Talent Management: A Key to Business Success

It’s often said that people are a company’s greatest asset. But many times in the agribusiness world we can overlook or fail to realize how strategic talent management is a vital part of any business strategy.

Here at the Center for Food and Agricultural Business, we are working to change that. Our 2015 National Conference for Agribusiness, Nov. 10-11 in West Lafayette, is focused on talent management and helping attendees influence change in the people-management practices within their companies.

One of the expert speakers for the conference is Karen Grabow, an organizational psychologist, retired Senior Vice President of Business Development Services at Land O’Lakes, and current principal of Grabow Consulting, LLC. She has worked with a variety of companies and organizations to help them effectively design and implement talent-management strategies.

“This is a topic I’ve long felt should be a more prominent factor in thinking about business productivity,” she said. “I’m pleased to see that’s starting to happen.”

During the conference, Grabow will give a breakout presentation titled Developing Your Talent to Deliver Tomorrow’s Performance, which will focus on agribusiness succession planning—a subset of talent management she said is especially critical.

It’s also an area Grabow said was a common thread in her work with a variety of large and small organizations.

“With senior leaders retiring in record numbers and fewer strong leaders to replace them, organizations need to proactively plan and manage succession,” she said. “That includes looking at critical success factors to ensure leadership continuity.

“Companies also need to find ways to keep older workers engaged longer.”

Check out our upcoming programs and exceed your professional development goals! Position yourself to excel in your career by attending one of our professional development workshops. Each educational program focuses on different business topics and concepts related to the agribusiness industry you serve, including: marketing, sales, finance, talent management and strategy. Not sure which one is right for you? Let’s chat!