Taking care of business
Mary, Javier and Lorrie handle moving cows and milking at Cool Beans Dairy. Mary attaches milking units immediately after wiping udders dry while Javier waits a few extra minutes. Lorrie whistles to move cows but Javier uses a rattle paddle. Although the herd has outstanding genetics and performance potential, production isn’t what it could be.
This and similar issues are usually related to the human side of dairy farming. For many, it’s the most challenging aspect of operating the farm.
Dr. Adrian Barragan, Penn State Extension veterinarian, explained the dairy workforce demographic in the U.S.
“We know we have about 150,000 hired employees on dairy farms,” Barragan said. “About 50% of them are foreign and about 80% are Spanish-speaking. This accounts for about 80% of the milk produced in the U.S., and many of these employees are milkers.”
Recruiting and hiring employees who will work efficiently and as a team are key to helping a farm achieve its goals. Some farms seek experienced workers, while others find that people who have no dairy experience turn out to be excellent workers because they have no preconceived notions about how to do things and are open to learning the farm’s specific methods.
Building a good team and personnel management begins with recruitment, which Barragan said is an often-overlooked aspect of the process. Consider the knowledge and skills needed for the work, the work demographic and make sure the farm offers what the workforce needs.
“Start with good raw material,” Barragan said. “If we recruit poor raw material, it will be harder to do what we need to do, and sometimes impossible. If we have good raw material, we have someone we can train and get the ultimate outcome we’re expecting.”
Two terms – standard operating procedure (SOP) and protocols – can be used interchangeably and are directly related to the hiring process. These terms apply to the decisions and steps needed to accomplish a task.
“Work efficiency is founded on how we manage people, train them, monitor their performance, retrain them and motivate them,” Barragan said. “It’s grounded in how we develop protocols. The work our people do is as good as we tell them to do it.”
If protocols are non-specific and basic, they are open to different interpretations and there’s a good chance the outcome won’t be desirable. Efficiency requires a clear, developed set of steps for employees to follow.
“Once we have these in place, we spend resources training, monitor performance, retrain if necessary and have a good communication system,” Barragan said. “Then we have an efficient, reliable, knowledgeable, skilled workforce.” He added that if employees leave, the resources invested in hiring and training are lost.
It’s important to provide a clear description of expectations. When employees leave a job prematurely, it’s often because expectations were not properly communicated upfront. Employees were asked to do things they weren’t expecting to do, resulting in friction.
Job structure is important to employees and depends on the workforce demographic. If the job offer is for six hours a day, five days a week, the farm might not find anyone because potential workers want a different schedule. Barragan said it’s critical to consider scheduling to attract reliable, knowledgeable employees. This applies to any population, including local students working part-time.
Barragan’s research has shown that in general, potential dairy farm workers are looking for an employer who offers housing, more work hours and job stability. Many want to live on the farm and want to work 12 hours per day, six to seven days each week. Workers often want to remain employed on the farm for about 10 years. Workers also prefer regular communication through formal meetings, which can be timed or structured according to work schedules. Good workers appreciate performance monitoring linked to incentive programs.
“We can’t find enough workers, so we need to attract them,” Barragan said. “Make sure the arrangement works for both sides – the employer and the worker. If it doesn’t work for one of the sides, it isn’t going to be a long-term contract. The person will leave, or if they don’t work out for us, the person is fired.”
Barragan provided an example of a dairy worker who was unhappy and negative in their position as a milker. After this worker was assigned a different position on the farm – cleaning pens and bringing cows in – their attitude improved significantly. One person’s poor attitude can negatively affect the job performance of the entire workforce.
Ideally, hiring involves a formal interview process. Barragan suggested having an established, trusted worker present during the interview to observe the interview and offer thoughts on the potential new hire.
Barragan has found it useful to assess the personality traits of potential new hires. This can be done at recruitment or after someone is hired. While a personality test won’t reveal everything about someone, the results can reveal important information, such as whether the person will be better in teamwork or working solo. Using this information helps employers offer the right job to the right person and potentially increase retention. Barragan recommended using the “Living Your Colors” personality test for potential or new employees.
It’s important to have a solid job description and communicate that description on the first day. Once a potential employee is identified, plan to train, retrain and monitor performance. Focus on strong communication as well as promotion, bonuses and other motivational incentives to help retain workers.
“There are a lot of unknowns [when hiring], but human pride is an important area where we have to try to do our best,” Barragan said. “It’s important to be conscious of this and improve if necessary. Spend time up front to save in the long run.”
by Sally Colby
