How to Run a Flower Shop (3)-Staff Management

Setting of a typical flower shop

According to a recent survey conducted by LANTRA, the majority of the floristry industries are small and medium independent enterprises. Although, most of the businesses belong to the exclusive relay membership networks, about 67% of the industry employs between only one to nine members of staff, and about 27% employ no member of staff at all. Only 6% employ over ten people, and only one company have over 49 staff. 

Most of the flower shops are run by family member with the help of few friends or part-timers. As there are very limited of human resources, it is vital to ensure the staff are well managed. Not only has the senior florists to ensure there is enough staff for different periods of time, they also should understand the work force well such as their abilities, limitations and availability, in order to fully utilise, retain, motivate and develop them. For example, not all staff are skilled enough to handle complicated work such as weddings, and some staff may not be able to work at certain times or days due to family commitment.  

The number of staff needed for a shop will highly depend on the location, season and occasion, and most importantly the number of orders. Due to the high fluctuation of staff, senior florists should review the work schedule on a weekly basis. They should be flexible and prompt enough to cope with sudden demand, such as a funeral on the next day, or a road side car accident of a popular person. 

As there are high variations in demand and workload in a flower shop, temporary and contract workers are a regular feature in many companies, however they can be an expensive option compared to permanent staff, especially if the temporary worker is supplied through an agency. There are other flexible working schemes can be introduced:   

• ·         Annual hours - the person's working year is defined in hours rather than days and weeks. An annual hours contract is normally split into core hours that are worked each week and unallocated hours that can be used for peaks in demand.

• Structured time off in lieu - the worker agrees to work longer hours during periods of peak demand. These hours are recorded and the employer agrees to allow workers to take time off to compensate for extra hours worked.

• Flexible rotas - this allows workers to nominate the shifts they would like to work. Employers compile shift patterns that match workers' individual preferences, whilst ensuring all required shifts are covered. Usually, each member of staff is required to work a set number of hours within a given time frame.

• Zero-hours contracts - an arrangement where the person is contracted to work for the employer but only when the employer has work for them. When workload fluctuates, this can be an effective way of being able to bring in extra workers quickly and easily.

In practice, a clear time schedule should be displayed in the shop where all staff are aware of with major events such as weddings and funerals with delivery times, and the staff names of who will be working to avoid confusion.

My next posting will be about customer care.