The Produce Talent Podcast: Recent Episodes
The Produce Talent Podcast
Recruitment and retention are challenges for just about every company in every part of the supply chain. Finding and keeping great people — those special individuals who don't just keep the business operational but invest and contribute to the long-term growth — is a massive opportunity. On this podcast, we'll discuss recruitment, retention, career development, leadership, company culture and more, including hearing from produce industry companies and associations on practices and resources they've found helpful, plus lessons they've learned. Thanks for joining us on the journey. We're glad to have you!
Tami Martin, director of human resources for Black Gold Farms, joins us on the podcast to discuss the development of the company's highly successful internship program. Tami's own positive internship experience years ago served as a model for the program Black Gold Farms has today, and Tami discusses how the company recruits interns, how it compensates them, how it onboards and supports them throughout their time with the company, how it creates meaningful projects for its interns, and how the program has benefited the company in multiple ways. If you're looking for a way to get young talent in the door and develop your own pipeline of future employees, this episode is a must-listen. Enjoy!
Looking for perspective on building a great culture and keeping great people in your business? As you probably know, you're in good company. It seems that every conversation we have these days includes the topic of challenges in recruitment and retention. That's why we started this podcast. This new series will feature conversations about recruitment, retention, career development, company culture, leadership and much more. As with the other program in our network, The Produce Retail Podcast, the goal is to inform, inspire and ultimately illuminate opportunities for growth.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We're delighted to feature as our guest on this episode Cristy Stookey, the sales and new variety development coordinator for Allan Brothers. Stookey and host Ashley Nickle discuss how Cristy got into produce, components of a great workplace, the importance of professional development opportunities, peer-to-peer networking, the value of breaking down silos between departments, the role of transparency in company culture, and much more. We hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did!
Looking for perspective on building a great culture and keeping great people in your business? As you probably know, you're in good company. It seems that every conversation we have these days includes the topic of challenges in recruitment and retention. That's why we started this podcast. This new series will feature conversations about recruitment, retention, career development, company culture, leadership and much more. As with the other program in our network, The Produce Retail Podcast, the goal is to inform, inspire and ultimately illuminate opportunities for growth.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We're delighted to welcome as our guest on this episode Beth Keeton, founder and CEO of Elephant House PR. In today's conversation, Beth discusses her career path in the produce industry, the growth of marketing talent in produce broadly, and how to prioritize your people resources for the most foundational areas of marketing (and build from there). She also discusses what job candidates are seeking when it comes to flexibility and benefits and how she approaches recruiting for her business. Enjoy!
Looking for perspective on building a great culture and keeping great people in your business? As you probably know, you're in good company. It seems that every conversation we have these days includes the topic of challenges in recruitment and retention. That's why we started this podcast. This new series will feature conversations about recruitment, retention, career development, company culture, leadership and much more. As with the other program in our network, The Produce Retail Podcast, the goal is to inform, inspire and ultimately illuminate opportunities for growth.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We’re delighted to welcome as our guest on this episode Rick Stein, the vice president of fresh foods at FMI, The Food Industry Association. Prior to joining FMI in 2014, Rick spent more than 20 years at Safeway in various leadership roles across marketing, merchandising and operations. During his tenure he has overseen all sorts of large-scale special projects. Given his extensive experience with big-picture endeavors, we're excited to pick his brain about one of the more significant opportunities for the whole industry: bringing great people into the grocery business and keeping them. We discuss expectations of the Gen Z workforce; considering pay and benefits and schedules and training in pursuit of better retention; storytelling around what it means to work in the grocery industry; and much more. Enjoy!
Looking for perspective on building a great culture and keeping great people in your business? As you probably know, you're in good company. It seems that every conversation we have these days includes the topic of challenges in recruitment and retention. That's why we started this podcast. This new series will feature conversations about recruitment, retention, career development, company culture, leadership and much more. As with the other program in our network, The Produce Retail Podcast, the goal is to inform, inspire and ultimately illuminate opportunities for growth.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We're delighted to have Alex Jackson, director of sales for Frieda's, as our guest on this episode of The Produce Talent Podcast. In today's conversation, Alex discusses managing multi-generational teams, provides recommendations for young people considering joining their family's business (and for company owners recruiting those younger family members), addresses being a female leader in a male-dominated industry, and shares perspective on the benefits she sees job candidates seeking most right now. We hope you enjoy the conversation. As always, thanks for listening!
