A successful business runs like a well-oiled machine: everyone knows and executes their roles in operating efficiently to meet the company’s goals. The bedrock of that plan is having reliable employees who recognize this.
“Everything comes down to the people on our farms,” said Kaitlyn Lutz, V.M.D., during a National Milk Producers Federation webinar. “We can’t achieve what we want to with our protocols and our goals if we don’t have it right with our people.”
There are no secrets to success in recruiting good people or retaining them, continued the veterinarian who now works as a bilingual dairy management specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension. However, we can prepare an effective, desirable work environment and take steps to prevent failure. Retention, specifically, relies on meeting an employee’s needs, she said. This is where motivation comes from, and a motivated employee is more likely to stay.
What motivates people? Lutz explained that everyone has needs for choice, connection, and competence.
We all have a perception that we have choice over our own lives, she said. When we feel in control of our actions and that we have options (even within boundaries), we are more likely to be motivated. For example, consider how people are often less successful in following a diet if it seriously restricts food choices.
Because dairy operations are so structured, it can be challenging to provide choices. Lutz also noted that cultural differences may discourage some employees from being comfortable speaking their mind or doing things independently. To help give your team members a feeling of choice, be sure to listen well and ask questions or for feedback when discussing farm operations. It is appropriate to lay out boundaries but provide freedom within those limits.
Delegating tasks also provides choice, but it needs to be done in a way that is clear, fits the person’s skills, and limits the fear of failure. Be explicit with employees that you want them to act autonomously.
Connection covers the need to care about contributing to something greater than yourself and also to feel cared about. If an employee doesn’t see how their job fits into the overall role of the farm — producing a quality food product from healthy cows — it can be difficult to see the value in doing the job well. Lutz described a farm that felt their team needed more background of where their milk was being sold and what it was being used for, so they brought everyone together to explain that side of the business.
Providing a holistic view of the farm can go a long way in helping employees see how what they do in their role impacts the success of others and the entire business. Employee surveys show that team members often rank this perspective as more important than employers think they will, Lutz said.
Finally, competence involves the need to feel effective at doing a job and having the opportunity to grow. “Nobody enjoys going to work if you don’t feel like you know what you’re doing,” Lutz said.
In addition to having effective skill training systems in place, Lutz said they have gotten great feedback from holding leadership trainings at farms. Showing employees you see value in their abilities is a simple way to boost confidence. Another recommendation Lutz had was to ask “What did you learn?” instead of just “What did you do?” when meeting with employees. “That can really get people engaged and thinking about their position in a different way,” she explained. Ultimately, engagement is what drives motivation, the key to retention.
