With the low unemployment rate and current market conditions we are seeing an increased effort by employers to retain the talent they have as well as find passive talent in unconventional ways.
We found that companies wanted to build targeted brand awareness and influence the right passive talent, so we created Custom Talent Sourcing. This cost-effective solution allows you to concentrate your job promotion efforts on a very specific talent pool. We handle the leg work for you to promote your job through the appropriate platforms and engage experienced industry talent through our social networks and extensive candidate community. You can view the Custom Talent Sourcing package details on the AgCareers.com website.
Jeff Hurst – IDO Feed & Supply
General Manager
The AgCareers.com site was easy to use, economical and presented me with many potential candidates. It took 8 weeks to find a new general manager for the company. Using an executive search firm could have cost the company 10 to 15 times more.
Do you know about presentation alternatives to Powerpoint? Personally, I did not have a lot of experience with presentation alternatives. I had used Prezi and Google Slides in college but those three were the extent of my knowledge.
The topic for this blog was geared toward some Powerpoint alternatives for meetings, so I did a little bit of research into some other options. Below are my initial thoughts as I was exploring the different avenues. For some insight on my perspective, I am a Millennial but have still been known to ask my younger siblings for help on technology. So here we go.
Google Slides
This is what I used most often in college. It is free and you can work with users from multiple locations (great for group presentations!). It is user-friendly, provides templates and helps center your text. No complaints here!
I did not set out to write about motivation…there are likely thousands of blog posts out there with tips on how to motivate your team. Motivation was just on my mind as I thought about goal setting for the coming year. Therefore, this post just came about from a place of personal reflection and intention.
A team’s success is closely tied to how motivated they are to win, so as leaders, we can feel a lot of pressure and responsibility when it comes to motivation. There are so many factors that affect motivation; it’s hard to know what we actually need to DO day in and day out to motivate our teams. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a magic list of what to do and exactly how to motivate each individual team member? The keyword there being individual…..as unfortunately, what motivates us is different for every person. That magic list is a little easier to nail down these days with the abundance of personality assessments available to outline what drives each type of personality. However, things can get a little tricky when you add the complexity of your own personality as a leader to the mix. Of course, it’s always a good practice to simply ask a team member what motivates them. Although, having been on the other side of that conversation, I can say it can feel like there are certain answers that might be more well-received than others.
Ready or not, we are just a few short weeks away from college recruitment season being in full swing! Tightening job seeker markets necessitate that employers be creative in their approach. Here are three ideas for engaging with talent that are low-cost, yet provide big rewards!
1. Connect with Student Organizations. Identify the student organizations on local campuses that best fit your company’s industry sector. Looking to add to your sales team? Bring pizza to the colleges next NAMA (National Agri-Marketing Association) Student Chapter meeting and host a Q&A with club members. Maybe you’d rather spend time engaging with students who aren’t affiliated by professional interest. If that is the case, reach out to the Student Council, College Ambassadors or MANRRS chapter. If you’re not sure what clubs are hosted by the college or how to connect with them, reach out to the college’s career services office for some guidance and introductions. On that note…
2. Invite Career Services Staff and Faculty for a Tour. These individuals can be your most enthusiastic ambassadors. Students rely heavily on the advice from their campus mentors, so ensure you’re front of mind with these influencers. Inviting campus staff and faculty to tour your company’s location and engaging with them in an interactive way will let them experience first hand the environment workers experience.
3. Participate in the Careers in Agriculture Virtual Career Fair. Virtual career fairs allow you to connect with new and experienced talent who are actively looking for new opportunities. Another perk of a virtual fair is that you don’t have to spend time or money being away from your desk! AgCareers.com is hosting the Careers in Agriculture virtual fair on Thursday, September 5, from 11 am – 3 pm EST. But employer registration closes Aug. 28, so don’t wait: get signed up today!
Maternity or paternity leave–one of the few things in life we can typically plan for! There’s ample warning, but it can easily sneak up on you. It would be great if everyone could work ahead and have everything under control, but that’s not reality and often impossible. When you, or your employees, expect to take this parental leave, don’t wait until the last few weeks to wrap things up. Planning ahead before leave ensures you cover responsibilities and jump-starts a successful return to work later. This planning impacts all players on the team but falls into the hands of the employee taking parental leave, and their manager.
