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26/03/2019
With the rapid evolution of ag tech, it’s hard to know just what with future will hold for agriculture – but AgDraft, is counting on being there to help farmers adapt to the coming changes.
According to AgDraft founder Ella Shannon, the trust and transparency built into their platform make it different to any other job search platform.
Rather than simply listing farm worker’s credentials, the site allows job seekers to select skills and experience to be verified by a referee to gain star ratings, with both the worker and employer asked to rate each other after each job allowing both parties to connect in a trusted manner.
“As agriculture becomes much more digitalised and moves further into the future the resources that a farming businesses will need will change, but our platform will still be a trusted site to connect to that expertise,” Ms Shannon said.
“Down the track, we might be connecting drone mechanics or data analysts to farming businesses –we don’t know what skills sets will be needed.
“I think that the future is really exciting for agriculture as we move into a world where people seek to know and value more and more what they’re eating and where it comes from.
“The way that agriculture values its people and provides opportunities for people will be key to how businesses will harness the potential of that world.”
Whatever the future holds, AgDraft has already shown its willingness to embrace change by adapting to the needs of users.
After pitching AgDraft at the first Farm2Fork Summit in 2016, Ms Shannon said they used feedback to refine their product and make sure they we were hitting the key pain points.
“We know that agricultural businesses need staffing on demand and that they’re remote hirers. But what we really delved into is that they’re often hiring for non-conventional qualities and notions, i.e. grit and work ethic, so a traditional CV doesn’t quite meet their requirements,” she said.
So AgDraft has taken the connection and trust between workers and farmers a step further by introducing video profiles of workers on the platform, and is working on including videos from farmers with a short-list of questions for shortlisted job candidates.
The move towards short-listed questions videos from farmers has also been partly in response to the changing workforce needs of farmers.
“When we built the platform we really focussed on seasonal and casual workers, but what we have found this past season is that there is a real need for permanent workers,” Ms Shannon said.
‘That’s another reason for the videos. When you put someone on casually you they need to meet a few of the job requirements, but it’s completely different when you’re offering someone to come onto your farm and in a sense into your family.”
And as AgDraft continues to evolve, it also continues to grow.
“We are achieving 40% growth month-on-month and have expanded into all states in Australia, as well as into New Zealand,” Ms Shannon said.
“Our growth target, with angel investment, is to have 24,000 workers and 7,000 farmers across the two countries on the platform within a two-year period. Then, in the third year, we’ll be looking at Canada and USA.