidates are those that know exactly what they want and what their key skills are.
Horticruitment, a Kent-based recruitment consultancy, is hoping to expand its sphere of influence and gain more clients in the fresh produce field.
“I see opportunities for recruiting in the fresh produce sector at managerial level,” says the firm’s Mike Fuller.
The company, which moved to larger premises in Kenardington in February, receives enquiries from as far afield as South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Canada, as well as in Europe.
“Many of those working in the fresh produce industry are dynamic, have solid technical skills and are looking to climb the next rung on the ladder,” says Fuller. “The fresh produce candidates I’ve worked with have skills that are transferable from country to country.”
Good Food Jobs launched in January 2008 and specialises in supplying permanent and contract salaried staff at all levels to the fresh produce and food manufacturing sectors.
“We have had a very good six months and have taken on a lot of fresh produce clients, who have given us repeat business,” says Nikki Griffith, ceo of the Folkestone-based company.
According to Griffith, good companies are those that can look after staff, provide training, want their employees to enjoy their job and be happy. “They have a good attitude to the welfare of their staff and it is not just a case of wanting to extract as much work as possible out of them,” she says. “Lots of fresh produce companies have low staff turnover so they are obviously doing something right.”
Likewise, a good candidate is one that offers stability, is qualified and is knowledgeable about safety certifications such as HACCP, shows initiative and can lead and influence.
Griffith says the credit crunch has not resulted in a huge drop in recruitment levels in the fresh produce industry, although there has been a slowdown in some sectors.
“We are finding that candidates with salaries up to £30,000 are staying put,” she says. “If someone is on £25,000 and is looking to increase his or her wage to £28,000 but would have to travel further distances, which would involve more petrol costs and extra national insurance and tax costs, they don’t want to move. In this economic climate, there is also the worry of being last in, first out, so some are questioning whether it is worth bothering to move - and that is a direct result of the credit crunch.”
Macaulay says that candidates looking for work are mainly concerned about property prices and rising fuel prices. “For those making £30,000 and below, the increase in fuel prices can affect how long candidates want to commute for,” he explains. “The extra £50-60 a month in costs is a big issue and, unless they are compensated for, some are not too keen to move. However, there are still those that want to progress their career.”
Those in the £50,000-and-above bracket are not as concerned with the higher fuel prices and see the longer commute as more of an inconvenience rather than a stumbling block. But those that earn more inevitably live in bigger properties, and therefore the uncertainty over the current housing market is a concern.
In addition, Griffith says recruitment on the organics side has also slowed. “Whether people will sacrifice organics and good food for their principles remains to be seen but certainly, some consumers are voting with their pockets,” she says.
However, she argues that there is still a shortage of candidates for particular niche areas in agronomy and quality control areas, while the berry sector has also held up “quite well”.
“The key challenge is always finding the right person for the job,” says Griffith. “There is a growing emphasis on company culture and whether a person will fit in. As more people are being made redundant, companies will be able to cherry pick.”
The recruitment sector is fully aware that there will be a tough couple of years ahead and there could be job losses, but Macaulay argues that the losses are likely to be at junior, rather than senior, management level.
“There is already a flat management structure in some organisations and there is not a lot of fat on the bone, so I would be very surprised if there are wide-scale redundancies,” he tells FPJ.
“In fact, it is more important to have the right people when times are tough. Yes, you can cut overheads at senior management level but you could also be cutting away the business. Finding the right people is vital whatever the time, and the right managing director will ensure that there are opportunities to grow or, during difficult times, at least stabilise the business.”
Redfox is very much a business focused on the quality of work, says Macaulay. “We have created long and successful relationships and benefit from repeat business - we focus on getting results for our clients, not telling companies how to run their business, as at the end of the day we are in business to offer recruitment expertise, not sales strategies,” he adds.
“It is very important to maintain personal contact and stay true to our job titles as recruitment consultants rather than flinging CVs left, right and centre. We add value by spending time with our clients and candidates to offer a personal service and realise we can’t be all things to all people and spread ourselves too thin. It is a focused approach that ensures our clients and candidates continue to work with us.”
During times of economic uncertainty, getting the most out of your staff becomes even more important, and Moreton is passionate about making the most of training and development opportunities. “Unlike most of the other recruitment agencies, MorePeople offers training programmes and this gives us an interesting perspective on the market sector,” he tells FPJ.
MorePeople’s training initiatives are designed to be quick in delivery and, according to Moreton, they should add value straight away and pay for themselves in a relatively short period of time.
He says: “In the past I’ve been asked by companies ‘what happens if I train and the person leaves?’ My response is always ‘what happens if you don’t train and the person stays?’ That’s the worse option.”
According to Moreton, training also ensures that if companies are putting a freeze on recruitment, they are still working with their existing staff in ensuring that they are getting them to do a better job.
“Training and development is a great motivational tool and it is not just about training bright, young things,” Moreton says. “Older employees offer so much experience and we have had some employees on our training courses in their 40s and 50s that have excelled.”
MorePeople is currently putting together a training and development programme for senior managers and directors that it plans to launch within the next 12 months.
