BUSINESS STAFFING
Filling gaps in the onfarm team More flexible rosters, better pay and other incentives are needed if farm employers are going to attract staff this year. Sheryl Haitana looks at ways to make your job stand out from the rest.
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o attract or retain staff onfarm this year, loosen the purse strings, advertise differently, introduce more flexibility, and back it up by being a good boss. Farm employers will need to get more creative to fill staff gaps for next season because the staff shortage is very real, DairyNZ Lead Advisor - People Jane Muir warns. “The dairy sector was really short staffed going into Covid-19 last year, and the pandemic has exaggerated that shortage. “We are not so concerned that the cows won’t get milked, dairy farmers have a long history of always milking their cows, but we are concerned that people won’t have time to spend on the strategic parts of their business and that adds to the stress levels and impacts people’s wellbeing.” When the cows get milked and production targets are being hit, it can be easy to think the farm business is doing well, but a staff shortage means people only have time to do the essential jobs and everything else piles up. “We are more worried about burnout and wellbeing. Lots of people have been operating short staffed and we are about to roll over to another year.”
HANGING ON TO YOUR CURRENT STAFF
This season, farmers are faced with few options to help full those positions on their farms so firstly, try and retain the staff you already have, Jane says. “People leave the dairy sector every year, try not to let those people go. Have a conversation with them about what it would take to keep them. “They already have some skills, they know your farm.” There may be opportunities to help keep those staff by offering more responsibility and/or more training. Remember vocational training for dairy is mostly fully subsidised by the government this year and next, Jane says. Farmers could also look at options to lighten the workload onfarm, such as variable milking frequency. “Milking sucks up the most hours so if the business is short staffed that could be an option.” If DairyNZ and Federated Farmers are successful getting 500 overseas workers into the country, it’s not enough people to
Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | May 2021
fill the gaps and is only an option for some farms due to the quarantine costs, she says. “Migrants have been a critical and valued part of the workforce, but the borders are not opening any time soon. Employ New Zealanders.”
CHECK OUT THE PART TIMERS
The unemployment rate in NZ is low, but farmers should look at the under employed sector. These are people who are working part time, but who could work more hours if they were offered flexibility. For example, parents who can work only between school hours can’t always milk the cows, but there are plenty of other jobs they could do during the day. High school students are another key group. They might not be able to work during the week, but they are keen to earn cash and are available to work weekends. Or retired people who might want to work part time, but not in full time employment. Another group is Work and Income clients. Farmers already employ a lot, but 31
