The focus on farm business management has tended to be on production, markets and finances, with less emphasis on people.
In the past, many farm laborers have been members of the family. With the transition to larger and more diversified farms, farm managers are recognizing relationship problems with employees, and are looking for ways to improve their management skills.
Taking care of employees ensures a happy and more stable work environment and it doesn’t make any difference that the employees are members of the family.
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Management of people can make or break a family business. Rarely, however, is there any formal or informal education on how to deal with or manage relationships, whether employees or family members.
Effective employee management is based on enhancing communication skills and knowing personal, family and business values and goals.
Once you understand what you want, you can approach the rest of your family team and ask them to express their values and goals. Do you know how the people in your family feel?
Often we assume we know what each family member wants to do, or how involved they want to be in the farm. We are not always right. Assumptions can lead to disaster.
This is where the importance of communication and people management skills comes in. It is important to explain our feelings and what we are thinking about, and talk about the reasons behind why we are thinking what we do.
We can all think of uncomfortable examples where miscommunication has taken place.
The key to managing relationships is effective communication. We must listen intently as well as express thoughts and concerns. Communication is real and genuine talking and sharing of feelings and ideas, and sending and receiving messages that carry accurate, concise and complete information.
Giving and understanding directions is one form of communication. For example, during seeding, we deal with deadlines to get crops seeded on time. If we clearly understand each other, all goes well. If not, someone may take the equipment to the wrong field, or worse yet, seed the wrong field. In a hurry this year, I took a normal short cut to the field, and got the seed wagon stuck in a wet spot. With more communication (had I asked), this could have been avoided.
It is also important on a family farm to make sure your messages are authentic, and show caring and understanding. This helps to build healthy relationships. Once again, people are important, and must be a priority.
Sometimes, barriers can get in the way of true communication. Judging others, giving advice and using inappropriate humor hinder communication.
Include entire family
In farm business, it is important that every member of the family be involved at some point in the discussion. Communication between couples and among all family members, (farming and non-farming children), is important.
Sometimes it is too easy to disregard the feelings of the non-farming children. It is also important to keep in mind the gender dynamics in family farm settings and try to avoid role stereotyping. It works better to accept individuals on the basis of their unique strengths and weaknesses.
Farm families and farm businesses can benefit greatly from setting a clear vision or mission statement, developing their goals, and working on improving communication skills.
My mission is to help individuals and families make the best use of their resources, maximizing satisfaction with minimum use of resources based on their own priorities. This can lead to an authentic quality of life and fulfillment of personal, family and farm goals.
Family meetings provide an opportunity for family members to feel valued. In order to communicate, the family must discuss what is really important to them. No matter how congenial the family, it’s important to hold family meetings at a neutral spot where everyone feels equal. If there is a dominant person or a favored child in the family or business, and the meeting is held at his or her kitchen table, chances are that not every person around the table feels valued equally. It is natural to act with more authority in your own home.
A little formality, along with respect and patience, in a neutral setting, goes a long way. When individuals feel valued equally, they are more inclined to openly share and contribute. When that happens, real communication can take place.
When discussing family and business goals, some goals will coincide and some won’t.
Focus on the positive and the similar ideas. When there is disagreement, work out alternatives. It is a valuable exercise to discuss the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to both the family and the business.
By showing appreciation and acceptance of everyone’s contributions, you can form solutions.
Pros and cons
When there is disagreement or conflict, look for common ground. It is a good idea to discuss the best thing that could happen as well as the worst. Ask yourselves, “what are we most afraid of?” By facing your fears, you get it all out on the table. This provides an opportunity for discussion, problem-solving and risk management.
Sometimes parents are afraid to discuss land transfer to the next generation. They may be concerned about loss of control of the assets, about sibling rivalry, about divorce in the next generation, or even a lack of faith or trust in the next generation’s competence to run the farm in the manner it was done in the past. These concerns need to be expressed or they will fester.
Resource people, such as family farm specialists, bankers, lawyers and accountants can help pursue alternatives toward the best solution for the situation. These people can also help with farm succession planning or transition planning.
Transition is an important time, when communication skills can save the family and the farm. The average age of farmers in Saskatchewan is between 50 and 60. Seventy percent of our land base will be transferred to the next generation within 15 years. The key is how to move it without conflict.
Unfortunately, there are many cases where the family is forfeited for the farm. The farm may be passed on intact, but the family isn’t.
Improving skills
There are many tools to help farm families improve their communication skills. For more information, contact the provincial agriculture departments or the Canadian Farm Business Management Council, www.cfbmc.com or 888-232-3262.
The Agriculture Institute of Management in Saskatchewan has an online farm succession planning internet course, www.agr.gov.sk.ca/aims or 306-787-5997.
Another excellent resource is the Canadian Association of Family Enterprises, a non-profit national organization promoting the success of family business. Write 2575C Dunwin Drive, Mississauga, Ont. L5L 3N9, call 905-569-7248 or fax 905-569-9213.
Barb Sanderson is presently attending the International Farm Management Congress in Durban, South Africa, where she is presenting a paper on farm family communication.