Looking for perspective on building a great culture and keeping great people in your business? As you probably know, you're in good company. It seems that every conversation we have these days includes the topic of challenges in recruitment and retention. That's why we started this podcast. This new series will feature conversations about recruitment, retention, career development, company culture, leadership and much more. As with the other program in our network, The Produce Retail Podcast, the goal is to inform, inspire and ultimately illuminate opportunities for growth.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The featured guest on this episode of The Produce Talent Podcast is Joe Barsi, president of California Giant Berry Farms. Joe has been a leader in the produce industry for nearly 30 years across several organizations. He visits with host Ashley Nickle about Cal Giant's efforts in employee engagement; its wellness committee; the company's culture of community involvement, philanthropy and sustainability; and its introduction of non-traditional benefits through a platform called JOON. If you're interested in recruiting and retention strategy, you'll definitely enjoy this conversation. As always, thanks for listening!
Looking for perspective on building a great culture and keeping great people in your business? As you probably know, you're in good company. It seems that every conversation we have these days includes the topic of challenges in recruitment and retention. That's why we started this podcast. This new series will feature conversations about recruitment, retention, career development, company culture, leadership and much more. As with the other program in our network, The Produce Retail Podcast, the goal is to inform, inspire and ultimately illuminate opportunities for growth.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The featured guest on this episode of The Produce Talent Podcast is Kim Chackal, director of sales and marketing at Equifruit, an importer and marketer of Fair Trade bananas. Kim's interest in fair trade spurred her to join the company eight years ago, and the company's bold branding has won it new levels of awareness in recent years — and attracted people who reach out wanting to work for Equifruit. Kim visits with host Ashley Nickle about her path to produce, the influence the company's mission and brand has in hiring and retention, remote work and much more. Enjoy!
Looking for perspective on building a great culture and keeping great people in your business? As you probably know, you're in good company. It seems that every conversation we have these days includes the topic of challenges in recruitment and retention. That's why we started this podcast. This new series will feature conversations about recruitment, retention, career development, company culture, leadership and much more. As with the other program in our network, The Produce Retail Podcast, the goal is to inform, inspire and ultimately illuminate opportunities for growth.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The featured guest on this episode of The Produce Talent Podcast is Julie Escobar, the co-founder and president of Global Women Fresh and the chief commercial officer for DiMuto. Julie has had a long, illustrious career in the produce industry, including tenures at Sun World International and C.H. Robinson. Her studies in international business helped her launch a career that has taken her all over the world, and she has continued to invest in her education and build a professional network that has delivered one opportunity after another. Julie visits with host Ashley Nickle about recruitment and retention, remote work, networking and much more. We hope you enjoy the conversation!
Looking for perspective on building a great culture and keeping great people in your business? As you probably know, you're in good company. It seems that every conversation we have these days includes the topic of challenges in recruitment and retention. That's why we started this podcast. This new series will feature conversations about recruitment, retention, career development, company culture, leadership and much more. As with the other program in our network, The Produce Retail Podcast, the goal is to inform, inspire and ultimately illuminate opportunities for growth.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Our guest this episode is the wonderful Wendy McManus. You may know Wendy from her 17 years as a marketer in the produce industry, or you may know her as the founder of Connect 2 Potential, the company she started in 2017 to continue to serve the produce industry as a leadership coach and a mental fitness coach. She is also a speaker – in fact, she recently gave a keynote address at the IFPA’s Women’s Fresh Perspectives Conference. On the podcast, she and host Ashley Nickle discuss the same topic that she addressed at the conference: For a business to run smoothly, everyone needs to be on the same page. Sounds simple, right? But getting everyone on the same page requires more work than you might think. Wendy explains the reason such work is so important like this: "We're all running around with all these assumptions in our head, and we think everybody else has got the same assumptions that we do. They don't." Listen to the full conversation for more details on the issues that arise when leaders don't invest time in this area and the benefits that unfold when they do. Enjoy!
