RED DEER, Alta. – A farmer who is cow smart may be a dunce when it comes to working with employees.
The ability to work equally well with people and cows challenges many farmers who expand their operations. Hiring staff is often the last consideration when expanding, yet on a labor-intensive farm like a dairy, reliable and competent workers are vital.
“Most people spend months visiting every single milk parlor system that they possibly can, and then they’ll hire somebody after talking for 15 minutes,” said agricultural economist Wayne Howard. During the western Canadian dairy seminar in Red Deer, he described some pitfalls when hiring help.
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The best advice for a boss is to learn the power of communication, said Howard, who specializes in human resources at the University of Guelph in Ontario.
An employer must understand that an employee can only have one boss. Employee turnover on many farms is high because the staff had too many people giving direction.
A common frustration for an employee on a family operation is that the father tells the employee to do a particular job, the mother contradicts those orders and the son says the employee should ignore the parents and listen only to him.
“An often overlooked first step in a human resource plan is to figure out who does what and who is responsible to whom,” said Howard.
He suggested written job descriptions. Every person should know who they report to, who they take orders from and what decisions they are allowed to make.
The employer needs to develop trust among staff, who in turn need to believe the employer has credibility and the experience to run the farm properly.
A larger farm also needs clear goals.
“If you don’t know where you are going, how can you expect your employees to help you get there,” asked Howard.
Wages are another issue. On many farms, family members work alongside hired staff and it should be decided if they are paid the same wages for the same job. Howard suggested developing a pay grid listing the job and the pay based on job seniority. Guidelines for pay grids are available from provincial agricultural extension offices.
Benefits and training should be explained to employees to eliminate future conflicts. Employees should know if there is staff housing, a vehicle for their use and who will pay for training and other items.
A good boss is a good teacher who can correct, advise and counsel, rather than dictate. However, if things don’t work out between the employee and employer, terminate the relationship.
“If someone is doing everything they can to get fired, be a nice person and help them out. Fire them,” said Howard.
Staff meetings are useful, even they are only 20 minute chats over coffee in the morning. Staff often feel uncomfortable with structured, formal meetings, he said.
During meetings the workers may be asked their opinions since they’re doing the job and likely know what is effective.
If employees are afraid to tell the boss which ideas will flop, then the boss is ineffective, said Howard.
Chain of command
When putting together job descriptions, consider the following:
- Does anyone report to more than one person?
- Is it clear to everyone who has responsibility for what?
- Is there more than one person giving orders for the same job?
