Guest Blogger: Ashley Collins, Agriculture Future of America
It’s almost August. Stores are stocking school supplies and commercials advertising back to school are in full swing. For employers, an approaching fall means preparation is underway for college recruitment programs. Today, more than ever before, agricultural employers will need a strategic plan and to utilize their available resources effectively to create success. According to the AgCareers.com 2016/2017 Agribusiness HR Review, when HR professionals were asked about their workforce size predictions for the next two years, 51% (the majority) reported that their workface size would remain the same. Only 45% are predicting an increase, which is a drop of 14% from 2015 when nearly 60% of ag employers predicted their workforce would grow. However, new grads and students looking for internships, need not worry; the annual report also states that 46% of employers remain committed to new graduate recruitment (up 1% over the year before) as part of their strategy for succession planning and to compete for top talent. This also means competition for the top talent on campus is going to be as competitive if not more than it has in the past! Here are a few tips to help employers be successful in college recruitment this fall.
Your employees are your organization’s most valuable assets. Helping them stay healthy keeps your organization healthy—with reduced absenteeism due to illness, and increased productivity due to better health. Promoting workplace wellness and implementing workplace wellness programs is one of best investments you can make as an employer.
According to the Agribusiness HR Review, wellness programs were among the 6th most commonly offered benefits for agribusiness employers. There are many ways that you can support work-life balance in your workplace – even with a limited budget. Start by finding out from your employees what wellness programs would support their work-life balance. Then back up your wellness program with policies, encourage employees to make use of your workplace wellness programs and affirm that tapping into these options will not negatively affect their employment with you.
Amy Gazaway, Career Development Coordinator for Oklahoma State University – College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, has been to so many AgCareers.com Roundtable events that she says she’s lost count. Which is why she wants to let university professionals know what they also stand to gain and how they can develop their careers at the annual Ag & Food HR Roundtable presented by AgCareers.com.
Why have you continued to attend the Roundtable? What is valuable about it for university professionals, specifically?
The AgCareers.com HR Roundtable provides the best opportunity for university professionals to develop relationships with and learn from industry representatives about how to best prepare students for and connect students to industry talent needs. There is no other opportunity that brings together the number of industry organizations specifically in agriculture and food for this purpose.
Alicia Reid recently joined the AgCareers.com team as the Inside Sales Representative for the United States. She works from an office in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia.
What do you do on a day-to-day basis in your role with AgCareers.com?
I mostly handle outgoing phone calls in an effort to connect with clients and new clients.
What do you enjoy about working with AgCareers.com?
I’m learning something new every single day. No two days here are ever the same. And I can appreciate that because you might think that talking on the phone every day would be the same thing every day, but I learn about agriculture, about the companies, and I can use that for my next phone call. I’m learning all the time.
