Jim Lenz, GEAPS/Host:
This episode is meant for the ears of seasoned professionals, individuals and teams developing intern programs, and for the current intern and the intern of tomorrow. Join us for a deep dive on why internships matter and how they can be structured for success Coming up next. Hello and welcome to the show. Welcome to the Whole Grain Podcast. My name is Jim Lenz, your host and producer of the show and the director of global training and education at GEAPS. We’re the mission of the Grain Elevator and Processing Society to champion, connect and serve the global grain industry and our members At GEAPS. We work to be the global community and thought leader for the grain industry, which feeds and fuels the world. Thanks for listening today and for joining the network of thousands of other grain handling and processing professionals across the globe taking strategic steps to grow professionally. The Whole Grain Show will give you the competitive advantage to win at work so you can make more of an impact.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS/Host:
Our guest for today is Dustin Toberman an impact. Our guest for today is Dustin Toberman. He’s dedicated his entire career to the agriculture industry. Raised in a family-operated grain business, dustin has served in numerous capacities within the grain industry and is now the president and founder of OMNI OM NI Ag. is committed to aligning the long-term interests of both the talent and employers. We’re excited to have Dustin share insights on the show about internships and why they matter.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS/Host:
In this episode, dustin will discuss a competitive landscape for talents in the grain industry and why internships have become essential for organizations. He will reflect on how internships have evolved from informal programs to structured opportunities that help identify and secure potential long-term employees. Dustin will also share common mistakes companies make when designing internships and providing anecdotes from past experiences. We’ll also explore key components of successful internship programs, including mentorship, hands-on projects and feedback mechanisms. Dustin will offer strategies for creating mutually beneficial internship programs and emphasize the importance of clear objectives and structured activities. Additionally, we’ll compare the mindset and expectations of interns today to those from a decade ago, considering technological advancements and changes in workplace culture. Finally, dustin will share best practices for concluding an internship, including how organizations and interns should provide feedback and evaluation.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS/Host:
All right, our guest for today has dedicated his entire career to the agriculture industry. He was raised around a family-operated grain business. Since then, he has served numerous capacities in the grain industry and now serves as the president and founder of Omni, an organization that serves long-term interests of talent and employers. That’s why I’m excited to welcome Dustin Toberman to the show. Thank you for your participation in Whole Grain, Dustin.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
I appreciate it, Jim. Thanks so much. I’m excited to be here and I think it’s a great topic today. I’m really looking forward to our discussion.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS/Host:
Awesome Now to allow our listeners to get to know you and start the show with a bit of positive spirit. Could you share with our listeners a mantra or success quote that you live by professionally?
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
Yeah, that’s a great question. I love that you start out with that. I think for me, it’s really all about relationships. I’m a big believer in people. You hear a lot of people out there say that I’m a people person. I’m a believer of people and I think that when you give people the opportunity and set them up for success, it strengthens everyone, and I think that leads to just success for all of us, and so I think my mantra is getting out there, which is one of the reasons I started Omni. It was all about helping people, and I think when that’s your mission, I think you go a long way.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS/Host:
I like that as well. To me, people and stories of people and perseverance, getting beyond, or just seeing someone grow up in a learning development space for 28 years now that is inspirational to me. I think it’s inspirational to others to see people’s growth over time. So thanks for sharing that. I think by you describing the depth and scope of your work experience will contribute significantly to the show. As we focus on internships today in the agriculture industry, could you provide a brief overview of your work experience in the grain industry? I find it very interesting.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
Well, thank you, Jim. Yeah, I love to, and I love to tell the story because I think that it serves as a great example to both young and old professionals that when given the opportunity, if you make the most of it right, I think you can get to where you want to be. And that’s something that I challenge people when they come to OmniAg and want to talk about their future. That’s something I always throw back on them right. When given the opportunity, are you willing to take it? And so when you look back at my career, I can tell you this it’s not where I wanted it to begin. I often start with that because I graduated college in four years and we all have visions of what we think we’re going to be.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
Working on a barge on the Mississippi as a deckhand, making $8 an hour, was definitely not where I thought I would be after completing college.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
I don’t think anybody would put themselves in that position, but it’s really just the way it worked out for me and I’m dating myself here going back a little bit, but kind of in a time before in ag, before they had internships and really didn’t get those kinds of opportunities.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
You had to start from the bottom and my opportunity came as a deckhand on a barge and because I wanted to break into the industry so badly, having come from an ag background, I took it.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
And so I wound up on a barge in Mississippi as a deckhand, like I said, and really that’s really where my career began, and I threw everything I had into it, whether it was shoveling the boot pit or, like I said, you know, loading barges, unloading barges, and we handled everything from fertilizer to mulch to grain and even rock, and I threw everything I had into it and I wanted to show them that I could be the best employee and if my mission was to load a barge or to sweep, I threw everything behind it and I wanted to be the best boot sweeper that they had ever had.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
And that’s the way I approached it. And from there I got an opportunity to go in the office and then I went on the more traditional path that you see today, where I started out as a low-level merchandise bounced around state to state, where you grow in position and size of company, and eventually made my way up to the corporate office in my corporate career and was a district manager over many facilities in North America before I decided to break off and start my own company, omnied Consulting.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS/Host:
Again, great depth and scope that really contribute to our discussion on internships. So let’s discuss the importance of internships. We all know the current competitive landscape and what that looks like for talent in the grain industry. Lots of industries are experiencing this as well, but some of these more rural areas. It’s challenging. Why do you believe internships are becoming more critical for organizations? Additionally, dustin, how do internships help in identifying and securing potential long-term employees?
