When spring arrives, growers find it increasingly difficult to deal with order fulfillment, perishable inventory, shipment delays and overtime costs — all while entering this information into a system or spreadsheet that perhaps requires impractical steps, or isn’t democratized enough throughout the greenhouse.

One of the reasons spring brings about extra stress for growers is because much of their annual revenue is concentrated in such a short period of time — sometimes up to 80 percent in six to eight weeks, says Greg Lafferty, senior account manager at Practical Software Solutions. “That’s where everything that could go wrong will go wrong because it’s when they’re stress-testing all of their processes at once, from the pulling process to the shipping process to the invoicing process, cash selection,” he says.

Software can relieve some of that stress, allowing growers to consistently keep track of multiple processes, such as shipments, and schedules for watering and applying chemicals to plants, says Mark Morris, director of IT and CIO at Ball Horticultural Company. “If it’s done accurately, if you take it seriously and treat it as part of your job — not as an inconvenience — it can be very, very helpful and save you a lot of headaches on the backend,” he says.

Choosing the right software

The size of a given greenhouse operation and its budget will determine how complex of a software system it requires, Morris says. For smaller growers, for instance, finding software at the local electronics store might make more sense than hiring a programmer to customize or enhance software.

Rather than taking advantage of automated software, many companies route master control of production spreadsheets to “brain trust” managers, says Todd Waterman, solutions architect at Socius. The problem with this technique, he says, is that if one of these managers is sick or unavailable on a specific day, the greenhouse lacks vital information.

Detailed software systems, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, are more beneficial than spreadsheets because they have automated functions, Waterman says. “You can put in a number to say, ‘Hey, I’m going to grow this many petunias in this week,’ and click a button, and then you’re going to be able to see how much space that’s going to take, how much labor you’re going to need, how many inputs, what your purchasing is going to be — rather than going to five to 10 different spreadsheets in order to put in all the information and then try to figure it out, which is what happens most of the time,” Waterman says.

Simplifying day-to-day operations

During the busy season and in the midst of crises aren’t the only times software serves a useful purpose, says John Stallmer, president and owner of Innovative Software Solutions. “Today’s software systems will typically help you define a process that can be used in both the slow and busy times of your business,” he says. “Once this process is in place, growers will find that parts of the process can be automated, which allows staff to focus on the core elements of the process and not get sidetracked with some of the important, but ancillary steps.”

Stallmer gives the example of a shipping process. Using software, greenhouse operations can easily pull product, package it and ship it. Certain software can help with all of these steps and process paperwork for orders while automatically sending shipping notifications to customers — and reducing unnecessary headaches ahead of time.

Benefits to labor

In addition to helping with inventory and shipping, software can help growers determine their labor needs based on data it has collected over time, Stallmer says. Software can quantify, for instance, the amount of progress an employee has made on a certain task, such as sticking petunias, as well as provide insights into which employees are working effectively — and which may not be.

By utilizing software, some growers are shipping as much as 20 percent more inventory with the same size team in less time, says Aaron Allison, CEO of SBI Software.

In many situations, growers write down information and send it to office employees who then enter the data into a system, Aaron says. An easier solution, he says, is to rely on mobile applications and software that requires fewer clicks.

The less time employees spend entering data, the more time they will spend being productive in other ways, Aaron says. “People get caught up in thinking they’re going to capture all this data, and then all of a sudden they’re swimming in all of these reports, and they’re shipping less product,” he says.

Making more with less

Growers can use software to their advantage using methods such as “exception-based reporting,” which consists of pulling unique data out of a larger data set rather than focusing on the entire set, Lafferty says. Shipment delays and plant growth delays are both examples of events that would stand out in this system.

Effective software systems, Lafferty says, follow “one version of the truth,” meaning that growers can enter inputs in one location and they will automatically transfer to other locations. For instance, information that is pertinent to both sales and order management can be taken care of at one time.

As with other technologies, Lafferty warns that there is a learning curve with software, and it needs to be used properly. “That which helps with stress could also cause more stress if it’s not managed appropriately,” he says. “That’s always been my message. It has to be approached in a smart manner, but certainly if the tools exist, why would you not take advantage of those tools and manage them appropriately if they’re out there?”

