Treat workers well and they return – Matt Lenne

This article originally appeared in the Spring 2021 edition of AFG, available online here.

Matt Lenne, Vic

Goulburn Valley grower Matt Lenne has a clear policy to find and keep workers – treat them well, make sure they know what to expect in the workplace, and employ other experienced staff who can lead the way.

Matt employs five people all year round for pruning and picking at Lenne’s Calimna Orchard at Ardmona, and another 16 workers return to pick each year as they follow the harvest trail. But that still leaves him short about 60 workers for harvest, and Matt is exploring all options to find more staff.

“Last summer we had some Pacific workers who’d run out of work on their allocated farm so they came across here and stayed for six weeks, which was good. I’d like to get into the Pacific Labour Scheme,” he says.

The higher number of people last season who had no experience of an outside physical job inevitably led to higher turnover, Matt says.

“But Sarah Hardwick at the Greater Shepparton City Council had a program running in tandem with Fruit Growers Victoria to re-train Australians before they arrived at the orchard, and they did a wonderful job.

“We advise them about what’s involved because there’s no getting away from the fact that it’s hard work, but if they know from the start and are encouraged as much as possible, then they will earn money, enjoy themselves and learn a bit about the fruit industry.”

Workers are kept informed of what’s deducted from their pay each day e.g. the rate per bin, and whether they owe rent, and must sign off on what they did for the day. That enables them to decide how they’ll work the following shift, Matt says, such as whether to get up early to boost their bin tally.

The orchard also employs a very experienced supervisor who has picked before and understands the job, and his goal is to get people through the challenging first week, to ensure they stay on.

Another successful tactic is to split the workers into two lots – experienced and novice. Even the accommodation, where Matt has spent $150,000 to set up, is divided into two, with separate quarters for experienced pickers and others for backpackers.

“We have 24 rooms at one site and 20 at the other. It works better to have separate accommodation and we allocate specific orchards to the professional pickers so they know what they’re getting,” Matt says.

“The condition of the orchard is important too– we keep the grass low and if the picking is difficult we may not charge rent, to help them out. But the moral of the story is give workers a nice place to stay, good orchard conditions and pay them right, and celebrate the wins.”

Read more labour stories from around the country here.