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
Well, I think the first part I want to address to that is that you’re absolutely correct, jim, that the war for talent is real. It is as competitive as I have ever seen it. In my 25 years in ag, I can recall a time when you would open up a position and you had so many candidates coming at you you know you didn’t know what to do, and the reality is is that times have changed somewhat, where companies are out there fighting right for good talent, and so I think what makes internships so valuable right now is that it’s going to give you an opportunity to get a young person the early talent as I would call it before they’re established, before they’ve gotten out to the open market, and it really gives you kind of the inside track on them before they hit the open market, which is really really valuable. Now we look at how much time and resources it takes up from a company perspective when they’re recruiting, and so this gives you an opportunity because you are playing for keeps.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
I want to stress that I know we’re going to get deeper into this, but the hiring moves that you’re going to make, good or bad, they’re going to affect you years down the road and I ultimately believe that they are the true factor in whether your company is going to succeed or fail, and so there’s a lot on the line here, and so internships give you a chance to test drive that employee, and it goes the other way, too, right, it’s an opportunity for candidates to see is this really the kind of company that I want to start my career with? Right, can I see a life with these people? And so, with so much at stake, internships are just a great way for both sides to learn about one another, to really dig deep and find out was this the direction that I want to go?
Jim Lenz, GEAPS/Host:
So very valuable right now. Thanks for sharing that. First of all, dustin, that brings up a lot of follow-up questions. A lot of follow-up questions. I mean it appears there is an evolution on the focus of the role of interns and internship programs across many industries. Some really elaborate programs out there, but where in the past maybe well perhaps internship programs were more informal and maybe a shot in the dark, can you reflect on the historical view of internships as more informal programs?
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
Yeah, you’re absolutely right. We’ve come a long way. You know, one of the great things about ag right now is, I think, that we are getting better every day, and especially in the area of internships. And to your point, you know there was a time when internships were very informal and it really was almost treated like a summer job and we’re going to get more into this. But you know, back in the day I think they were more used as almost kind of a summer labor situation, right, like they bring you around as a cheap alternative to hiring someone for so many of the jobs that we need at the facility level. And they’ve changed. I mean, when you look at the commitment that not only the companies are making but some of these schools you know I work with a lot of universities across the country and you know they used to be primarily for juniors and seniors. Then I slowly saw them get into the sophomore level. I’m even seeing some universities begin as early as the freshman year. So they are offering more and more opportunity to students, but not only more opportunity, but I think it’s a deeper experience, if you will.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
Again, we’ve come a long way from the days of hey, I need you to go grade grain or sweep the boot or maybe measure bins to now. You’ve got students working on a bid sheet and learning what it means to trade and to originate grain. They’re letting them get out and I know firsthand we used to let our interns get out and meet customers they’re having these conversations face-to-face. So what I would say now is is that, from a candidate perspective, you’re truly getting an experience and not only learning about that, but you’re actually getting a chance to sharpen your skills Because you know one of the big things we see that if there was an area that I would say that students struggle with, it’s being able to face.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
You know a customer, a client, face to face andface and have these conversations, these internships. Now, by allowing you to get out, you’re getting your chance to make your dry run. You’re practicing so when you hit the open market. That’s not the first time you’ve ever had these conversations about hey, how do I buy your grain? I’m interested in selling you your seed or your fertilizer If you’ve taken advantage of the opportunities through these internship programs. You’ve had several years to work on this and that’s so huge because again I go back to how competitive it is You’re looking for any kind of edge that you can get in the market Having a great internship experience is absolutely where that begins.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS/Host:
Great response Now. Can you sort of lead in or provide some common mistakes maybe some companies make when designing and implementing internships? Do you have any anecdotes or horror stories from past?
