There are other questions about employee issues not contained in our narrative or employee handbook. Here are some of these questions.
There are many other standard operating rules for employees. For instance, “where do employees park”. How are they handled?
Yes, there are a lot of questions our employees will have as they experience our workplace. The section leaders are responsible for filling in these blanks for their workers, adding to the checklist as questions arise and helping with revisions to the employee handbook.
Do you have a standard procedure for employee evaluations?
Every employee from the store manager to the part time intern experiences the same format for an evaluation. The questions are the same, the reporting forms are the same and the scoring is the same. The evaluation period takes place twice a year, during the season and when the employee returns for the following season.
First, the employee is asked to do a self evaluation of his or her performance using the standard form. The floor manager keeps this self evaluation until the personal interview. The section leader prepares then prepares his or her evaluation with that standard form and interviews other section leaders, the store manager and the floor manager about the employees’ performance.
Next, in person, during a scheduled time, both the section leader and the employee compare their evaluations. The evaluation is scored. Both the section leader and the employee sign and date the section leaders written evaluation and it is filed in the employee’s personnel file with a copy to the employee.
How about employees taking draws from their wages in between paychecks?
There are certainly financial emergencies with our employees when they must come up with money to pay the rent before their paychecks. We understand this. We limit these draws to two times a season for each employee. The draw can be for a maximum of seventy five dollars per request. If there is a great need beyond that amount, the store manager has the discretion to allocate more.
The goal is to keep the employee focused on his or her tasks in our workplace and not on the money needed right away to keep the lights on.
Some employees like to get overtime? What is your feeling on this?
Yes, some do. Some even rely upon that extra money to get them through the season. We just make every effort to eliminate all overtime from our stores. We have seen employees absolutely dragging to work because they are determined to work overtime.
We want a rested employee and we cannot get that with extra hours in an overwise difficult and challenging spring gardening season.
It is a pain in the ass for an employee to get called back to work. Have you thought of this?
We try hard never to do this. Our employees have lives away from the workplace. When they leave after their shifts, we want them to leave all of us behind to relax and recoup.
Yes, there will be extreme emergencies or scheduling or unloading when they may be called back. In that situation, they will be paid three hours of work as a minimum payment for their troubles, no matter if they only work ten minutes. This penalty of money we have to pay keeps the section leaders and floor manager vigilant in scheduling properly and looking ahead for problems during the workday.
Normally breaks are 10 minutes and lunches are 30 minutes. Why have you increased the time in your stores?
Because, simply put, they are not long enough. Have you ever tried to get a pleasurable lunch break that lasts only 30 minutes? You can hardly take a pee in that amount of time. With breaks, no employee can even exhale let alone gather some quiet thoughts in ten minutes. That extra boost to 15 minutes helps them a lot.
When it comes to a lunch break, thirty minutes is not a relaxing period. It is a race to throw down a sandwich and gulp some beverage. Forty-five minutes or sixty minutes gives them some needed down time and we benefit from their unwinding when they hit the floor to help our customers. We give the option to the employee, He or she can take 45 minutes or 60 minutes, but that is the minimum time.
I lot of owners of garden stores have banned smoking entirely. Why haven’t you?
Yeah, everybody treats the smokers like lepers these days. Some righteous owners have decided that they are going to help society and ban the smokers. Sorry folks, some of our most valuable employees smoke and we are not willing to throw them out or pass up a new exciting employee because he or she smokes. We have designed areas for smokers away from the flow of traffic for their comfort, which is covered and out of the weather.
We do not take sides on this issue. We are prepared to live with the health insurance consequences of this. We want quality employees and that means all employees.
However we do recognize the benefits to our employees in quitting tobacco use as well as dependences on alchohol, drugs, gambing etc. We have developed a program with our health insurers that makes it possible for them to enroll in programs to eliminate these dependencies.
Some employees like to get cash for their work or they would like a check. Why do you make employees accept their pay electronically?
