Having the right employee will make your ranching operation money, and the wrong employee will cost money.
Before you do any hiring for your operation, do the homework. The homework includes:
- Looking at the job duties that need to be performed
- How many hours per day, per week or per month does each duty require?
- What type of training or knowledge does a person need to be able to complete the desired duties?
Once you complete this exercise, look and see if duties can be grouped together geographically (large operations), by same base skills and knowledge or by season of the year.
Most ranchers are “jack-of-all-trades,” as that is necessary on most operations, but few employees come with that same broad set of skills. They usually have a limited set of skills or focus area of talents.
Many young people majoring in animal science at college may not be able to work on a wheel-line, and forage majors may not know much about calving.
Once you determine what duties need to be accomplished, use this information to write a job description. While writing the job description, the rancher should consider: “Why would someone want to work for me and do this job?”
Job descriptions are the first communication between employer and future employee. An effective job description includes accurate job title, two- or three-sentence overview of the position and an accurate list of job duties. It also lists required and desirable skills and knowledge.
What to pay
The wage offered can be a big influence on the type of future employee you attract. We all recognize that ranching is 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. But it is your operation, not your employee’s. You need to consider the wage to the number of hours you will be asking this employee to work.
For example, if the pay is $1,500 per month, and you ask the employee to work seven eight-hour days, the pay per hour is $6.69. If you can manage the ranch work schedule to six eight-hour days, the wage increases to $7.81 per hour.
For those times of year, like calving season, think “outside of the calving barn” to reward good employees. Some ideas include a bonus for finishing out calving season, bonus dependent on the number of live calves or time off after the last calf is born.
Other rewards could include beef for their freezer, registration paid for job-related trainings or meetings, jackets, gift certificates to a favorite restaurant or magazine subscription. Often, it isn’t the reward itself that the employee cares about, it is that the effort was made to express to them that they did a good job.
Include wages, benefits (housing, meat, insurance, retirement, etc.), bonuses (finishing calving season, based on number of live calves, finishing haying season, etc.) and any special requirements on the job description.
Finding candidates
The next step is to determine what information needs to be included in an application packet. Do you have a standard form, or do you want a resume, cover letter and letters of recommendation or references?
Once the job description is complete, now consider how and where you will advertise. Your local department of labor is a great starting place. If you are looking for college students, send the description to a professor teaching in the area of skills that you need.
Don’t forget the local feed stores, newspaper and word of mouth. If you are looking for a high school student, the local FFA adviser and 4-H leaders are great contacts. There are also national websites and agencies that will help you advertise positions:
So now you have a pile of applications. Put together a team of people to review them and assist in the interview and hiring process. The team should include management-level people and those who may be working with this person.
You could invite outside people to help out too. Have them rank the applications according to how they meet the requirements in the job description.
Once everyone has agreed on whom to interview, have each team member write two to three questions they would like to ask. Make sure they stick with the predetermined questions. You may want to consider a skills test as part of the interview.
For example, if they are going to be pulling a fifth-wheel stock trailer on a regular basis, ask them to drive a “course” and back it up.
If they are going to be baling hay, have them hook the tractor to the baler and then do all the pre-checks they would do before they head to the field. Just make sure you allow enough time and do the same “test” for each applicant.
After the interview, do reference checks. Ask the same questions of each person you contact. After all of this, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each applicant. Then make your decision and make an offer to your top applicant. Don’t forget to contact those you did not select so they know they weren’t selected and can look for other opportunities.
Invest in training
It takes time to develop a new employee into a positive investment for your operation. Be prepared to spend time with them. While they may come with lots of experience, that experience is not from your operation. Train the new employee to understand how you want things done on your ranch.
Some employees may only take a few days to get oriented and off on their own, while others may take a month. Be willing to spend the time to teach and train them. If you don’t, they will cost the operation money in lost time and other expenses.
Spend time setting goals with the employee and discuss performance standards. Employees who know what their duties are and how they will be evaluated are better employees.
Determine a probationary period where the employee will be evaluated on a daily basis to determine if the job is a good fit for them and you as an employer. It is less painful to let an employee go early in the position rather than a year later.
Employees are an investment. That investment includes dollars, time and energy. Determine what you need an employee to accomplish, the skills necessary for the job, and then hire the right person. Spend time and energy in training them, pay them a fair wage, and the right employee will make your operation money. 
If you would like assistance in putting together a position description, interview questions or skills assessment, feel free to contact Shannon Williams or (208) 756-2815 ext. 283.
PHOTO
Ranch employees at work. Photo by Stew Nelson.
Shannon Williams
Lemhi County Extension Educator
University of Idaho