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
experiences. Yeah, boy, do I, jim. I tell you, yeah, and I’ll address a couple of those in a second. But I think for a company that obviously, if you’ve been working on internship programs for years right, just three years of experience, trial and error you’re going to improve. And those companies that have done it for years, they’ve got a head start on the competition.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
There are companies out there, maybe the small to medium-sized companies, that are just getting started or haven’t done it before but are thinking about it. That’s a common question I get from some of the smaller companies that say listen, I realize the value of this, but where do I even begin? So the first thing I would say is that it can be overwhelming if you look at all the things that you want to accomplish, but for those of you just getting started, and even if you have an established program, it really just comes down to having some structure. Going back to what we said a few minutes ago about it being very informal, back in the day, there was a time when you could just show up and it literally was well, what needs to get done first? Right, well, maybe the grass needs cut. I remember me personally when I got started, I was filing papers I mean for days at a time, and you talk about boring, right, but nowadays they’re much more structured. So by the time you hit the front door and they’re welcoming you to the team, they’ve got a plan, and I would say that the most successful programs are those that have clearly laid out goals and objectives. They say listen, in your time here, in this role, in this position, these are the things that you’re going to accomplish. We’re going to expose you to this. I think it’s very important to give them a well-rounded look at what they’re going to be doing and what a life looks like at a company. So the first thing out of the gate, I would say is have some structure.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
The days of just letting somebody go out and do what needs to be done, not only are you missing an opportunity to really test drive your employee and to challenge them and to see what they’re capable of, which is really what it’s all about, right? I need to know at the end of this is this somebody that I want to invest our future in? Can I see them being a future leader at our organization? But also it’s a poor experience for them because they’re going to go back and I can say this this has happened firsthand that they’re going to tell their classmates, their professors hey look, I wasted all summer there. I didn’t do anything but all but but manual labor. And that’s a bad look for the company and that’s going to hurt you going down the road, because as you try to grow your program and hopefully get to a point where you’ve got interns looking your way, they’re going to know that you don’t take your program seriously. And so, as much as I say it’s important to have a structured setup with clear goals and objectives, I think it’s just as important to make sure that you’re handling it in a positive way and challenging them, because a bad experience you know what they say, right, you know, good news travels fast. Bad news travels faster Two stories that stick out of my mind.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
And this is the real value of what internships can bring. And I get asked all the time. You know, do companies really take a look at interns? And you know, are they ever really seriously considering them as candidates? Absolutely yes, without a doubt, and I’m going to let you behind the curtain a little bit. We all get together when we pick the interns. I know where I came from. We would get together, even take pictures, and we would have open discussions about them and we talk about all the things we liked and all the things we didn’t like. We absolutely ranked interns to say this is someone we want to put in a great position and really challenge them and see what they’re capable of, because I rate them at the top. And there’s other interns that we say, look, we’re kind of taking a long shot, not a great student, not a great resume, but we want to see what they’re capable of. So we talk about those things and you can absolutely set yourself up for success or failure.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
Two stories that come to mind I can remember I had a young intern. Obviously we had a big imprint on the river and the river is always too high or too low it seems like it’s never in between and always dealt with a lot of flooding issues and when you’re dealing with that, you know sometimes it’s an all hands on deck situation and you’ve got to have people going everywhere, and I can remember I was. I would come and ask this intern hey, listen, need you to sandbag here? I need you to go take a pump here, I need you to take parts up here. This facility is slow and I was sending them all over the place and I mean host, hotel stays even, and, you know, run this person everywhere. Never, not once, to that individual complain or say, hey, you know, I feel like I’m working too hard. They always said, hey, whatever you need, I’m in the fight.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
And that’s such a great example, I think, of what what you’re looking for Someone that’s really committed to the internship and to the company, and that was a person that I can tell you. On the flip side of that, I can recall a time where we had a company event there’s so many internships involved where you have a ball game or a dinner or a company event and we had an intern that really got loose-lipped and took the conversation in a really kind of an inappropriate way, wasn’t acting in a professional manner, and that was somebody that we decided listen, as good as your resume looks, we don’t think that you’re right for the company because of how you handled yourself. So, so important to remain professional, because somebody is always watching. But I can tell you what you do, how you handle yourself every day, whether you’re in the office or out of the office, it matters. The internships are real and those that that the win are going to be the ones that took it seriously and acted professional and did the best they could.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS/Host:
Thank you for sharing both sides of the story. Some examples you did allude to structuring a program. Structure is important. Now, every organization is going to have their own unique goals and objectives. So maybe, kind of thinking broadly, maybe support those who are putting together an internship program, maybe have when they’re evaluating it, or trying to maybe deepen the program and provide more structure. So, given your experience, let’s now shift to key components of a good internship program. It’s hard to ask this question because everyone is unique, but maybe, broadly speaking, what should the goals and objectives of a well-structured internship program look like?
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
Well, I think the key is that I mentioned a minute ago about challenging you know, challenging your interns.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
I think that the old days of the attitude of you know they’re not capable of much because they’re students.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
I think again, it’s all about finding a candidate that is going to be a future leader for you, and that’s something that I recommend to anyone that’s looking at prospective candidates.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
You shouldn’t just be looking to fill that position or a low-level entry position. You should be asking yourself is this someone someday that I could see being a leader in our organization? I mean, if you’re really thinking about developing talent and retention and inside company culture, that’s really where it begins hiring the right kind of individual, and this is your chance to do that. So, I think a structure, I think the key is to get them involved, you know, without knowing the business specifically, but getting them involved in the day-to-day functions. I think that exposing them to as many things that go on day-to-day as you can do like, for example, you know, getting them involved maybe at the, at the, at the lower levels, but also letting them shadow and be a part of the very, very top. Now, if you’re at a large organization, it might be difficult for you to spend time with this CEO. But I think a mistake companies make is holding back and they don’t want to get them exposed or say, well, that’s, that’s too high level stuff. I mean, frankly, if I’m, if I’m wanting to challenge someone, I want to see how they react in these situations. So I’m not afraid to have them sit in a boardroom or sit in very high level meetings. I’m not afraid to have them look at a P&L and say this is what it’s all about. You know, I think you want to get them involved in your product or service. You want to talk about how their entry level position or the position that they would take immediately after school or after the internship how does that play into the larger picture of what we do? How does it lead to our success? I want to show them a path of okay, if we were to bring you on, this is what your career path looks like. I want to get them exposed to as many things, and it’s all about challenging.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
