Eighty dead calves in two weeks: “The dry cow ration is not working; colostrum quality is suffering; my calves are dying …” On a recent farm call from a producer, his calf-raising operation had taken a turn from being very successful to a state of emergency: 80 dead calves in a period of two weeks.

Flores mario
Mario A. Solis Flores
Technical Service Specialist / Form-A-Feed

Some of the questions circling the producer during this process were:

  • Is the dry cow ration working?
  • Are cows milking quality colostrum?
  • How long are we keeping colostrum in the refrigerator?
  • Are employees giving colostrum?
  • What kind of bacteria is killing calves so fast?
  • Is there a breakdown in the vaccination program?
  • Have the right antibiotics been given when calves are detected sick?
  • Are the employees giving electrolytes?

While investigating the symptoms of the disease killing calves, we were listening to all the answers we wanted to hear; however, all the symptoms were pointing to a typical case of “turnover” disease.

In the conversation with the herd manager, he briefly mentioned that recently two employees had left the operation. The open positions had been immediately filled, and the two new employees had been fully trained and they had no bad habits.

In an operation where three full-time employees are needed to cover cows during calving, where fresh cows get processed right away and calves are also processed at birth 24 hours a day, 365 days a year – protocols and procedures can’t be trained in two weeks. Period.

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Especially when the owner says the new hires don’t have any bad habits. This last statement means the new employees have zero experience in a dairy operation.

It has been my experience, in many different cases and circumstances after listening to these kinds of statements, that finding the solution to the problem is easy: Employee turnover.

However, that leads us back to this initial question: Why do employees quit when things are running the best?

The ability to engage and retain employees is a critical skill for managers. Here are some reasons good employees quit and how to keep them, and none of these involves throwing a bunch of money around.

  1. Hiring process: Employees are hired without explanation of pay, raises, benefits or at least an idea of the company rules or regulations. A solution to this is to develop a two-page document stating the main points of what to expect from the job they are going to do.

  2. No goals: Most employees don’t wake up every day thinking how they are going to hit a profit number. In a typical dairy operation, there is only a handful that really care about it or, in some cases, even understand exactly what it means to hit that number. As a manager, don’t confuse your financial objectives with daily goals. Establish production goals and help employees understand how protocols and procedure are the tools to achieve those goals.

  3. No empathy: Employers let employees go, and employees are likely to leave for other opportunities. Generally speaking, there are no loyalties on either side. A simple solution to the problem is to listen to your employees. Employees should know if there will be action taken to the concerns or suggestions they have, or get a logical explanation of why things can’t happen.

  4. No (effective) motivation: The only motivation offered in many jobs is the opportunity to earn cash at the end of the pay period; the connection to the employer is monetized. Extrinsic motivators reflect the desire to do something because reward will be given. Intrinsic motivators reflect the desire to do something because it is enjoyable. Motivation comes from within an individual, and it is up to the manager to bring it out in a positive or a negative way.

  5. No training: Many new hires run into the trouble of not knowing how to do their jobs as managers expect. Some of the main reasons are lack of an in-house training program and lack of effective communication. The person mentoring new hires might not be conveying the right message.

According to some statistics out there, the cost of one employee leaving represents 17 percent more of their yearly salary. In the case of our example dairy, it has also cost them 80 calves, which was far more than 17 percent of a salary.

For the most part, if a dairy farm is offering competitive salaries with some sort of average benefits program, and employees are leaving, it will be very helpful to take a hard look at the reasons why and develop a managing strategy around it to retain employees.  PD

Mario A. Solis Flores