Farmers and managers know the key to success is having a good team to accomplish goals, whether that is specific to cow health, production, or land management. Tom Wall, “The Dairy Coach,” has 24 years of experience in dairy consulting specific to employees and dairy managers. Wall has four key things that he focuses on when working with farm owners. “When I work with clients, and we can do these well, we stand a chance to win and have a productive, cohesive team,” Wall said about his four keys.

Clarify

“Farm managers need to clarify their expectations to get everyone on the same page,” Wall said. Employees need to know what you can expect from me as an employer, and in return, know what you expect out of them as an employee. Easy examples to achieve this are written goals, protocols, or a handbook that has basic information like when time shifts start. “In dairy, there is so much science involved,” Wall said. “What may have worked at one dairy where an employee previously worked doesn’t work at another.”

Managers need to be clear and put things into writing so everyone on the team is on the same page. “When there is confusion, it can lead to conflict,” Wall said.

A simple misunderstanding can lead to missing goals as a team. Wall mentioned that he has seen these misunderstandings come off as a lack of care or intentionally skipping steps, when it was actually because an employee didn’t know better because something wasn’t clarified from the start.

Communicate

“Most of us don’t take the time and energy to clearly communicate what needs to be done from the start,” Wall said. “It is important to take the time and energy to leave quick notes rather than assume someone can read our mind.” This can be as simple as a text message or using a dry-erase board where anyone can leave notes for the next shift. Farms need tools to help people communicate clearly. Spreadsheets that clarify important information such as time, cow, and pen data can help make it easy for notes to be clear from shift to shift or to managers.

Wall also emphasized the importance of organizing teams to have meetings. “We need a mechanism that is intentional about everyone being on the same page. Monthly or biweekly meetings are a really an easy solution,” Wall said. “Different meetings should be scheduled for both management and employees.”

Connect

Wall shared that he sees many managers struggle with connecting with their employees and seeing each person for who they are. “There are many entry-level employees that just feel like a number. When they don’t feel like a number and know that he/she values me as a person, they typically work better and treat their manager better,” Wall said. This is as simple as getting to know names, and it goes deeper to showing appreciation, being seen and heard, and being valued. “When things break and an employee needs something, don’t ignore them,” Wall said. “When that doesn’t get fixed, an employee can feel ignored and think it doesn’t matter. It all goes back to appreciation and respect,” he added.

Wall shared, “In the scope of a day on the farm with all these big fish to fry, it’s often the little things employees are bringing to the table that don’t seem important. We need to make sure the message they hear is that what they do is important and matters.”

When employees see that another person cares, it normally gets reciprocated back. Without that acknowledgment, tasks are just protocols with no one watching and can lead to cutting corners. “Whatever we can do to influence the right choice improves the odds that we will get things done properly,” Wall said.

Recognize

“Managers need to recognize performers from nonperformers and treat them accordingly,” Wall said. Most managers can separate their top performers from lower ones. “Paying everyone the same is only treating the lowest performing employees well,” he shared. Without recognition, higher performers will start looking for a job where they know they can be recognized for their good work.

Managers set goals and plans to achieve them, and when some employees are working toward that and some aren’t, the employees who are need to be recognized. “We easily see the difference in our cows, and when it comes to people, we need to apply the same criteria,” Wall said.

Wall shared that sometimes it can be hard to identify the difference between performers and nonperformers. He said that most of the time, longevity needs to be a factor. An employee who has been there for three years should be making more than one who has been there for three months. But when we compare people within the same hire date, there should be measurable details to look at. This can be punctuality and attendance, but it can also be performance metrics in the parlor.

Wall added that there are technologies that use AI to track protocol in the parlor such as who is dipping and who isn’t, or who uses one towel per cow versus all cows in the line. “Managers need to have the courage to say they are not going to keep increasing pay for those who aren’t scoring well on those metrics,” he said.

So, what can a manager implement tomorrow to better lead a team?

“If I had to do one thing, the first thing to do is monthly meetings,” Wall said. It is the best way to get in front of the team to go over goals and expectations. Employees should meet once a month and managers once a week. These meetings let you talk about your farm scoreboard such as parlor performance, cull rate, and herd health to see where the farm is at, why the farm is there, where the farm wants to go, and what needs to happen to get there.

Wall now primarily focuses on his software company called PeopleCor, a program that works with dairy farms and managers, putting together systems to get clarity, accountability, and discipline within their day-to-day operation.