Looking for perspective on building a great culture and keeping great people in your business? As you probably know, you're in good company. It seems that every conversation we have these days includes the topic of challenges in recruitment and retention. That's why we started this podcast. This new series will feature conversations about recruitment, retention, career development, company culture, leadership and much more. As with the other program in our network, The Produce Retail Podcast, the goal is to inform, inspire and ultimately illuminate opportunities for growth.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How do you keep great people at your company, especially when you hire them young, with lots of life transitions ahead of them? It's a popular question these days, and we believe one of the ways to find answers is to talk with people about why they love where they work. Denise Alvarez, sales representative for Chula Brand Produce, will celebrate her 10th anniversary with the company this summer. Denise has worked in areas ranging from customer service to accounting to human resources to logistics to sales in her time at Chula Brand, and she said the company has given her the tools and training that have allowed her to grow. Listen to the full conversation to hear what she appreciates most about her company and its leaders and why she enthusiastically declares, "I'm here to stay!"
Looking for perspective on finding and keeping great people for your business? As you probably know, you're in good company. It seems that every conversation we have these days includes the topic of challenges in recruitment and retention. That's why we started this podcast. This new series will feature conversations about recruitment, retention, career development, company culture, leadership and much more. As with the other program in our network, The Produce Retail Podcast, the goal is to inform, inspire and ultimately illuminate opportunities for growth.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
If you happen to also listen to our Produce Retail Podcast, you’ll know that merchandiser Brian Dey of Four Seasons Produce is not only super talented when it comes to the presentation of produce, but he’s a teacher at heart, so training the next generation of produce professionals is something he takes a great deal of pride in. Here on the Produce Talent Podcast, we are all about recruitment, retention and professional development, so today’s conversation on training is a natural fit. We discuss how to acclimate new hires in the department, what a typical timeline is for getting someone up to speed, how to tailor training to the individual, why introducing new hires to the people of the department is just as important as introducing them to the fixtures, best practices and nuts and bolts, and much more. Enjoy!
Looking for perspective on finding and keeping great people for your business? As you probably know, you're in good company. It seems that every conversation we have these days includes the topic of challenges in recruitment and retention. That's why we started this podcast. This new series will feature conversations about recruitment, retention, career development, company culture, leadership and much more. As with the other program in our network, The Produce Retail Podcast, the goal is to inform, inspire and ultimately illuminate opportunities for growth.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This episode features a conversation with Jeremy Taylor, the vice president of sales and marketing for DNO Produce. Jeremy has been with DNO for seven years, and during that time he has made an outsize impact not only for his company but for the produce industry as a whole. He and the DNO team recently received the 2021 PMA Impact Award for eliminating the school lunch debt for high school students. Jeremy is part of the IFPA leadership program, which is a huge honor that really highlights someone as an up-and-comer in the produce industry. He hosts a monthly virtual get-together for industry professionals, and he’s become a matchmaker for mentors and mentees in the industry as well. And last but not least, he is a fabulous follow on LinkedIn, where he features his colleagues in a video series called How Bout Dem Apples, shares memes that reflect what’s happening in the markets, and much more. Jeremy and Ashley discuss his journey in the produce industry, how he approaches bringing people into the company, the value he has found in professional development opportunities within the industry, the importance of developing a talent network, what energizes him about the business, and more. Enjoy!
