Chris Zoller
A number of factors are involved in filling a farm position. When a vacancy occurs, a sense of urgency to fill the position is often a first reaction. To avoid the hasty hiring of a new employee, several steps should be taken.
Planning should precede the search for a new employee. The management team should develop a mission statement, goals and objectives. The planning stage forces the owner/manager and management team to look at their business philosophies, values, goals and objectives.
The first step in planning is to determine the mission of the business. The mission statement describes in a few sentences why the business exists. The mission of the business should be based on the values and beliefs of the owner and the management team. Objectives describe where the team wants the business to be in the future; these should follow the mission statement.
Naming business goals is the third phase of the plan. The goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, rewarding and timed (SMART). The final element of planning involves tactics. Tactics are plans of action that answer the who, what, when, where, why and how questions of achieving the goals and objectives of the business.
Planning can also incorporate the following guidelines: know yourself; know your business; know the strengths and weaknesses of the position. Knowing yourself will help you find an employee who has the qualities compatible with your strengths and weaknesses; a self-analysis will allow you to understand how you will be viewed by employees. Knowing your business allows you to understand its strengths and weaknesses; an important objective in filling a position is to address voids in skills and abilities and avoid duplication of employee strengths.
Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the position is understanding that no position is perfect; remember that what may be an advantage to you may be viewed as a disadvantage for another and vice versa. For this reason, the manager should list all potential advantages and disadvantages associated with a position and discuss each with all candidates. Overcome any assessed weaknesses so that the position will appear attractive to all applicants, and especially the strongest applicant.
The planning stage is critical to success in finding a suitable employee to fill a farm business position. The time and effort put forth during this step will be reflected in the quality of the applicants and your success in filling the position.
A thorough, well-thought-out job description will provide the framework for identifying the person best suited to fill a vacancy. The following questions will aid in writing effective job descriptions:
Recruitment is developing a pool of applicants. The quality and quantity of the pool is critical to the ultimate success in filling the position. A large quantity of applicants will allow you to draw from many backgrounds and develop a pool of higher-quality candidates.
Advertising in newspapers and magazines offers the greatest potential for expanding the pool of applicants. Word of mouth, bulletin boards and drop-ins will also expand your applicant pool. After you pick your advertising source, it is time to write a want ad. But what should be included? The following questions can guide the writing of a want ad:
The following want ad incorporates the desirable characteristics:
CROP PRODUCTION MANAGER: Established, expanding, family-owned farm business seeks an individual to assist with management and operation of a 1,000-acre grain farm, including planting, pest scouting, pesticide application and harvesting. Forty-fifty hours per week. Responsible for supervising one part-time employee. Health, vision, and dental coverage offered. Persons interested in being a team player can pick up an application at: ABC Family Farm, Rt.1, Box 123, Anytown, Ohio, 43000.
The want ad must be thorough, well-written and appealing to qualified candidates.
As with all of the previous steps, conducting an interview with a potential employee cannot be done correctly without planning. It is helpful to use an employee application form. This form allows you to collect information and record your thoughts and impressions and candidate responses to questions. The form helps document reasons for offering employment to one applicant over another. A sample application form appears on the back page of this fact sheet. This form may be duplicated and used when you need to develop a pool of applicants.
The important applicant items to look for include: name and address, work experience, reasons for leaving the previous job, goals and aspirations. You may want to customize your own interview form to meet the needs of your business. Regardless of whether you purchase interview forms or create your own, the form must fit you and the needs of your business. The next step is interviewing. Those applicants who appear to be most qualified should be invited to the business for a personal interview. Interviews serve three functions:
The actual interview is a nervous and anxious time for the applicant, who is concerned with making a positive first impression. You, as the interviewer, can help the applicant overcome this anxiety by approaching the applicant with a firm handshake and a sincere greeting and introduction. You will want to explain your background and describe the position you are filling. In turn, ask the applicant to introduce himself or herself and briefly describe his or her educational background, previous work experience and goals and objectives. The applicant should be given a copy of the job description and encouraged to ask questions during the interview.
Now is the time for you as the interviewer to begin asking a series of open-ended, thought provoking questions. Try to avoid questions that permit simple "yes" or "no" responses. Example questions include: "What have you learned from your previous work experience?" "Why do you feel you are qualified for this position?" "What are your goals?" Questions of this kind allow you to observe the applicant, formulate impressions, and decide if the experiences, attitudes, and aspirations of the applicant match those of the business and its management team. During this process, remember to use the previously-written job description as a guide. The questions you ask of the applicant should be related to the job description and will help determine if the candidate has the necessary qualifications to work as a team player and contribute toward accomplishing the goals and objectives of the business.
Work-sample tests can be used when hiring farm employees. These performance tests, using standardized measures of behavior, assess the ability to do rather than the ability to know. Examples of work-sample tests include hooking a wagon to a tractor and backing it through a building, milking a few cows or picking a row of vegetables. This interview method is excellent for evaluating the skills and abilities of an applicant.
Several areas cannot be legally addressed in the interview: race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, ancestry or marital and family status. The interviewer may ask if there is anything that would prohibit the applicant from performing the essential functions of the job as described, but this same question must then be asked of every applicant. For more detailed information about the legal aspects of interviewing, contact the Ohio Civil Rights Commission.
When deciding which applicant to select, refer to the job description, interview summaries and references. Never attempt to make the job description fit the applicant. The job description was written as a guide for finding the right person for the position--use it!
Once the selection is made, all necessary employment forms must be completed. Refer to Extension Bulletin 833, "Ohio Farm Labor Handbook," for a detailed discussion of employment forms.
The steps involved in selecting a farm employee are numerous and require a great deal of time, effort and thought. If the proper steps are followed, you will increase your chances of successfully selecting the best person for the position.
Managing for Success: Hort Excel 1993 participant notebook. Ohio State University Extension, Northeast District, Wooster, Ohio.
Erven, B. L. (1976). Recruiting and Keeping Hired Farm Workers. Cooperative Extension Service, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
Erven, B. L.. Human Resource Management In Small Businesses. Course #560, The Ohio State University, Department of Agricultural Economics, Columbus, Ohio.
Kenneth, T. H., and Erven, B. L. (1989). Farm Personnel Management. North Central Regional Extension Publication 329.
Cascio, W. F. (1989). Managing Human Resources: Productivity, Quality of Work Life, Profits. McGraw-Hill Publishing, 2nd edition.
Bernard L. Erven, State Specialist, Dairy Farm Management
All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status.
Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Adm. and Director, OSU Extension.
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