A focus on outcomes was a key takeout from the Agriculture ITO / Telford Rural Polytechnic agribusiness conference Developing Our People 2007, held at the Christchurch Convention Centre on 27 and 28 March.
One of these was the constructive conversation that the over 160 delegates themselves had through their participation in breakout sessions and panel discussions, and in discussions during breaks.
"This discussion was one of the major goals of the conference,"Agriculture ITO chief executive Kevin Bryant said: "To get funders, farmers, service providers and others with an interest in developing the people we need for agriculture in the same room, talking to each other."
Dynamic presenter Peter Sheahan facilitated a series of breakout sessions that addressed key human resource issues for agriculture - attracting and working with Generation Y, mature workers, immigrant workers, technology uptake and the overall image of the sector.
The purpose of these was to come up with solutions, not an "issue dump", Sheahan said. In common with other industries, agriculture faces major challenges of a reduction in labour supply and increasing demands of, and demands on, employers.
The industry needs to act aggressively to get the people it wants, he said, and to do that, it needs to offer something that answers the Generation Y mindset of "What can you do for me, now?"
"You have to be realistic, you're running a business and have to make a profit. Look at incentive-based bonuses - little and often means much more than a big reward years from now. Structure time to work with your staff, to listen. They need to know that you have their best interests at heart. And get out of the mindset of treating your staff like a cost to your business."
Professor Robert Brinkerhoff's roleplays and demonstrations, highlighting the "green line" of 10 per cent training effectiveness, left delegates impressed by the importance of both preparing for and backing up training events with on-job support.
Key takeouts for delegates involved in providing training, Brinkerhoff said, were to acknowledge their mission - helping customers get great results from training; to confront reality, by measuring and providing relentless feedback on training effectiveness; and to educate customers about what learning is, how it works, and what it can offer
Agriculture ITO chairman Tony Wilding summed up the conference in a dialogue - over a beer - with MC Jamie Mackay, of The Farming Show. He urged delegates to take what they had heard and, referring to Brinkerhoff's caution over the fragility of new learning, to put it to use themselves, particularly in speaking with one voice on the many issues confronting the industry.
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