In the media we frequently get to read about the lack of engineers in technical industries, the lack of physicians in hospitals, or the lack of skilled crafts men in your local neighborhood. But how is the situation in the feed industry? Are people lining up to work for the companies doing business there? If yes: Are those the right talents? If no: What can companies do to attract a better fit?

1. I
n the media we frequently get to read about the
lack of engineers in technical industries, the lack of
physicians in hospitals, or the lack of skilled crafts
men in your local neighborhood. But how is the
situation in the feed industry? Are people lining up
to work for the companies doing business there?
If yes: Are those the right talents? If no: What can
companies do to attract a better fit?
Sometimes sales skills and an engaging
personality are not enough to convince a customer – especially in
the feed industry. People in the field require a profound technical
background: animal health and husbandry or related expertise
in natural sciences. Knowledge and competence are key to long
term customer relationships. Finding that kind of jack of all
trades is not easy. Same is true for experts in the area of research
and development or product management. Highly qualified and
specialized talents are well sought after. And having one under
contract does not guarantee that they stay for a long time - the
next head hunter or tempting job ad might be just around the
corner.
So what to do? You will have to ask yourself (and answer it
honestly): is my company perceived as an attractive employer?
Are we a great place to work? Will highly qualified talents
consider working for me at all?
The “product”
In the job market it is just like in product markets: first the
product must be spot on, then you can start to promote and sell
it. Therefore, find out what your recruiting target groups value
and put together tailor made offers. If you are international or
global consider differences in cultural and regional preferences.
Also, do not forget about the hardware: many applicants have
already turned down a monetary interesting proposals after they
have been invited to interview in worn offices with Stone Age
information- and communication- or production technology. And
last but not least: have a look at your company culture! What
is special about it? What strength as an employer do you want
to foster and communicate? What are the weaknesses that you
might want to monitor? Will candidates and new recruits feel
comfortable the moment they set foot on your grounds, or will
they rather have to fight their way into it? Be aware: hygiene
factors like compensation packages and hardware are important
to satisfy the basic needs of an employee – but those can be easily
copied by any of your competitors on the labor market. A genuine
company culture not!
The importance of culture
Research in social sciences shows that especially the younger
generations in western cultures with excellent educational
background highly value a good and constructive relation with
colleagues and supervisors, an appreciative and supportive
leadership style, and a working environment that offers
professional and personal development opportunities. Applicants
would rather work for a company with a culture that is in line
with their personal value-set and earn a bit less than the other
way round. Therefore, working on your “product”, the vacant
by Birgit Leitner, Employer Brand Manager for ERBER Group
Attracting and retaining talents
The challenge
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2. position, and making it attractive on the job market goes in
line with nourishing a positive corporate culture. Talking
about values: formalized company values must be rooted in
the corporate culture – and not be dictated top down. Having
extracted a broadly accepted and agreed on set of company values
use them as a guiding star to further develop your positioning as
an attractive employer. Use them to build up YOUR employer
brand. How to start? You can cross-check every single activity
in your company if it is in line with your brand promise as an
employer: you want to be seen as an innovative company? Make
sure innovation is visible and tangible to the inside and outside!
You communicate development opportunities? Make sure you
have spot on development and career plans for your employees
– candidates will ask for them after they have joined. Corporate
social responsibility and charity projects? Yes! Choose topics that
are in line with your company’s philosophy, corporate culture,
and your field of business.
The “customer”
Start to treat potential applicants as courteous as your
customers in product markets. Showing appreciation by timely
responding to their enquiries, holding interviews in a friendly
environment and offering a refreshment are just the very basics.
In addition anything goes to positively surprise a candidate – be
it a very unique and value based way how the human resources
correspondence is worded or a small giveaway to be presented
at the end of an interview. Quite often companies invest easily
in customer relations on the product side but totally forget that
also applicants must be seen as customers. Customers that should
at the end “buy” your vacant position. And customers like to be
courted. Consequently also extend this curtesy and appreciation
to existing employees. The aim here is to retain them. In
marketing terms: staying loyal to a product. So “rebuying” it
every day when they show up at work. As brand ambassadors
they do have a substantial impact on a company’s reputation –
both, in product as well as in job markets.
Concluding we can say that many concepts in product
marketing can be applied to market vacant positions with the
aim to attract candidates. Starting with creating a spot on product
appealing to the target group’s wants and needs (hardware and
offered package), building up brand equity by linking it to a
meaning system (corporate culture and company values) and
permanently cultivate customer relations (including potential
applicants and existing employees).
Easy? Not always. But it pays
off trying.
Birgit Leitner
Having started her career
in the tourism industry,
Birgit Leitner always had the
following focus points along
her professional path: ensuring
spot on product quality, improving customer satisfaction and
fostering employee development and motivation. Having
acquired her Master’s degree in Marketing and Sales she
found her true passion: Employer Branding. In this rather
new discipline in the field of branding and marketing does
not aim at the classic company or product brand seen from
a customer’s point of view. The center of gravity is the
value applicants and employees attach to a company as an
employer and its reputation on the labor market.
Birgit Leitner works as Employer Brand Manager for
ERBER Group.
Norwood and Company
We also offer a large variety of new and
used grain equipment to help meet your needs
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more than happy to help you design, build, repair or
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