HR is vital to farm operations
Human resources may seem like a department or set of duties for a business far different from your farm; however, it’s important to perform these tasks legally and consistently, both to protect your farm and to train new people correctly.
Jess Skellie works for a small group of dairy farms. She recently presented “Know Your Numbers, Know Your Options,” a webinar hosted by Cornell as part of New York’s Annie’s Project program.
One of the first things you should realize about HR tasks like onboarding new employees is that it’s not a static process.
“Onboarding will always be a work in progress,” Skellie said. “In New York, we have a lot of new rules and regulations. It’s probably the same as other states. If you set up a system, it will need to change year by year and probably at times throughout the year to meet regulations.”
Farm owners will need to update their processes and the forms they use to streamline and document those processes. She likes using templates saved on her computer so she can update forms and processes as needed. Skellie also saves old copies with a version date so she can document when she made any changes in the past.
Forms and documentation aren’t the only things that need occasional updating.
“When working with people, your soft skills will be a work in progress as well,” Skellie said. “When you read a book or article or attend an event, you take your own pieces from it. Soft skills like communication, articulation, working with people, emotional intelligence, confidentiality, conflict management and time management are important for your HR system. Hopefully, employees will develop upon those skills in time.”
By maintaining a written plan for onboarding new employees, farm owners can increase their consistency and allow for better training, since employees will receive the same experience. Skellie recommended breaking down onboarding into a checklist of items to cover on day one, week one and month one. A new employee packet should contain this checklist and the required paperwork all employees must complete.
“You don’t want to overwhelm employees on day one,” Skellie said. “Some things may not be relevant as you begin work on day one.”
The new employee packet is for the hiring and training manager – not the employee – and once the paperwork is completed, the checklist goes in one file, the animal care agreement goes in another file and the paperwork directly related to human resources tasks (such as I-9, W-4, IT-2104 and policy acknowledgements) go in the employee’s own file.
The farm should have the employees’ basic information such as legal name, Social Security number, address, date of birth, start date, base rate of pay, deductions, job title, shirt size (if a farm uniform shirt is provided) and room assignment (if on-farm housing is provided).
The information should also include LS-309 Pay Notice and Acknowledgement for Farm Workers.
“We keep that packet consistent throughout the years,” Skellie said. “It keeps our information organized and efficient.”
It also helps the onboarding process remain consistent regardless of which manager completes the task.
Skellie recommended perusing the information available at forms.labor.ny.gov/WP/LS309.pdf.
Any farms hiring native Spanish speakers may want to have Spanish editions available, along with English.
On employees’ first workday, they should learn how the timeclock works, receive their uniform and safety equipment, review their binder that includes basic information about the farm such as contact information, farm map, work routine, housing expectations and more. This information is posted elsewhere, but Skellie said it’s important to have the manager walk through it with the new employees to ensure that they’re aware of it. This can also provide an opportunity to have employees sign off that they have reviewed the information.
Skellie also said that in week one, managers should review the paystub because they may have had a different paystub with other employers in the past.
There should be a housing check to allow workers to ask any questions and to verify the cleaning schedule and a review of the farm’s routine.
“We don’t have a whole lot after those first couple weeks that would be different,” Skellie said. “Some places do a rate change or position change after a month or three months.”
That can also provide a good opportunity to “check in” with how things are going with workflow, how employees are fitting in and any other questions or concerns they may have.
“Be available,” Skellie advised. “A question I’ve been asked a few times is how we manage the timesheet approval with missed punches and multiple people involved. You need to be available. I try to prevent ‘so-and-so told someone this was wrong.’ This is the time to sort that out. Another example is we’ve switched our time clock systems a few times. At lunch when I know there will be a lot of people in and out, I’m there to troubleshoot.”
Occasionally reaching out to new employees to see how it’s going also helps build a good relationship between farm owners and workers.
“The year-end review may be more formal,” Skellie said. “They’re more communicative about how the job is.”
Coupling the performance review to the pay raise may discourage openness, so it’s better to disassociate the two. Skellie wants employees and employers to feel like a performance review is a give-and-take conversation couched in honesty.
“You want to receive it well or otherwise, people won’t give it to you,” she said.
Attending more workforce seminars and webinars can help farmers enhance their “soft skills” for operating the HR aspects of their farm business.