Indeed, it is far from being all doom and gloom in the recruitment sector, say the agencies, who all believe there will always be strong demand for talented individuals within the sector.
“We still expect to see growth this year,” Macaulay says. “In the current climate, you need to be doing more with your clients and working ever closer to ensure that your clients are getting value for money.
“If you have the right foundations in place, it is a good opportunity to grow your business, which is what Redfox is looking to do.”
Having an online presence is very important, and Macaulay says that Redfox is enjoying a “great” response to its relaunched website. “The internet and new website provides us with a decent platform to reach new candidates and, since the relaunch, more candidates from a wider food sector are directly registering with us,” he tells FPJ. “We have stepped up our profile and highlighted what our business is all about, which can only be a good thing.”
Like other recruitment agencies, Moreton says MorePeople is still receiving calls from clients looking to take on staff. He argues that as he works in the recruitment business, he generally only talks to businesses that are recruiting, and that even when companies are not looking for someone immediately, they still want to know about the best people that are available.
“In times of recession, you have to be cleverer in how you spend your money - whether that is by being more aggressive in in-store marketing, conducting questionnaires to find out why people are not buying, or coming up with inventive marketing plans,” he says.
“The easiest way to make money is to sell more to existing companies - they already know you and your good and bad points and they will appreciate you spending more time and effort with them and seeing if you can do more with them, rather than chasing after potential clients.”
It is important to be very proactive and build excellent rapport with your clients to ensure your organisation’s survival, Griffith says. “I went through the first recession and the number of redundancies was horrendous,” she reveals. “Although we are not technically in a recession now, there are definitely economic difficulties, with higher food, energy and fuel prices.”
Griffith predicts that in the current climate, some agencies will go to the wall, as there will be fewer jobs available.
Like other experts, Fuller says recruitment in the horticultural field has fallen, but the drop is more pronounced in the retail sector. “I have not noticed a tangible drop in the fresh produce sector, but it could be that some companies who are losing staff are waiting before they replace them - they want to see how the situation pans out in the next few months,” he says.
However, he warns companies not to leave it too late before they do begin their recruitment drive. “Finding the right person can be a long process, and it is best to start looking as soon as a position becomes available,” Fuller says.
STILL ROOM FOR GROWTH, SAYS STAFFLINE
The fresh produce industry has had four years of “pretty easy” labour supply, according to Andy Hogarth, pictured, managing director of Staffline Recruitment Group. However, as the labour situation gets tighter and more eastern Europeans return to their homelands, he says that companies that want to retain their staff have to offer good working conditions.
Hogarth is optimistic that even in these challenging times when margins are being squeezed, opportunities for forward-thinking companies remain. “Staffline has recently worked with one firm to cut its wastage significantly and by being more efficient and looking at their cost base; some companies can grow their market share,” he argues.
EXCHANGE RATE SQUEEZES LABOUR
Workers from the A8 countries are showing less interest in finding employment in Britain, says Concordia, a not-for-profit organisation. “Interest from Latvia and Lithuania started dropping in 2007 and interest from Poland is down 50 per cent this year compared to the same period in 2007,” says Rob Orme, newly appointed chief executive of Concordia.
Orme attributes the downturn to the exchange rate situation. “More young people are looking at Denmark and the Netherlands, where their money will go further,” he tells FPJ.
Against this backdrop, Concordia argues that the number of Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS) work cards needs to increase. Some 16,500 cards have been issued this year, compared to pre-2004 levels of 25,000. These work cards have also been restricted to the A2 countries of Bulgaria and Romania but, given the shortage of labour, Concordia says there is a need to increase SAWS cards by an extra 5,000.
“UK farming across the board has been affected,” Orme says. “Soft fruit seems to be the least popular sector for some workers but all different categories are struggling to find labour - we are seeing it in the nurseries and farms.”
However, as the global credit crunch bites, Orme says that with unemployment levels rising across the world, more people may well want to work in Britain in 2009.
When young people do come to Britain to work, Orme believes expectations need to be set at the right level to ensure that people who do come to the country stay.
“There also needs to be more focus on supporting new workers, helping them to settle in and making sure that the package that is being offered, including accommodation, is as attractive as possible,” he adds.
Concordia has joined forces with Plumpton College to offer the Student Worker Education Programme (SWEP). This is a flexible sandwich course where students may start and finish at any time of the year.
“The course involves on-the-job training with a wide variety of work-based practical experience, as well as classroom seminars and assignments,” says Orme. “It is aimed at agricultural students or those who have just graduated, and is available to UK and non-UK nationals. Non-UK nationals that require visas must be agriculture undergraduates and are given English language lessons as part of the course.”
Students that complete the course obtain the UK Certificate in Agriculture and Horticulture (UKCAH) and this leads on to a NVQ level 3 qualification. The UKCAH is awarded by the City & Guilds of London Institute and the National Proficiency Test Council.
Concordia and Plumpton College have worked together for several years and Plumpton College provides education and training for Concordia’s Agricultural Bursary Scheme.
No comments yet