In this anniversary episode of This Is Ag!, I sat down with Chana Hauben, our Vice President of Human Resources, to reflect on the remarkable culture we’ve built at UnitedAg and celebrate four years of the podcast. Our conversation explored the heart of what makes UnitedAg not just a great place to work but a unique environment for personal and professional growth. At UnitedAg, we’ve more than tripled our financial growth over the past decade all the while maintaining the innovative, energetic spirit of a startup. Chana and I discussed how this growth has been driven by intentional culture-building, starting with empathy, collaboration, and creativity. These values are central to everything we do, from hiring passionate and proactive people to fostering innovation at all levels. Initiatives like the Emerging Leaders Program, the Ag-a-thon, and our CULTIVATE values recognition system create opportunities for growth and connection. Our onboarding process, transformed into a comprehensive and immersive experience, ensures new hires feel supported and inspired from the start. A standout moment was celebrating our recent recognition as one of the best places to work in Orange County. This honor symbolizes the dedication and care we pour into creating a positive, people-first environment. It’s also a reflection of Chana’s exceptional leadership in fostering an inclusive, innovative, and empowering culture. For me, UnitedAg has always been a "lab" where we experiment with ideas—not just for business growth but for human connection. Every day is an opportunity to grow a little more, to connect on a deeper level, and to lead with empathy. Listening to our employees, hearing their stories, and seeing them thrive fills me with pride and reinforces my belief in the work we do. As we wrap up our conversation, I reflect on what makes UnitedAg so special: it’s not just a workplace, it’s a community where people support each other, challenge each other, and grow together. Whether it’s through innovative programs, meaningful connections, or a shared commitment to our values, UnitedAg continues to be a place where we can all thrive. If you’re looking for a space to innovate, grow, and make an impact, we’d love to hear from you. This is what makes us UnitedAg: a family where the journey of growth and connection never ends.
In this anniversary episode of This Is Ag!, I sat down with Chana Hauben, our Vice President of Human Resources, to reflect on the remarkable culture we’ve built at UnitedAg and celebrate four years of the podcast. Our conversation explored the heart of what makes UnitedAg not just a great place to work but a unique environment for personal and professional growth.
At UnitedAg, we’ve more than tripled our financial growth over the past decade all the while maintaining the innovative, energetic spirit of a startup. Chana and I discussed how this growth has been driven by intentional culture-building, starting with empathy, collaboration, and creativity. These values are central to everything we do, from hiring passionate and proactive people to fostering innovation at all levels.
Initiatives like the Emerging Leaders Program, the Ag-a-thon, and our CULTIVATE values recognition system create opportunities for growth and connection. Our onboarding process, transformed into a comprehensive and immersive experience, ensures new hires feel supported and inspired from the start.
A standout moment was celebrating our recent recognition as one of the best places to work in Orange County. This honor symbolizes the dedication and care we pour into creating a positive, people-first environment. It’s also a reflection of Chana’s exceptional leadership in fostering an inclusive, innovative, and empowering culture.
For me, UnitedAg has always been a "lab" where we experiment with ideas—not just for business growth but for human connection. Every day is an opportunity to grow a little more, to connect on a deeper level, and to lead with empathy. Listening to our employees, hearing their stories, and seeing them thrive fills me with pride and reinforces my belief in the work we do.
As we wrap up our conversation, I reflect on what makes UnitedAg so special: it’s not just a workplace, it’s a community where people support each other, challenge each other, and grow together. Whether it’s through innovative programs, meaningful connections, or a shared commitment to our values, UnitedAg continues to be a place where we can all thrive.
If you’re looking for a space to innovate, grow, and make an impact, we’d love to hear from you. This is what makes us UnitedAg: a family where the journey of growth and connection never ends.
This episode is sponsored by UnitedAg, one of the largest association health plans to offer healthcare to the agriculture industry of California and Arizona.
Chana Hauben, Vice President of Human Resources at UnitedAg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chanah/
Agricultural Personnel Management Association (APMA): http://agpersonnel.org/about/bod/
Kirti Mutatkar, President and CEO of UnitedAg.