I think also, a step that a lot of great internship programs offer is getting them involved in a project right, or giving them a specific project that’s specifically related to that business. And again, it’s about not being afraid to take a chance. I think at the heart of it it comes down to you know, your internship program is only going to be successful as the manager is running it. So if the manager, you know, has a small mind and thinks look, these are young students, you know, I need them for manual labor, I just don’t see them being equipped or being able to handle high level conversations, well, frankly, your program is going to reflect that and the type of interns you get as you go forward are also going to reflect that. If you want the best and the brightest, which I don’t care how big you are I think that should be the goal of all programs you want to throw them in the mix and not be afraid to challenge them and to think of them as one of your team, not as an intern, and that’s something that’s really important.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
I learned early in my career that those that didn’t take our program seriously, it was a gift and I would begin to deny them interns because I would say, frankly, you’re not doing them justice, you’re not taking advantage of the opportunity, the entire reason behind this whole program, and so if a manager was going to not take it seriously, I would then not let them have an intern. So I want somebody that’s going to challenge them, that’s going to get them involved in projects, and because, honestly and I’m a firm believer in this that when we’ve got an issue or an obstacle to overcome, I want more ideas, not less. And so you know what? Maybe they’re not a part of our organization, but I’m willing to listen to their ideas. Maybe they give you a completely different perspective, but that’s how we get better, and so I want to get them involved in as much as I can. And so, when it comes to the goals and the structure, I think you have small goals and big goals.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
The flip side of that is, I also want interns to realize that they need to have their own goals, and this is something I had a conversation with an intern yesterday that got started. They’re asking me okay, the company gave me some goals, and in her case, it was. She’s a merchandiser, you know, I want you to buy so many bushels, I want you to meet clients, but I also challenged her to have her own goals about what do you want to know about the company? You know, at the end of it all, you want to be able to ask yourself what does my life look like? Is this going to follow my career path, my own personal goals, you know? Am I willing to relocate for these kind of people? Am I going to go all in on them? Because you need to answer those questions at the end of the internship for yourself. And so, again, I want goals on both sides.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS/Host:
I like that you bring so much to, could have a show just on that sort of response. There you could. You did touch on hands-on projects. I’d like to also discuss a little bit further mentorship and feedback mechanisms Can you talk to those important pieces of internship programs.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
Yeah, it’s so important. I think that, again, I’m a big believer in every. As a matter of fact, it’s one of my company mottos that everyone needs a career champion, and at Omni, we strive to be those who reach out and ask. And so I’m a big believer that it’s the people, it’s your network in your professional life, they’re going to have the biggest impact on your career. I absolutely believe that, and so these mentorship programs, I think, are great because it really allows the candidate, you know, or the intern, to feel a connection with the company. Again, back in the day, when they would just throw the intern and say you show up and you don’t know what you’re going to do for the day, and oftentimes, you know, they kind of wander around aimlessly and it’s really a waste on everyone’s time. But I think it’s such a great idea to have somebody that’s directly responsible or connected in some way to the intern and I don’t mean to hold their hand at, you know, all hours of the day but I think it’s important for them to be doing regular checkups, to not only challenging them but also this is important to remember you know, yes, we’re dealing with young professionals and you know they could be 20, 21, 22 years old, but they’re still students a lot of times and we’ve got to remember that they’re not experienced in the professional world yet and some of this stuff can be overwhelming. And so one of the things that I’ve seen as a success story is those that have people that are responsible for the interns and they’re doing regular checkups, not just about the day-to-day but also asking, hey, how are things going, how’s everything working out?
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
A lot of cases these interns are far from home and sometimes it’s the first time they’ve been away from home. Right, maybe they’re going to school locally and now the internship has taken them, you know, four or five hours away or a 20-hour car ride away, and I have seen some interns that unfortunately, it was just all too overwhelming. They didn’t feel like they had a connection, they had nowhere to talk to and they weren’t able to handle and they left. And it’s really unfortunate on both sides because you’re missing out on what could be a great candidate and you really never got to test drive that candidate. And the flip side of that is that they missed out on an opportunity to maybe be with a company that would have been a great opportunity for their career. So I think, giving them a mentor. I also think connecting interns while they’re at the internship.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
If you’re fortunate enough to have multiple interns, try to do as much as you can to allow them to come together to share their experiences.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
I know even those that are at my level. That’s one of the reasons that I enjoy going to the JEEPS conference and others like it, because it’s not even so much sometimes about, you know, the formal dinners and the meetings, but it’s just about the opportunity to come together and share common experiences, right, we all benefit from that, and maybe even sharing our horror stories with a laugh, and interns are no different. If you allow them to come together and say you know, at a lunch or a dinner, man, I had a rough day yesterday. Let me tell you about it. You know I was out, you know, crop scouting and I was in a field and the farmer didn’t want me in the field, and you know, here’s how I did it. What would you do? That’s also part of the growth too. So I think it’s really important to make sure that we also don’t want to forget that these are young people. They’re humans, right, they have emotions and we need to consider that also with your internship.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS/Host:
You thought it would be good to have a primary person connecting with the internships but also give opportunities for interns to come together and have discussions. So that’s good. You’re bringing up some really interesting points of making sure they feel like they belong, that their role is important, their feedback is important, and just to be able to have opportunities to express themselves with the staff there and interns, that feedback is important. And just to be able to have opportunities to express themselves with the staff there and interns, that’s really neat. And so let’s get back to that structured piece of the program. How can organizations design internships to be mutually beneficial?
