Agribusiness professionals gathered in Tulare, California on January 15, 2019 to join a discussion in their top talent acquisition challenges. Not surprisingly, the topic of regulatory hours jumped to the top as a high interest among the group. Multiple HR professionals shared that this issue has been a challenge for them. Together, they shared ideas on three main subgroups within this topic:
1. Overtime Payment
2. Making it about the whole company
3. Being proactive for change
Employers shared that some had lost previous employees due to overtime payment, or rather the lack thereof. Employees had grown to expect being paid overtime, and when they did not end up working the extra hours to receive payment they left to go elsewhere. One company stated that they have paid their overtime early to stay ahead of the curve and guarantee the pay for their employees. It was a shared feeling that most employees might not be aware of the entire package they receive from their work, including overtime pay and standard wages. A recommendation that stood out was to educate employees by using a chart to show the entire breakdown of the net pay and benefits each employee receives.
In 2018 AgCareers.com conducted our initial U.S. Workplace Diversity Survey to better understand how the agriculture industry measured up in attracting and retaining employees of diversity. The survey results contained a wealth of valuable information an insight and demonstrated that even though we’ve outgrown stereotypes about the demographics of our workforce, there is certainly room for improvement as the agriculture industry strives to foster diverse workplaces.
Encouraging responses from the survey included over half of respondents indicating that their recruitment strategies are aimed at increasing the diversity represented in their organization. The number one reason organizations said they are intentional about recruiting diverse candidates, was to build an environment of different perspectives and experiences. One employer commented, “…we are finding the more diverse our workforce, the better the business decisions and results.”
AgCareers.com recently released the twelfth edition of the Agribusiness HR Review. This one-of-a-kind report documents a range of human resource best practices and emerging HR trends from agribusinesses across North America over the last twelve months.
Positive indicators of salary increases and job growth were evident throughout the reports. And even though each year is laced with its own challenges, ag companies across North America are ready. Participating companies in both Canada and the United states reported that a large majority of their employees received an increase from July 2017 to July 2018. The predominant average increase received by both Canadian and U.S. employees was reported as 2.6-3.0% (26.19% U.S. and 24.53% Canada). Salary increases were coupled with a projected increase in workforce as noted by 64% of U.S. and 57% of Canadian participating agribusinesses. This number is up slightly in Canada and up 14% in the U.S. over last year’s numbers.
We invite employers, educators and agribusiness professionals to watch an overview of HR trends discovered in the report with our complimentary webinars on-demand. Register for free and watch at your convenience:
U.S. Agribusiness HR Review Trends Recap Webinar
Canadian Agribusiness HR Review Trends Recap Webinar
“Internship” is a word that gets thrown around-a lot. But a true internship program is more than coffee fetching and running errands! It’s an opportunity for your organization to build a future talent pipeline by giving students a work experience ripe with learning opportunities.
Too often the internship program is a repeat of what has always been done and it seems stale. While there is a lot of ground to cover when evaluating the strengths and weaknesses or your program, here are three signs that it needs a refresh.
