Learning the human resources side of management and leadership is particularly helpful if your farm business has employees or a multi-generational workforce, farm family coach Lydia Carpenter writes.
Tag Archives human resources
Run the farm with its people in mind
Farm Family Coach: Developing skills in HR management is especially valuable on farms with employees or a multi-generational workforce
How to build a strong farm team
To achieve a cohesive working unit involves collaboration, communication and compromise
In my close to 20 years in farm business consulting, I have worked with many farm families or extended teams. Something I have seen many times is there is not a strong emphasis on building the overall goals for the farm at the same time as trying to meet the needs of the individual members […] Read more
COVID-19 and farm workers: How do we manage on the farm?
Keeping up to date with COVID-19 details and recommended protocols is challenging for everyone at this time. CAHRC has created a dedicated web page with the latest information, recommendations, employee management tips, tools (posters, policies) and links to authorities. These details will help you respond to the pandemic and limit the impact and spread of […] Read more
Eight steps for your HR strategy
The labour gap in Canadian agriculture continues to widen and is expected to double by 2025. That’s prompting more farm businesses to focus on recruiting and retaining employees. At the same time, with employment standards constantly changing, and with considerations such as health and safety and workers compensation to think about, some farms are beginning […] Read more
Dealing with abusive behaviour on your farm
You have to be proactive rather than reactive to bad behaviour
I soaked up the seminar “Dealing with Abusive Behaviour at work,” led by Dave McNaughton an HR specialist from Winnipeg. Dave referred to Dr. Stephen Hart’s video from the Proactive Resolutions company, www.proactive-resolutions.com. (You have to love the idea of being proactive rather than reactive to bad behaviour in the workplace.) Give everyone a safe […] Read more
Winning the talent wars to attract the best team
Here’s some tips from Donald Cooper on creating a better culture on the farm
Eight essential steps to attracting, engaging and leading a top-performing team” was presented by my speaking colleague Donald Cooper at the FarmTech 2017 conference in Edmonton. I appreciate Donald, who at age 75 has decades of business life experience for how he translates creating a better culture on our farms. Much of this article are […] Read more
Five ways to avoid payroll fines
Just hired your first employee? Don’t get stuck paying fines for filing errors
Have you recently hired an employee for your farm? Are you doing your own payroll and bookkeeping? If so, I’m offering you an opportunity to learn from my mistakes. There is a lot of information available about conducting job interviews, creating job descriptions and deciding how much to pay employees. However, it’s hard to find […] Read more
How to fire farm employees
Nobody wants to fire employees. Learn how to do it kindly
Farms are unique places of employment: they are often family businesses, they are not unionized, the work is often seasonal, they sometimes house their employees, and they are exempt from some provincial employment standards. As grain farms on the Prairies grow, so do their number of employees. While some farms still get by with a […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
