Heather Messer (Agribusiness)

I believe we have a couple of great examples of people development in the Inland Empire district of the PNW. Joel Mather (District Ops Manager) has developed clear guidelines and benchmarks for his operations team, so they have full transparency around their career path options. For example: Plant operator–>Field Service Tech I–>Field Service Tech 2/3–>Operations Lead, etc. In addition, he is transparent around value added activities at each location, and what employees can learn and add to their job duties to earn a higher wage – DOT/Fleet Coordination, EHSS Coordination, Applicator, Welding, etc.

Also, Joel and Tim Watts (District Sales Manager) work together on a sales person development track that starts inexperienced sales employees out on the operations side of the business, where they spend 18-24 months learning the business, crops, customers, and area before transitioning into a full sales role. This has proved invaluable not only for sales development, but for business development as well, solidifying the team atmosphere in the Inland Empire.