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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Emergency Services 'A Hell of a Ride' Neglect leads list of adult care facility failings Medford's Lisa Rinna joins 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Get Up & Go: Nov. 28 Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency Services Neglect leads list of adult care facility failings Emergency services Grants Pass woman killed when car hits tree Emergency services Politics and Elections Buckley again named Ways and Means Committee co-chairman Latest count shows Measure 92 supporters narrowing deficit Granlund cartoon: GOP wrecking balls Ballot measures played little role in mobilizing voters in state Senate race 'Euphoria' over pot initiative Education Homelessness is growing problem for Medford students Les AuCoin recommended for SOU board Good news for SOU: Enrollment's up Mom gives school lobby a makeover Crater students present play about Thoreau's night in jail Environment Hawks use I-5 as hunting ground Curbing urban runoff in Gold Hill Mt. 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Guest Opinion: Fight for the rights of independent voters will continue Guest Opinion: 'Natural' not necessarily better for forest management Guest Opinion: County voters rebuffed judicial appointment process Fix health care reform, don't scrap it Lifestyle Latest stories Fishing through readers' stream of consciousness Fishing report: November 28, 2014 Get Out: Friday, November 28 Sport, commercial crabbers return to ocean 'Slack packing' in the Colorado mountains Food Community blog: In soup or salad, savor pumpkin with leeks Be a gravy-making star on Thanksgiving Food for Thought: Add new twists on Thanksgiving favorites Community blog: Feast on this blog's Thanksgiving recipes, tips Kitchen Call: Both sides of the kiddie table Home and Garden 9 ways to green your gift wrap Dear Monty: How to find a good real estate attorney Home Help: Quick tips for getting your home ready for the holidays Mortgage insurance: Your questions answered Home Help: Spruce up your home with quick DIY painting projects Health Health Watch: Fuel up on carbs before workouts Health insurance enrollment help available Community blog: Appreciating Clouds: Year-Round Gratitude Community blog: A Little Toilet Talk 'Tis the season to be jolly Hiking Biking Faith Religion news: Pope aims to expedite sex abuse rulings Religion news: Seattle-based mega-church dissolves Religion Briefs 'Walk the talk' Religion briefs Milestones and Achievements ACCESS receives $50,000 donation from Wells Fargo Wedding: Rogers-Horn Century Club Wedding: Tomlinson-Nowak Local farmers need more products in grocery stores Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories Brunch at Loft Brasserie 2014 Providence Festival of Trees A grand illumination at the Commons Lighting up memories Jacksonville's Victorian Christmas Theater OCT's holiday show is a wonderful play New 'Alice' has some for kids ... and adults 'It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play' opens at Oregon Cabaret Theatre 'Red Noses' a romp through slapstick and pathos SOU presents 'The Drunken City' Music Shae Johnson releases 'Can You Feel the Music' Jeff Kloetzel releases 'Long Time Coming' A new guitar slinger in town Peter Chianca: Top 40 songs even a dad could love The Farr Side: Different artists, common songs Community Events 2014 Providence Festival of Trees A grand illumination at the Commons Lighting up memories Jacksonville's Victorian Christmas New exhibits highlight Third Fridays Dining Brunch at Loft Brasserie The Bohemian Club Thanksgiving comes early at Taprock Word of Mouth: Brunch at Brothers' Restaurant Blue Toba is a cultural experience Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines & Special Sections NEWS NOW Neglect leads list of adult care facility failings ... Our View: Cheers (too thankful for a jeer this week) ... Medford's Lisa Rinna joins 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' ... Neglect leads list of adult care facility failings ... Our View: Cheers (too thankful for a jeer this week) ... Medford's Lisa Rinna joins 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' ... LOCAL BUSINESS 1-800-Flowers CEO: Labor shortage an issue for Harry & David 1-800-Flowers CEO says his company shares a labor need with Harry & David as the businesses grow By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 6, 2014 @ 7:07 pm Updated Oct 6, 2014 at 11:25 PM By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 6, 2014 @ 7:07 pm Updated Oct 6, 2014 at 11:25 PM » Social News From Long Island, N.Y., to the Rogue Valley, America's online and catalog retailers have a common concern when it comes to call center staffing — finding enough help. Jim McCann, CEO of 1-800Flowers.com, and Harry & David CEO Craig Johnson say their marketing staffs have discussed innumerable possibilities in the wake of the New York firm's $142.5 million acquisition of the