IN THIS ISSUE:
SUNSWEET GROWERS: FINDING TALENT: KEYS TO THE RIGHT FIT
OVER A CENTURY OF SERVICE TO GROWERS AND CONSUMERS
Previously located in San Jose (now known
Principal Shawn Miller highlights critical
as “Silicon Valley”), Sunsweet has been
factors for finding the right talent fit for
headquartered in Yuba City, California,
top performing organizations.
since
1975.
Sunsweet
also
owns
and
operates a bottling facility in Fleetwood,
*
Pennsylvania and a drying operation in Chile that is operated to strict Sunsweet standards. An average of 40,000 cases of Founded in 1917 as California Prune and Apricot
MORRISON SNAPSHOTS Check out some of our highlights from this past season.
Growers
Association,
Sunsweet
Sunsweet products are sealed and marked for worldwide distribution every day.
Growers quickly emerged as an industry
When it comes to the best tasting prunes,
leader,
California’s
Sunsweet knows that “The Taste is in
expanding prune crop in its first year.
The Shape™”. The cooperative’s patented
Today,
cooperative
pitting process preserves the tastiest part
processes about 60,000 tons of prunes a
of the prune near the pit so consumers get
year, representing more than 25% of the
significantly more sweet, nutritious flavor.
prune market worldwide.
They also get prunes that are consistently
handling the
43%
of
grower-owned
Sunsweet is known for its market presence in a wide variety of other dried fruits including
dates,
squished.
mangoes,
The innovations don’t end there. Along with
pineapple, raisins, and berries, making
advances in drying (Sunsweet’s patented
it the world’s largest marketer of dried
“Uniform Drying Process” results in tastier
We’re delighted to enter the New Year with
tree fruits. Its nutritious and innovative
and more attractive prunes), packaging,
a new look to our website! Check out the
products can be found on the shelves of
and marketing, the company is known for
highlights of some of our new updates.
grocery stores across the globe.
groundbreaking
MORRISON WEBSITE REDESIGN
apricots,
moist, plump, and round instead of flat and
Sunsweet’s history has tracked much of California agriculture’s evolution over the last century, with shifts and changes to adapt to changing times. Baby Boomers and older consumers may recall that Californians
WORLD AG EXPO
were
once
called
“prune
pickers,” while younger consumers are the fastest growing market demographic
Morrison will be participating in the 2020
today. Sonoma County, now known in
World Ag Expo! Read more about the event
agribusiness for wine production, was once
and see which of our clients will be there.
prune country.
WWW.MORRISONCO.NET
popular
products.
One
of Sunsweet’s most iconic breakthrough products is Sunsweet Ones™, individually wrapped prunes that are easy for snacking and simple to take anywhere. US prune sales had been in steady decline prior to the introduction of Ones™ in 2006; after their market release, total US retail prune sales grew for the first time in years, with Ones™ accounting for the majority of that growth.
CONTINUED ON PAGE FOUR
NEWSLETTER | WINTER 2020
FINDING TALENT: K E Y S People are the key to organizational success, outweighing strategy, marketing plans, product mix, and pretty much everything else.
WHITNEY WARREN RANCH is a long-time
That may seem a bit bold, but considering that people formulate and
family-owned walnut and pear farming
implement strategy, marketing plans, etc., the relationship is clear.
operation with prominent name recognition
The right people adjust to new opportunities and threats, working the
and historical significance in the Sacramento
strategy rather than being a slave to a plan. The wrong people don’t.
Valley, and a Board of Directors and related East Coast
The best organizations recognize the keys to recruiting the right
family organization providing oversight. Needing to fill a
team. These principles include:
Board vacancy, the owners desired a director with a unique
1. TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE IS A BASELINE,
of California agriculture, a strong finance background,
NOT THE PRIMARY DECISION FACTOR IN HIRING.
combination of grower experience, deep understanding and who would be adept at interfacing with those in the
There is always a baseline level of technical knowledge and
East Coast business context. Due to Morrison’s high-level
experience necessary for any position, without which one will
relationships throughout California agriculture, Whitney
not succeed. Successful organizations don’t ignore that, but focus
Warren Ranch engaged Morrison to direct the recruitment.
heavily on factors that go beyond the minimum criteria, such as
Working closely with the Board to design specific criteria
those below.
