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The top compensation concern for more than half of agriculture and food companies is how to retain talent, according to the latest release from AgCareers.com’s Compensation Practices survey. It has been stated that retention is the new recruitment, as efforts to keep talent satisfied and rewarded are taking focus. Agriculture and food companies are now challenged to use their compensation resources effectively to retain top talent in play.
AgCareers.com recently released the 2024 Compensation Practices survey for the agriculture and food industry. Agriculture and food companies answered questions about their internal compensation management approach. The report provides unique insight into how the industry sample group manages compensation within the current talent market.
The recent report outlined what companies prioritize as they set out to manage compensation effectively. Organizations should be conducting routine salary reviews, as most companies reported they did so annually. Salary reviews are a critical component of effective compensation management. “If organizations are going to get the best out of the employees on their payroll, they must be intentional about the payroll itself,” said Mary Barefoot, Manager of Research and Insights for AgCareers.com. As markets and pay rates have changed wildly over the past four years, investing time to review employee salaries will promote accuracy and fairness.
According to more than 80% of participants, industry-specific data is the most sought-after resource for the salary review process. Benchmarking within the industry is a critical defense approach that prevents companies from being vulnerable to competitor poaching, a potential concern with the anticipated non-compete ban in the U.S. Additional critical factors when selecting salary data included employer size breakouts and regional location data. Capturing pay metrics from similar types, sizes, and regionally located organizations creates a reliable foundation for making pay increase decisions.
As anticipated by the surveyed companies, two-thirds of companies are providing pay increases to staff this year. Multiple increases will be considered, but most are merit increases for employee performance or market-based to ensure competitiveness. While not standard for all organizations, additional increases were planned for promotional pay and cost-of-living increases to offset inflation.
Companies need to be proactive in planning to have an effective compensation strategy. AgCareers.com can help with the collection of industry-specific market research and data resources, like our Compensation Benchmark Review and industry-specific salary survey. Please reach out to learn more about how we can partner as part of your employee retention strategy.
Download the Canadian Compensation Practices Survey
Download the U.S. Compensation Practices Survey
