• LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
Agri-EPI Centre
  • Home
  • About
    • Governance
    • Team
    • Agri-Tech Centres of Agricultural Innovation
    • Careers
      • Project Management
  • Solutions
    • Service support
    • Livestock and Dairy
      • Midlands Piggery
      • Midlands Research Dairy Centre
      • Calf Research & Innovation Facility
      • South West Dairy Development Centre
    • Soil & Crop Technology
      • Crop Technology Southern Innovation Hub
      • Postharvest Storage Facility
      • Glasshouse Phenotyping Platform
        • Equipment
      • Soil Flux 360
    • Business Incubation
      • Midlands Agri-Tech Innovation Hub
        • Inspire – flexible office space solutions
        • Inform – Book your next event
        • Innovate – Access agri-tech workshop and on-farm facilities
      • Northern Agri-Tech Innovation Hub
    • Farm network
  • Impact
    • Case studies
    • Projects
  • Membership
    • Network
  • News
    • Events
    • Blog
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
Home » Blog » Things to consider – recruitment in Agritech

Things to consider – recruitment in Agritech

18th August 2020/in Agri-tech, Blog, Investment /by Yoni van Breukelen

Sam Clayton, Managing Director and Recruiter at AgRecruit shares his views on recruitment in agritech

Running an AgriTech specific recruitment business means that I spend my time working with companies in the AgriFood domain when it comes to recruiting for roles that are non-traditional for the sector. This sees me working on roles in Software Engineering, AI & Robotics, Data and various Engineering disciplines, as well as commercially oriented roles focused on a tech service.

For start-ups, or perhaps more established entities delving into the tech market for the first time, recruitment can mean stepping outside of the Agri world and into a wild-west where you’ll be fighting tooth and nail for the in-demand talent you need, against companies across the likes of Banking, Retail, Energy, Healthcare and any other sector you can think of.

This post focuses on elements that need consideration before you even dip your toe into the water and start engaging with candidates. Some may seem obvious, but hopefully there’ll be one or two you hadn’t thought of which will help you on your way…

Does what you’re looking for exist?

You may have 3-4 business needs that require addressing, varying from Sales through to Software Development – but, if you’re expecting one miracle worker to solve all of these, you might have to think again. With the odd exception, generally people will specialise in one discipline; so you need to decide which of these is the most pressing, or work out if you can recruit for more than one post.

How challenging is the role to fill?

You’ve decided that your requirements are feasible and it’s all systems go. Will it be straightforward though? Software Engineers and Data Scientists, for example, are established role types – but are still notoriously hard to find and attract. Are you looking for a skillset that is abundantly available, or is this a highly specialist role that could prove challenging?

Can you make life easier for yourself?

If, based on the above point, you’ve deduced that this could be challenging, can you take measures to open up the pool of viable candidates? Some flexibility on aspects such as remote working or the role requirements (could elements be learned on the job?) can significantly facilitate your journey.

In agritech recruitment, what do you have to offer?

What is standout or unique about you and your proposition that will be enough to not only convince somebody that the upheaval of changing jobs is worthwhile, but also that you should be their first choice versus the other parties vying for their attention? How are you making your ‘USPs’ (Unique Selling Points) apparent to candidates?

Do you have an interview & selection plan?

What type of interview(s) do you want to carry out and across how many stages? Are all decision makers agreed on what is needed and reading from the same hymn-sheet? Will your process give people a chance? Of course, the barrier for entry can’t be set too low… but, on the other hand, a process that is overly arduous or drawn out may result in great candidates being ruled out for minor imperfections or becoming disengaged.

Do you have the time?

You doubtless have other tasks and responsibilities that require attention; do you have the time to make this a priority right now? Can you review CVs in good time? Do you have time to vet candidates on the basics (e.g. salary expectations, are they serious about looking or just ‘window shopping’, etc) before committing to interview? Are you and all other decisions makers available to move through the interview process at sufficient rapidity?

Will you need help?

If you’ve exhausted your own network and your job ad isn’t yielding results, you may need to enlist help and look at going down the Recruitment Agency route. It will need to be a sufficiently attractive proposition for an agency to invest time & resources into. Surprisingly to many, the fee % you’re willing to pay is not the most important thing here; experienced Recruiters are more likely to prioritise the prospect of a healthy working relationship and partnership. To aid this, consider whether you’d be happy to work with one agency exclusively, or will there likely be further assignments to come should they deliver for you?