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
That’s a great question. And here’s a great point and this actually goes back to the last one talking about the feedback. Feedback is so important and none of us like to hear areas where we come up short. But I think and I’m going to use this to tie into the next point that I think it’s so important that we get the feedback from our interns. I think a big mistake that companies make is and I was guilty of this, right, you get caught up in your day day and you forget, oh no, the intern, it’s their last week, right, and I haven’t had an opportunity to kind of debrief them. Such an important step. I would encourage anyone that has an internship program make sure you take you know if it’s five, 10 minutes, whatever time you have you know, hopefully more, but to really talk to that intern and try to get as much feedback as they can. Now, the pushback on that I always get is well, no one’s going to want to share face-to-face and yes, I’m sensitive to that but I think if you do it in a way that allows them to just kind of talk about their experience, you don’t have to necessarily put them on the spot and say who didn’t you like, what didn’t you like about the program? But if you said, can you talk about the experience overall? What did you learn? What are some areas you would have liked to learn more? So how you structure it, I think you can break it down and really get a picture of what their experience was like. And then, of course, I think it’s important to debrief the managers as well. You know, were you able to learn about this person? Do you see this person as being a future leader in our organization? If you can’t answer those questions, that’s an answer in itself, because you’re coming up short and your program isn’t digging deep enough. So I think it’s important to get that feedback and that feedback is going to lead to how you structure your program. And I think the keys are when starting a program.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
Again, it goes back to giving yourself some metrics and taking a look at your organization top to bottom and saying and this is really where it begins who are we? Who are we trying to serve? What are we all about? You’ve got to be able to answer those questions because I think if you can’t answer that for yourself, it’s going to be really difficult to put an intern in a situation and expect them to be able to answer those questions. So I think the first step is clearly defining who you are and what is your team all about. Right, when do we fit in the bigger piece of the organization? And when you do, I think you look at the day-to-day of that operation and some of the metrics on how you define success, and that’s really where you start.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
Okay, these are the things like, for example, as a merchandiser, if I was bringing in a young student that I was thinking about bringing a possible early trader origination or merchandiser well, I look at, okay, what’s important for us. Well, relationships are really important. Merchandiser Well, I look at, okay, what’s important for us. Well, relationships are really important. So, right out of the gate, I want to say listen, I want to challenge you to meet as many of our customers as possible, whether that’s through an email, a phone call, face-to-face. I would have expectations of so many meetings per day, per week. I would challenge them to how many phone calls are we making right? How many bushels are we buying? If nothing else, it’s just letting you know, hey, are they really invested in this? If you look back at the end of the week and I see that you’ve made two phone calls. You haven’t met anybody. You’ve bought a thousand bushels. Well, that’s going to tell me that either I’ve got you doing something else or you’re really not giving max effort that I’m looking for, and that’s going to be an indication of how seriously you’re taking this position.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
So I think I would start with the day-to-day on. How do we define success and how can I expose them to that? I get this a lot of times. I see programs that almost go overboard and they make it too detailed. Again, a little bit goes a long way. A little bit of structure, four or five bullet points on what we want you to accomplish is enough. It doesn’t have to be a written-out plan every day. I think once you set them on their way and they set sail, the day is going to dictate what they do.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
And if there’s somebody that’s a go-getter and I’ve got to be honest that’s what I’m really looking for. I’m looking for the student that is always looking for more right. I didn’t have to give them direction and part of that is by design, right. I want to give you a little bit, but I want to see what you do with it and when you’ve got nothing to Any interns out there. I’m going to let you behind the curtain a little bit.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
When you’re done, always make sure that you go back and ask for more. Hey, by the way, listen, I’m done a little bit early with that task or challenge that you gave me. I’m really looking for something else. If you don’t have anything, I happen to go through the company website or I heard about this person. Would you mind if I were to ask them if I could shadow them for a while, just to see what they do? That’s a great idea for both sides, but you want to be challenging them and then see where they take it and hopefully they’re going to come back and be asking for more. So a little bit goes a long way, but you want to definitely set up some key metrics and again, with that mentor coming back on, you know, maybe every couple of days, how are we doing? Let’s? Let’s have a checkup because, look, sometimes in the beginning it can be overwhelming and you might need to do a reset and that’s okay.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
You know I’ve always believed this that when we lose employees or things go badly, somewhere along the way, there was a break in communication and I think that that falls more on the manager or on leadership, than it does the individual, in this case the intern. Remember, they’re new, right? They don’t know what they don’t know. So, if you see an intern that has maybe started to get off track a little bit not maybe headed in the direction that you’d like them to be, that’s why that mentorship is important, that’s why that feedback is important, to come back and say, okay, listen, hey, notice that you’re doing this. Here’s what I’d really like you to focus on. Right, let’s try to get back on track. So, if you can keep them to a few areas, you know, I think that’s really the key to keep them on task.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS/Host:
Dustin, I love so much that you’re a guest in the show.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS/Host:
You really laid out both perspectives, from the intern and also the folks who are running the operations that are on site, and so that is really important and it should benefit both parties, and I like that you put yourself into the voice and character of an intern because you know, you’ve had interns, you know what you’re looking for. So it’s great that those who are joining us are also interns, and this is going to be a great support mechanism for them in their journey now and in the future, here as they are the future leaders, and so structured activities laying out clear objectives are so important for internship programs. Let’s now do a little comparison of today’s intern mindset to a decade ago or some timeframe that you would like to offer, because there are differences. There are different expectations, just from the society that we live in, that aren’t, you know, necessarily agricultural focused. It can be, but things are changing, things are evolving, so a mindset shift perhaps has taken place. So, dustin, how do you believe the mindset and expectations of interns changed over the past 10 years?
