As one of the fastest growing new-age sectors of the 21st century, agtech is redefining the way food is grown, traded and consumed. Rapid growth of the agritech sector is attracting tech talent in droves, which is driving the expansion of agriculture 4.0.

Agritech start-ups are taking the best practices of the agriculture and IT sectors to build a dynamic workforce. Pioneers in this sector are building unique models and processes to not only attract talent, but also ensure productivity and efficiency in the long run, with maximum room for innovation.

Small but highly effective teams

Start-ups tend to have less resources yet face great challenges, as not only do they have to establish themselves in the market but also compete with existing players.

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Since agritech is an emerging sector, in the early stage of your business your hiring strategy must focus on building small but effective teams of performance-driven, smart people. This way, individual performances can be aligned to achieve optimum productivity for significant growth of the company.

Culture is key

The success of any company, particularly a start-up, hinges on its culture. It is what will attract the right talent, customers and capital.

Agritech start-ups have to walk a fine line between the traditional perspectives that govern the agriculture sector and the contemporary ideas that are idolised by the technology sector. As an agritech entrepreneur, it is important to be clear about the kind of culture you want to build before you make your first hire.

As the organisation evolves, the culture you lay the foundation for will directly influence productivity and engagement of employees every day. An empowering culture that encourages employees to be creative and embrace ownership will experience a richer growth path.

The right tech, tools

Being rooted in technological adoption, agritech start-ups were quick to transition to a hybrid work culture that gained mass credence with the Covid pandemic. Data-centric companies like AgNext not only utilised but also scaled up smart human resource management tools to assess employee productivity, engagement and welfare during the pandemic.

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Tech tools were also instrumental in bypassing geographical barriers to ensure flexibility for maximum productivity. In the agricultural sector, the on-field staff doesn’t always have reliable access to the internet or even electricity. At this time, having the right tools and processes becomes vital for efficient communication and monitoring progress.

Communicating objective

Communication at the workplace is critical to minimise gaps in understanding and engagement across all levels. With greater adoption of hybrid work culture and less physical interface, communication becomes even more important to convey organisational goals to the workforce, boost trust among employees and build an inclusive workplace.

The best way to promote high productivity among performance-driven people is to clearly define and communicate their goals, and create effective feedback loops across multiple levels of the organisation. Since agritech start-ups hire people from diverse backgrounds, it is important that the internal communication is not only inclusive but also simplified and suited for the right target audience.

This communication gap is not always transparent but has a major impact on the productivity and progress of a start-up.

Conclusion

There is no one-size-fits-all formula to ensure productivity at the workplace, whether it is the agritech sector or some other. But the heart of the matter remains the same. The combination of right hiring, culture and tools with right communication processes allows swift tracking, analysing and, consequently, improved productivity to support accelerated growth.

(The writer is Chief of Staff, AgNext)