Often times, what managers forget, is what exactly they are supposed to be communicating.

Running a growing operation is not a simple job. Rather, it is complex and manifold. There are countless components all in motion at once, each of which need to be managed.

For some people management comes fairly easy; for others it is a wild challenge. Everybody has a management role in their day to day life, whether you are managing a business and employees, kids and your family, or perhaps managing your own personal time in order to be the most effective throughout your day. We are all managers! Knowing this will hopefully help you pinpoint your specific management style.

With this topic we want to provide some insight into what it means to be a good manager in the horticulture and floriculture industry, and highlight specific traits and resources that can grow your management skills to the next level.

A good manager will act as a catalyst to mobilize employees, strengthen their skills, as well as channel these skills; utilizing them to accomplish specific goals pertaining to the plan for your growing operation. For example, a good leader will help an employee tailor their soft skills in organization and attention to detail, and develop them into hard skills that can be used to track inventory and input order entry. Or they may turn one’s ability to communicate, into an ability to close sales on crops.  As a manager you need to be able to see natural traits in your employees, utilize those traits, and turn them into hard skills to enhance their work.

Another trait of a good manager that is very practical for the horticulture and floriculture industry, is being willing to get your hands in the soil and work alongside your team.  During exceptionally busy seasons, when large orders are sprouting up constantly, amidst the chaos carve out an hour or two of your day to work alongside your employees. This takes a humble manager. But this humility, especially within your growing operation, will go a long way. It will bring more connectedness and endearment between you the manager, and your team.

Setting expectations for your team is also a major aspect of managing your growing operation. Make sure your employees all know exactly what is expected of them each morning when they show up to work. Those expectations may need to be set once in a while, or maybe they are being set daily, weekly or monthly. Find the sweet spot for your process, and make sure that you are communicating expectations at those times.

This can often seem obvious, but being intentional about this will bring focus, direction, and increased workflow into your operation.

As you surely already know, communication is key. It is the key to an effective business. With poor communication comes poor execution and even worse results. Often times, what managers forget, is what exactly they are communicating. In our industry communicating your plan is vital to the workflow of your operation.  A good manager must be able to see the plan that they have, and then communicate it in a way that is clear and concise. A strategy typically has various moving parts and steps, with each step building on the next. This means that each part of the plan needs to be communicated well, in order to be executed well.

The Functional Solution

We mentioned in our second article that the power in the root of programming is that it enhances communication. We believe that Picas offers a complete solution to communicating your plan by providing the tools necessary to help you be the best manager, and run the best operation, you can.

Picas offers a full set of planning tools, that will display your current needs, as well as forecast future needs to make sure that nothing is missed.  Picas understands how all the pieces of the greenhouse fit together and allows all of this data and information to be housed in one central location.

Within your business, someone (management) is developing a plan, and then your team executes that plan. By the power of Picas, with seamlessly integrated communication you are able to develop a plan for your personal day, along with your team’s day. You can then make edits and adjustments based on observations, to help cultivate continuous improvement.

Picas provides you the tools and resources you need by allowing for increased efficiency, a more sustainable communication chain, a solid foundation, and a thorough plan, bringing to life unparalleled management ability.

Some important things to make sure are being communicated to your team as their Manager/Leader

• Expectations
• Your vision and plan
• Feedback on their work performance
• Values