Page 15 - Grapevine July-August 2015

In The Winery

J. Gallo Winery the ability to screen applicants at ensure good employees remain within the company.
their convenience. As E. & J. Gallo Winery has Employee bonuses for referring good candidates
been in operation for over 75 years, the positions will also ensure that a winery is able to employ hard
hired for have greatly changed. In addition to hir- working individuals, as well as foster a friendly and
ing people for traditional vineyard and wine-making welcoming environment. Working with friends
roles, they also hire mechanics to maintain bottling can be beneficial to hourly employees who share
lines, and researchers to ensure continued success transportation and childcare costs. When looking
of the company. By advertising on their website, at resumes, look for those that are changing fields.
people who enjoy their product, but never thought For example teachers may be looking to transition
about applying may choose to do so. out of low paying teaching jobs, would be a great
candidate for training position. They have expe-
Wineries can also take advantage of job fairs at rience with teaching skills and patients. They are
local colleges. While new graduates do not have also open to learning while on the job and familiar
the experience of seasoned winery employees, they with continued learning requirements. Applicants
have recently been educated on the most resent transitioning out of the military have experience
information pertaining to their field of study as working under pressure and having to lead groups
well as have recent contact with their educators of people. This experience would be very benefi-
who have the years of experience. Many graduates cial for a supervisory position. Just because a can-
have conducted internships. Wineries can contact didate has not worked directly within the industry,
the career services office at your local college. If it doesn’t negate the skills and experiences that they
there are multiple colleges in the area, internships have obtained.
can also be posted on sites such as Internships.
com, AfterCollege.com, or LinkedIn. These intern- When considering hiring candidates, a strong
ships can be paid or unpaid, but it is best to check Human Resources Specialist is crucial. They need
with your local labor office prior to contacting the to ensure compliance with the local and federal
college. Also, an intern is very similar to an hour- laws, especially when it comes to labor laws and
ly employee. It is important to consider the job immigrant workers. Prior to 1986 hiring an undoc-
description, hourly requirements, and standards that umented worker resulted in potential deportation,
the intern will need to complete for college cred- today the risk to an employer is much greater rang-
it. Regardless of whether the internship is paid or ing from a civil penalty of $375 per unauthorized
unpaid, offering benefits may make your wineries worker for a first offense up to a maximum of
internship sound more appealing. These benefits $1,600 per worker for a third or subsequent offence.
could include inviting inters to social activ-
ities with paid staff, paid holidays or days
off, a flexible schedule, or recognition of
their internship time as service time if they
are hired to a full-time position following
graduation. Other benefits to consider could
include scholarships, flex time, and one-on-
one formal mentoring programs with a more
senior staff member. Many students also
chose to stay in college towns over the sum-
mer months, while most grapes are not har-
vested until after students return to school,
college students can be a high energy addi-
tion to a tasting room position or hospitality
based position.

On the job training and scholarship pro-

grams can increase employee retention and

877-892-5332 The Grapevine • July - August 2015 Page 13