62 | FORESTRY Fast Harvesting Career path for motivated workers T T Richard Loader Smiley’s Angels: Fast Harvesting Managing Director Mike (Smiley) Alexander with some of the women in his crew. Fast Harvesting’s Managing Director Mike (Smiley) Alexander likes to show the men and women who work for his forestry company that, when opportunities arise, there is a career path in his business if they can prove themselves. A veteran of 40 years in the industry, Smiley is a firm believer in encouraging and offering key staff an opportunity to secure a financial interest in the business and is proud of the fact that over the years a number of staff have taken up that opportunity. Some have gone on to purchase their crew outright. “I’m driven by seeing people succeed. It was an opportunity that I was given many years ago by someone who I proved myself to,” says Smiley. “Providing these opportunities encourages staff to set goals and gives them something to strive for. I’ve got another employee who is about to buy into a crew in the next month or so. Some of the guys that I’ve trained from scratch are now foresters in forestry companies we work for.” Employing a team of 55 staff including management support, the Tokoroa based operation consists of three ground-based crews, two salvage crews, one swing yarder crew and a mechanised planter working in the forest. Over the past 25 years Fast Harvesting has contracted to many of the large forest management companies throughout the Kinleith and East Coast regions. Developing a culture of safety, open communication and a strong work ethic has been another key to Fast Harvesting’s success, which Smiley says has taken many years to evolve. “If you have six in a crew and four of them are rowing the same way as you, then you’re going to win. But if four are rowing against you then you’re not going to get anywhere. That’s what we’ve built up over the years so that the team members are working towards the same goals that we as a business are trying to achieve. To me that is massive. “I say, when you wake in the morning you’re an individual. When you get to the worksite you’re a team. You need a good work ethic, a good leader and direction, you need to look smart and get the job done.” Establishing professional standards starts at the very top and for Smiley that includes providing opportunities for people to voice their views so that if something is wrong they know they will be supported. “Our foremen and management team play a key role. They have to understand and buy into what we’re trying to achieve. “We need to make money to carry on doing what we’re doing, but I always say it’s not all about production. “I say, when you wake in the morning you’re an individual. When you get to the worksite you’re a team. You need a good work ethic, a good leader and direction, you need to look smart and get the job done.” “At the end of the day, if we can’t cut a tree down safely, we stop, reassess and reset – safety always comes first. That’s something I always relay to my staff. “At the end of the day it’s just a tree and there are a 1000 others over the hill. Our team members are highly skilled professionals. I portray that to them. “I tell them you are all professionals in the field – you’re not just bushmen. It can be hard for them to understand that. We pull trees back from power lines or over creeks. People often don’t realise the skill and stress that goes into that job.” In recent times Fast Harvesting has been taking younger recruits to join the crews, but Smiley says it’s not always easy to find good young people. “Some of these young people have come from pretty tough backgrounds and it’s up to us to educate and train them. “We have a pretty thorough induction process and sometimes they drop off after that. We also have a number of women who work for us in the bush. “They bring a different skill set, lots of substance and a levelheaded approach to the work.” Smiley’s wife Ange (Fraggle) is another key member of the Fast Harvesting team and Smiley emphasises the importance of that good support person when you are in business. “You have to be in the business together in this industry and we work together as a team.” STIHL Shop Tokoroa 12 Campbell Street | 07 886 6612 | www.stihlshop.co.nz/tokoroa STIHL Shop Tokoroa are proud to support Fast Group
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