Reach me at kmutatkar@unitedag.org, www.linkedin.com/in/kirtimutatkar
UnitedAg website - www.unitedag.org
UnitedAg Health and Wellness Centers - https://www.unitedag.org/health-benefits/united-agricultural-benefit-trust/health-centers/
Episode Contributors - Chana Hauben, Kirti Mutatkar, Dave Visaya, Rhianna Macias
The episode is also sponsored by Brent Eastman Insurance Services Inc. - https://brenteastman.com
Blue Shield of California - https://www.blueshieldca.com
Elite Medical - https://www.elitecorpmed.com
Gallagher - https://www.ajg.com/
SAIN Medical https://sainmedical.com/
MDI Network - https://www.mdinetworx.com/about-us
Kirti: [00:00:04] So today, actually, I'm really excited. I think I started this like three years Ago, my podcast, and the reason I'm excited is not just because this is my start of the fourth year that I would start with this podcast, but because of the guest who is sitting right across from me. Chana, you have been such a big part of where United Ag is today, and not just from a cultural standpoint, the internal employee culture, but the culture all around, right? Even the look and feel of what United Ag is all about. So I would think like the branding and everything that goes with that. So, Chana, you want to introduce yourself. You're a VP of HR, but I feel much, much more than that. So welcome to the podcast.
Chana: [00:00:53] Oh thank you Kirti. It's an absolute honor to be here. Yeah. Vp of HR.
Kirti: [00:01:05] My human resources. We should say human resources.
Chana: [00:01:07] I was just going to say my CEO told me to spell it out. It's the vice president of human resources, because that is the that's the important part, right? It's not something you should abbreviate. It's the human in what we do. I've been here with United Ag for ten and a half years. It's been the most amazing ten and a half years of any place I've ever worked. I feel like this is a place not only for myself and in my role, but where everybody has an opportunity to come and create and try things and, you know, possibly fail. But keep trying things and what comes out of that freedom. And I think that's a freedom that everyone has at all levels. What comes out of that freedom and those creative ideas is really unique in almost all companies, especially the larger they get. So in a small kind of a startup. Yeah, you can have kind of that back and forth. Oh, let's try this. Let's throw that Against the wall. But when you have a larger organization that has a structure that we have and it's been around for so many years, I think it's harder to create that, that sort of freedom and small feel. And I think with you setting the tone, I think that's what we're able to create for everybody. And it's been really exciting to watch that creativity.
Kirti: [00:02:30] So when you joined UnitedAg, we were kind of like 70 or $80 million in net revenue, right. And we have now end the year like around 260 to 270 million in contributions. So that's a lot of growth. And I heard you say earlier, right, earlier when you were kind of a small like a startup kind of a company, then it's exciting. It's like you're creating something new. You're testing out ideas. How do you sustain that culture that was on day one, that exciting culture. How do we feel? I mean, most of us come in and if it's a Monday morning, it's not like, oh, it's a Monday morning. We're actually super excited to come to work. Why do you think that happens? Why is UnitedAg different in that respect?
Chana: [00:03:19] Well, I think it starts with who we look for, who we recruit for, what do we look for in potential candidates. So when I came in ten and a half years Ago, there were some people that were, you know, obviously set in their ways and weren't willing to change and weren't willing to even embrace anything new or different. And so a lot had to be changed at that point and to bring in. And so when we recruit, we look for, we always tell people, we can teach you anything. We can't teach you that hunger, that curiosity, that passion, that empathy. And some of the examples I use when we're hiring for member services, if they can retell a story about taking a grandmother to a doctor and they get kind of emotional, they're hired because that's what we're hiring for. We're hiring for those really passionate people that really care at all levels, not just about themselves, not about their paycheck, but deeply, deeply care about the members. And so when you slowly, over time, create an organization of 108 people that all have that similar passion, we're not all the same. We're not walking lockstep behind each other. But we have we all have a similar goal in mind, you know, how can we best help the members? And I was thinking about doing this podcast and I was thinking about, well, here we are in the OC and what does this have to do with the members in Salinas? And it has everything to do with our members and even who we recruit is how we support our members the best.