for the search, Morrison conducted discrete searches for
2. WHO A PERSON IS MEANS MORE THAN WHAT THEY KNOW. The best people can—and more importantly, will—learn and adapt, and have an intrinsic motivation to succeed. They are smart, but resilience and resolve wins over intelligence every time. They also exercise emotional intelligence (EQ) as much as IQ. Don’t settle for just knowledge and experience. 3. CULTURE IS THE COLLECTIVE BEHAVIORS AND VALUES OF AN ORGANIZATION. THE RIGHT PERSON WILL FIT THE CULTURE. Finding people that fit the desired culture of an organization is
board-level persons, reaching out to its extensive network, and utilizing LinkedIn and other resources. Morrison provided several highly qualified individuals to the Board. The Board selected Dan Cummings, a third generation Sacramento Valley farmer and Harvard M.B.A. who serves as the chairman of board of Blue Diamond Growers, the world’s largest almond marketer. This important placement has helped to further strengthen the leadership and legacy of Whitney Warren Ranch in California agriculture.
just as important as a mechanic installing a Ford carburetor on a Ford engine. The part must work with the whole. 4. THE BEST INDICATION OF FUTURE BEHAVIOR IS PAST BEHAVIOR. If a person has experienced success in a particular area in the past, they are more likely to duplicate that success in other contexts. Interviewing should include a behavioral focus. Ask candidates to share the particulars of real life experiences, and don’t be scared off by the occasional failure. As Will Rogers is quoted to have said, “Good judgement comes from experience, and experience from bad judgement.” 5. THE BEST CANDIDATE MAY ALREADY WORK FOR YOU. Every job opening provides an opportunity to take a fresh look inward. As job analysis improves the organization’s understanding regarding their needs and the search uncovers the available talent pool, it may be that the best person is already part of the organization. There’s more to it of course, but these five factors can significantly increase your chance of making the right choice. In a tight market, as is the case now for many fields, it can be tempting to take shortcuts in the interest of filling a vacancy quickly, but the wrong hire is much more costly than taking the time for the right fit.
SUNFOODS, LLC is a subsidiary of one of the world’s largest branded rice companies, Australia’s SunRice Group. Based in Woodland, California, SunFoods produces and markets Hinode brand rice, which is sold into U.S. wholesale and retail distribution markets (including Walmart, Safeway, WinCo, and Kroger) and to wholesale customers in Asia. To maintain its national accounts and build new relationships in the Asian wholesale and third party label retail segments, SunFoods needed a Senior Sales and Marketing Manager with the ability to grow and sustain business relationships in the U.S., Asia, Australia, and elsewhere. Also critical were extensive product supply chain knowledge, strong communication skills, and the ability to manage and develop people. The skillset and cultural fit needs for this position led SunFoods to engage Morrison, which then worked to find candidates with this unique combination of experience and attributes. The search led to a new Senior Sales and Marketing Manager with 16+ years’ experience in food sales and in developing Asian markets, who is also fluent in Mandarin and
The featured organizations to the right have experienced success in
Cantonese. He has been in the position for more than a year
recruiting while facing a variety of challenges.
and is excelling in this important role.
S TO THE RIGHT FIT Medford,
CALIFORNIA HERITAGE MILLS
Oregon, GRANGE CO-OP is a large
is a grower-owned rice sales,
Headquartered
in
grower-owned feed and supply
marketing, milling, and packing
organization. The co-op operates the only certified organic feed
operation in the Sacramento
mill in Southern Oregon, produces Rogue branded bulk fertilizer
Valley. Founded in 2011, the
and other products, and operates seven retail stores in Southern
company built and now operates
Oregon and Northern California that are also open to the public.
state of the art facilities. Along with its branded products,
When their long-time CEO retired, Grange had a highly qualified
the company is known for consistently processing orders to
internal candidate but the Board wanted an open search to ensure
specific quality specifications and packaging requirements.
the best choice for their future. The successful candidate needed
Having lost their controller unexpectedly, the company
experience interfacing with co-op boards, high-level leadership
needed to quickly find a replacement to provide accounting,
experience, retail experience, and familiarity with typical supply co-op activities. Morrison was engaged to perform the search based on our experience with cooperatives, agriculture, and other ag-related businesses. Morrison worked closely with the Board to define the search criteria, then reached out to our database, posted the position on key job boards, and conducted searches for passive (not actively looking) candidates. Morrison found 20+ qualified candidates; through the screening and interview process, the field was narrowed to four highly qualified individuals including the internal candidate. In Grange’s case, the top candidate already worked for the organization and Morrison’s process gave the board confidence in that decision. Morrison’s unique approach and billing model allowed us to work as an extension of Grange’s interests rather than focusing only on candidates we located and provided.