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
Man. That is such a great question, jim, because it has changed. It is drastically different than when I even broke into the to the ag game, and this is something that companies need to be aware of. Again. You know, we’ve always got to assess where we are, to find out where we’re headed. And if you look at and I’m here to tell you, I spend a good chunk of my time traveling to these ag organizations. I’m very close, I volunteer to do a lot of mentorship, I’m a big part of their ag business program, sponsor a lot of programs. I do that because it’s important for me and for OmniAg to keep our finger on the pulse of what’s going on out there. What is the next generation of ag leaders? What are they after? And I can tell you this and I don’t want to alarm anybody, but they need to pay attention it’s a lot different than what it looked like when I came out of school and here’s why you know I use this example when I, when I first started moving, I would have gone anywhere that I was required.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
If you would have told me that I had to go overseas right To climb it could have been in the middle of the desert I would have said, hey, how long do I need to be there? No problem, and it was all about compensation. You know we looked for an opportunity. You know at companies a lot longer. Nowadays it’s a whole different ballgame, and that’s why I’m so glad that you brought that up, because, as I travel, one of the things that I always like to ask students is what is your motivator, what are you looking for and as to where? I used to say things like you know, a great company, longevity, building, a career, compensation. Those were very, very important to me. They were, they bring to the top three for me. Nowadays I hear things like I want control of my time, my family is important, location is important, right, I want to have a life, work-life balance, mental health. These are the things that I’m hearing from students today. So it’s much, much different. I think.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
As before, you know, prior generations, we threw everything into our careers, even sacrificing our own self. I mean, I’ll be honest, I missed many, many events working in ag, because you’ve got to be there when the farmer wants to come out of the field, whether I’m loading barges or trains. My wife would have to film our kids’ events holidays. I spent much time in the office. Those days are over.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
I can tell you that the next generation of ag leaders doesn’t look at it the same way. They’re much more focused on the specifics of what the day-to-day looks like and what does that do to my mental health, what kind of time am I going to have and what does my career path look like. So, how it relates to internships. I would say we used to look at internships and say, yeah, well, we’re going to throw you in the mix, see how you do, good luck, right, and we’ll call you if you’re interested. What I would tell companies now is is that the students that they’re bringing on they’re looking for specific information on okay, if I were to take this position, how long am I here? What is my day to day? How long am I going to be in this location? Going to be in this location? What does it look like if I was to transfer? All right, what is the next step? How long am I going to be there? What is this career path? I mean they really get specific as to where. You know. We used to do checkups, maybe once a year.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
This generation is looking for feedback, like on a monthly basis. Hey, am I on track? Where am I at? How am I ranking with everyone else? What’s next for me? What are my opportunities?
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
I get students all the time that would say you know, after being an ag, 25 years well, how long before I can do what you do. And I would have to laugh like, well, it took me, you know, almost 30 years to get here. And they’re not even out of school yet and they want to know what exactly do I have to do to get where you are? And that’s something that we need to keep in mind in internships. So that’s why I get back to how important it is to be structured and giving them specific goals.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
The key thing needs to be that at the end of it, they need to be able to paint a picture in their mind of what it’s going to look like of a life with that company. And if they can’t see it, they won’t be it. And so if they’re out there and they say you know, I did a lot of different jobs, but I just I can’t see myself in that role because I don’t know where it goes. I don’t know where I’m going to be in five years. Am I going to be in the same spot?
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
If you haven’t answered that question, you’re in trouble, and so internships really need to do a great job of selling what the plan looks like. Hey, step one is here. Once you achieve this, you can get to here. And this really goes deeper, beyond internships. This is about company structure and development, because, again, this generation is looking for something totally different and if they don’t see it, they’re not going to do it. But that’s why internships I know we stress this, but the structure is so important you need to lay out that plan for them because, again, if they can’t see it, they’re not going to get on board.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS/Host:
Wow, thank you for the response, very, very thorough. Now, another thing we could discuss briefly before we conclude this is wrapping up an internship and what are the next steps. An area of focus of an internship program that shouldn’t be overlooked is just that very thing. How do you wrap up an internship, what are the next steps for the organization, next steps for the intern Dustin, what do you suggest as best practices for concluding an internship, and how should organizations provide feedback and evaluation? Can you discuss the importance of exit interviews and offering constructive feedback?
