Finding good employees is hard. Keeping them is even harder.
One of the main messages Tom Wall, president of Dairy Interactive, LLC and Language Links, LLC, shared at the Dairy Calf and Heifer Association's annual conference was an easy one to remember. He said, "Think of employee management like it's the raffle rule: You must be present to win."
Wall went on to explain that, if you're not present and being a leader, someone else (maybe an employee) will step in. Unfortunately, that person might not be the individual you want leading everyone else.
What holds us back from being a good manager? Time, energy, desire and a plan are all reasons Wall mentioned. But we need to find the time, he stressed.
"Everything starts with you," he said.
Wall shared a few guidelines to help managers lead their team:
- Remove work hurdles and barriers. "Sometimes that's you," he said.
- Eliminate impediments to getting a job done, and fix items that need to be fixed.
- Send a message that you care. "You don't want your employees thinking, ‘Why should I care if management doesn't?'" he said.
"Everyday you depend on your people, and they depend on you," Wall said. "Be your best."
If you are fortunate enough to find a good crew of people, do what you can to keep them. Wall said to think like a gardener. "Pull the weeds; remove the bad team members," he said. "The good ones will leave if you don't."
"It's not about the cows. It's not about the equipment either," he went on to say. "The people are the ones who get the work done." Be present, and see if you can help yourself win the employee lottery.
(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2015
April 13, 2015
