JUNE 2019 SEEDWORLD.COM / 7 it, they can easily become upset with their work environment or their position. “Helping employees understand the purpose and values of the business is critical to creat- ing engagement,” Gumina says. “This becomes a self-selecting process. People who resonate with the direction of the company will be highly engaged, and those who don’t will self-select out. Having an open conversation with all employees is the best way to celebrate the posi- tives and face the brutal facts together.” He says it’s also important that everyone understands how their role contributes to the overall success of the organization in achieving the mission. “We carefully crafted a company mission statement that would energize our employees globally. Finding the right words that speak to the numerous cultures and backgrounds within our company was critical.” Leadership development is also front and center in the minds of larger corporations. In the midst of all the changes within Syngenta, its first priority was to ensure that all employees felt valued, informed, included and encouraged, and that new hires possessed the qualities and skills needed, and share Syngenta’s commitment to help growers succeed. “Leadership development and coaching are critical components of our people strategy, and we have embedded them in the way we work,” Deepashri Khare, head of Human Resources for North American Seeds at Syngenta. “We do this through formal leadership development pro- grams that are developed in-house to sponsor- ing our employees to participate in external programs, and both formal and informal men- toring with senior leaders. We foster an environ- ment that encourages continuous improvement and access to leadership. “We have developed global and local cus- tomized programs to meet the unique develop- ment needs of our employees and business.” Syngenta also has regular interactive ses- sions with employees that focus on the five-year strategy for the business, and the progress that has been made. “This enables all our teams to write them- selves into the Syngenta Seeds story, and see how their work directly impacts and contributes to our business,” Khare adds. Turning Employees At some point, ,ost companies will have discon- tented employees. How the company handles this can often determine success or failure for the business. “Employees can become discontent due to numerous issues,” says Gumina. “Individual issues are best handled through the supervisor chain of command. For a broader organizational view, we run annual surveys to take a pulse on how we are feeling about the company. These surveys are reviewed for actions that can be taken to address issues and themes that emerge.” Solomon concurs. “The first step for leaders and managers in encouraging discontent employees is to engage in conversation and sincerely listen to under- stand the factors contributing to the discontentment. With that understanding, it is possible to identify what may assist in increasing engagement and motivation amongst employees.” SW