​Three days at Glee and I still didn’t manage to catch up with everyone I’d hoped to see. Between meetings, introductions and conversations on stands, there was plenty to talk about. As a recruiter, I came away thinking about one question in particular: how do we bring more good people into the garden industry?

A lot of the businesses I speak to want people who already know the products, the customers and the garden centre market. I understand why. Industry experience can help someone get up to speed quickly and arrive with relationships they can build on.

But that experience is only part of what makes someone successful. In sales roles especially, curiosity, resilience and the ability to build trust matter just as much. Someone from another sector may need time to learn the product range, but they may already know how to develop a territory, win new accounts and look after customers.

I’ve seen hiring briefs change as businesses work through this. A search might begin with a very specific background in mind, then open up once we discuss what the person will actually need to achieve. That conversation often produces a stronger shortlist. It also gives people who might never have considered garden retail a reason to take a closer look.

The other thing Glee reinforced for me is how much there is to sell about a career in this industry. Spend time speaking to the businesses there, you hear about product development, changing customer needs, ambitious growth plans and people who genuinely care about what they do. Those stories can get lost when a vacancy is presented as a list of duties and requirements.

Candidates want to know what they would be joining. Who would they learn from? What could they take ownership of? Where could the role lead? Being clear about those answers makes it easier for someone to picture a future with the business, particularly if they’re coming from outside the sector.

Glee is always a good opportunity to catch up with familiar faces and meet new ones. For me, this year was also a reminder that attracting talent starts well before a job advert goes live. It starts with being clear about what success in the role looks like, being open to where those skills might come from, and giving people a compelling reason to join.

There are some brilliant opportunities in garden retail. The more clearly we talk about them, the more people we can bring into it.