Chana: [00:05:00] So it's continuing that culture by who you bring in. And so those hungry, passionate people, that also translates to outside of their position, their role. Right. Because they are hungry and curious and passionate. They want to do more. They want to do a lot more. And so what we figured out was a really good model for us was kind of these committees, creating these committees and these committees create the sustainability of some of these initiatives. So when it was just the two of us ten years Ago, trying to do these things, we still had our great ideas. We still wanted to do all these amazing things, but it's how do you keep it going? And that was kind of one of the big struggles that we had in the beginning. And a lot of it, what we have today is pulling what we had already created, reformatting it, and then it becomes a living thing. So next year it may look a little bit different.
Chana: [00:05:56] We keep our Ten Commandments updated. They may not be the same every year. So all these different committees are working towards all these different activities. And that's what's creating a deeper and more intense culture as we continue to grow. And I think it's just, Again, the people you hire, they come up with the ideas. We have someone new on staff and they say, hey, let's do a newsletter. Yeah, we thought of a newsletter ten years Ago, but it's like, oh, it's so much work, blah, blah blah. But now we have these teams. We have a whole committee who's going to pull together these newsletters and we'll be able to sustain it. So I think all those things with the people, I think the people is what's key. And I think one of the things that you do so well is connect one on one with everybody, you know, everybody. And you said you were bringing back the birthday luncheons and that's huge. I don't know a CEO on the planet that will take everybody out on their birthday or near their birthday. Just on a personal level. You're not talking work. You're not asking about their job. You're just connecting with them, getting to know them.
Kirti: [00:07:06] Right. It's understanding who everybody is at a deeper level and bringing those trends to surface. Right. And we do that very, very well at United Ag. And you mentioned all these committees that we have. And can you give an example of what that would be if somebody is looking at this from the outside, right, and trying to understand of our culture of day one, that was ten and a half years Ago when you started at United Ag, is exactly the same as it is today. And the energy level and the passion and things and the excitement that happens at United AG, and how we use empathy that we get for our members. Right. How do you do that? So there's a lot to do in this. So somebody listening, what are some practical, give some examples of these committees that you're talking about.
Chana: [00:07:57] Yeah. So one of the things that we had actually come up with probably about ten years ago was we called them our etiquettes, kind of our core values, kind of what bonds everybody as a united ag employee. And it was things like, be kind to yourself, roll up your sleeves and, you know, get your hands dirty. And we did that about ten years Ago. And it had been written up on a dry erase board and somebody erased it. And so we pulled it up. It was recently last about six months ago. We pulled it up and we were trying to figure out because these are so important and there's such a core value for who we are. And how do we share that with new people, or do they just discover that on their own? And so what we ended up doing, and we were struggling with what the assignment was, the way it had been presented to us by somebody else. And I said, what would Quixote do? And Quixote would look at it as, what's the problem? What are we solving for and what's the solution? And all of a sudden the light bulbs went off for the team and they came up with roots.
Chana: [00:09:06] And so these kind of ten commandments became our roots. And so we're tying it to Ag. And each one of the roots spells cultivate and don't ask me what they actually stand for, but so the acronym is cultivate. And each one of those stands for our values. And we've been able to really capitalize on the roots and the excitement behind it. And what we actually did is we purchased the inexpensive little trees off Amazon. And every month you can nominate a peer for upholding one of our roots, demonstrating trust or things like that. And so some people's trees are full with these. And it's become a really exciting every month. I think there's at least a hundred tokens that people give to one another as a demonstration of, of holding these roots. And so yeah, so we're incorporating it into everything that we do. We've started talking about it in our all staff so that we, we're creating different avenues to keep things alive, because in the past we haven't had the manpower to keep these things going.
Kirti: [00:10:19] So and so it's not just something somewhere on a poster board or somewhere on the, in the conference room, but we are living and breathing this every day. Right. So that's that. Yeah. It's like a tree. We live and breathe it. Yeah.
Chana: [00:10:33] Exactly.
Kirti: [00:10:33] And we sustain those. We're making our roots stronger. That's what it is. Yeah I know we have the Emerging Leaders Program. Do you want to talk a little bit about that and what that is.
