1. Surviving The Storm: Recruitment and Retention
Strategies for Businesses of Every Size
Mark Waschek
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

2. Today’s Forecast
The Employment Situation
The impact of Geography, Education
& Retirement
Weatherproofing
Understand and Reduce Turnover
Recruiting Talented Employees
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

3. Why Worry About The Storm?
• People are your most important asset –
Ultimately, your customer will figure out
where the best people are working
• Your ability to Hire and retain employees
IS your competitive advantage in the
future
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

4. The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

5. First Year Eligible for Full Retirement
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

6. Source—Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics - http://www.bls.gov/lau/maps/twmcort.pdf
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

7. Changes in Overall Employment
In 5 years, the
overall U.S.
employment is
expected to
increase by about
12 million.
• Source – Georgetown Univ.
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

8. The Education Component
• The Demand for college educated is outpacing
supply at a rate of 300,000 per year.
• By 2018, the postsecondary system will have
produced 3 million fewer college graduates
than demanded by the labor market –
– Source – Georgetown University Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

9. Education in Agriculture
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

10. Our Future Employees
• Fewer Have Agricultural Backgrounds.
(UC Davis Claims Less Than 5% In The College Of Ag Have Ag Backgrounds.)
• More Ag Background Students Are Returning Back
To Their “Baby Boomer” Parents’ or Grandparents’
Operations.
• Student Population Is Now About 60% Female And
40% Male. Complete Reversal From 5 Years Ago.
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

11. The Perfect Storm
Ag Background Total Labor Aggressive
Applicants Supply Competitors Retirements Turnover
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

12. If you are looking for a mid-career, college educated, experienced
individual with skill requirements, and located in the Heartland of the
country
A MAJOR STORM IS HEADED YOUR WAY
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

13. Weatherproof Your Organization
• As Talent Becomes More Scarce, All Ag Businesses
Will Have To Become More Focused On:
– Reducing Turnover
– Streamline Hiring Process
– Hire based on Performance vs. Skills
– Flexibility
• Trainer or mentor
• Enable/ Encourage Education
• 55+ age group
– Becoming a Destination Employer
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

14. The Eye Of The
Storm
Employee Turnover
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

15. Employee Turnover
It’s not about the money!
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

16. Perception vs. Reality
• 89% of managers believe employees leave for more
money
• 11% believe they leave for other reasons
• 12% of employees leave for more money
• 88% of employees leave for reasons other than
money
Saratoga Institute 2003
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

17. Take Your Cues From Why Employees Leave
Numbers taken from research provided by the Saratoga Institute – research from 1996-2004
Supervisor - 32%
Limited Growth - 16%
{
Lack of Respect Compensation - 12%
}
Lack of leadership
Favoritism Unchallenged - 10%
Poor employee relations
Incompetence Work hours - 6%
Lack of Technical Skills
Unavoidable reasons - 5%
Lack of recognition - 4%
Poor conditions - 3%
Training - 3%
Poor Senior Leadership - 2%
Discrimination - 1%
Harassment - 1%
Benefits - 1%
Coworkers attitude - 1%
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

18. Employees Need Answers
• Where are we going as a company?
• How are we getting there?
• How do you expect me to contribute?
• How am I doing?
• What is my career path?
• How will I get the skills necessary to keep me on that
path?
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

19. The Cost Of Turnover
• Average US cost of losing an employee is equal to
their annual salary
• A company with 20% turnover, 100 employees, and
an average salary of $40,000 has an annual loss of
$800,000 due to just employee turnover
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

20. A Failure To Plan Is A Plan To Fail
You know that you need to
hire, but most importantly,
You must know what you are
looking for……
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

21. Study Your Best Performers
• Identify the traits that make your high performers—
HIGH PERFORMERS
• Identify the core personality type of top performers
• Performance Profile – What is your definition of
success? Can they do what you expect in 3, 12, and
36 months?
• Is it really the job experience that you need or is it
the right Behavioral traits?
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

22. People are hired for what they
can do, and are fired for who
they are
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

23. The Passive vs. Active Difference
Passive - 83%
Most candidates that
Active
apply to jobs on their own
are “Active” applicants – Active - 17%
17% on average of the
work force
Explorers - 40%
Active
Passive
Tiptoers - 15%
Explorers
Super Passive - 28% Super Passive
“Explorers” and “Tip-toer’s”
- (55%) of potential
Active - 17% candidates that will listen
Tip-toer’s to a compelling
opportunity, one that could
Source: 2011 Linkedin Survey of 4550 fully employed professionals
substantially improve their
career.
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © 2013 Ag 1 Source

24. The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

25. Convert a Career into Words
What’s the EVP?
Why would a top, fully-
employed person take
PRESENT
this position?
Impact, Growth, Company Performance Profile
What do the best do?
Long term component of
a career move – the
Build team PAST
Improve process
becoming! Complete project Job Description
Short term component of Skills
a career move – DOING Experience
FUTURE not HAVING Academics
Industry
Competencies
Lead with EVP  DOING  Having
Responsibilities
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

26. Career Movers seek 30% value improvement.
Seeking to find Passives that are willing to listen to the EVP.
There is value in: (positive or negative)
• Career track or a future that aligns better for their goals
• More challenging or engaging work duties
• Compensation (rarely more than 15%)
• Benefits
• Better supervisor
• Geography
• Better hours
• And more…How about a family atmosphere?
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

27. Become a Destination Employer
Example of an existing business -
• Reduced Turnover – Low turnover is much more attractive to candidates-
9%
• Brand Building - Utilize colleges, trade schools, and the community to find
well-qualified candidates & build brand reputation
• Internships – Challenging internships with the hope of bringing them on
as FT employees
• Recruiting Services – Make sure the recruiters they use focus on screening
candidates against both position description and company culture
• Company Culture – create culture where everyone is bringing in talent to
fuel the organization
• Of most importance – Led by a leader who embraces constant internal
recruiting.
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © 2013 Ag 1 Source

28. The Key To Weatherproofing Strategy
People will forget what you said, will forget what
you did, but people will never forget how you
made them feel – Maya Angelou
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source

29. Learn more in
articles written
for CropLife, by
Mark Waschek

30. Questions?
www.ag1source.com
The most trusted and reliable recruiting firm in the agriculture industry © Ag 1 Source