Succession planning vital for long-term business stability

At a time when the industry is widely acknowledged to be struggling to attract fresh talent, one company is bucking the trend. 

Current estimates indicate that in the next ten years the agricultural industry will lose 60,000 employees as those coming up to retirement step back from frontline duties.  But now Bayer CropScience is making its own contribution towards addressing this future shortfall with a new Commercial Training Programme, which sees its candidates immersed in every facet of the business over a two-year period.

“The UK farming industry differs from Europe, or anywhere else in the world for that matter, which makes it highly desirable to have UK experience,” says Jane Linford, programme leader and head of business planning at Bayer CropScience. 

“That put a special emphasis – more than usual – on finding the right candidates. We wanted the right attitude, rather than necessarily qualifications or experience.  It’s important for a business like ours that we find flexible individuals with the inspiration and commitment to forge a career within agriculture while developing within our business.”

Planning for the project started in November 2008, after the commercial management team identified a gap in its human resources.  “Succession planning – and the gaps it uncovers – will be familiar to many agricultural businesses; Bayer is no different,” explains Ms Linford.

“It enabled us to embark upon a two-year project to develop a recruitment and training blueprint for the next generation of commercial managers. We now have a robust selection process that has enabled us to whittle 580 applicants down to just two. The calibre of all applicants was very high but these two candidates demonstrated the enthusiasm and flexibility we were looking for. Their obvious drive plus a lot of hard work will put them in good stead to become excellent managers in the future. 

“The best commercial managers have a huge range of experiences from which to draw so, from the start, our recruits are being given as many opportunities as possible.  It is the only way to ensure that they will be well prepared to deal with the demands that will face them in the future.” 

One of the two trainees taken on during this inaugural year, a graduate of Keele University, says the learning curve has been every bit as steep as she expected.  “In just four months I’ve started to build my knowledge of new product development, trials, marketing, sales and regulatory issues. 

“What’s great about it, apart from the sheer amount of knowledge I’m assimilating, is that there’s so much variation.  One day I’ll be training for my spray operator’s license and the next sees me out with a distributor, understanding the company from a customer’s perspective.”

The second trainee on this year’s programme acknowledges his good fortune in being selected as one of the chosen two from the many applications made.

“As with the rest of the industry, there is a huge wealth of experience within Bayer CropScience, but people retire – they don’t work for ever. 

“It’s down to people like us to acquire and hold onto that knowledge, because if there aren’t new employees coming through the company will lose it all,” says Tim.

“This is an exciting time to be developing a career in agriculture, what with the focus on sustainable forms of food production for a growing global population, and the development of new technology.  Transferring knowledge is crucial for the future of the industry; we’re fortunate to be on the receiving end of what Bayer is doing to address that.”