All the above points could lead to a blog post on their own, but hopefully this is enough to help make your life easier and start to maximise your chances of success. We are passionate about building further relationships in the AgriTech space and lending a helping hand where possible to growing companies in this domain, so will always be happy to provide advice and guidance for free on the topics mentioned here. Happy hunting!

Contact Sam Clayton at AgRecruit for help on anything covered in this post, or any other recruitment related enquiries:
(+44) 01908 035950
sam.clayton@agrecruit-ltd.com

Tags: agritech, HR, recruitment
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail
https://agri-epicentre.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Working-in-the-agri-sector.png 321 845 Yoni van Breukelen https://agri-epicentre.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Agri-EPI-Logo-Primary-1-300x87.png Yoni van Breukelen2020-08-18 03:14:132020-12-04 17:53:36Things to consider – recruitment in Agritech
You might also like
Farmers to help identify key areas for agri-tech use in Scotland Farmers to help identify key agri-tech areas in Scotland
A3 Scotland 2020 | Transition to Net Zero | Animal Health, Agri-Tech, Aquaculture | Agri-EPI Centre Proudly supporting Scotland’s inaugural A3 conference
Bringing together members and agri-tech industry partners
Presentation Paper AgTech in Latin America - Canning House Presentation of Canning Paper on AgTech in Latin America
Agri-EPI Centre AgriTech Enablers New Agri-Tech Enabler campaign demonstrates innovations

Support Team

How can Agri-EPI help?

For more information, please contact our support team:

E enquiries@agri-epicentre.com
T 0131 239 7100

Latest blogs

  • Soil Flux 360 | Agri-EPI Soil and Crop Technology Solutions | Eosense eosAC Multi-Species Soil Flux ChamberMeasuring soil flux as a way to understand GHG emissions from soil15th January 2021 - 7:43 pm

    Measuring and quantifying the complex chemical and physical interactions between plant and soil, Agri-EPI’s automated dynamic soil flux chambers monitor and measure positive and negative soil flux. The field-based technology captures topsoil and above ground plant gases, offering rapid and accurate data of soil respiration and sequestration.

  • Ten tips for grant funding bid writing | Agri-EPI blog | start-up, SME, scale-upTen tips for grant funding bid writing to grow your business7th January 2021 - 3:49 pm

    Bid writing can be a highly competitive and resource-intense process with no guarantee of success. Here ten tips for start-ups, scale-ups and technology-based company for a successful outcome in grant funding applications to grow businesses.

  • Myth busting difference in research trials with Agri-EPI UK Farm NetworkMyth busting difference in research trials with UK Farm Network6th January 2021 - 2:16 pm

    Agri-EPI’s team of experts helps start-ups and tech innovators with a proper research setup by brokering relationships with relevant parties, with a representative sample, in a commercially relevant setting.

  • Sustainable Farming - Agricultural Transition Plan DEFRA 2021-2024An Introduction to the new Agricultural Transition Plan4th December 2020 - 11:53 am

    DEFRA announced UK government’s New Agricultural Transition Plan by 1 January 2021. Agri-EPI’ has formulated what this means for farmers and the agri-tech community and what opportunities there are for agri-tech companies going forward.

Archive

  • January 2021 (3)
  • December 2020 (2)
  • November 2020 (3)
  • October 2020 (1)
  • September 2020 (1)
  • August 2020 (1)
  • June 2020 (1)
  • May 2020 (3)
  • April 2020 (1)

Contact Us

Keen to speak to one of the Agri-EPI staff members?
Let us know what we can do for you.

Get in touch

Call Us

Call Us: 0131 239 7100

Opening Times

Monday – Friday | 8:30am – 5:30pm

Saturday | Closed

Sunday | Closed

Agri-EPI Centre Rev Logo

Contact Us

Phone: 0131 239 7100

Agri-EPI Centre
Easter Bush
Roslin EH25 9RG

Privacy Notice

Follow Us

We work with UKRI
UK Agri-Tech Centres
© Agri-EPI Centre Ltd / Registered in England 09922991
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Home
  • About
  • Solutions
  • Impact
  • Membership
  • News
  • Contact
Farmers to help identify key agri-tech areas in Scotland Farmers to help identify key areas for agri-tech use in Scotland NFU Vice President to join agri-tech conversation at innovation conference
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

OKLearn more

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Privacy Notice
Accept settingsHide notification only