Abstract

Employers have historically valued employees who possess soft skills, particularly in the area of communication. Related research has identified listening as the communication area in most need of improvement; however, minimal research has been conducted exploring how to improve it. This study explored the role of employee listening in the agricultural workforce. Managers from a variety of agricultural companies and occupations were interviewed and five themes emerged. The participants identified how listening has a direct impact on business, the specific behaviors they expected to see when communicating information to employees, strategies they used to help employees become better listeners, potential barriers to listening, and finally how technology can enhance the listening process. Recommendations for practice include making students aware of behaviors positively associated with listening and helping them develop appropriate technology usage skills.