Chana: [00:10:43] So this was actually one of your passions when we started ten years ago. Really mentoring and growing the next generation, right? That's Kirti’s passion. And I was right by your side on that. And you and I started the Emerging Leaders 7 or 8 years ago with the first group. And basically what it is, it's not a it's not emerging leaders to become the CEO. It's to become a leader within yourself, a leader within your own role, a leader within your own team. It can even help you at home. There's a lot of different skills, and it's more about learning about the leader that's already inside of you. And so when you and I did it the first year, that session, that group of individuals, we had them do the next year's session for the emerging leaders, too. And they took it to a whole other level with their projects and the way they explained the different leadership principles. We kind of fizzled out during Covid, and then we started back up again, and we just finished this year's Emerging Leaders three. And the excitement and people are just clamoring to get in. And people, it's a place where you can be vulnerable and you're learning from other leaders. And you and I sit in on the sessions and share some of our experiences that they may not have, but it's been an amazing probably one of my favorite things we do once a month is meet with them and just watch their eyes sparkle and, and the energy and enthusiasm that they bring with them.
Kirti: [00:12:24] So it's the same thing that we apply to our members, right? And the way we've grown at United Ag is to understand our user base and to get to know at a deeper level, what are their pain points, how can we solve it? We tend to do that across the board, even for employees like, okay, who is Chana? Deep down, what is she passionate about and what can we then connect that passion with? What we do at United Ag? And how do those strengths come out right? That's who we are at United Ag. And I always say this culture is not for everyone. So have you ever had issues where you found somebody new coming in struggle with this culture, and how did you handle that?
Chana: [00:13:08] So I just recently moved somebody new onto my team, and I think that's made a huge difference. In the past, it was hard. It's almost like we just expected people to just breathe the air and connect with our culture and who we are and what's effective and what works here, what doesn't work here. And it they had to somehow, by osmosis, just figure it out. There was no rulebook, no playbook. And then we'd be disappointed if they didn't behave the way we thought they should be behaving. And it's like, well, what? Out with them, you know? And so what we realized is that we weren't doing a good job at how can we bring that culture forward. It's so important. And it's not just going to happen organically. It can take a lot of time. And I think so being intentional about it, spending a lot of time on onboarding. I know our onboarding used to be a day and we'd go through the handbook and we'd set you up with your computer, and that was onboarding today. Onboarding is weeks and weeks, right? We've created trainings and we've had each department do who we are one on one. And we have all new hires sitting and watch those. We have all new hires meeting with all the managers and executives. We have a mentorship program that they're put into as a new hire. And so there's a lot of different avenues and a lot of different methods that they're now getting that information. And the new person on my team sits and goes through the routes one by one and what they mean and the significance of it. And so there's a lot more intentional work to really help somebody understand what our how, what the culture is, rather than guessing and missing.
Kirti: [00:15:03] Right. And the culture is not for everyone. Right. So we've found people come in, they have a different idea of what a workplace should be and what that means. So we kind of are none of us have egos at United Ag, and none of us are driven by titles. So I didn't come in here because I wanted a CEO title next to mine and say, oh, president and CEO, right. That's not how I feel. That's not who I am. And you are the same. And everybody at United Ag, when we really look at the titles, we say it's for the outside people, not for within United Ag. And some people struggle with that because people come in from outside where there's a structure of the executive team, a CEO, an executive team, then you have the other managers, and sometimes they find it really hard to adapt to that at United Ag because they find what I mean. This is flat and people are not going to respect me because I'm a VP or I'm this or this or whatever it is. Any thoughts on how you deal with that?
Chana: [00:16:11] Yeah. So I explain it. So I do the final interview for every position that comes into United Ag, and I explain to them we're extremely flat. You don't have to go through Sally to talk to Joe. You can go directly to Joe and talk to Joe if you want to talk to the CEO. Her door is open, her cell phone number is on her business card. It's just, you know, everybody is accessible.
Kirti: [00:16:37] What I wanted to bring in is somebody looking right. UnitedAg is not everybody's cup of tea. It's a very different culture. The world outside is very different. We are doing something very different at UnitedAg.