When the busy season hits in the greenhouse, it is often difficult to remain calm and focused, let alone sort through important inventory and documents and account for materials that may or may not eventually come in handy. Following these five tips can help growers tend to some of the mounting disorganization.

1. Declutter your life.

“Decluttering” has become a buzzword of sorts among life coaches, business consultants and the general public. In a Forbes article titled “How to get organized,” Frances Booth breaks down what this really means. Clutter can be a physical situation when items pile up, perhaps requiring a spring cleaning, or it can be clutter in the brain spurred on by a growing to-do list. After determining what is causing the clutter, Booth writes, “See how much you can clear in a focused hour working on clearing the clutter.”

Some people argue that an overattachment to material things causes avoidable anxiety. This topic is explored in the film “Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things,” in which creatives such as authors Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus share insights about how ditching their material possessions improved their lives.

2. Take detailed notes.

The value of writing things down in order to remember them isn’t necessarily a secret. But even this seemingly simple task can be done more efficiently. Matt McClellan, managing editor of sister publication Nursery Management, wrote an article titled “How to: Take better notes.” He writes about how, at Cornell University, an effective method of notetaking called the Cornell system was established. In the Cornell system, the notetaker separates his or her notes into two columns, one for writing the notes themselves and the other for outlining the main points covered in the notes. Then, the notetaker writes a summary of the notes at the bottom of the page. Read more about it at bit.ly/2l5GUMo

3. Get enough z’s.

When you have what feels like a million things to do, sleep itself might seem like a lofty dream. But when you get enough sleep, you will wake up feeling more alert and ready to take on multiple tasks throughout the day. In a Greenhouse Management list of 15 tips to “Make the most out of your minutes” (bit.ly/2mx5l5a), author, speaker and time management expert Jackie Gaines listed it first. “Pencil in a stopping point in your day and stick to it without fail,” she writes. “Then wind down with a book or another relaxing bedtime ritual to help you drift off to sleep.” In short: If you don’t wind down, you will stay wound up.

4. Let your figurative flowers bloom with your real ones.

“Solve problems by ‘letting a thousand flowers bloom,’” writes Peter Economy in an Inc.com article titled “9 Remarkably Effective Ways to Make Change Work for You” (on.inc.com/1qEVrGR). While greenhouse growers may find it useful to take this tip literally, in Economy’s metaphor, “flowers” are solutions created by employees, and letting them “bloom” means testing them out to see if they can help the company meet its goals. If that happens, great. If it doesn’t, Economy writes, “kill off the failures fast.” Economy’s tip was inspired, in part, by Tom Peters’ book “Thriving on Chaos.”

5. Keep the important things top of mind.

In an article for sister publication Lawn & Landscape titled “Get organized” (bit.ly/2lAWNKP), speaker, consultant and author Marty Grunder shares how he stays organized. He mentions his dry erase board and an expensive chair that keeps him comfortable. These tools are useful, but he says his family photos that sit above his desk are the most important. “I can’t help but see them several times a day,’ Grunder writes. “Every time you feel your mind wandering or you know you are wasting time, look at your family or your loved ones and say, ‘I’m stealing time from them and I need to get back to work.’”

The greenhouses are overflowing with plants because the weather just took a turn for the worse and you’re not shipping, five of the 20 temps you hired just quit, and you’re wondering how you’re going to manage cash flow.

Sound familiar? Welcome to the spring rush in the greenhouse business.

“It’s hard for anyone outside our industry to appreciate what our spring is really like,” says John Casertano, vice president and general manager of Casertano’s Greenhouse & Farms, Inc., in Cheshire, Conn. “You’re growing things, so there are variables in that, and you’re in a very condensed shipping window. Plus, you’re a seasonal business trying to manage cash flow. All these different variables come crashing together very quickly for an intense period of time.”

Staying calm during the storm

With everything seemingly happening at once, how do people in this industry keep their cool?

“There are lots of things you can do to reduce the stress during this period,” says Casertano, whose company supplies mostly perennials and groundcovers to big box stores and other retail outlets along the East Coast. “Without a doubt, it’s all about planning, and for us, communication.” With a staff that doubles from 100 year-round employees to 200 during the peak season, he says it’s critical to maintain open lines of communication.

