Following calving and heading into Christmas and the New Year period, it’s a great time of year to reflect on the season to date, what has gone well and what hasn’t.
Why is now a good time to review?
Generally speaking, the most stressful time of the year has passed. Calving is done, mating is almost over and hopefully there is a bit of time off on the horizon, or at least a few BBQs with family and friends.
Ask yourself these questions:
- If you have a new team working with you this season, what worked well?
- Was everyone always on the same page?
- Were instructions clear to allow you to be most productive with your time or did you continually run into the dark every night?
Letting your team know that they’ve done a good goes a long way and vice versa if you’re the employee reading this. If your employer treated you with respect and allowed you to grow your skill base, then thanking them allows for a more cohesive relationship for future seasons.
Reviewing remuneration/ total package values
For me, being involved in quite a few different recruitment processes now has highlighted that each and every employee has a different driver for motivation. Some may strictly be driven by money. Others may value time off, progression on farm or tapping into your knowledge to allow them to compete in the likes of the Dairy Industry Awards.
Knowing these drivers allows you to create a workspace that thrives and can tap into everyone’s best asset. It’s worth asking the question - what drives you to get out of bed in the morning? Or, what can I teach you to make the next step in your farming career?
What if things haven’t been going well?
Underperformance, unclear intentions, raised voices and disagreements are the biggest waste of everyone’s time and energy, and often leads to hefty invoices from people like myself or solicitors if we have to get involved.
I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a ‘farm policy’ for even the most basic things – especially if you are an owner-operator looking to give someone the opportunity to manage your farm this coming season.
If all members of the team are on the same page from 1 June about the goals and objectives of the farm then conflict is often avoided and everyone can get on with the job and do it well.
Farming for the future
Some of you will know that your contracts are running out at the end of this season. If you are thinking about looking for other opportunities then it may pay to make sure your CV’s and covering letters are up to date.
Do yourself a favour and create something that is personable to you and your journey to date. There are a lot of strong applicants out there nowadays fighting for limited positions, so a ‘bland’ CV doesn’t stack up during the reviewing process.
Transparency and honesty are two of the biggest characteristics I look for when working with either new clients or helping clients in the recruitment process. Disclosing a bit of baggage up front is far more desired then finding it out on a wet, boggy day in the middle of winter that you have some underlying concerns that are going to affect your performance.
So what next?
One of the larger investments for a farming business is the labour portion. If you are stoked with the people involved in your business it pays to let them know. Retaining staff is cheap, replacing, not so much.
A message for the farm owners on behalf of the next generation coming through: There are a lot of switched on, talented and driven farmers looking to continue building their skills and/or asset base and are looking for the next opportunity to grow and develop.
If you’re thinking about trying to get out of the shed yourself or looking to change the management structure then the best thing you can do is start the process.
Need help with staffing related issues?
Get in touch with Regan if you have any questions
029 778 1989 | regan@itsreco.co.nz
