You’re Hired? How to Employ, Retain Farm Employees

Within the next four years, the Canadian agriculture sector will see a deficit of more than 114,000 workers. If that isn’t a wake up call for worker retention, I don’t know what is.

This projection from the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) is based on data from 2014. However, with the amount of job advertisements up at the present moment, the findings are holding true.

The loss in workers can be attributed to a number of things, including old age along with international workers changing jobs or going back home. The bottom line is increased competition for labour. For farms looking to add another employee, the following article should give insight on how to go about it, along with tips on why a structured human resource (HR) plan helps in the long run.

CAHRC’s acting executive director and director of operations, programs and partnerships Jennifer Wright says it’s important to have a plan in the first place. Plan ahead in the off-season and look at your needs for the following season.

“It will help you hire appropriately for the season,” Wright says. “Planning can also have a positive impact on recruitment and retention of employees.”

Through planning, a farm manager can identify where they might have shortfalls in the amount of available work compared to when they could use extra hands during busy seasons. Whether hiring a year-round full-time worker, part-time worker or a casual worker, Wright says any job posting must be clear with their work expectations.

Plan ahead in the off-season and look at your needs for the following season. “Planning can also have a positive impact on recruitment and retention of employees.”

–Jennifer Wright

“It is important in any scenario to be clear in the recruitment process about the intent. If you are hiring to pick berries over a three week period then be clear about that in the job ad. If you intend to hire for a role that may be full-time April to October (for example) and then part-time over the quieter winter months, be clear about that in the job ad.”

Once you’ve settled on where your needs are, the next step is getting the word out. This can be internally with your current employees, perhaps offering a referral bonus, or you may need to advertise. To this, Wright says to create compelling and clear advertisements that include information such as:

• Job title;
• Info about your farm operation;
• Description of the job;
• Wages and hours;
• Required skills and/or certifications;
• Preferred years of experience;
• Process and deadline of application; and,
• Contact information.

After you get a few bites on the ad, start to review applicants based on what you listed as specific job requirements. Once you’ve picked a few that stand out, have a set of standardized questions for each candidate to answer. These questions can range from behaviour in the workplace to specifics about the role they’ll be filling. Keep the questions consistent for each candidate. This creates a simplified process for both you as the employer and for the person applying as there really is no “guessing game” in the process.

Based on the resume, interview and reference checks, you should be able to make your decision on who would be the best fit. Offer of employment should include key information such as pay, benefits, hours, working conditions (meals provided vs. lunch only provided, work boots supplied or not, etc.) and should be presented both verbally and in writing.

“Taking time to develop a strong hiring process is the first step to having strong, effective and efficient recruitment and retention practices.”

Paperwork: The farmers archenemy

An employer must follow the proper rules and regulations when it comes to each individual they hire. Numerous resources are readily available, such as CAHRC’s toolkit at hrtoolkit.cahrc-ccrha.ca.

Wright says the toolkit includes everything needed to understand legal requirements, recruitment processes, an Employee Policy Handbook, and templates for interviews, job ads, and letters of offer. Any members of CAHRC’s partnerships have free access to the resources. They are also available for a small fee for anyone that is not a member of their partner organizations.

When it comes to filing proper tax information, the
key thing to remember is that there are both provincial and federal guidelines surrounding taxes. The Canadian Revenue Agency has a simple payroll deduction calculator at canada.ca/revenue-agency that’s available for anyone to use along with an Employer’s Guide to payroll deductions and remittances. Download the guide to learn all the ins and outs when it comes to payroll. As the saying goes – time is money, and money is time – and should a producer have it in the budget, companies will provide payroll and tax services for a fee for small to large farm operations.

Similarly, employment work safe standards need to be met both provincially and federally. The laws are in place to prevent any sort of discrimination along with providing recourse should anyone be affected by it. As outlined by the Canadian Human Rights Act, there’s a legal obligation for employers to maintain a non-discriminatory workplace along with the duty to accommodate process for managers. Search for “Duty to Accommodate: A General Process for Managers” at canada.ca. Other legislation items include topics surrounding hiring, benefits, recruitment ads, workplace harassment, and much more.

In the midst of a global pandemic, Covid-19 safety protocols would have to also be followed, to which the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) has you covered. At www.casa-acsa.ca, CASA outlines what each individual province has when it comes to Covid-19 and farm safety protocols along with a free download for a resource list.

What makes an employee want to work for you?

“Recognizing that it’s not always the fault of the employee will earn the employer a more positive reputation in the community, which leads to more job candidates.”

–Kristine Ranger

Though the definition of a “good employer” is objective, an employer has a few things that can help with worker retention.

According to Kristine Ranger, an agricultural business consultant, to retain employees an employer must understand the purpose or aim of his or her HR system. This, along with having supportive mechanisms or practices in place for onboarding, giving and receiving feedback, coaching and corrective action, may help the employee stick around for more than just a season.

“An employer can offer psychological safety. This is when an employee feels that it’s safe to take interpersonal risks, such as disagreeing with an idea or a person,” Ranger explained, highlighting that while on the farm, the ideal behaviour is mutual respect, vulnerability-based trust, and true teamwork.

“A high-performing team, and a competent team leader, must understand that conflict is inevitable and actually required in groups or teams to achieve peak performance,” Ranger says. Ranger adds that managing conflict is an advanced skill set that can be used to get team members to buy into a procedure or practice, especially when new. A bad HR system beats a good person every time, she says.

“In other words, recognizing that it’s not always the fault of the employee will earn the employer a more positive reputation in the community, which leads to more job candidates,” she says.

Last but not least, Ranger says the employer must understand that it is a core responsibility of the leadership team – both the owners and managers – to improve its HR system. By having your system in place ahead of time, and a cohesive team at the top, leaders will be clear and consistent in all communications. This can reduce misunderstandings, mistakes and micromanaging.

“By identifying and implementing HR practices that support (the farm operations) mission, vision and values, (producers) will also begin to attract and retain the right people,” Ranger says.