was on cross-training and helping each other. The sales associate jumped in with admin work, the driver helped with flower processing, and the junior designer had to be ready to pitch in with customer service. The approach is one Rockcastle says she intends to keep, to help address the current realities brought on by the crisis. “When bringing someone new into the business [in the future], they might need to handle multi- ple areas,” she said. Rockcastle also hired a college
student to make deliveries. “In the process of getting to know him, we learned that he was a business and accounting major and, because of COVID, had lost his summer internship,” she said. “Now we have him working in the office, helping out with QuickBooks. Of course, he’ll also do deliveries when we need him.” Rockcastle’s daughter, Mary, an
alumna of Parsons School of Design, pointed her to a demographic that’s ideal to bring into a flower shop: artists. “People come out of art school and have a hard
time finding work. Or they have a studio and work for themselves, but they need something to subsidize that income,” she said. “They’re talented and computer savvy. And the young people today tend to be very into plants and flowers.” Rockcastle added that she and her
family are keeping an open mind as they bring on any new team members. With so many online orders, for instance, employ- ees who have skills in photography and design are especially attractive — as are candidates who come from backgrounds where “multitasking and people skills” are key and customer service is prioritized, she added, pointing to the restaurant and bar industries, along with luxury retail companies. Workers in these hard-hit areas might be looking for a new path and career now, creating an opportunity for floral industry owners who take the time to recruit and hire them. “A floral background is not a must,”
Rockcastle said. “It’s really about skill- sets. And, as a bonus, people completely new to the industry don’t have bad habits you have to retrain."
The magazine of the Society of American Florists (SAF) 25
PUSHING THROUGH Keith Rockcastle, his wife, Wendy, and their daughter, Mary, have banded together with their employees to shift roles and priorities for their business.
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