It’s that time of year where we are wrapping up 2013 and are looking ahead to the next season. For most farms, we are taking a hard look at the financials, upcoming costs and equipment purchases. It’s also the time to review our current structure, team and management practices to ensure we are set up for success for the upcoming year.

Because there is so much going on, taking time to look at how our management techniques measure up often gets placed on the back burner. Use the below questions to self-analyze if you are prepared.

• Do you have the roles defined in the organization, starting with the top? It’s more than just a job description, it’s defining what everyone is responsible and accountable for. If a decision needs to be made on personnel, whose responsibility is that? Consider your employees; do they have more than one boss? Are employees stepping on each others’ toes? What about family; are there clear lines at the top for who is doing what?

• Do you have the right team? I have a test called the keeper’s test. If an employee put in their resignation tomorrow, would you fight hard to try to keep them or would you be relieved? We need to make every dollar spent count and that includes payroll. Are we investing in the right human capital that will produce results and make your company money or are you just wasting dollars on bodies? I preach about having the all-star team because it is proven time and again top performers make a company money, and bottom performers just cost money.

• Are you managing them effectively? Are expectations set for employees? Do they know what targets they are aiming for? At a minimum, are there weekly meetings, performance reviews, candidate feedback? The management team has so much influence on how effective their team is simply increasing communication.

• Is your culture what you want it to be? Culture is completely controllable on the farm as it comes from the top down. Would you want to work for you? Is your culture one that is focused on constant improvement and open communication? Is it one where employees are thriving or just going through the motion?

• Keeping it safe? Are there processes in place to handle injuries and illnesses? Have we taken the time to identify what areas of the operation have the most risk and doing what we can to mitigate that risk? Do we have emergency contact information for every employee?

This self-assessment is not meant to be overwhelming. I get it, on the farm there is so much going on that sometimes we know things aren’t right as far as management practices, but there is simply no time and even if there was time, the wish list of fixes might be intimidating.

If there are several areas that need improvement, start first with the top. If you have the structure right at the family level, with defined roles and an agreed upon business strategy, the rest will follow.

Forget about the team and performance reviews, if that is too overwhelming; simply start with the top and work your way down. Alignment and clarity among the leadership team is the most critical and will have most impact for the upcoming season. PD

Lori Culler
Owner
 

AgProvise Consulting