Leadership Strategy Needs to Focus on Attracting and Retaining Talent

I just worked with a major agriculture client in Minneapolis, one of the largest in the world. The focus of our conversations was around the biggest challenge facing the agriculture industry in the next few years. It is the war for talent.

This company has a stellar reputation in the market place in regards to benefits, great place to work and job stability. The challenge?

The oil & gas industry is offering three times the money to attract Generation X and Y away from the agriculture industry. The talent that the agriculture company has spent money attracting and training are being lured away by other industries. Why would this happen?

There are three reasons why Gen X and Y are being lured away in the first place:

#1- Baby Boomers are transitioning to reduced labor type jobs- with age there is a reduced capacity for hard labor

#2- Gen X and Y are highly educated, young and able to do the hard labor and bring technical savvy to the job

#3- Certain companies are known for superior training and development and are targeted by recruiters to go after their talent

In the next decade the biggest threat to industry is finding and keeping good people. If you have attracted the talent you need to then focus on retaining the talent.

Here are the top 3 retention strategies that will minimize the likelihood of someone being wooed away by a competitive industry.

#1- Gen X and Y want ongoing relationship, real time feedback and continual contact. In other words you got to ‘show them the love’ on a consistent basis. If you have a Gen X or Y employee who works in the fields it is a lonely job- the leader needs to be reaching out frequently to ensure that that person feels supported, respected and valued. If you value the employee they will think twice before leaving.

#2- You need to be proactive in your communication about being headhunted or approached by other industries. At hiring and at interviewing you need to be honest and explain that there are headhunters out there who are going to approach them. Have a comparison chart prepared to show them the pros and cons of working in your industry and the pros and cons of working in the competitors industry.

#3- Gen X and Y are looking for a career path, a success plan and other opportunities in the industry. Even though the agriculture industry is ‘flat’ it doesn’t mean that there aren’t job opportunities in other locations that will give the Gen X or Y the new learning and growth that they are seeking. Focus on keeping talent within the organization so that you are protecting the talent pool. Wouldn’t you rather lose a good person to another partner in the industry than to an industry competitor?

By the year 2020 it is predicted that we will have a huge talent shortage problem. Not enough skilled workers to fill the job openings. We need to be proactive now, investing in training, partnering with local colleges and universities, creating our own in house universities for specific skills training. There is a huge opportunity for Traditionalists and Boomers to be teaching/training and sharing what they know with Gen X and Y employees.

Does your current leadership strategy include a major strategic focus on attraction, training and retention? If you are focused on it are you factoring in the demographic realities affecting the market?