8 Ways to Limit Employee Turnover - Dairy Herd Management Oct 16, 200

[Guest guest]

Here's an article which deals with one of the biggest problem in ISKCON cow

programs -- turnover of cowherds. Worth reading, and worth forwarding to your

GBC if your region has a dairy farm. Once again, note point 5. -- provide good

training.

 

your servant,

 

Hare Krsna dasi

 

Dairy Herd Management – Oct 16, 2002

 

8 WAYS TO LIMIT EMPLOYEE TURNOVER

 

By Kim Watson

 

Every time an employee walks out the door, your dairy loses thousands of

dollars.

 

Think about it. You have losses in productivity, the cost of advertising, the

time needed for interviews, and time spent training. And if the new hire

decides

the job isn't for him and leaves, then the process starts all over again. All

of

these things add up. A conservative estimate of turnover cost is one-third of a

new hire's annual salary, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. For more

skilled or higher paid employees, that cost climbs even higher.

 

Then, you must consider the non-monetary cost, too.

 

"The cost of turnover extends far beyond monetary losses," says Sarah Fogleman,

Kansas State University extension agricultural economist. Turnover can hurt

morale, because the employees who remain at the farm must play catch-up as they

struggle to fill the same positions over and over again and train new

employees.

 

Here are eight ideas to help limit turnover at your dairy:

 

1. Build loyalty and a teamwork mentality.

The first step toward building employee loyalty and growing a teamwork

mentality

is to do things that make people feel supported by the organization, says Tom

Maloney, extension economist and human resource management specialist at

Cornell

University.

 

How easy is it for employees in your organization to approach management,

whether it is to get information or to bring up a concern? If any hurdles

exist,

you need to remove them in order to improve communication.

 

While you may not have time to meet one-on-one with every person every day,

staff meetings allow employees regular access to management.

 

Recognize your employees' successes. It will show employees that you appreciate

their work, and also provide them with a greater sense of satisfaction, says

Bernie Erven, ag economist and personnel management expert at Ohio State

University.

 

2. Use job descriptions and evaluate performance.

 

Written job descriptions help both you and your employees understand

expectations. "People want to know what their job is and how they're doing,"

says Maloney.

 

Also, think about designing jobs with employees in mind. Capitalize on

employees' interests in designing their jobs. For example, some people enjoy

working with animals, while others prefer working on machinery. Try to include

some of these interests in their job description.

 

Erven concedes that not all tasks are glamorous or fulfilling. But by offering

a

variety of tasks and skills, you improve your odds of keeping employees

satisfied.

 

3. Establish the ground rules.

 

Use an employee handbook to lay out the rules for your organization. The

handbook should contain statements on the mission, vision and values of the

company. Be sure to include compensation elements, such as vacation, personal

and sick days, as well as any limitations on those elements. Also, include

information on business protocols and safety procedures.

 

"This is incredibly important, not only from a human resource management

standpoint, but also from a legal perspective," says Fogleman. "By outlining

how

important safety is to your business, and then highlighting the dangers of your

operation, you make a statement that you value safety and are committed to

maintaining a safe work environment."

 

4. Explain benefits.

 

Another thing that can help reduce turnover is helping people understand their

wage and benefits package, says Maloney. For example, "many people stay or

leave

a job because of health insurance. It has become so expensive that people make

career choices on that one benefit," he adds.

 

Maloney recommends that employers make a list of all benefits and assign values

to them at least once a year. Show them to employees. The value really adds up

and employees need to understand that, stresses Maloney. Including a breakdown

of benefits with yearly W-2 statements is one sure way of getting that

information out to employees. You also can include a breakdown of benefits in

an

employee handbook.

 

5. Provide training.

 

Few people enjoy doing something if they cannot do it well. Mediocre

performance

because of a lack of training will frustrate even the most enthusiastic

employee.

 

Remember that proper training goes beyond the first few days on the job.

Fogleman points out that it takes 30 days for a new employee to be fully

oriented into the business, then it's 365 days before an employee is fully

trained within that particular work environment.

 

6. Challenge employees.

 

"Employees want to become more than they are today," says Maloney. That means

delegating tasks and giving people the opportunity to take on new assignments.

 

Give your employees a chance to become true professionals. "Professionals

have many things in common - not the least of which is the fact that they view

their occupations as professions, not just the means to a paycheck. If you want

employees who will stick around, take initiative, and weather the ups and downs

of the business, you need to try to make every employee within your operation

see their occupation as their profession." Fogelman says.

 

When job openings occur, consider employees within the organization first.

Promoting from within sends a signal to employees that they have career

advancement opportunities, says Erven.

 

7. Provide non-monetary benefits.

In order to meet employees' needs, you must design a compensation package that

offers more than just cash wages. Provide things that will meet an employee's

psychological needs, such as job security, flexible hours, and opportunity for

growth, recognition and friendship.

 

"Successful compensation packages are really total reward systems, containing

non-monetary, direct and indirect elements all based on the objectives of the

employer and the needs of the employee," says Fogleman.

 

8. Provide equitable compensation.

Jobs should be valued on the basis of their contribution made to the business,

says Erven. If the milker position, pusher position and tractor driver position

have different values to the business, those positions should have different

wage schedules.

 

In addition to equity within your operation, you also should evaluate how the

compensation package you offer stacks up against your neighbor's or the co-op

in

town.

 

You don't have to implement all of these ideas at once. Instead, use them as a

blueprint to create a work environment where employees will want to stay and

thrive.

 

 

Calculate your turnover cost

 

If you want a better idea of how much money employee turnover takes from your

dairy, try this calculator. It was developed by the University of Wisconsin and

can be found on-line at:

 

http://www.uwex.edu/ces/cced/publicat/turn.html#calc

 

 

Not all turnover is bad

 

Some turnover is good. For example, "some employees leave because they have

outgrown the operation and need new career challenges and the opportunity to be

rewarded for their increased capabilities," says Bernie Erven, ag economist and

personnel management specialist at Ohio State University.

 

"Also, some employees should leave because they do not fit in or do not perform

at minimum acceptable levels," he adds.

 

But, employers can inadvertently set up situations where some employees should

leave, but don't because:

 

 

They are paid more in their current jobs than they could earn elsewhere. The

employees grow accustomed to the high income. At some point, they grow unhappy

with their employer, but they are trapped because to change employers would

mean

a substantial pay cut. They are unacceptable to any other employer. They stay

where they are for lack of opportunity. "An outstanding employer once told me

that his fear was that his below-average workers would stay too long, not that

they would leave too soon," says Erven. They are family members to the employer

and, as such, they don't want to jeopardize their inheritance.

 

 

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For more information

 

For more details on these ideas, check out these selected articles that have

previously appeared in Dairy Herd Management:

 

"Roll out the welcome mat,"

December 2001

 

"Make meetings matter,"

March 2001

 

"Become a preferred employer,"

September 2000

 

"Done right every time,"

February 2000

 

"Useful tools when communicating with employees,"

September 1999

 

"Habla espanol,"

August 1999

 

"Ideas that will jump start your employee meetings,"

October 1998

 

"How to conduct training,"

September 1998

 

"Make the most of the first day,"

August 1998

 

"Employee evaluations: How to do it right,"

August 1998

 

Or, if you would like to view everything written on employee management,

including Profit Tips, visit the "Editorial Archives" and browse through the

employee management sections.