Chana: [00:16:50] So yeah, and I think people can choose to be a part of it or choose to not be a part of it. And I think that difference is okay. I don't think everyone, like I said, nobody has to be in lockstep. We're not the Stepford United Ag family, you know, we're all these unique individuals. And one of the things that I tell people in interviews is, you know, your job description is just the first four corners of our expectations. But we're looking for somebody who wants to push those four corners way farther. That's right. And that's who we're looking for. And so that's really who we need, is those people that are unique and they are different. And if they can adapt to the culture, the culture can adapt to them. It's not like it's this really set, firm thing that's immovable. But it isn't a one size fits all. But it can be very accommodating for different people's styles and we need that. We need that diversity. If someone's really unhappy and it's just too much fun or too much, you know, we do what we do. Spend a lot of time on our fun committee just to, again, you know, make people feel like it's not just all work and drudgery, but we can go outside and play pickleball for an hour. So things like that, and people can take part in it or they don't have to. Um, and some people do choose: this is just my job. I don't want friends. I don't need to, you know, go out for drinks with people. This is my job. I do it well, I go home, I have a family for that. So.
Kirti: [00:18:29] Right. And some people might want some different things from careers where they're saying, I want to be in a cutthroat kind of environment where I need to grow my skills. And so it's united, I think, grows you as a person, as a human being. Right? Yeah. Of course you'll get skills from accounting. You'll get skills or different things that you do in different roles. Of course you'll grow from that. But deep down, I find UnitedAg is knowing ourselves more. Being part of UnitedAg is a self-discovery process, and you get to know. And that's not everybody's cup of tea, because people might feel, I don't want to go through that. I just want to make a lot of money. I want all the titles out there. And of course, I have an ego and I have a title of CEO, so you better treat me with respect. Right? So I'm going to show that in every meeting. And I'm going to do that because I am in this role and you better treat me this way. Right. So when you struggle with that, I think unity is not a place, right? I mean, because unity is actually an experiment to see if you use a business as a spiritual practice of self-discovery, does it work? So that's what you're trying. So when so if you struggle with it, that's totally okay, because this is not a traditional place of work at all. So if you're curious, like you said, you're excited. You want to try something innovative. You want to jump in and do something and fail and learn from it and get up and do it. And in the process, find out what your inner strengths are and how that brings. How can you contribute to the membership and the customers and the users of United Ag? By using your strength to the fullest, then be part of United Ag. Yeah, if you're looking for a title and an ego and a next salary increase and the next bonus, maybe UnitedAg is not a place, right? I mean, that's how I see it.
Chana: [00:20:27] Yeah, yeah, that's what we do. You hire a lot of recent college graduates and so they don't know any better, right? So they can either have heard from their parents what their businesses are like. And oh, my boss yelled at me today. And you know, so I'm going to come home and kick the dog or, you know, so they don't know better. They don't know if this is is this normal? And I think when I first started here I wanted to have everyone do a week internship at some other company just so they can see what the real world is like, because some of them have never worked anywhere else but here. Right? And the real world is hard out there. You know, it's hard. And those corporate structures, the benefits to it. I think if you work at like a blue shield, you have 29 people that are doing your same job, right. So you can slack off, you can take vacation, you can do other things. Here. We have one person that does that job.
Kirti: [00:21:27] Right, right. So true. So as you've gone through your journey here at United Ag, and have you had days when you felt a little disenchanted, a little like, oh, maybe this is not working out and felt a little bit questioning the way we do things?
Chana: [00:21:48] No, I don't think I've ever. I think instead of feeling defeated or disenchanted, I always see it as, okay, let's fix it, let's fix it, let's do something about it. This didn't work right. So our onboarding was terrible with our papers. Everything was paper. And yeah, everyone complained about it. And then during Covid, we at least went to PDFs, right? Fillable PDFs. And that was like automation for us. And then we progressed even further and we went to now it's all automated through ADP. And so I think rather than yeah, you have moments of feeling like, oh, Groundhog Day, here we go again. Another old fashioned system that isn't working anymore. It's not a good function for a moving, growing company. And so I usually see it as opportunities to fix things. That's usually what then gets me re-energized rather than feeling defeated.
Kirti: [00:22:48] That's cool. So all this is culminated into something really exciting recently, right? We were recognized. You want to talk a little bit about that?
