A Strategic Plan for Labor:
The successful, forward-thinking business person has an overall Strategic Plan for their business that includes a Vision Statement, a Mission Statement, Specific Goals and a Timetable for accomplishing those goals. Greater competition, rising benefit costs and a shrinking labor pool for employees in agriculture requires that we have an additional Strategic Plan for our long-term labor needs.
A Strategic Plan for Labor requires a discussion of some tough questions, such as;
· “Who will our labor force be in the next 5 to 10 years and where will we find them?”
· “What will their experience level be and how will we train them?”
· “What will the other employers in the area be offering 5 to 10 years from now and how will we compete with them for employees?”
· “How will we keep the good employees we have?”
· “How can our business become the “Employer of Choice” in our area?”
· “What changes in technology can we implement that will reduce our labor needs?”
· “How will we train our employees in the use of new technology that requires a higher level of skill and knowledge?”
· “How do we progressively reduce our labor costs while continuing to pay competitive wages and benefits?”
These sample questions provide a basic introduction to the issues that must be investigated to develop your strategy. As they are discussed, it is essential to have an open format, perhaps with a meeting facilitator, to assure that all ideas are welcomed and that action steps are implemented.
Including a “SWOT” analysis in this discussion can be extremely helpful. SWOT stands for your Strengths, your Weaknesses, your Opportunities, and “Threats” to your business.
Having this type of written, researched, specific strategy provides a clear set of priorities and action steps that significantly increase your probability for success.
If you want a sample outline of what is included in a typical Strategic Plan, just e-mail me at dhtyler@frontiernet.net, and I’ll forward it to you.
Don Tyler
Tyler & Associates
