Running a business or leading a farm is an enormous juggling act, with multiple responsibilities needing ongoing attention. One area which requires focus is staff, particularly when this can impact your profitability and day-to-day operations.

But why invest time in developing your employees? There are four compelling reasons:

1. Employee Retention

There is a real cost in both time and money in recruiting and training new employees, so why not keep the great employees you have by developing and nurturing them?

For instance, to prove adequate training’s purpose, a study performed by the Dale Carnegie Training Center states 40% of poorly trained employees end up leaving their employers within their first year on the job.

2. Attracting the best

When looking to hire people, consider presenting all the great benefits that you offer – things that they might not be getting if they choose to join one of your competitors. By gaining a great employer reputation, your business attracts the best candidates.

3. Assists promotion from within

Ongoing training and development of your employees allows you to promote from within. Who else knows your customers and business better than a current employee? Besides that, studies from Wharton University suggest that the performance of external managerial recruits is much worse than those promoted from inside the organization.

4. Assists engagement

Bored employees may adopt bad attitudes which in-turn may be passed on to other staff and damage relationships with your customers.

So important is employee engagement, some larger companies have personnel who specialize in this area for their company.

Investing time in your employees is not limited to training; spending time recognizing your staff achievements and showing appreciation goes a long way toward fostering positive relationships.

We often hear today that workplaces have a high turnover of staff and ‘it just isn’t like the old days’ when our parents and grandparents stayed in the one job for life. But, addressing employee development is just another way to aid retention and foster great employee relationships which are long-lasting.

If you are looking to fill positions in your organization, find top talent with ag experience at www.AgCareers.com. 

The opinions of the author are not necessarily those of Farm Futures or Farm Progress.