“Communication becomes key,” says Casertano. “You have to get information through this whole organization.” Initially, they try to pound out what the expectations are for the upcoming rush and even rehearse a few things. For instance, they may go through a scenario involving a new loading system with a crew leader and workers and try to forecast where there may be bottlenecks.

In addition to regular meetings the crew at Casertano’s makes use of technology to quickly touch base with each other and keep people informed of key decisions or changes in protocol. Because there simply isn’t time to get people together face to face during the rush of the season, email and texting become the preferred way to communicate.

“Email and texting have become important because you can hit a lot of people with different information,” says Casertano. “For example, if a decision needs to be made about inventory that affects everyone in the organization, we won’t hold a meeting, we’ll just send an email that explains the thinking behind it.” He says they can send this to several people. Texting, he says, is more personal where you only need to talk to one or two people. These are tools to not only keep things running smoothly but to keep everyone happy.

“The most challenging thing for sure is that all the frustrations of the managers are heard,” says Casertano. “And at times deciding whose frustration becomes top priority to avoid internal squabbling and to keep tempers from flaring, because under these conditions of extreme stress people get very testy.”

People can get stressed out quickly when everything is happening at once, he explains. For example, people may get pulled out of production to cover shipping, which adds to the stress for those folks in the greenhouses, not to mention the fact the crew has been working at breakneck speed for several days.

“My job is to prioritize and sometimes these meetings happen when people are pretty tired,” says Casertano. He says what he tries to do is to point out to staff what their immediate priority should be so they don’t get so frustrated that they become unproductive.

One of the proactive things greenhouse managers can do is to hire crew leaders with the right temperament. Casertano says he looks for certain qualities in crew leaders. Those qualities include being able to read “social cues” and keep their cool in stressful situations.

“When you manage people, you need to have the ability to be likeable yet command some respect, and discipline people where necessary — bring calm to a situation rather than being the one who creates hysteria,” he says. “The qualities we look for are really personality skills, not job skills.”

Keeping a positive attitude

Spring is no less hectic at Battlefield Farms, Inc., in Rapidan, Va., which consists of 45 acres of covered production and 20 acres outside. The workers at this family-owned business are busy in the spring growing and shipping annuals to grocery stores like Kroger and perennials to Lowe’s.

At Battlefield Farms, they try to get their ducks in a row before the spring rush begins and then deal with staff in a way that will help keep stress at a minimum so the job gets done.

“I’m a big believer in planning and strategizing,” says Anthony van Hoven, president and co-owner of Battlefield. He says dealing with live product always presents challenges due to weather and potential crop problems.

“If we have everything planned — our inventory here, labor, all this stuff — it makes us able to handle unexpected challenges that come up,” he says.

Van Hoven says they have weekly managers meetings and go over everyone’s workload — production, shipping, maintenance and logistics — and see where they’re at and how they’re going to finish out the week. Then they’ll look ahead to the following week and try to map out a plan to keep things running smoothly. Invariably, things do go wrong. Van Hoven, who started in this business at a young age, says the best way to handle a stressful situation is to lead by example.

“It benefits nobody to show anger, or to look like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, because everyone under you will feed off that,” he says. “Attitude is a big thing here, to maintain a positive attitude.”

At the same time, he says it may be necessary to adjust a person’s workload if they look like they’re overwhelmed.

“Yes, it can get challenging, but we can handle it together,” is the message van Hoven tries to convey to his staff. “No one is on an island, we can all pull together, stay calm and we can work it out.”

Finding people who are up to the challenge

The spring rush starts in March for Doug Thorsen at Thorsen’s Greenhouse, in Delaware, Ohio. Thorsen’s ship cold hardy pansies and bulbs early in the season for gardeners who can’t wait to get their hands in the soil. They also grow a nice selection of foliage and blooming plants for indoor gardeners, which they supply to the floral trade statewide and sell from their retail store, the Garden Mart.

“You go from planting to planting and pulling so it gets to be a lot,” says Thorsen. Thorsen’s has a full-time crew of 22 people and increases up to 65 by Mother’s Day. To get enough workers to cover the spring rush they advertise for workers via an email campaign and a sign they post out by the road, but invariably they need to turn to a temp service.

“We go through a temporary service for laborers and delivery drivers,” says Thorsen. He says they generally have good luck with the temp service, but some find they’re not cut out for this type of work and quit.

“We tell them what the physical demands are going to be,” says Thorsen.

