Synthesis Agri-Food Insights
November 24, 2009 Volume 1, Issue 7
Helping you understand agriculture's challenges and
opportunities by analyzing the issues and sharing their insights - the Synthesis consulting team Rob Hannam, Mary Lou McCutcheon, Julien DenTandt, Peter Hannam and Heidi
Dancho.
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The war for talent
Recruiting
and retaining talent has always been critical to success of any organization. Agri-businesses,
farm organizations and agricultural schools are all competitors for talent.
We
are a sector with tremendous opportunities, but also one that is hampered by a
traditional, non-glamourous image and misconceptions that make recruiting and
retaining people difficult.
"The
war for talent is moving to a whole new level in the agri-food sector," says
Rob Hannam, President of Synthesis Agri-Food Consulting. "This is a sector that
has tremendous potential in terms of human resources but is often overlooked."
Many
people associate a career or education in agriculture solely with primary
production, which they link with long hours and low pay. And to the up and
coming Generation Y students and future employees who have grown up surrounded
by technology and are keenly seeking work-life balance, that's not always a
very attractive proposition.
But
this is far from true of the realities of the modern agri-food sector and the
many different career paths it can present. In addition to primary production,
career opportunities abound in research, marketing, packaging, transportation,
communications and finance.
To
Hannam, this means agriculture needs to change the way it is perceived and how
it presents itself if it hopes to be successful in attracting skilled employees
in the future. Individual companies or organizations can also benefit from
building a marketing plan to support in their recruitment efforts.
"In
this day and age, it can be hard to keep ahead of the competition solely on the
strength of your product's price, features or benefits," he says. "It's the
people that make the difference and we need to do a better job of promoting our
industry and appealing to people who would never normally consider bringing
their skills to agriculture."
To
that end, perception is key, as the University of British Columbia's Faculty of
Agricultural Sciences learned when it decided to change its name to Land and
Food Systems in an effort to boost enrolment numbers. A decade later, the
department has the third largest enrolment in the country even though it is the
smallest of Canada's eight agricultural faculties from a staffing
perspective.
Attracting
top talent is also important to farm organizations, which depend on volunteers
from the farming community to sit on their boards and participate in their committees.
As the number of farmers continues to decrease and agriculture becomes more
diverse, more organizations are competing for fewer available individuals to
fill leadership roles. Here too, how organizations are perceived by their
members makes a big difference in their ability to attract the next generation
of leaders.
Insights - So does this mean and what should be done?
Take a look in the mirror: Take stock of your
corporate or organizational brand and your approach to recruiting. Start with
your corporate website. Consider any "touch point" you have with potential new
recruits including industry events, job fairs and your current employees.
Build a marketing plan: Treat your recruiting
efforts like you would a product or service. Build a marketing plan to recruit
top new talent. Start with listing your objective, then dissect your
audience: who are you trying to recruit and what makes them tick. Finally,
develop tactics to try and reach that target audience.
Develop an industry approach: Industry
initiatives that bring companies and other groups together are needed to bring
new talent into the agri-food sector. By working together, you can focus on an
overall vision for the industry and change some of the current perceptions that
exist with those outside our industry.
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Sincerely,
Rob, Mary Lou, Peter, Julien and Heidi
Synthesis Agri-Food Consulting
"Our Passion is Problem Solving"
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Who is Gen Y?
Also known as Millennials
- first generation raised in the age of advanced technology and communications
- born approximately 1977 - 1994.
What they seek from their careers:
* Work-life balance
* Access to advanced technology
* Fun and lots of opportunity for
socializing
* Corporate social
responsibility
* Challenge and constant change
* A workplace that is a casual
and comfortable
* A credible employer, which they
often judge based on the quality of the corporate website.
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