Hiring, training and keeping excellent employees on the farm is not as hard as it sounds. A good rule of thumb is to understand what motivates your employees, put yourself in their work boots. The following is based on a slide show presentation by Mary Peabody, Director of the Women's Agriculture Network (WAgN) [1], presented in her work shop "Hiring, Training, & Keeping Excellent Employees", at the Women In Sustainable Agriculture Conference, held in October of 2005.

Introduction

There are 6 distinctly different areas of the hiring process.

1. Assess your labor needs [2].
2. Develop job descriptions [3].
3. Recruit and Interview [4].
4. Hire, Orientate, and Train [5].
5. Evaluate [6].
6. Benefits and Rewards [7].

1. Assess Your Labor Needs

If you don't already have a labor plan, a plan that identifies who is responsible for what jobs in your operation, then you should make one. Identify who's doing what. Then create another plan that includes the new hire and what they'll be doing.

When you assess your labor needs you should consider why you want to hire someone and how that person is going to help you. The point of hiring someone is so you can step away from some work and focus on more important tasks.

Think about what your strengths and weaknesses are. Don't be afraid to seek out someone who is more skilled than you are in one or more areas of your operation. Smart business people know their skills and seek out those skilled in areas where they aren't. What areas of your operation could you benefit from someone who has what you don't have like strength or experience?

Maybe you just need more time. Think about what you want to accomplish if you have more time. What could hiring someone free you to do? What tasks could you give up to obtain more time?

Think about all of the people currently working in your operation -- including yourself. Who has talent for managing others? Who might become a crew leader when harvest time comes? Would hiring a new person free you up to do something else or might it be better to hire someone who could free up someone else in your operation?

Identify your expectations. What are you expecting to get from your employee. Do you just want them to complete their job or do you want them to be a part of a team? Will they need people skills or will they be kept out in the fields away from customers? Are they going to be selling your products at the farmers' market? Define your expectations so they can be used in the job description.

How will you know if your decision to hire someone was the correct one or not? Define success. It's one thing to hire someone but when it comes time to evaluate your decision and the person you've hired, you need to have some form of measuring stick in place. Make sure you include tangible metrics like punctuality, quantity, ability as well as some subjective metrics like attitude and teamwork.

2. Develop Job Descriptions

Using the assessment you've just done, you should be able to identify where you want help. Using this knowledge you should be able to craft a job description for the new position. Job descriptions are clear and brief.

Be sure to identify the tasks the person will be responsible for.

Emphasize the responsibility of the position. When you bring the new person onboard you should be able to tell them they need to be responsible for completing their jobs. They need to understand that their job is more than just showing up on time though you may have to emphasize this too!

If the job requires the person be able to lift 70 lb bales of hay, then be sure the job description includes the requirement. Don't be afraid to define expectations.

If you don't already have a job description for yourself and everyone else that is working on the farm, you should create them before you begin the hiring process. It is vitally important to be clear about who does what so that the lines of authority and responsibility are clear for everyone to see and follow.

3. Recruit and Interview

Recruiting

Recruiting is marketing. The attitude you approach this process with will directly affect the type of employee you ultimately hire. If you approach the recruiting and interview process with the attitude that this job is the best job in the state and the opportunity to work on your farm is a excellent opportunity for someone to participate in then you are more likely to attract positive and dynamic individuals. The formula is simple. Project a positive attitude - attract positive people.

Make sure you're clear in your own mind about the job. The job description is your key. Be sure to read it before each interview. The reason is you want to make sure the candidate matches the job and not the other way around.

Take advantage of your current employees that are good workers. They may know someone who could fit the job. Spread the word among your community. Some farmers will refer a candidate to you if their needs are met and you've let them know what you're looking for.

Stick to the process especially when approached by friends, family members, or friends of friends. While it's not easy nor pleasant to say no to the son of a dear friend, it will be worse when that son doesn't work out and you need to fire him. Better to stick to the process and give him a fair evaluation. Be clear with everyone what the process is and the timelines for the process including decisions.

The Help Wanted Ad

The help wanted ad is your first chance to attact energized, positive, and capable employees. You want to project a positive attitude and let the candidates know how exciting this opportunity is as well as give them a quick overview of what the job is.

After The Recruiting

Evaluate the pool of applicants. Review them and keep notes. Did they impress you? Did they engage you? Did they have a positive attitude?

Set up your interviews. Send the applicants a letter so you're sure that everyone knows exactly when and where to be for thier interview.

Be sure to get a list of at least 2 references but preferably 3 or more.

