GROWMARK is finding that promoting an inclusive workplace culture can have lots of positive benefits.

“When work teams feel that their opinions are valued and that they can have a voice in the decision making process, they’re more engaged in their work and they’re more productive,” says Heather Thompson, GROWMARK Manager of Young Producer Programs. “They’re more committed and they deliver better customer service.”

The farmer cooperative employs more than 450 people in the home office in Bloomington, Illinois with thousands more throughout the FS GROWMARK system, and Thompson says a growing number of their employees come from non-agricultural backgrounds. “We have to look outside where we typically recruit to fill the positions that we have,” Thompson explains, and that means a workforce getting younger and even more diverse.

Learn more about how and why GROWMARK is working to increase employee engagement in this interview: Interview with Heather Thompson, GROWMARK