Chana: [00:22:57] So it was huge. We were just recognized as one of the best places to work in Orange County. So that's huge. And it was actually something that me as an eager beaver when I first started here, I was like, oh, we're going to get this designation. I'm so happy in my job. Isn't everyone happy in their job? You know, that was kind of how I came in here. I loved my job from the very beginning. So we had it's a third party survey and they survey the staff and we didn't even rank. I don't even think enough people replied. And the people that replied were negative and it was a non-starter. And I was like, oh, that's too bad. That was really sad. And so I think what it shows is over the ten years, all the intentional effort that we've put in there and created and it starts with you. I mean, you are such a ball of energy and enthusiasm and your laughter is infectious. And so it starts there. But then you have to as a company, really, it's everybody else who's going to do the work, right. Everyone else has to buy into whatever that vision is and then grow it together. And you have to figure out who do you want to be? What do you want this company to be like? What do you want the culture to be? What does everybody else want the culture to be? And then because we had that opportunity to create that rather than inheriting something that had been created before that felt stiff or uncomfortable.
Chana: [00:24:27] We got to just start fresh. We got to create. And it literally started with painting the walls and new furniture and, you know, edgy pictures all over the walls and even taking pictures off our cell phones, you know, and how excited everybody was to send those photos in. And those decorate all our walls. And so I think it's just yeah, I think it's just the opportunity to just create. And we get to do that and so does everybody else. Right. It doesn't matter what your level is. We had one person once start a book club, you know, and it took off like wildfire. And that was great. And people even in their roles, they create automation and then they get to share it at a senior staff meeting of the project that they created. And you had started the Ag-a-thon, which is where any staff can come up with any idea to solve a problem. They put a group together, they present, they really think it through, and then they get to present to the board. And I was telling when I tell candidates that I'm like, you have an opportunity to present to the board any idea that you have, you pitch an idea like a shark tank idea. I said, what company in the planet would take these people? This is their first job. They're just out of college. And here they are standing in front of the board of directors presenting. So there's a lot of really, really amazing opportunities that get created for people that they won't see anywhere else, right?
Kirti: [00:25:59] For the right set of people. Yeah. It's an amazing culture. That's true. So if you are innovative, you want to test it out. What a great lab. I called United Ag my lab and I'm testing out some ideas, not just from a business standpoint, from human beings, from employees, from users. Right. So that's what it is all about. So, Chana. Anything else that I missed?
Chana: [00:26:23] So one of the things I think that I'm fortunate to be able to do is I get to share all of this that we create here with our members. And I actually just did a series of roundtables that we traveled for about a week to different locations, and we did. One of the questions was about culture and creating culture and the excitement from all of our members. How do you do it? How do you start? Like, let's do just a culture 101 session. So it was just the energy and enthusiasm from our members. So it's not just, oh, we selfishly get to do that here at United Ag, but we get to share it.
Kirti: [00:27:06] With our members. So the HR roundtables, you do it every quarter, right? And you drive around California and meet our members and they come in with questions or anything. So you and Maribel, kind of another resource for you from an HR standpoint, offer that support. So if any member is listening and they want to be part of the HR roundtables, what do they have to do?
Chana: [00:27:30] Yeah, just reach out to myself or to Maribel. And we're actually expanding on the HR roundtable. We're going to start doing some virtual sessions.
Kirti: [00:27:40] With.
Chana: [00:27:41] Some Ag attorneys who are supporting us. And we're going to create a like an advocacy, an HR advocacy group. So it's we're expanding on our HR community.
Kirti: [00:27:56] I think you're going to be busy.
Chana: [00:27:58] The response was so overwhelming, and it was just so nice to be back at my last session in Salinas. It was like - we did luncheons this time and it was like the ladies lunching. And so we need champagne. We all need it. So we brought out, we had everyone bring out the champagne and we still did our set. I said, let's forget about the session, let's.
Kirti: [00:28:19] Just hang out.
Chana: [00:28:20] Together. But it was. We did the session anyway, and it was just it felt like home. It felt like, you know, a Thanksgiving with our member family.