To keep things running smoothly and people from bickering, Thorsen maps out production on a weekly basis so they can plan accordingly. If it looks like they may fall behind, he’ll have his workers come in on a Saturday. He adds that they have regular meetings to see how everyone is doing and each month they treat the workers to a lunch and let them know they’re doing a good job. He says the full-time employees at Thorsen’s mentor the newbies to “help them feel comfortable and let them know they are contributing to the business.”

Keeping your cool during the spring rush in the greenhouse really boils down to advanced preparation and a positive attitude with employees.

“People just can’t prepare enough, says Clint Albin, president at Clint Albin Consulting. “The last thing people need to be doing when you have 21 trucks a day is to have that meeting you should have had in January.” He suggests greenhouse operators examine what went wrong and what went right just after the spring rush is over while it is still fresh in their minds.

As for attitude, van Hoven says it’s about mindset.

“You can wake up every day and decide to look at things positively or negatively,” he says. “We really try to show these guys we’ve got to take a positive approach and accept the challenges that might come our way.”

Neil is a horticulturist and freelance writer who has experienced the challenges of the spring rush in a commercial greenhouse. greenindustrywriter.com

Whether stress is brought on by work assignments or another aspect of life, it complicates any working professional’s ability to best serve themselves and their companies. Following these five steps can help.

1. Exercise regularly.

It’s commonly said but easily forgotten: Exercise reduces stress. “We keep hearing about the long-term benefits of a regular exercise routine,” reads an article from the American Psychological Association (APA). “But even a 20-minute walk, run, swim or dance session in the midst of a stressful time can give an immediate effect that can last for several hours.”

This stress relief occurs, in part, because exercise produces endorphins, which are natural painkillers that make it easier to sleep, and sleep brings down stress levels, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA).

2. Perform simple stretches.

In a similar way that exercise relieves stress, so, too, can simple stretching. For an article titled “4 stretches you can do anywhere in 5 minutes,” Michelle Simakis, editor of sister publication Garden Center, spoke with Atmadarshan, assistant director at the Atma Center in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. “People say they go back to their afternoons feeling more productive and more rested,” Atmadarshan says.

The four stretches outlined in the article are the triangle pose, palm tree stretch, spine and back pose, and cat pose. None of these stretches require a yoga mat, large space or taking off shoes, Atmadarshan says. What’s more, employees can do these stretches with their colleagues and clients, and they often end up having meaningful interactions with them as a result. You can see the stretches at bit.ly/2mSHfTh

3. Practice breathing exercises.

Focused breathing isn’t just for Buddhists and new age spiritualists — it’s considered effective stress relief by medical professionals at institutions such as Harvard University. When people feel tense, they breathe faster and take more breaths, according to Atmadarshan. “Deep, slow breaths are associated with calmer states of mind,” she says. “I call it ‘vacation breath.’”

Three popular breathing exercises are natural breath awareness, belly to chest breathing and rhythmic breathing. Natural breath awareness is focusing on breathing without changing it, belly to chest breathing is inhaling from the stomach through the chest and rhythmic breathing is counting breaths. For more on these three techniques, read “3 breathing exercises to help you relax” at bit.ly/2mi39NV

4. Manage time.

Without a means of scheduling the tasks that encompass life’s hours, days and weeks, not much can be done to manage stress. In a Forbes article titled, “Five Time-Management Tips To Lower Your Stress,” Liz Ryan makes the case that because other people can be hard to catch, one of the first things professionals should do in their workday is make contact with anyone they need to. Professionals should also schedule times to work on specific projects, she says. “Don’t wait until the last minute to dig into quiet work like research, report creation and design projects and don’t use your whole workday on other things so that you’re forced to work on your projects at home,” she writes. Read more at bit.ly/2mCYBCp

5. Go outside.

For greenhouse professionals, the wonders of nature aren’t usually too far out of reach. But spending large amounts of time in any controlled environment — even a greenhouse — can take its toll. No matter the season, the elements of the great outdoors help to relieve stress, writes Sophia Dembling, blogger for Psychology Today, in an article titled “17 Psychology Experts Share Their Best Stress Relief Tips.” “I try to be mindful of my surroundings, noticing the trees against the sky, grackle on a lawn, the patterns of clouds,” she writes.