Corporate education initiatives promote growth and professional development in the agribusiness sector

In a sector as dynamic and challenging as agribusiness, corporate education strategies are fundamental for the development and maintenance of companies' competitiveness. In this sense, continuing training programs not only develop employees' skills, but also promote a culture of innovation and strategic alignment, essential to face the challenges of the agricultural market and, thus, further elevate the sector.

An example of this practice is Academia Agrocete, a continuing corporate education program launched in 2022 by Agrocete, a Brazilian multinational reference in the area of ​​adjuvants, physiological, biological and nutrition. The initiative aims to develop the skills and abilities of employees, with the aim of forming an integrated, committed and efficient team. Since its beginning in 2022, more than 200 employees have participated in the program, which involved almost 30 renowned teachers and experts in around 230 hours of training.

"The program offers a unique opportunity for employees to develop professionally, improve their skills and prepare for new challenges within the company. This creates a feeling of appreciation and belonging, essential for our culture of collaboration and innovation", he explains Priscila de Figueiredo Netto (in the photo), Administrative and Legal Director of Agrocete.

Through a combination of online and in-person training, the program addresses academic and market content to stimulate professional growth, aiming to develop the leaders of the future and also provide opportunities for those at home, through a culture that embraces development and collaboration.

One of the employees who participated, now Development Leader, was Daniel Fernando, who thanks to what he learned began to apply a series of leadership skills with his team. “Especially when it comes to management and team leadership, the training opened up an immense range of knowledge to me. It is a very important project in this sense”, he explains.

Paulo Nadolne, Biologicals Production Supervisor, is another employee who implemented significant changes with his team thanks to the project. “Participating in the Academy brought a lot of knowledge to us. I have a degree in Administration and am almost finished with the Production Engineering course. Much of the content I saw in both courses is related and complementary. The coolest thing about all this is that the Academy has always brought together people from different areas of the company, involving the commercial, production and administrative areas. When we had interactions during classes, we noticed different views on the same situation and this diversity of perspectives brought a lot of empathy to some everyday situations, allowing us to better understand all the points involving the company, from production to the area of quality and commercial", he says. 

Paulo also highlights the practical benefits of the program, especially with regard to feedback and indicators. "As a biological production supervisor, I lead a team of 30 to 35 people, and applying this knowledge on how to give and receive feedback helped a lot in our daily interaction. We also discuss goals, results and indicators. In our biological plant, we have a policy that values ​​the data we collect, encouraging operators to generate it. They use indicators to investigate and track process deviations, identifying patterns related to machines, equipment or operators, which has been very useful in our routine. that are not just managerial, but that directly help the operation and the situations presented at the Academy gave us insights to adapt these practices to our reality”. 

 The employee also highlights the importance of the project when addressing topics such as high performance and leadership. “After participating in the classes, I compiled material related to our work routine, showing leaders what I expected of them and how they could maintain a high-performance team for a long period. I believe that this cultural change must come from the top down, that is, we need to be high performers to inspire this same quality in other people. Academia Agrocete helped us achieve our objectives in relation to employee development and improving processes, management and delivery of results”, he continues.

Thus, the initiative not only benefits employees, but also brings significant returns to the company in the long term, since in addition to focusing on leadership projects, it involves employees at various levels, from those at the beginning of their careers to leaders with more experience. Employee Kassio Leonel, Technical Sales Representative in the Ponta Grossa region, was able to improve his performance in the commercial area through learning. “These are very useful lessons that bring us personal and professional training, helping us with the commercial challenges of the field by bringing differentiation and foundation and strengthening our arguments. These are comprehensive themes brought to you in a professional manner, which makes this tool an important ally and a motivator for achieving our goals,” he explains.

“It is very evident that there is a feeling of appreciation and belonging among the employees involved, as they realize that the company cares about them as professionals, playing an important part in ensuring that their development is continuous and including them in important discussions and decisions in the future of the company", concludes Priscila.

Study areas - In its first phase, the project involved mapping the main competencies necessary for organizational success, resulting in the creation of 39 relevant themes, grouped into 22 disciplines. At first, 140 employees participated in 21 classes, totaling more than 150 hours of training. Topics covered included strategy and marketing, leadership, sales and agronomic knowledge. The second phase trained more than 60 employees in 13 classes, covering almost 80 hours of training on topics such as self-knowledge, sales team management and digital marketing, focusing on training current and potential leaders.

The topics covered by the Agrocete Academy cover crucial areas for the professional and strategic development of employees. Among the main topics are digital transformation, business purpose and engagement, marketing strategy and planning, and business environment. The program also includes agronomic technical leveling, both basic and advanced, time and productivity management, leadership and leadership fundamentals, as well as effective communication.

Other important topics are negotiation techniques, management of high-performance teams, interpersonal relationships, presentation techniques, time and territory management, and portfolio and product value. Furthermore, market positioning, self-knowledge as a basis for management, consultative sales techniques, strategic planning, project management and management based on data and performance are covered.

Finally, the Agrocete Academy also covers financial and business management, business-focused process vision, digital influence, commercial execution for agricultural inputs, management of high-performance sales teams, customer relationship management and conflict management . All these themes, together, provide comprehensive and relevant development for professionals, driving the company's growth.