Employee recruitment and training is by far one of the most difficult aspects of dairy farming today. "How do I recruit and train good employees?" is an ongoing struggle in many dairy circles.
According to Ohio State University dairy extension specialist Gustavo Schuenemann, it all begins with an equation that emphasizes employee attitude.
"Knowledge and skills are important, but I have found that attitude is the multiplier. Poor attitude will mean low performance every time," he explained at the Dairy Cattle Welfare Symposium in Columbus, Ohio, in May.
Schuenemann, who conducts many employee trainings every year, considers knowledge and skill to be the focus of training while attitude is often difficult to modify.
His comments were echoed by fellow presenter and California dairyman Frank Dinis. "We can do everything we can think of and occasionally still have a bad employee," he shared.
That being said, Dinis goes out of his way to instill the best possible culture on farm. The Hilmar, Calif., farm that he manages puts great emphasis on hiring employees with good attitudes and developing them using scheduled stockmanship trainings.
"As an industry, I believe we are failing to teach people how to be cowmen," he said. "We have to mentor employees, especially managers."
That's where the attitude, knowledge, and skills all come together. Good employees are hard to come by, but with the right attitude and proper training and mentorship, farms can develop and keep the best of the best.
(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2016
June 6, 2016