human resources, and other support to the management team and CEO. Additionally, this person needed to be willing to commute or re-locate to the rural location. With a tight timeframe and the constraint of its location, California Heritage Mills engaged Morrison’s recruiting services. After determining the skill and culture fit priorities, Morrison reached out to its extensive database to find fitting candidates. With a long history in food processing, Morrison tapped into the breadth of its relationships to present candidates with the right skills, experience, and cultural fit. Within a week, Morrison provided an excellent candidate who was able to assume the position faster than anticipated. The controller remains a key staff member at California Heritage Mills today.
OMEGA WALNUT, INC. is a premier grower-owned walnut marketer in Glenn County, California. The company was established to maximize grower returns through an extraordinary commitment to quality at its recently constructed state-ofthe-art facility featuring a fully automated packing line, laser sorting and grading, mechanical carton stacking and shrink wrapping, real-time vacuum packing, onsite cold storage, and other capabilities. Morrison’s expertise was sought when the company faced replacing its CEO for the second time in just over a year due to their recently hired CEO leaving unexpectedly due to unforeseen personal circumstances. While needing someone who could continue to build the right team, Omega’s board and ownership also desired to grow its commitment to quality, its growers, and its buyers. Morrison reached out to our network, including a top candidate who is well known in the West Coast nut industry. In addition to strong qualifications, this candidate was known to Morrison and had been through much of our screening process. The new CEO quickly developed solid relationships with Omega’s board, growers, customers, and the employees. He is effectively leading the charge to grow and expand the company’s business.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Principal Shawn Miller (pictured second from right) manages Morrison’s People Solutions service line. Shawn specializes in executive recruiting, leadership training, organizational development, strategic planning, HR compliance and best practices, and other people related services. You can contact Shawn directly at smiller@morrisonco.net or (530) 809-4680.
SUNSWEET GROWERS, CONTINUED
More than a billion individually wrapped
packed without preservatives. You can also
and look forward to their continued success.
Ones™ have been enjoyed since.
enjoy Sunsweet’s Essence Prunes with a
To check out the array of Sunsweet products,
sweet cherry, orange or lemon twist.
delicious recipes featuring prunes, and
Sunsweet has also revolutionized the beverage
market
with
PlumSmart®.
Morrison
is
honored
to
have
served
PlumSmart® is a crisp, delicious, one of
Sunsweet since our founding in 2002; in
a kind juice made from a special variety
fact, the cooperative was our very first
of fresh—not dried—plums. Sweet and
client! Over the years, Morrison’s work
refreshing,
many
with Sunsweet has touched every sector of
benefits
our business. We’ve successfully prepared
PlumSmart®
of
the
health
of
Sunsweet
and
offers
digestive
Juice.
multiple competitive grant applications,
PlumSmart® Light is also popular, with
conducted several feasibility studies and
60% less sugar and 60% fewer calories.
business plans, served in advisory roles,
Amaz!n™
Prune
For those looking for an elegant and complex prune taste, Sunsweet’s D’Noir™
tips for a healthy lifestyle supported by prunes and other dried fruit, please visit www.sunsweet.com.
provided people solutions services, and more.
Prunes are grown to full tree-ripened
We
maturity, picked moist and tender, and
longstanding relationship with Sunsweet
are
incredibly
grateful
for
our
MORRISON
SNAPSH TS
MOVEMBER The men of Morrison participated in Movember, growing out their facial hair to support Men’s Health Awareness. The
SAHRA CONFERENCE Morrison
participated
Sacramento
Area
in
Human
the
2019
Resources
Association (SAHRA) annual conference.
women of Morrison were the judges—Tim
FUN ON THE JOB!
won and a donation was made in his name.
Amanda Bullock and Dean Pritchett have been working with our client Agromillora onsite. Looks like they got to take a break and explore the nursery, yellow vests and all!
RUN FOR FOOD 2019 Some of the Morrison Team volunteered to hand out runner packets for the 2019 Run for Food 5k event benefitting the Jesus Center, a Morrison client.
MORRISON CHRISTMAS PARTY
TORRES SHELTER GALA
In true Morrison fashion, our team enjoyed
Brent & Sibyl Morrison and Michelle
a wonderful afternoon competing in a
Genova attended the 2019 Torres Shelter
friendly round of Top Golf and finishing off
Gratitude Gala, which raises funds for the
with a delicious lunch.
