Seasonal industries like horticulture have a different dynamic from year-round businesses, and management training has to follow this arc.

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How to Align Management Training With the Seasons

In the off-season, learning follows a regular cycle with more time to work through content, however, in the absence of production activities, participants’ ability to learn through practice is limited.

The exciting opportunity is the high season. Learning can be continuous right through the year, with the learning formats varying to adapt to the demands of the seasons. Using microlearning (shorter specific content chunks and different formats), we can keep participants focused on practical skills relevant to the workplace, and they can practise them when they need them the most.

Learning in the Off Season

For example, participants could do a module on communication in the off-season using the Core model. For simplicity let’s say the skill they choose to work on is ‘listening with their eyes’. They receive the full content (perhaps a 20-minute video-based online course and workbook and audio), then have a coaching session with their leader coach where they are guided on how to apply that practice when the high season is underway. In their peer group session, what we call a co-lab, they discuss the practice using examples and stories drawn from past experience.

The facilitator checks in with the leader coach after the co-lab session to square the circle — the leader can provide context for a participant’s progress, and the facilitator can brief a leader on their observations about a participant and coach the leader in how to best coach the participants. The fact that these ‘leader reviews’ are locked into the schedule also assists with leader accountability.

Learning in the High Season

During the high season we switch to the Applied Model. Participants receive a short reminder about ‘listening with their eyes’ – a 1-2 minute video, an audio, a summary text on WhatsApp or whatever coms platform the business uses. Quick co-lab sessions are organised on-site around a content summary and reviewing progress, with feedback from their peers.

Management has to commit to keep the coaching going — the leader coaches will see the same material the participants are receiving, and they will need to use informal coaching to reinforce the learning. Peak season offers all the coaching opportunities anybody could ever need.

How Seasonal Training Works

This year-round development system is designed to be rolled out vertically in an organisation from GM to supervisor to ensure consistency of language and expectations. Technology allows it to run at scale across multiple sites. The design elements ensure that all learner preferences are covered, and, more importantly, that learning is reinforced when it’s most needed.

Read more on seasonal horticulture leadership training here.

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NZ Horticulture: Addressing critical labour challenges

Download our guide to transform the way you think about Horticulture management training.