How Embracing Worker-Led Improvements Can Tear Down Silos

December 2022

News and Notes From Equitable Food Initiative

Financial Incentives and Tools Reinforce an Ethical Recruitment Process

Paying closer attention to the experience of guest and H-2A workers on the journey from their communities of origin to the farm gate is a crucial step in establishing responsible recruitment practices.

One sure way to guarantee ethical recruitment is to access labor through trustworthy organizations, like EFI's partner CIERTO Global, which offers financial incentives to help cover recruitment costs. Get details of its current program offerings here.

Other tools include EFI's Responsible Recruitment Scorecard to assess and compare the recruitment practices of labor contractors and EFI's recent reports on human trafficking and other risks in the labor supply chain.

EFI Sends Gratitude and Well Wishes for the Season to Partners and Supporters!

It is with abundant thanks and appreciation that the EFI family wishes you and your family a happy holiday season! Thank you for your continued support and contributions to an improved agriculture industry.

FIRESIDE CHAT SERIES: EPISODE 2

The Fireside Chat Series gives the EFI-curious an opportunity to hear directly from EFI staff in conversations that explore important aspects of the EFI Program. Episodes are available on demand on the EFI website.

What Are Worker-Led Improvements, Who Benefits From Them and How Do They Work?

EFI Marketing and Sales Manager Madelyn Edlin chats with Managing Director Kenton Harmer about worker-led improvements and the effects of enhancing worker leadership opportunities.

Topics covered include:

Reasons growers would be interested in embracing a culture of worker leadership.
Why workers would be willing to put extra thought and effort into their jobs.
How worker-led improvements can tear down silos.

Watch Fireside Chat 2 or Read the Recap

Worker-Led Improvements Yield Better Product Quality and Greater Worker Retention Rates for Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce/GoodFarms

In the third episode of the The Packer's "Tip of the Iceberg" podcast co-hosted by EFI, hear from Marylu Ramirez, HR Manager for GoodFarms and LeAnne Ruzzamenti, Director of Marketing Communications for EFI, as they talk through the worker-led improvement project of redesigned strawberry carts and the wide reach of the benefits touching workers, product quality and retention rates.

Listen to "Tip of the Iceberg" Episode 3

According to Ramirez, embracing worker-led improvements on a farming operation requires investing in the creation of a culture of respect and communication systems built to neutralize the two largest communication obstacles present in the workforce: illiteracy and language barriers.

GoodFarms has 14 locations growing berries and tomatoes in the United States and Mexico that have achieved EFI certification, with two more in progress. Each location has its own Process Improvement Team, which is the company’s name for its cross-functional, cross-level EFI Leadership Team of employees that have completed EFI training. Ramirez gives several examples of how the collaboration between workers and management on Process Improvement Teams has yielded increased trust, engagement and transparency.

Listen in to hear more details about a few of GoodFarms' worker-led improvement projects, including identifying and resolving the cause of broken irrigation lines and flooded fields and improved harvest carts, to find out how these projects have contributed to cleaner fields, higher quality product and improved working conditions for farmworkers.