The employee and manager should meet a few months ahead of the planned leave. Develop a list of all current tasks and brainstorm who is completing what during parental leave. The easiest way to visualize this is through a chart or spreadsheet that can be shared as a Parental Leave Plan with other employees. Break down tasks into ongoing responsibilities and special projects. List at least four columns, including:
Interested in helping local FFA chapters? Consider starting an FFA Alumni and Supporters chapter at your company or organization.
By Jami Stall, National FFA Organization
Grant Belden gets excited just talking about all the shared experiences an FFA Alumni and Supporters chapter can provide. Vice President of North American Shelling at Golden Peanut and Tree Nuts—one of many Archer Daniels Midland Company-owned entities—Belden is president of ADM’s FFA Alumni and Supporters chapter.
Because ADM employs so many past FFA members, the chapter originally was established more than a decade ago so they could serve local FFA chapters. Then it was decided the chapter should include anyone willing to volunteer his or her time and experience—not just former members.
Grateful for his own FFA days and his professional success in agribusiness, Belden views his efforts with ADM’s chapter as a way to reciprocate to an organization that profoundly impacted the course of his life.
“I’ve been very fortunate, very blessed, working for a global company that gives me the opportunity to travel extensively and learn all about soybeans and a luxury product like chocolate,” he says. I’ve lived in Nebraska, Wisconsin, The Netherlands, and Switzerland, and spent time working with colleagues in West Africa. Now I’m back, in the suburbs of Atlanta, Ga. To come full circle and be involved in our alumni chapter, connecting to FFA—the original organization—and to help other young people have these types of opportunities? C’mon, that’s brilliant, right? I think it’s an outstanding opportunity.”
You’re not job searching, so why do you need to continually grow your network? Personally, and professionally, we all benefit from the exchange of information and services, cultivating relationships to build our business and our brand. If your organization wants to succeed, employees want and need networking and development opportunities.
Why you still need to build your network:
With labor markets so tight, the pressure on human resource professionals to successfully staff agribusinesses is tough, overwhelming at times. Perhaps solace can be found in knowing you are not alone. Join others facing similar situations to learn, grow and exchange ideas. Register today for the 2019 Ag & Food HR Roundtable, July 30 – August 1 in Ames, IA. Thank you to our hosts Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and BASF.
I believe that together we can make more headway on some of our deepest challenges. The Roundtable provides a close-knit industry event to work together to influence change. As a 2018 Roundtable attendee noted, “I always enjoy this conference. Energizing and motivating. The alignment between industry and academic is critical with employee shortage.”
Need even more reasons why you should attend?
I feel like there is this broken record playing – we are struggling to recruit due to lack of available talent. The 2018 – 2019 AgCareers.com Agribusiness HR Review reports that 71.43% of participating agribusiness said that their most concerning human resource matter was competing for talent and recruiting difficulties. Also, the HR Review reports that companies plan to increase their graduate recruitment due to competition for talent. We know we have challenges when it comes to finding talent and while many employers have some efforts around retaining talent, those that are focusing and developing retention strategies to combat this are more likely to have success because they have the people to do the work. Focus on keeping the people that we currently have. Simple, right?
It is a job seekers market and companies are getting creative with ways to recruit your top-quality employees. When we talk about this topic, most go straight to compensation. Yes, a lot of movement can happen due to compensation, but it isn’t the only factor to retention.
Tiffany Tomlin, a junior at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, joins the marketing staff, also based in Ames, for the summer as our marketing intern. Tiffany is an agricultural education major and participates as a member of the ISU Livestock Judging Team.
What do you do on a day-to-day basis in your role with AgCareers.com?
Every day I get the opportunity to work on a variety of tasks with the AgCareers.com team. Some highlight items that I am currently working on include internship surveys, Career Profile extensions, promoting the 2019 HR Roundtable, and writing content for blogs, newsletters, and the Ag and Food Career Guide.
What do you enjoy about working with AgCareers.com?
I enjoy having the freedom to take the lead on a wide variety of tasks. Through this, I am getting valuable experiences outside of what I would get in the typical classroom while having the help of the friendly AgCarees.com team when needed.
What advice would you give to employers using AgCareers.com for the first time?
Be as active on the site as possible! It is a great resource to find the perfect fit for your job opening.
