Hog barn operators are setting themselves up for big costs if they
treat barn workers as if they’re only there for the money, says a
training specialist with the Prairie Swine Centre.
That attitude will make it come true, which will cost the barn operator
tens of thousands of dollars a year in extra retraining costs, Mary
Petersen told the swine centre’s Focus on the Future conference in
Winnipeg in February.
“If you make an employee feel that there is nothing more to his or her
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job than a paycheque, they’ll walk right out the door the first time
someone offers them a bigger paycheque,” she said.
“They’ll be gone. It’s a revolving door then.”
Finding new workers costs money, she said. This includes hard costs,
which are easy to calculate, and soft costs, which are hard to see but
can be much greater.
Most barns have to advertise to find a new employee. Petersen said a 75
word ad in the Western Producer would cost $52.50, and in a local paper
$20.
Overtime for two workers to cover the workload created by the unfilled
position for a month would cost $1,620.
Outside training for the new worker could cost $2,000 to $5,000,
including travel, meals and hotels.
Even small items such as letters and stamps ($4.30), long distance
calls to prospective employees ($5.50), mileage to interview candidates
($64) and coffee during interviews ($2.50) adds up quickly.
These costs would total between $3,770 and $6,770.
Petersen said a manager should calculate how much time he spends
writing the newspaper advertisement, mailing it, paying the newspaper
bill, reading resumes, phoning candidates, organizing interviews, doing
the interviews, offering the job to the winner, writing letters to the
losers, orienting the new worker, filling out new forms, and giving two
weeks of on-site training.
She said this time all costs money.
As well, productivity losses can be as much as $40,000 per worker
during the learning period when new workers don’t do everything they
should.
She said these productivity losses are real, but hard to quantify. For
example, a new worker in the farrowing barn might allow more scours to
develop, costing growth and the use of medications. An inexperienced
breeding worker could mean lower pregnancy rates. And in the
grow-finish room, an inexperienced worker could allow fumes to build up
to lethal levels, killing all the pigs.
Petersen said the total cost per new worker ranges from $5,581 to
$48,581.
That’s why it’s important that managers know and understand their
workers. Offering job satisfaction is the only way to combat the
attraction of higher-paying jobs, she added. If the workers like their
work, they’re less likely to look around.
While some hog barn managers may think money is the only incentive,
they might be surprised to find how much some people like working with
pigs.
Petersen said she comes across many enthusiastic young people when she
teaches hydrogen sulfide safety courses.
“A lot of these people are proud of what they’re doing.”
She said some employees like barn work because they get to work alone.
Giving those people some of their own responsibilities can build their
pride.
Many women love working with newborn piglets. Allowing them to take
part in the maternal sections of the barn will probably keep both the
workers and the pigs happy and productive.
But Petersen said managers should also understand what bothers women
about hog barns and what they need to work through before they become
settled as long-term workers. For instance, many women don’t like the
fact that their hair may smell like the barn when they leave work.
Barn managers also have to learn how to work with young employees.
Petersen said almost 50 percent of the people in her hydrogen sulfide
courses are younger than 30. Understanding young people can be
difficult for older managers.
Petersen said she has seen commercial hog barns cut their turnover to
33 percent a year from 50 percent.
