While we’re on the topic of new season and new team members, we thought we’d share some insights into the kinds of things that our farmer clients are asking us about at the moment…
What salary should I be paying my (insert job title or titles here)? We get this question a lot, and from our point of view this is a good thing – businesses recognising the importance of meeting the market when it comes to salary packages. The answer will generally depend on a number of factors (job holder skills and experience, tenure, cow/stock numbers, relative isolation of the farm, housing on offer, etc etc), but a great starting point is understanding the relevant market rates. Give our team a call for a chat about what we’re seeing across all roles in the market at present.
What training could/should I be providing my team with while it’s relatively quiet? Great question! Whether you’ve got new team members you want to bring up to speed, current team members you want to develop, or perhaps aspiring leaders who need a bit of support in the ‘soft skills’, there are lots of formal and informal training options. The best starting point is generally working with your team member(s) to identify together what the specific training need is, and then working out whether they can get that training ‘on the job’ (and how), or whether you explore outside training options.
This is my first time employing staff, how do I make sure I’m meeting my health & safety obligations? There are a lot of great resources that help you to understand what your obligations are, and many provide the tools you need to get there. If you need support in putting systems in place, or introducing a safety culture into your team, give us a call, we’re happy to help! Keep safe, keep farming toolkit, Managing health and safety
Why is my new team member already talking about leaving? Hmmm, this is a tricky one, and sometimes a conversation we have to navigate quite carefully! There are a whole lot of reasons, but one thing we have noticed, when we’ve been given permission to and have talked to the quickly departing team member, in almost all cases it’s been to do with the house, and often the state of (un)cleanliness it’s been left in. The good news about this is – it’s a relatively easy fix! But what we’ve also clocked when we’ve spoken to these team members is that they’re quite disheartened and worried about a dirty house – “if they don’t even care enough to have the house clean before I move in, what will they be like as employers?” A fair question in our opinion! There have also been a few we’ve talked to where the house has been smaller/colder/moldier than expected – we understand it’s not always possible to show the housing at the interview stage, but whenever possible new team members should have clear and realistic understanding of what’s on offer in terms of housing, to avoid the early season exodus.
If this sounds familiar to you or you have any other related questions, give our team a call on 07 870 4901.