Medford gourmet food and gift retailer. "We're struggling to get enough people because our business is growing," McCann said Monday afternoon. "The good news is our business is growing. The challenge, whenever your business is growing, is getting the right people. I've never heard anyone say it's just so easy to get the people you want. Our facilities all around the country are saying the same thing; I don't understand it." Johnson said Harry & David's hiring will be up this fall, but the company faces a shortage of available labor. "When it comes to hiring, marketing and having inventory positioned, it's all hands on deck," Johnson said. "It's sort of confusing. We have a high unemployment rate, yet the candidate flow is less. There's more competition in the valley and more challenges this year than historically with folks getting through drug testing and drug screening." Neither McCann nor Johnson addressed exactly how they would overcome the dearth of talent. "You go where there's good labor," McCann said. "Where people are reliable and come back to you every holiday season. That's an important ingredient, where people say, 'I can't work year-round, but I can work every holiday at Harry & David and develop a skill set and come back every year, and plan my life around it.' You never want to walk away from those entrenched capabilities." McCann indicated long-term employment will likely increase. "Clearly, if your business grows, you have to increase your head count, and our intention here is to grow the business," he said. Given that 1-800-Flowers has developed its own call-center model over the years, there has been some angst over what it means both on the Harry & David campus and community at large. Call center operations, McCann said, are a mix of art and science developed over time. "We've both been at this for a long time," McCann said. "We all have different ideas on how to make it better, how to tune it, how to tweak it, and to meld them together. What Craig and his team have demonstrated is how to do it and how to do it right. It's a lot like seeing sausage being made: You really don't want to. How you ramp up for the holiday period time, how you get people in and trained effectively and how you keep them engaged throughout the year. Let's face it, Craig's people aren't quite as busy at Valentine's Day or Mother's Day as we are, so there are opportunities to share the load and cross-train." McCann long had his eye on Harry & David and made it clear he expects the company to continue on its upward trajectory. "The reason why we got more interested this time and the reason we're so excited about merging these companies is that the company has been fixed by a talented management team," McCann said.  "It's not like it was in the past when we would say, 'Are we up to this task? Are we up to cleaning this whole thing up and righting this ship?' That's already been done and that's what made it palatable for us. The recession punched us in the nose and clearly had an impact on Harry & David. We're both doing much better now." McCann said the Wall Street response to the deal has been universally positive. "You've had a good disciplined approach, stuck to your guns, told us what you were going to do, you did what you said you were going to do — this makes all the sense in the world," he said. I don't think I've heard from a Wall Street analyst, banker or investor that said anything other than 'this makes sense.' " There are plenty of components making Harry & David attractive, he said. "When you own something called 'Fruit of the Month Club,' who is better at that than Harry & David?" McCann asked. "We've been trying to learn from them for the last 20 years, how we could do it better. Now we get to sit across the same table and have that dialogue face-to-face." Although it will continue to find alternative revenue streams for spring and summer, Harry & David will rely on holiday revenue to assure its profitability for years to come. "We've had a lot of discussion about potential strategic growth initiatives that are category related, incremental-customer related, geographically related," Johnson said. "Interestingly enough, as we started to visit with the 1-800 team, they have a lot of expertise and have some momentum in some of these areas. If we start out from ground zero on some of these initiatives, it takes you a while. But because of the expertise and some of the traction 1-800 has, we'll be able to move quickly on the initiatives." "This is a good thing for the company," he said. "For once, we have an owner that really understands the business — for once, owners and a team of owners really similar to us and how we act." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31, and read his blog at www.mailtribune.com/Economic Edge.       By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 6, 2014 @ 7:07 pm Updated Oct 6, 2014 at 11:25 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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