As the MEAT+POULTRY editorial team collaborated for this month’s report on the lingering labor dilemma facing meat and poultry processing companies, it occurred how much the process of hiring, training and retaining employees has evolved in the past 10-plus years. Especially since the pandemic, the role of human resource officials has perhaps never been so important and required so much awareness and creativity. Hiring managers’ roles are no longer focused only on creating a well-worded “Help Wanted” job posting and vetting job applications and resumes.

Today’s companies enlist HR specialists with titles like “vice president of people and culture,” or “technical development and recruiting manager,” and companies show their commitment to new hires with the formation of “learning and development” and “coaching” departments to maximize retention. In their roles, HR officials are tasked with developing recruitment plans that appeal to not only those in the current labor market but the next generation of applicants and even laying the groundwork for the generation following them. Today’s HR pros must be good listeners and be aware of how the expectations of the workforce evolves and ensure the workplace they represent delivers on those expectations.

Based on feedback we heard from processors, the process of recruitment and hiring starts well before a job opening ever exists. Waiting to search the labor pool until there is a need isn’t a viable method for hiring the best person for the job as job seekers have many options in today’s market. To ensure the applicant funnel remains full, forward-thinking food companies continually maintain an awareness and positive image around their reputation as an employer in the communities where they operate.

“Building your employment brand – I think it’s so incredibly important,” said Sonja Totland, human resource director with Boise, Idaho-based Agri Beef, which employs about 2,000 people. While investing resources in promoting a company’s consumer brands is an obvious need, promoting the company as an employer of choice is just as important. Totland told attendees at a labor-focused panel discussion at last month’s Executive Exchange & Conference, hosted by the Food Production Solutions Association (FPSA), that building that employment brand, especially as it relates to attracting Gen Z and future generations, is vital to current and future recruiting efforts.

Corporate commitments to social responsibility are important to many of today’s job seekers, and communicating to them about how the company creates that brand can create a bond that goes beyond an employer-employee relationship.

“They care a lot about that brand and who they’re working for,” Totland said, “and they want to ensure that brand aligns with their personal brand.”

The other panelists at the FPSA event discussed how their companies have benefited from being generous and active in their communities, establishing themselves as top-of-mind workplaces by demonstrating stewardship, which can attract applicants seeking a career and not just a job.

And while salaries and hourly wages are a significant factor in recruitment, benefit packages including health insurance and retirement savings programs have become the norm. More progressive companies offer perks like secondary educational opportunities for employees and their families; day care options; financial literacy training; free preventative health care services; and in some cases even housing arrangements.

As the industry plans for the future, addressing and anticipating the needs and expectations of employees is an investment that is non-negotiable.