Looking for perspective on finding and keeping great people for your business? As you probably know, you're in good company. It seems that every conversation we have these days includes the topic of challenges in recruitment and retention. That's why we started this podcast. This new series will feature conversations about recruitment, retention, career development, company culture, leadership and much more. As with the other program in our network, The Produce Retail Podcast, the goal is to inform, inspire and ultimately illuminate opportunities for growth.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Welcome to the first crossover episode of The Produce Retail Podcast and The Produce Talent Podcast! Our special guest, Ashley Candebat, is the dean of Rouses University. We know that finding and keeping great people is an enormous opportunity for produce retail and for the produce industry more broadly. Rouses Markets, which is experiencing significant growth, is making professional development and engagement a priority. Rouses University is the program they've designed to give their associates room for and a roadmap for growth. Now you might be thinking, "Okay, you've hit all the requisite buzzwords ... but how does it work, exactly?" Ashley fills us in on all the details in this conversation about training and development for now and later.
Looking for perspective on finding and keeping great people for your business? As you probably know, you're in good company. It seems that every conversation we have these days includes the topic of challenges in recruitment and retention. That's why we started this podcast. This new series will feature conversations about recruitment, retention, career development, company culture, leadership and much more. As with the other program in our network, The Produce Retail Podcast, the goal is to inform, inspire and ultimately illuminate opportunities for growth.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode of The Produce Talent Podcast, we visit with Megan Jacobsen, vice president of sales and marketing for Gills Onions. Megan and host Ashley Nickle discuss agriculture in the classroom and the power of telling the story of fresh produce. Megan describes her family’s efforts in this area over the years and how others passionate about produce can get involved wherever they are. She also discusses the role that home economics could play in encouraging more produce consumption in the future.
Looking for perspective on finding and keeping great people for your business? As you probably know, you're in good company. It seems that every conversation we have these days includes the topic of challenges in recruitment and retention. That's why we started this podcast. This new series will feature conversations about recruitment, retention, career development, company culture, leadership and much more. As with the other program in our network, The Produce Retail Podcast, the goal is to inform, inspire and ultimately illuminate opportunities for growth.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Our guest this episode is Rachelle Schulken, marketing and sustainability manager at Renaissance Food Group. Rachelle is also a board member for the Fresh Produce and Floral Council and is very involved in the group’s Apprentice Program, which is designed to build the next generation of industry leaders. Participants in this yearlong program get exposure to different areas of the supply chain with in-person and virtual tours; they are assigned an industry veteran as a mentor; they get a chance to network with the other professionals who are part of that year’s class with them; and they hone an array of skills that help prepare them for leadership opportunities, including public speaking. Rachelle and host Ashley Nickle talk at length about the program and also discuss Rachelle's career, what has kept her at RFG for coming up on 13 years, how she got involved in the broader industry, and more.
Looking for perspective on finding and keeping great people for your business? As you probably know, you're in good company. It seems that every conversation we have these days includes the topic of challenges in recruitment and retention. That's why we started this podcast. This new series will feature conversations about recruitment, retention, career development, company culture, leadership and much more. As with the other program in our network, The Produce Retail Podcast, the goal is to inform, inspire and ultimately illuminate opportunities for growth.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In our first episode of The Produce Talent Podcast, we visit with Melanny Gomez Cruz, a recruitment specialist with Four Seasons Produce. Melanny and host Ashley Nickle discuss Melanny’s job, her journey at the company, a few of the attributes that make her a great fit for the role, and how she encourages others to see the potential career paths that can start with the roles they’re in now.
Looking for perspective on finding and keeping great people for your business? As you probably know, you're in good company. It seems every conversation we have these days includes the topic of challenges in recruitment and retention. That's why we started this podcast. This new series will feature conversations about recruitment, retention, career development, company culture, leadership and much more. As with the other program in our network, The Produce Retail Podcast, the goal is to inform, inspire and ultimately illuminate opportunities for growth.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Looking for perspective on finding and keeping great people for your business? As you probably know, you're in good company. It seems that every conversation we have these days includes the topic of challenges in recruitment and retention. That's why we started this podcast. Hosted by Ashley Nickle, this new series will feature conversations about recruitment, retention, career development, company culture, leadership and much more. As with all podcasts in our network, the goal is to inform, inspire and ultimately illuminate opportunities for growth. See you in November for our debut episode!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.