Payment for positions in purchase and supply of fertilizers increased up to 60% amid the Russia-Ukraine war
07/07/2022
The war between Russia and Ukraine has boosted the demand of Brazilian agribusiness companies for professionals who work in the supply area. Under the fear of lack of inputs, the remuneration of those who work directly in the purchase and supply of fertilizers, for example, increased up to 60% in some regions of the country, according to a survey by Fesa Group, a company of executive recruitment and selection.
The movement is already helping to reverse the drop in hiring that occurred at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The most recent data show an increase in the demand for professionals for this type of position. Companies that operate in the Central-West and North regions are the ones that most seek these professionals for job positions. They are family groups, chemical, fertilizer, and input industries, and distributors, for example.
The demand for professionals for the positions of purchasing or supply manager and coordinator, the strongest, according to the survey, doubled compared to last year. The salaries also went up, between 30% and 40%, on average.
“When it is a position in a remote region or a country town, the increase can reach up to 60%,” says Anderson Schemberg, partner at Fesa, which operates in Minas Gerais, the Central-West and North of Brazil. According to him, there is an expansion in the agricultural regions of Matopiba (bordering the states of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí, and Bahia) and in areas of states like Pará, Acre, and Amapá.
Agribusiness companies have also increased their search for specialists, market intelligence coordinators, and professionals in the commercial area. “It is important to remember that these are leadership, managerial, and executive positions. With this analysis, we can assume that operational positions in these areas are also in greater demand,” he added.
Mr. Schemberg believes demand will remain strong at least until 2023. “From the second half of 2021 on there was a boom in demand for professionals in the market to reorganize staff. And there is a lack of specialized labor, from specialized mechanics to personnel for management positions,” he observed.
At Amaggi, the largest domestic capital company in the grain trading and processing segment, the growth of the sector, even with the pandemic, kept the pace of job openings high, unlike what happened in other segments of the economy. From 2020 to May this year, the company hired 1,700 people for permanent positions and more than 4,000 for temporary contracts in practically all units and areas of activity.
Nereu Bavaresco, Amaggi’s chief people officer, said that the challenges have grown since the beginning of the crisis, whether because of restrictions on the circulation of people, the “blackout” in the availability of qualified professionals, or the new requirements for different occupations.
Fesa Group points to the lack of professionals who speak English as one of the gaps in the selection processes. “These are positions that demand a global interface, so the language is a necessity,” explains Anderson Schemberg.
The lack of training led Amaggi to invest in its own initiatives to develop people to fill positions that already exist and also vacancies still to be opened. One of these initiatives is the Amaggi University, which, besides the benefits, salaries, and growth opportunities it has offered, is one more differential of the company to attract professionals to the segment.
“Average pay has risen approximately 15% during this period, and companies are realizing that their fixed labor cost has grown quickly. This is one of the reasons the industry has been investing heavily in state-of-the-art technology. Companies want to reduce their fixed costs and become more competitive, or in some cases, they are simply investing to survive in the global market,” says Mr. Bavaresco.
The salary is one of the attractions for positions in the Central-West and North regions, often occupied by people from the Southeast and South regions. “These professionals have been attracted by the good remuneration and the possibility of improving their quality of life and reducing their expenses,” said Mr. Schemberg. Fesa is currently working on 168 executive selection projects. Of these, 25, or 14% of the total, are vacancies for positions with more demand. “When compared with the same period last year, when we had 19 positions, the growth is 31.5%,” he says.
For multinational company Syngenta, the complexity of the labor market is also an opportunity to create a more collaborative environment with pay equity between men and women. In the recruitment for the different positions in the corporate area, such as human resources, information technology, finance, and communication, the company gives much importance to the background and practical experience. For business positions, such as the commercial, production, sustainability, research, and development sectors, the focus is on more targeted academic training. Agronomists, chemists, biologists, and engineers are among the professionals the company most seeks for these positions.
In 2019, Syngenta made a partnership in Brazil with a leading human resources consultancy specializing in finding the right professional for strategic or highly complex positions. “It is not simple to bring diversity from the market to management roles, for example, but we are focused on the evolution of this,” said the company in a statement.
*By Rafael Walendorff — Brasília
Source: Valor International