Kirti: [00:28:30] You know, and it's UnitedAg as a family. And our members are a family. And the different programs that we do, right. The emerging leaders, the HR roundtables, the Ag-a-thons, the women ag leadership, and even This Is Ag!, the podcast. It's a way of connecting with our members and doing that, which we do very well. I mean, that's your passion. That's my passion: connecting. That's our passion. Of all the employees at United Ag, connecting with each other at a human level, I think that's who we are. Yeah. And you also are the chairperson for APMA. Do you want to talk a little bit about that?
Chana: [00:29:05] So APMA is the Agricultural Management Personnel Association and I've been a part of them for ten years since I started. And it's an incredible organization and it's growing its membership base as well. I think at our last forum, we had over 500 attendees. And I think when I first started with APMA, it was a few hundred. And so I just came in as president in July and I really want to make a difference. I really want to do something different, have an impact. And I was really excited when Maribel and I were traveling, and we were coming up with some ideas of how we can just kind of, yeah, leave our mark behind. We have two years to kind of United Ag size it.
Kirti: [00:29:53] Yeah. Nice, nice. We’re looking forward to that. So my other question was going to be so if somebody is listening to this right. So usually I say that, you know, people are left with 1 or 2 nuggets that they can take back and use. But also if somebody's listening to this, what are you looking for when you're recruiting at UnitedAg? I know you kind of said a few things earlier on, but if somebody wants to come in and join the United Family, what would you be looking for?
Chana: [00:30:21] So yeah, I think we've even been so good about finding talent when we don't have a position and we create a position, even internally, we'll do that. We find somebody's skill and we're like, oh my gosh, they're in the wrong job. Let's create a new job for them. So we do we do a lot of that. We welcome anyone who's, you know, wants to be a part of this. If this sounds exciting, we'll look at any resumes. We have different areas where we're located, different offices. So it's not just in Irvine. It could be near Salinas or Santa Maria or some of our different areas. Visalia. We were up in Chico. So yeah, no, we send your resumes in. We're always looking for good, smart people that want to be a part of us.
Kirti: [00:31:12] Yeah. Are you excited about a startup? Kind of a culture where you can innovate and learn and be.
Chana: [00:31:17] Yeah. And you.
Kirti: [00:31:18] Just try.
Chana: [00:31:19] Things right? And you get to step outside of your lane. And I think even me as HR, I've done such a diversity of roles here. It's just you do get to push those four corners of your job description and, you know, get to know your people. There's hidden talents there, and there's a lot of resources that are right there under your nose. But yeah, we're always looking for good people.
Kirti: [00:31:44] So the most exciting thing for me, like I said earlier on, right. Using United Ag as a spiritual practice and growing every day, you are a little bit better than who you were yesterday. Right. And that's the most fulfilling part for me, even yesterday, emerging leaders last Friday when we met, just listening to all the emerging leaders was not just inspirational, but was growth. Right. You hear these stories and you reflect on those stories and how you connect and how you lead, and you feel like you're a better person. Any time you hang out and get to know each other on a deeper level and understand each other. We were on a call yesterday, me and Bridget with some of our outside vendors and even just listening to all that, right? It's a growth. So I feel that's the most fulfilling part about working at United Ag, that every day you're getting a little bit more, somewhere you're growing.
Chana: [00:32:43] And I love my job because I get to see them when they're all shaky and sweaty and nervous on day one when they're interviewing. Right. And then when you see them growing and starting to kind of sow their oats and they're starting to feel their groove, and then you watch them light up and it's like, oh my God, I'm like a proud mom to 108 employees. Because it's just there's nothing better than watching the staff connect and get it and flourish. And that's literally why I'm the luckiest person on the planet because I get to do.
Kirti: If you want to get to know Chana more through our HR roundtables, APMA or just talk to her because this is how UnitedAg looks today. Everything. I think some days it feels like we're having too much fun out here. Is this really work? I mean, like, is this how it's supposed to be? And you question yourself, right?
Chana: [00:33:39] So this podcast should be called This Is Us, not This is Ag!.
Kirti: [00:33:44] I know that is right. This Is Us. This Is Us. When it goes to Netflix, we'll change it to This Is Us.
Kirti: [00:33:50] Thank you, Chana. This was a lot of fun.
Chana: [00:33:53] Thank you so much, Kirti. Thank you. Bye.