Better Decisions: How to make yourself into an employer of choice
Thursday, January 31, 2008
If you do a few simple things and stick to a tried and tested formula, your chances of becoming a place where people really want to work are excellent
by GARY MAWHINEY
Have you ever wondered why your neighbour never seems to have any trouble finding good, reliable workers? Or why he never has much employee turnover and, even in a tight labour market, always has a large number of applicants for any position he has to offer?
Perhaps you are living next to an employer of choice, someone who can best be described as a farmer (employer) whom everybody wants to work for and will do just about anything to get a job on that farm.
There are no magic formulas for gaining this status as an employer. But if you do a few simple things and stick to a tried and tested formula, your chances of becoming just like your neighbour are excellent.
There are four key steps in becoming an employer of choice.
- Design interesting jobs, keeping your employees in mind.
- Focus on team building.
- Develop a good reputation.
- Appreciate your staff
This is by no means an all-inclusive list. However, successful employees refer to these methods as key components in achieving a happy and productive work force.
Job designing. Boring, repetitive jobs are the enemy not only of the worker but the employer as well. If you hire someone just to clean out the milking parlour every day with no break from the routine, chances are that in about two weeks or less you will be looking for another body to fill the vacancy.
People like and need variety in their tasks, so why not add another duty to this job. Perhaps your staffer can also be in charge of ordering the supplies needed to keep the barn in top working order. Give the employee some additional responsibility. Take into consideration what prospective employees would like from their job. Have this discussion with them during the interview process and you will be pleasantly surprised at what their aspirations may be.
No job is perfect and job design cannot overcome that fact. You need to anticipate what will motivate your employee when designing the job. Make sure that the employee understands the importance of the work that he or she is performing and that it is vital to the overall success of your farm. Giving the worker responsibility, challenges and some creative freedom will allow them to flourish. Feedback is the final element in job design and, as I pointed out in a previous article, this step is an absolute must.
Team building. How many times have you heard the phrase, "we need to start playing as a team?"
This is a favourite axiom of sports teams and is most often heard when things are not going well in the win-loss column. It is very easy to declare that we need to act as a team, but the reality is that it can be a long and difficult task to accomplish.
Bernard L. Erven of Ohio State University has come up with a four-stage process of team building. "Teams are built through forming, storming, norming and performing," he says. The forming stage is where team members get to know each other and learn about team goals. The forming stage involves bringing new members into the team and acquainting them with existing employees, both family and non-family.
Storming is the stage where conflict arises. Disagreements and conflicting ideas are part of this and the challenge is to air these differences and achieve a resolution. Hidden conflict will constrain and hinder progress in your operation. Norming follows storming, according to Erven, and is the stage where team unity and harmony come into play. The final event is performing. This is where everything is going well and goals are being accomplished.
Employers can help this process along by rewarding employees for the efforts towards the team. One must be careful, though, as the team must always come first, not the individual. This is the basis for the idea that there is no "I" in the word team.
Always ask how the team is doing first before inquiring about the individuals comprising the team. For example, you could say "Has the crops team worked out the fertilizer problem for the corn?" Then go ahead and ask how individuals contributed to the solution of the problem.
Developing a reputation. I have said many times that you and your farming operation have a reputation, whether you like it or not. Does it not make sense then to do everything possible to make sure that it is a positive rather than negative one? People within your community will form an opinion of you as an employer. It is not possible to fight innuendo and false rumours, but it is possible to make your business a place where people want to work.
Clearly defining what the job is through written job descriptions and providing training - both safety-and job-related - are significant factors in creating a positive atmosphere. Learning to trust an employee as well as celebrating successes are other positive things that can be done.
Appreciate your staff. Showing appreciation goes hand in hand with developing a reputation. Everybody needs recognition for their efforts. This need is a normal human emotion. Too often we only express our displeasure when we are in a working environment.
It can be difficult for an employer to put into words their pleasure at a job well done. You should take pride in your employees' accomplishments and reward them accordingly. Fair compensation, as well as some type of hard benefits (dental, drugs or retirement plan), is an essential part of showing appreciation for your staff. Informal gestures, such as remembering and recognizing birthdays, anniversaries or the birth of a child, not only show appreciation but also go a long way in developing a reputation.
Your farm business's success is linked to your employees' success in many ways. If you are able to make your farm an enjoyable place to work, you will soon find yourself becoming an employer of choice.
For further information on these ideas, as well as other helpful tips on human resource management, go to the following websites.
- Farm Safety: www.farmsafety.ca
- Canadian Farm Business Management Council: www.farmcentre.ca
- Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/busdev/farmlabour.html
BFGary Mawhiney is Human Resources Management Program Lead with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs. Email: gary.mawhiney@ontario.ca