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
Yeah, big believer in all that stuff, and I think that you know to our point a minute ago. I think that the worst thing that you can do after an internship is to just let them walk away and, you know, not get any feedback from your manager, from the candidate. Not giving them any feedback also, but because, again, you really just kind of, you know, out in the middle of the ocean without a paddle right, what direction are we going to go from here if we don’t know how effective our strategy, how effective our managers have been? What’s our leadership meant to these candidates? And so I think that the most important thing is, as you begin to tie it up and again I get it, life gets away from us, right, we all have other jobs besides leading the internship, and I say this because I want companies to know that. Look, as someone who used to run internship programs, believe me, I get it right. I’m looking at multiple facilities, I’ve got flooding somewhere, I’ve got projects going on, I’ve got people issues. Sometimes interns are the last things that we want to do, but if you’re taking the time to invest in a program, do yourself a favor by making sure that you wrap it up, because you’re going to get more out of that going forward, and so I think that the most important thing is to set aside time, for you know, I love the programs that give the interns opportunities to present on their internship. I think that’s a great way to end it. It can be presenting on a particular project, or maybe, if they didn’t have a specific project and they were just really involved in all different areas day to day, they can just give a presentation on their experience there, right, and maybe talk to me about hey, what do you see now from your perspective? What does this organization look like? Where do we fit in the big scheme of things? And I think that also gives the companies a chance to see how they present. So I think it’s a great idea. You’re getting feedback, you’re getting information that you can use going forward.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
I do think it’s a good idea for the manager to sit down face to face. I know some people push back and say well, interns don’t want to open up, and I get that. None of us like to be challenged. But I think it’s a great opportunity to come back and give them some real feedback, because let’s say that they’re early in their career you know, freshman sophomore and they’re not at the level where you’re going to be making a final offer. It’s important to give them feedback so that they can grow right. I mean, they’re taking the chance and coming out and putting themselves in the mix.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
I think we owe it to them to say listen, here’s where some areas that I think you knocked it out of the park, but here’s some areas going forward I would focus on and always be specific, try to avoid getting personal, but it’s like, hey, you know, I think your communication could probably improve, right? You know, sometimes there were times I felt like we didn’t have good feedback from you or I wasn’t getting responses right. That’s something that I would. If you get an email, next time, don’t wait a week, right? Let’s respond to this in a timely manner. So I think you really need to put a bow in it.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
Getting the feedback is important, getting feedback from both the manager and the intern and the flip side of that is, I think, that the interns really need to come back also and they need to leave an impression, because I always say this Well, once you walk out the door, they’re going to have an opinion of you, positive or negative, and that opinion is going to either lead to an offer or it’s going to lead to a hey, good luck, right, and I joke and I say here’s a mug and a pen. We want to walk away with more than just a nice hat, and so something that I recommend all the interns to do is that, hopefully, throughout this and I made a post about this yesterday hopefully you’ve been taking advantage of your time. I always say that I don’t care if you’re at the water cooler in the parking lot in the lunch line. You should be introducing yourself to everyone out there and taking the opportunity just to say hi, I’m Dustin, I’m an intern here, would love to sit down and hear more about what you do and how it affects the bottom line. Someday, if you’ve been doing your due diligence and you’ve collected a bunch of cards at the end of it, what I would recommend is reaching out to all those people and talking about your experience, and yes, this is going to take some time. You can do it via email. Handwritten notes are always great, but I get it.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
In today’s world, emails work, but it could be an email or an intercompany message. You want to take the time to let them know how they impacted you, that you appreciated their time and that you’d really be interested in staying connected. I cannot stress this enough that it’s those connections that are going to lead to future success for you and going to help you grow in your career. So take the time to to reach out to each and every one of them and let them know, listen, if there’s opportunity in the future, I’d love to stay in touch and talk about it again. So, on both sides, the way to end it is, you know, a whole lot of communication and sitting down and actually giving it the time it deserves, as opposed to just saying oh, today’s your last day. You know, here’s a cake. We’ll go have lunch. Good luck.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS/Host:
Justin, you’re kind of expressing why I like the podcast form. It’s easy to share, easy to listen. Podcast form it’s easy to share, easy to listen. This message is perfect for those who work in grain facilities and those interns out there right now or future interns, because you’re providing so much detail that you can’t get in just a short article. So share this episode please, if you could. Dustin, your message has been so important to the Jeeps family, the greater Jeeps family, grain professionals all throughout the world. I’m just curious. So, dustin, as I shared with our whole grain podcast listeners at the start of the show, you grew up in a family operated business in the grain industry. This is what you knew from the start, of the young child and now all the way into adulthood. And you’re still a young fella. Yeah, somewhat, yeah.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
That was a real cough. I was in shock. Yeah, that was perfect timing. Yeah, not to the interns, I’m so young. But yes, believe it or not, I can still remember my early days.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS/Host:
Yes, yeah, and that’s important. You put yourself in the position of these different players and positions, so thank you for that. But it also brings curiosity for my end. Since you’ve dedicated so much of your adult life to the agriculture industry, I have to ask what makes working in the green industry so special to you.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
