y Brent Landis Agriculture Services Coordinator [-yfy-l The 1/TXLI Lancaster Dap. Chamber LL-XZJJ ufCinnnu’txt 6 Phone: (717) 397-3531 ext. 62 E-mail;blandis@lcci.com With Lancaster’s record low 2 3 ( /r unemployment rate, workforce needs are a critical issue for most businesses, especially the agriculture industry Some key reasons why this shortage of employees continues to challenge many business include: an unprecedented time of business expansion and job creation, non traditiona! work arrangements and, particularly for the ag options, kWJ luirsf ©2OOO AOVANTA USA. Int Garat* and IT* ara ragiattrad tradamarka of AOVANTA USA. Inc Lightning* Rasolva* and Comour*»ra ragtattrad tradamarka and CLEARFIELD* Production Syatam it a aadamtrtofAigangaruCvWiraldComftany, , I, Saturday," December 9, 2000 ■ c. industry, a lack of qualified employees with job skills to work on our farms and m ag- busmesses, Recently The Lancaster Chamber of Commerce & Industry along with the Lancaster County Workforce Investment Board held a Workforce Summit focused on developing solutions to the workforce crisis. One topic covered was “Employee Retention,” presented by Ed For om ‘mm more weed control it’s gotta be Garsf! Pastured Hybrid GRM Daacription 85901 T 106 Top-end yield punch, fast drydown, and CLEARFIELD* herbicide flexibility in the same hybrid. Also available at 8590. 84641 T 111 Yield leader for the eastern Corn Belt CLEARFIELD* herbicide flexibility coupled with sound agronomics and wide adaptation. Also available a« MM. 8342GLS/IT 114 Provides Gray Leaf Spot protection and CLEARFIELD* herbicide flexibility. Excellent yield and agronomic stability coupled with top end yield punch. Also available as 8342GLS/Bt/IT. Garst Modern Scien£e,.,TraditioQei Values IfT • r ’r* t t r Successful Employee Retention Krow, SPHR, CHCM from F've key steps to building Human Resources Management employee commitment that Krow Associates, Inc. emphasized were the following Krow stressed the value of good employees in your business through pointing out that replacing an employee costs on average 1-2 times the salary and benefit package Studies show that meaningful and supportive workplaces are more closely linked to productivity than their pay and benefits. One avenue in strengthening the meaningfulness of the workplace is to increase employee involvement. Ask for your employee’s ideas and suggestions for problem solving and challenge them with new jobs. Employees that feel more empowered at work are far less likely to become absent or quit. By involving them in setting performance objectives and encouraging self-evaluation of performance, you are helping to build opportunities for a sense of belonging. ‘» * * 1) Recognize your employee’s contribution. This may be easier for a farm or small ag-busmess to do than any big corporation You have a better opportunity to gain the one-on-one interaction with just a few employees that a larger business may struggle to accomplish. Keep an accurate record of each employee’s work accomplishments. Personally and publicly praise good work, but personally and privately criticize mistakes. Be sure to set objectives in your employees’ day to day responsibilities. Reward employee performance with compliments and compensation. 2) Measure your employee’s performance Garst® was the first to introduce IT® hybrids for use with the CLEARFIELD* Production System nearly a decade ago. Today, Garst technology still leads the way. With Garst IT hybrids, there’s no yield drag. So, you can keep your options open, qmm use herbicides like LIGHTNING? CONTOUR,® and RESOLVE® for better weed control, and still get stronger plants and a better yield. High yield with no yield drag; that’s what Garst IT hybrids are all about. For expanded weed control options and plenty of high yield potential, it’s gotta be Garst. To learn more about Garst IT hybrids, see your local Garst Guy or call toll-free: 1-888-GO-GARST. *4 i f wwyy.garstseed.com compared to defined gqjlls. Base' your performace measures on objectives aid cleff standards. By asrarg your , employee to Hite him/herself on their Job performance, you -are extending the opportunity to find out where they view their performance level. Have a written record of each job incident to refer to when reviewing your employees job performance. 3) Correct performance problems. Show your employees the written performance standards prior to reviewing any problems. Provide guidance and counseling for poor performances and sjlow examples of how their does not meet the stand|rds compared to others. Provide training and guidance to improve performance. Be sure to document the times you have spoken to employees about their performance. 4) Set new goals with employees to improve performance. Build opportunities for jfeb advancement , within your business. Encourage employees to take responsibility *(or their performsifce and progress, jjie sure to communicate regularly with employees about goals and performance. 5) employees what they really want: a positive work environment that fosters growth; compensation based on performance; respect and trust for their job and abilities, benefits that support and meet personal needs, timely and fair job performance reviews and an action plan based on dealing with development needs. If you want commitment from your employees, be sure to be committed to them! This will lead to higher levels of employee performance, greater workforce stability, a preservation of a knowledge customer employee satisfaction and stronger profits. For more information on employee retention, you may contact Ed Krow at Human Resources Management Associates, Inc. at 717- 291-0851. Please send any questions or comments to Brent Landis at The Lancaster Chamber at blandis@lccixona or 'l l*7-397-3531: ' ext. job base, loyalty.
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