We have solved this paycheck thing and we ain’t going back. No more employees losing checks. No more employees hanging in the store waiting for the boss to get back and give them their checks. No more examining their pay while they are working. No more cashing employees checks at our counters.
All employees of green garden gates are required to have a bank account where the funds are deposited electronically at 12:01 am of the day of payment. It works just great.
Do you have a seniority driven process for wage increases?
We do not increase the standard wage base, individually, for any reason. We do have extra upgrades for various reasons, but the base does not change. We examine each year whether the overall base needs to be increased or decreased.
We do not have a seniority upgrade. We believe no employee deserves simply deserves increases or extra benefits for just being with us over the years. While we appreciate and value this loyalty, the increase in their pay will occur in other upgrades.
How do you prevent getting jumped by employees arriving at the door in the morning?
We know many owners who want to run away from their stores just to escape their employees! One of the problems is getting “jumped” by them with any number of problems the first thing walking in the door in the morning. We ask that our employees, unless the issue is a real emergency, to hold off all requests and problems for two hours following store opening.
What kinds of people are you looking for to work at green garden gates?
We are looking who has, among other attributes, spirit, enthusiasm, the willingness to work for our success, curiosity, problem solving and a real desire to help our gardeners. We can teach the rest but we cannot teach these attributes.
How about the challenged people, who have some limited physical or mental abilities?
These employees can be quite difficult to manage in the fast paced environment of a garden store in the springtime. Our workplace demands that our employees multi-task, which is hard for people with intellectual or physical limits.
With the mentally challenged, the key is to find routine rote work for them. With the physically challenged, the key is getting them positioned in one location for the better part of the workday. We welcome these people and we are continually looking for job that they can perform with these limitations.
Are employees allowed flexible hours?
Yes, we encourage flex hours for our employees. Some of our employees like to work four ten hour shifts and have three days off. Some may split the day coming in the morning and then returning for an afternoon or evening shift. It has to make sense for both green garden gates and the employee, but it is quite acceptable most of the time.
How are the job assignments selected?
First, the skill set of the employee is determined, followed by the needs in that department. Employees are encouraged to select the departments for their assignment. Sometimes they may want to switch departments during the season and we are open to that request. Our goal is to have each employee, classified as “seasonal”, to be familiar enough to be valuable in all departments.
Are the key employees on the floor at critical hours and days?
Yes, we rely heavily on our key employees, particularly our section leaders. The majority of them must be on the floor during that most active selling hours and days; Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, from the hours of 11:00 am to about 4:00pm.
Are most employees given consecutive days off?
We make a special effort to give all of our employees who are working full shifts to be away from the store two days in a row during the work week. They need that down time badly. It is amazing what those days do to rejuvenate their spirits and keep them motivated. Working full time employees with only one day off each week is absolutely silly. They soon become drained and irritable and unable to give their full attention to our employees
Can and do employees work staggered shifts?
Yes, we encourage this. We pay particular attention to when the sales occur in our store and we staff accordingly. We stagger our employees hours based on the customer load per hour.
Who develops and manages the job descriptions?
The store manager is responsible for the development and changes to the job descriptions. He or she will consult with the section leaders and the floor manager. These descriptions are reviewed once a year or as needed.
Are employees on call during lunch breaks?
Yes, I am sorry to say that some are on call. We expect our section leaders, store manager and floor manager to be available at all times. We try very hard to not interrupt the lunch breaks, but sometimes it is unavoidable.
Are employees required to take lunch and routine breaks?
They are. We insist that they take lunch and breaks during the workday. We believe that they need to get off the floor and get to a quiet place away from the customers for some down time. We rarely allow employees to skip lunch and “work while I eat.”
Do employees have to stay on the grounds during lunch?
Section Leaders, the store manager, and the floor manager must stay on the grounds for lunch break during the very busy spring months. (It is a condition of their employment). All others can leave the site for lunch. In the early spring, and the dead of the summer, we are flexible on this.
