UK: Touchscreen tech helps plug garden centres’ staff & skills shortages

Vacancies are at a record high and garden centers nationwide are struggling to fill positions so need to invest in technology says Joy of Plants, which offers digital assistance with its ‘Plant Finder’ Touchscreen Kiosk.

Terri Jones, Managing Director at Joy of Plants, said: “There are significant workforce shortages in many sectors including horticulture.  “The Learning and Work Institute thinktank says there are 1.1 million fewer people in the workforce than pre-pandemic. The population is now smaller, as many people have left the UK and fewer are coming in. Also, young people are spending longer on education. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development says there just aren’t many candidates out there and we’re certainly hearing from our garden center clients that finding and retaining staff with horticultural knowledge is harder than ever.

“We’re now entering an era where garden centers, which have traditionally not been technologically driven and perhaps have even been technology adverse, are coming to us to ask for help and advice and to find out how our Plant Finder Touchscreen Kiosk can help fill their skills and staffing shortages. Our kiosks act as guides for customers to the plants a garden center sells and it’s like having a new team assistant in the plant area ready to answer any plant-related questions.

Meeting customers' needs
“The Home screen can be personalized to specific plant groups, such as easy-care plants, fruit, or trees for small gardens and there are buttons to quickly find plants by name or criteria to meet a customer’s precise needs.

“As well as customers using the kiosk, staff members can also use it to find answers to plant questions quickly and efficiently.” Garden centers can also use the Touchscreen Kiosk as a digital advertising tool while the Plant Finder is not in use. Customers can be made aware of seasonal offers, promotions, and daily specials. Content can be scheduled any time of the day and kiosks can run targeted campaigns to a single screen or to a network of units across multiple sites.

Terri added: “We have kiosks in 60 centers across the country now with more being added each week. Garden centers are following the kiosk trend started in other retail and hospitality sectors.”

Review Systems Digital Signage, which supplies the Kiosk hardware, has recently launched smaller, cheaper 21-inch digital touchscreens as freestanding kiosks or wall-mounted units.

Plant finder technology
Joy of Plants can also apply the Plant Finder technology as a plugin to retailers' websites. The Capital Gardens Group has recently added it to its website along with kiosks in three of its five centers.

Oscar Beardwood, Plant Area Supervisor at Capital Gardens, said: “The Plant Finder is a massive help in the day-to-day operations within Neals Nursery and across all Capital Gardens centers where we have them in use.

“As we continue to navigate these troubling times while doing our absolute best to make every customer feel as comfortable as possible, but still receiving the best service and care, the Plant Finder is a great help. We are now able to assist all our customers while respecting everybody’s wishes, with the additional help from the Plant Finder, as well as being able to find help from a member of staff.

“Features such as the ability to email plant lists and all necessary care information to customers from the Kiosk, or email directly to us for further research or planning, have been amazingly helpful, as well as the ability for the customers to use the touchscreens and gain access to all the information in peak times when all staff members are busy. Moving forward, I think that the Plant Finder will be an extremely helpful tool that we will look to utilize to its full capabilities, as our team and customers get even more comfortable using all the useful features.”