Unlike many industries, office views in the agriculture industry can vary quite a bit. Your office may be in the cab of a tractor, out in the open prairie checking on your cattle herd, or in a manufacturing facility.
There are many, however, who still work in a traditional office setting, and if so, there are several things you can do to spice up your office and give it a fun and agricultural flair but still have a functional vibe. If you are like me, your workspace plays a huge role in your productivity so personalizing the space, as well as having an organized one, is an important factor. Here are some fun tips to elevate your “ag style” and stay organized.
If you are like me, it doesn’t take long, and random papers start accumulating on my desk and before you know it you have stacks upon stacks! We all know this is not functional, especially when I start looking for that very specific piece of paper and it is nowhere to be found. Having a filing system is important to keeping your documents in order. Some even suggest using a color-coded filing system and separating it into color-coded categories.
What’s your compensation philosophy? What about your compensation strategy? How are you going to compete with companies for that sought-after talent? Or are you worried about competing at all? We all know that a competitive compensation strategy can help you retain better talent. Taking a look at your current compensation plan and understanding how it stacks up to other organizations can help identify where you are or aren’t effectively competing for talent.
According to the recent 2018 Agribusiness HR Review, 42.59% of Canadian participants compete with other employers by offering higher compensation and 44.05% of US participants noted the same. There are certainly companies doing due diligence to determine their competitiveness within the market. Companies that have recently completed a compensation study may be able to better determine if their pay practices are in line with their compensation strategy. A little over half (53.57%) of participants have conducted a compensation study within the past year in the US and 44.45% of participants in Canada also completed a compensation study within the past year according to the 2018 Agribusiness HR Review. Within that same survey, it was noted that in the US, 95.04% of companies increased salaries during the past 12 months and of those that received an increase, the predominant average increase received by employees during 2017-2018 was 2.6% to 3.0%, (26.19%). This data continues to affirm that companies are increasing wages across the agriculture industry, making it even more important to remain competitive for quality talent.
Jessica Bartow joined the AgCareers.com team earlier this year as our Western US Talent Solutions Specialist. Jessica is based in a home office in California.
What do you do on a day-to-day basis in your role with AgCareers.com?
I help my clients with whatever they need – posting jobs, compensation data, registering for events, etc.
What do you enjoy about working with AgCareers.com?
I love the ag industry and am so thankful for the opportunity to help our industry leaders find and retain talent.