Is there a portable “roach coach” available for them?
Yes, we have arranged for a portable mobile snack unit to stop by the store during lunch on their regular route.
Are you flexible with the number and length of employee breaks?
We are. To demand employees work until a scheduled break after they have unloaded two semis of heavy plants is ridiculous. We know that by refreshing our employees when it is needed, they will be ready to hit it again.
Who updates the employee manual and how often?
The employee manual is undated once a year or when a problem arises that calls for revision of the manual. The change occurs when the store manager and the owners, consulting with the floor manager, and the section leaders agree to the change.
When procedures change, how are the employees notified?
The notice of change is flashed on our website cover page. Employees must read and sign off on the change. The change is also placed on our employee bulletin board immediately when it goes into effect.
How are employee injuries and illnesses handled?
The selected employee who has been assigned the safety program of the store is responsible for the illness and injury process. All reporting is done through this employee or the store manager is he or she is unavailable.
When can an employee expect an increase in wages and/or benefits?
There is no individual increase in the base wages. Benefits are changed as the employee moves to a different classification. Upgrades are given when the employee satisfied the conditions of the upgrade.
Can employees charge purchases?
We have no charging privileges for anyone. It is a cash and carry business for both the customers and our employees
What about conflict resolution with and among employees?
There will be conflict, as all garden store owners are keenly aware. Most of the issues can be solved in the sections by the section leader and his or her employees. When the conflict is extreme, the floor manager and the section leader will meet with the employee or employees in private to attempt to resolve the issue. We want conflicts to be addressed and put to rest immediately
Describe the employees “personal book”?
We encourage our employees to keep a personal book of some of their regular customers; their likes and dislikes, their planting routines and varieties that they like, any gardening problems they have, and other special gardening needs. They transfer this information into our computer system in order to keep a smooth transitional history of our customer in the entire green garden gates network where ever they may live, travel or relocate.
Can employees help customers in any department?
Yes. We encourage and promote this. We want our employees to be cross trained in every area of the store. They must know the ground rules and quirks of each section to make this go smoothly. Of course, we are mindful that we need our employees in their sections during the workday, not all over the place leaving an empty area. The seamless movement of the customer is the most important issue for our stores.
“To maintain a loyal customer following, Nordstrom allows salespeople to sell merchandise to their customers in any department throughout the store. 
The company believes that once a salesperson has established rapport with a customer and has helped that customer put together the right look, the salesman wants to make sure all the customer’s needs are met in order to complete the package.
A now retired cop Nordstrom salesperson remarked that “if it is not nailed down, I’ll find it for my customer.”
“The
By Spector and McCarthy
Why do you use personal days rather than sick days?
We have adults working for us at green garden gates. We do not like this “mother may I” business or faking being sick, or bringing a note from the teacher (doctor) to get some time off. There are a set number of personal days. Our employees can use them for any reason. We are happy with this process.
Who buys the plants and products for the store?
We believe that the section leaders, the employees who are out there selling the stuff every minute of every hour must play a great part in choosing the inventory for the store. They, in consultation with the store manager and the floor manager, make the majority of the choices and place the orders.
Who prices the inventory and commits the products to our computer systems?
The section leader follows through with these orders in consultation with the receiving section to make certain the inventory is properly prepared for sale.
Employees like to take home discarded plants. What is your policy about this?
Most all plants have value. We have a process that eventually leads to allowing our employees to take home plants at no charge to them.
Plants are evaluated by our section leaders as to whether they meet our standards for high quality. If they merely require re-potting or pruning, we re-process and send them back into the main sales area. Any plants not meeting the standard, and unable to re-process are radically reduced in price and positioned in our “Garage Sale Bargains” area of the store.
After a maximum of two to three weeks, the plants are removed, placed on a rack and offered to our employees at no charge. Some, like seasonal bedding plants, with a short life span, are immediately offered to our employees.
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