Retaining Ag Employees: Should We Be Concerned?

Retaining Ag Employees: Should We Be Concerned?

By Bonnie Johnson, AgCareers.com

Retention is and has been a vital long-term strategy for human resource managers in agriculture. Retaining top employees eases the recruitment and training workload, while supporting company stability. However, the talent competition is intense in this candidate-driven market. Agribusinesses are re-evaluating their employee retention efforts to stay competitive. 

In a recent AgCareers.com survey, Retention Practices within the Agriculture Industry, human resource and recruitment professionals in agriculture were offered an opportunity to benchmark of their current retention efforts and give insight into impactful tactics.

Increasing Concerns
The survey revealed that 87% of participants felt concerned about their organization’s employee retention. The majority (73%) of participating employers agreed that their concern over retaining employees had increased over the last two years.

Looking ahead, more than half (57%) of participants felt that their concern over employee retention would increase in the next couple of years.

Areas of Top Concern
Overall retention is certainly an issue, but which employment levels and career types are employers most concerned about retaining? When we look at employee groups, agribusinesses were most concerned with retaining hourly/non-exempt employees. As for career types, participating employers cited the most concern over retaining technical and skilled-level roles, followed by production roles.

Retention Measurement
Approximately one-third of organizations indicated they measured retention efforts. The most popular method was exit interviews, followed by in-person interviews to review feedback. 

The survey asked agribusinesses about what makes employees stay at an organization. Those that actually measure retention said that compensation was the top motivator, followed by the supervisor/manager, and then work conditions. This relates to findings from our Candidate Motivation & Behavior in the Ag Industry survey of candidates, where they said that career growth/advancement and high compensation were the most likely motivators to leave a current job for another opportunity. 

For agribusinesses that do not measure retention efforts, we asked, “Based on your experience, what makes employees stay at an organization?” The top response was the supervisor/manager, followed by company stability, and then compensation. We can also correlate these results to our Candidate Motivation & Behavior Survey, which found that employees’ relationship with their supervisor/boss can be a make-or-break component in retention. Candidates were more likely to search for other opportunities if they were dissatisfied with their supervisor. 

How are agricultural organizations doing? We asked all employers to rate their retention tactics. For both employers that measured and those that based their responses on experience, they said their best retention efforts were in company stability, job stability and work conditions. Agribusinesses felt they were least effective in using their recognition and promotion opportunities as retention tactics. Additionally, employers indicated they were not effective in flexible work schedules/telecommuting options and appropriate work/life balance.   

Analysis of results indicates agribusinesses have room to grow in their retention methods, measurements and practices. Download your free copy of the full Retention Practices within the Agriculture Industry analysis at www.AgCareers.com


More from Farm Journal's PORK:

Combating the Skilled Labor Shortage

Stop Treating Employees Like Commodities

Mental Health: Empower Employees

Tips To Reduce Employee Turnover

Who Will Get a Pay Raise in 2020?

 

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