However, founder Genevieve Griffin-George says technology is “never just a one-stop shop”.
Griffin-George founded PICMI after stepping in to manage her family’s kiwifruit orchard after her father was involved in an accident.
She says she found the amount of paperwork involved frustrating and that it was getting increasingly difficult to find seasonal workers.
When Griffin-George’s father recovered postaccident, she returned to her consulting job, but the frustration remained and work she was doing in Australia as part of an accelerator programme showed the problem wasn’t limited to New Zealand.
Her research with jobseekers showed things weren’t much better for them either.
They were oftentimes struggling to find work and frustrated by having to fill out the same information over and over.
“It’s about solving a grower problem,” she told Hort News. “Tech is such an amazing tool and it can be used in so many different ways.”
The PICMI cloudbased software allows employers to post job ads with job-specific criteria and complete onboarding tasks, all in a way that’s paperless.
“It means jobseekers know where they stand,” she says, explaining the software means jobseekers don’t have to endure uploading their CVs multiple times, or the hassle of making it to multiple job interviews.
But Griffin-George is quick to point out that tech like hers is not a onestop shop and it may help in ways they don’t expect.
But Griffin-George is quick to point out that tech like hers is not a onestop shop and it may help in ways they don’t expect.
“Often growers will receive a solution, but not the one they expect,” she says.
Arriving back in New Zealand, Griffin-George teamed up with two technologists and thus PICMI, a cloud-based app designed to streamline hiring, was born.
She exhibited the idea at the New Zealand National Fieldays. There, she met members of the team from EvokeAg “and they encouraged me to apply for the Future Young Leaders programme”.
In 2020, she was selected for the programme which offers five emerging leaders from Australia and New Zealand the opportunity to showcase their ideas, innovation, or research to an international audience.
AgriFutures general manager, global innovation networks Harriet Mellish says the program recognises the contributions of young industry leaders in our food, fibre and fuel production systems, and provides them with the support systems, networks, and connections to thrive in their careers.
“The Future Young Leaders Program is a unique experience where we provide the opportunity to connect bright minds with industry experts and peers, to nurture innovation and share their ideas and research on an international platform,” Mellish says.
“The program is searching for participants who are passionate about agriculture and want to be part of the driving force behind ensuring Australia is a leader in accessing and adopting innovation.”