Thank you for asking that and it truly is special. It is near and dear to my heart and it is why I do what I do. The ag has been just fantastic to me to my life. From my childhood it gave me the life that my parents were able to give me Again. I grew up in an ag family and it’s continued to provide, and that’s why it’s very personal to me, truly, my mission at OmniAg.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
Like I said in the very beginning, I meant it. That wasn’t just an intro to try to sound good, it really was all about help. I believe that that there was a better way, and I was. I started to see this drift in the young talent, even in my corporate life, even before the pandemic about you know, were they looking at ag, were we still getting the best and brightest and I wanted to do all that I could do to help connect the best in ag to one another. And, as I said, I believe in relationships and people and because what I’ve seen in my life and my career in the ag world is that when you give people a chance, they come through and if you believe in them, and that’s something that’s so important to me. I tell this story because I use it for so many different types of presentations.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
But the people that we have in ag, I think, are truly special because there’s something inside, there’s a work ethic, right, and there’s a work ethic and a toughness and it just goes beyond the day-to-day. It’s almost personal, it’s in your blood, about just the ability to overcome right, because in ag we overcome so much right. Whether you’re trying to grow a crop, you’re raising animals, gosh, at the facility level, if it’s, you know the weather’s not cooperating, the markets aren’t cooperating, your equipment isn’t cooperating, lord knows, the river doesn’t cooperate a bunch. You know these are the challenges that we have to overcome and it takes special people to be successful in an organization. Honestly and I’m biased a lot of people from other worlds would walk away with the challenges that we face. And these are just challenges that we face on a normal Tuesday.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
And it takes special, special people and that’s why I’m so interested in doing it and I feel so passionate about it. I just I could, I could fill up an hour’s worth or day’s worth on just the individual stories that I’ve seen how people have overcome and helped one another. And that’s why and I, I, I just, even as I’m talking here, I’m thinking about so many stories and throughout my career where I’ve just seen people rise above and beyond, you know, to help, whether it was another individual or or the organization, and that’s why it’s special to me and that’s that’s why I want to continue to try to bring the best and the brightest our way.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS/Host:
Again, you’ve heard it Whole Grain Podcast listeners. We have Dustin Toberman, president of Omni Ag Services, as guest on the show. Dustin, could you share some information on how Omni Ag serves the agricultural community and how listeners can reach out to you and find out more information? And also please be sure to include some information about your podcast as well.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
Yes, I appreciate it, Jim. Yes, as I said it’s, it’s. You can find us on the web and omniagcom and I’m all over LinkedIn, usually making lots of posts that we’re we’re in the middle of our internship posts that we’re doing for both the companies and the and the clients, but you can find me there as well, you know. Feel free to reach out to me or connect through you know to you through either one of those avenues, and I also do. Yeah, I have a podcast as well, called Boot Pit to Boardroom, that you can find on any of the major networks the Spotify, apple or Amazon.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
Again, Boot Pit to Boardroom, where we discuss very, very similar to what you and I are discussing, jim, just real life ag events and experiences, and I try to bring on people in the industry, much like you do, and share those experiences, and the whole idea is letting people behind the curtain to see what does it look like for a life in ag, because I believe that we’re stronger by sharing those experiences. And, as far as OmniAg goes, it’s really all about connecting great people and organizations, and so we do that on the recruiting level, but also, you know I do consulting with companies and helping them develop and design their own internship and training programs, as well as training and development and succession programs. So anyone that would have a question about internships or training development or how do we even begin to recruit and where do we find the best talent, those are the conversations that we love to have and feel free to reach out, and I’m a big believer that everyone needs a career champion and OmniAg, we’re happy to be yours.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS/Host:
Wonderful. I hope a lot of listeners can grow their network by connecting with you. These are all important topics and every organization needs to think about this, and I know they are. This is great support for that. So, dustin, thank you for serving as guest on Whole Grain Podcast and spending some time with the Chiefs Whole Grain Podcast listeners.
Dustin Toberman, Guest:
Well, I appreciate the opportunity to be here. I love this discussion and I’m already excited about our next discussion. All right, super.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS/Host:
Thank you so much, dustin. All right, thank you, Jim. Whole Grain Podcast listeners. Thank you for making time in your day to using Whole Grain Podcast show for your personal and professional development. Hey, don’t forget to share this important episode with your network. It’s a great fit for not only grain professionals and those developing intern programs, but also for the interns of today, for the interns in your organization and for the interns of tomorrow as well.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS/Host:
You can catch all Whole Grain podcast episodes by going to the GEAPS dot com website. Again, it’s GEAPS dot com Forward slash whole grain. You can also catch the show on your favorite podcast app, such as apple podcast, google podcast, amazon music, spotify, pandora. There’s a bunch of them out there, dozens of them. It’s a great way to connect as well. Our young show has connected with grain professionals from 72 countries. While you are on the podcast app, hey, don’t forget to leave us a five-star rating and a comment. That really helps people find the show much easier.
Jim Lenz, GEAPS/Host:
The Whole Grain Show is a production of GEAPS, the Grain Elevator and Processing Society. The Grain Elevator and Processing Society is the largest organization dedicated to advancing the grain handling and grain processing industry. Be sure to check out GEAPScom that’s G-E-A-P-S dot com. The Whole Grain Podcast offers a terrific opportunity to spotlight your business. If you and your organization want to sponsor an episode and be a featured guest, please reach out to me. Director of Global Education at Jeeps and host and producer of the show. Additionally, if you want to have audio ad featured on the show, we can help you as well. Just reach out to me. My email is James at at jeepscom. J-a-m-e-s at G-E-A-P-S dot com. We look forward to connecting with you. Have yourself a great day and thanks for listening to Whole Grain.