Torres Community Shelter.
ALMOND CONFERENCE Janae Swartz and Toni Scott attended the
*Pictured on the front: Brent Morrison at the Sohnrey Family Foods Harvest Festival with their Almond mascot.
annual Almond Conference in Sacramento.
M O R R I S O N LAU N CH ES
REDESIGNED WEBSITE As you browse our website, you will still see the familiar features that were a staple of our old website including biographies of our staff, a representative list of clients, and descriptions of our services. The latter are now presented in three main service lines: Business & Accounting Advisory, People Solutions, and Grants. Our offerings are the same, but we’ve updated our business structure to reflect these three lines. For example, executive recruiting and human resource consulting are now under People Solutions; they’ve always been served by that team, we’re just making it “official.” Grants now includes detail on the grant strategy and grant administration services that we’ve expanded to offer to our clients. Along with the new features and updates, we are proud to continue to host an integrated blog on our website, which will provide our regular readers an easy way to stay up to date with the latest grant announcements, A new year calls for new adventures. To kick off
sharing a selection of client projects can
2020, Morrison is unveiling a fresh, completely
be the best way to illustrate our services,
redesigned website with expanded features to
ingenuity, and success stories. Among
better serve our clients and to share who we
others, you’ll find descriptions of our
are with prospective clients, colleagues, valued
work with Associated General Contractors
business partners, and others.
of California, Ventura Pacific Company,
With the help of the great team at MC2, www.morrisonco.net
better
communicates
what we do and who we serve in a visually appealing and easy to navigate site. The entire website has been freshened up with
Crystal/Foster
Dairy,
National
Farmers
Organization, and Sierra Gold Nurseries. The
generosity of our clients—who welcomed us
newsletter.
into their offices, processing facilities, stores,
platform, you will be able to literally flip
greenhouses, and farms—and through the
through pages of our newsletter and view
amazing talent and sharp eye of Matt Salvo at
a digital copy on screen, just as it looks
Salvo Image!
in print—without having to click several
that do what we do the way we do it and that
continues to get hits every month, six years after it was first posted!).
next year as we expand the client success
digital version of our much-loved printed
We often find that there are not many firms
on the feasibility of food trucks—that blog
now, but please continue to check in over the
our clients. This was made possible by the
we’ve been honored to assist our clients with.
read your old favorites (like Tim Peters’ blog
who are showcased in this newsletter issue.
to introduce is a new platform for the
unique aspects of the projects with which
blogs from the old site so you can continue to
Inc., SunFoods, LLC., and Grange Co-op,
Morrison Team at client locations or with
pages you’ll find expanded details about the
team. We brought over some of our archived
Be sure to check out our redesigned website
A new website feature we are excited
studies, or “client success stories.” On these
line and every member of the Morrison
case studies also feature Sunsweet Growers
new photos, many of which feature the
Our updated content includes many new case
and business insights from every service
With
the
Issuu
publishing
different links. This platform is used by Patagonia, Guess, and Stanford University among others, and will help better share our company updates on the web. The print version of our newsletter will still be published and mailed quarterly (if you haven’t yet signed up for it, there’s a spot on our new website to do that!).
stories and other content. We’re hoping to visit many more of our clients in 2020, so don’t be surprised if we call you up to see if we can stop by for photos and a chat.
WE’RE EXCITED ABOUT RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH A NEW LOOK, AND HOPE YOU FIND THE NEW W W W.MORRISONCO.NET EVEN MORE USER-FRIENDLY AND INFORMATIVE!
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HERE WE COME! Morrison will be exhibiting at the
You can also find some of our clients
upcoming World Ag Expo held at the
exhibiting as well:
International Agri-Center in Tulare, CA on February 11-13, 2020. The World Ag Expo is the largest annual agricultural exposition in the world hosting more than 100,000 attendees from around the globe. Since 1968 the World Ag Expo has offered seminars on various topics as well as featuring 1,500+ exhibitors, all for the benefit of those in the agricultural industry. The Morrison Team is very excited to participate this year and will be stationed in Pavilion A, booth 1425.
• Blue Diamond Growers • Challenge Dairy (California Dairies, Inc.) • California Farm Bureau Federation • California Polytechnic State University • CSU, Chico College of Agriculture • Sierra Gold Nurseries • Stanislaus Farm Supply • Netafim
WELCOME NEW CLIENTS
WWW.MORRISONCO.NET
NEWSLETTER | WINTER 2020