Check references. Some folks prefer to check them before they go into the interview and some prefer to do it afterwards. If you have no preference, check them after the interview. This way if any red-flags are raised during the interview, you can follow up with the references to see if you're judgement was accurate or not. One reason for checking the references before an interview is when they have to travel a long distance to be interviewed. If there is anything that may cause them to be dropped from the pool of applicants then it's better to find out ahead of time and keep them them from their wasting time travelling.

Rank the applicants by some form of criteria. Refer to the job description for help but don't be afraid to listen to your intuition.

Interviews

Be organized. Make sure you have adequate time set aside to conduct the interview. The candidate will know if you're feeling rushed.

When possible, have a second person involved in the interview to help observe and listen. A second opinion may point out things you missed while you were focused on something else.

Be sure to have set of questions prepared and ask each candidate the same questions. It's ok to ask different follow up questions if something piques your interest but be sure the base set of questions is the same for each candidate.

Ask "what if" questions. Prepare a test ahead of time and have each of the candidates take the test. Be sure to use the same method and criteria for evaluating how well each candidate does.

Provide time for each applicant to ask questions of you. If they don't bring it up themselves, ask them if they have any.

Close the interview by letting the applicants know when/how they can expect to hear from you. And be sure to do it!

4. Hire, Orientate, and Train

Hire

When you decide to hire someone, send them a letter and include a contract with it. Be sure they sign the contract and return a copy to you. Make a copy for them and give it to them on their first day.

In your contract be sure you explain their salary or wages. Let them know how often they can expect to be paid. Make sure the contract explains the same job expectations you laid out in the job description. Identify the hours and days they are expected to be at work. If there's a probationary period (a good idea) then explain how long and how one or both of you may choose to terminate the relationship after the probationary period.

Orientate

Help your new employees get situated. Give them a walk-through of the operation and explain what you do. This is an excellent opportunity for you to let them emphasize their role in the team and how important their part is. Show them the basic things they'll need to know like where the bathroom is and where the crew eats. Make them feel welcome.

Train

Training your employees is often overlooked. Even the most skilled employees need some training to learn your way of doing things. Help them and yourself by having written rules, policies, and procedures in place. These don't need to be done for every little task in your operation but are a necessity for those tasks that are of significant importance like setting up a display at farmers' market or packing eggs. If it matters to you then it's probably a good idea for you to document how you want it done and what you don't want done.

Safety training is a must. If the employee will be working around equipment, substances, or may be exposed to anything that could endanger them, you should provide safety training. It's a good idea not only for their safety but for insurance purposes as well as your own safety. Your life or the lives of others may depend upon your employee.

When you train someone keep it to bite-size chunks. Demonstrate the task and have the trainee perform it. Observe how well they do it and critique them. Avoid criticizing them -- there is a difference. Demonstrate again, highliting the areas you critiqued, and then give them a chance to perform it again. Repeat as necessary but most people will get the idea within 2 trys.

The reason for training in bite-size chunks is to avoid training burnout. Train them on a logical set of tasks and then let them go. Give them a few days to get the hang of it and then train them on something new.

6. Evaluate

There should always be some form of evaluation when you have employees. A logical 1st evaluation would be at the end of the probationary period. Take the mental (or written) notes you've collected on the employee's performance and go over them with the employee. Give them a chance to speak about their experience as well. If you had other employees or your partner observe as well, gather their notes and have them sit in on the evaluation. Be careful not to gang up on the employee but rather offer constructive criticism and listen to what they have to say.

Benefits and Rewards

It costs more to hire a new employee in your time and money than it does to keep an existing employee. If you are happy with the employee's performance and want to keep them, then take steps to let them know and show your appreciation. Understand that money is not always the motivating factor which keeps an employee. Motivating factors are anything that the employee sees as a value-added perk. It may be working with the animals, having a chance to run your farmstand by themselves or learning from you. Don't be afraid to ask the employee what they find valuable.

Bonuses and benefits packages are incentives you can use to keep employees. These could be as simple as letting them take home some of the end product. Here are some other ideas for ways to say thank you:

1. Throw and end of season dinner/party for them.
2. Thank you cards with detailed thoughts about how the employee contributed and how much you appreciated it. Some monetary thank you (it doesn't need to be much) could go a long way with the right words.
3. Send your employees off to a festival or fair that may be close by and of interest to them.
4. Send your employees off to a workshop or other training. Give them the opportunity to learn from you and or other skilled people in their areas of interest.

Summary

The process of hiring and keeping good employees begins with you. With a bit of planning, documenting, and interactive conversation you can lay down a relatively efficient and effective process. Good employees are worth keeping. Take the time to understand what motivates them and offer what you can to keep them interested and motivated to work for you. Be firm, be fair, be flexible, and be honest.