Monitoring the performance of service and parts staff on a regular basis is vital in the retention of skilled staff. “We set up meetings four times a year with every member of our service and parts team to monitor their performance against an agreed career path” says Amanda Dawson, HR Director of RDO Equipment Co in the US “as their pay rate is performance related”.

 

“In our experience, long-term career prospects are more important than pay rates, although we regularly benchmark our remuneration packages against similar industries.”

 

Along with Andy Luikens, RDO’s Talent Acquisition Manager, Amanda was talking to the Inside Agri-Turf podcast about recruitment and retention of the more than 2800 staff employed by the John Deere dealership based in Fargo, North Dakota.

 

Working on the family potato farm using rented equipment from a local John Deere dealer, 26-year old Ronald Offutt was given the opportunity to purchase that dealership in 1968. From a single branch, the company now operates 75 branches across nine US States and also has a partnership with a number of international dealerships including Australia where in 2015 RDO bought the Deere dealership Vanderfield. 

 

RDO Equipment Australia Group now operates 29 dealership location employing over 700 staff.

 

During their conversation with podcast host Chris Biddle, Andy Luikens described how the company start their quest for new staff at a very early age.  “It is important that we sell the attraction of a career in the farm equipment industry to the young, then engage the parents, open our doors for regular visits and make sure we keep ‘the fire lit,’” he says.