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Facing the supply and demand for produce workers

By
Ron Pelger

Labor shortages in the produce department must really be getting critical when a produce manager friend of mine says he has an apron for me in the back room whenever I’m ready to help.

This may sound a bit humorous, but it’s no joke when it comes to the real world of labor shortages these days. Produce department operators are in a difficult situation trying to fill positions with no relief in sight.

Where did all the produce workers go?

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of job openings is at 11.5 million — the highest level in history. This fact means that the work shortage is still deep-rooted.

The labor disorder has hit every industry and has become a competition in getting workers, but let’s just consider our own industry right now. Produce workers are the most sought-after individuals in the hunt to fill positions, but where are they?

The labor pool is dry. Time is of the essence and workers are needed in a hurry — especially with summer ahead. Even if a company is fortunate to hire and place a new worker on the schedule, there is no time for training. In the midst of it, retaining them is the biggest hurdle to jump over. Many of those rookies leave after just a short time on the job.

How did this shortage happen and what caused it in the first place?

COVID-19 brought most of this on by upsetting the normal workplace. A number of businesses closed due to the lockdown mandates. Others operated remotely or with a minimum number of employees. The essential businesses like food outlets, medical, and specific services remained open, but were conducted under strict COVID-19 rules.

This has induced chaotic situations at almost every business and service level.

As the lockdowns continued along with limited staff, it set the stage for dismal low morale in the workplace environment. This eventually compelled people to seek other jobs or leave their positions altogether.

The pandemic is only one part of the frail labor cause. The other is fast growth and programming saturation. In other words, an increased number of company program modifications are being introduced more than workers can handle.

Let’s face it, the produce industry has expanded rapidly in many phases of the business and it’s moving forward with inordinate growth — and that’s a good thing. However, an excess number of compounded new programs and adjustments place significant demands on the regular workforce team. Thus, the constant programming agendas are overwhelming the day-to-day assignments and is calling for additional workers to achieve it all.

Is the lack of needed workers provoking untimely condition problems in produce? There are several sightings of unkempt sections in some produce departments. Unfortunately, the conditions are in need of an employee or two out on the sales floor keeping the produce organized and neat for shoppers. Disheveled departments do not increase sales, they increase customer complaints.

So, how can we take better care of the produce department conditions even though a labor shortage exists? The first thing is to get better organized by avoiding a work schedule that consists of open hours where no employees are scheduled between shifts. It only takes a very short time for a department to become shopped down and shabby.

Here are a few tips in order to maintain a clean and neat produce department with short labor:

  • Get organized. Pay attention to everything that takes place on the sales floor where customers shop and what they buy the most. The sections that run down the fastest should be at the top of the “instant care list.”
  • Fix the easiest first. Start to rearrange and straighten out the areas that can be put back together the simplest and fastest.
  • Know the rush hours. Tracking the shopping hour behaviors in your store is vital. Be ready for the busiest customer influx by learning when the department will realize the hotspot shopping periods. Schedule a worker on the sales floor to cover those busy hours.
  • Set up a staging area. Avoid last minute hunting for needed items from back room stacked inventory. Have the items that will be purchased and shopped down the most at an easy access ready to take out to the sales area, especially the lead ad items.

Keep in mind that most supermarket companies are having the same labor shortage problems in produce. But only those that are well-organized in maintaining a neat, orderly department will be favored by customers. Those that do not will do more harm than good for the company.

Ron Pelger is a produce industry adviser and industry writer. He can be contacted at 775-843-2394 or by e-mail at [email protected].

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