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Employee Management Conference Held, Proceedings Available Agricultural businesses are a diverse lot. But farms, flour mills, feedlots, oilseed processors and others all have something in common -- challenges in hiring and retaining quality employees. Many managers and owners learned how to handle these challenges at the "Employee Management for Production Agriculture" conference held on August 2-3, 2001, in Kansas City. The conference was sponsored by Kansas State University. "Human resource management is something most employers struggle with, but don't know where to go for help," said Sarah Fogleman, agricultural economist with K-State Research and Extension and conference coordinator. "This was truly a unique conference that allowed producers and managers from all agricultural backgrounds to talk about the one problem they have in common -- managing, motivating and keeping quality employees. "This was one of the few conferences of this kind in the country," she said. "Conference participants were given the opportunity to learn from each other through producer discussion groups, as well as through 13 breakout sessions and three general sessions." The general sessions focused on: Motivating People to be Their Best, Keys to Communication, Now What? and Developing Strategies for Taking it Home. Breakout topics included: Managing a Multi-Cultural Workforce, Minimizing Legal Risks, The First Thirty Days, Building to Total Compensation Package, Managing Through Change, Evaluating Performance and Providing Feedback, Resolving Conflicts, Managing the Family Workforce, Selecting for Success, Putting Personalities to Work, Finding and Developing Labor Pools, and Getting Started. Speakers included experts from business, academia and government, including Robert Milligan from Cornell University, who is a nationally recognized expert in managing human resources in small business, and Bernard Erven of The Ohio State University, is a foremost authority on human resource management in agriculture. Other speakers included Ron Hanson of the University of Nebraska, Juan Marinez, USDA, Lisa Tokach, Abilene Animal Hospital, Don Tyler, Profitable Solutions, Kristin Oliver, attorney and Sarah Fogleman. A copy of the proceedings of the conference are available by calling Sarah Fogleman at Kansas State University at 620-431-1530. |
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