The life lessons of work ethic, respect for the animals, and care for employees Jared Duppengeisser learned growing up on a dairy in western N.Y. have translated into his focus on creating a positive farm culture as a manager.

Creating a motivated farm team requires leadership skill development, prioritization of safety training and skills, incentives, and fostering a relationship with employees. 

“My vision of a relationship comes down to one word, caring. Do you care about the other person? And do you collectively care about what you’re trying to achieve? The only way people are going to feel that they can trust you is if you care about them. If you just see them as a transactional relationship, that’s all they’re going to give you,” Dueppengeisser told attendees at the Northeast Dairy Management Conference. At the time of his presentation, Dueppengeisser managed Milk Source’s Rosendale Dairy, which has 10,000 cows and 46 full-time and 20 seasonal employees.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

A farm business’s culture is created every single day. At Milk Source a word of the day is emailed to employees that they discuss in team meetings. Employees share what the word means to them, how it relates to what they’re working on, and where they want to go. 

When Dueppengeisser first joined Milk Source, part of a night shift didn’t show up, so after working the day shift, he also stepped in to help with the night milking. This showed employees he had their back and standing side by side with them gave Dueppengeisser appreciation for their job. 

“There was a flip of a switch when they saw that I was going to be there for them,” he said. “And it really stuck with them. It showed them that, you know, this is a place where these guys care for me and they’re not going to leave you hanging.”

When it’s dark out, it is a lot harder to work, Dueppengiesser said. Milk Source does reward night shift employees for that, which helps with employee engagement and retention.

“Prioritize people over cows,” he said.

ACTIVELY LISTEN

Dueppengeisser makes it a priority to say hello and engage with employees in the break room and during their shifts. 

“How do we have a cohesive culture here if we don’t even know our people? After I make my rounds around the parlor, I write down one thing every week to remember about each employee. This stimulates conversation and shows them I care,” he said. “Having a little conversation with employees doesn’t seem like much, but that’s part of creating that team that we want to build. If you don’t have that people-first mentality, you’re going to struggle to keep people around.”

Employees are also a valued resource for farm improvements.

“Be a listener, an active listener,” he said. “Focus when an employee brings an idea. Listen to what they have to say, versus jumping to a conclusion or response. They will bring incredible amounts of ideas to the table if you open the door.”

SET GOALS 

Visualize and set clear goals. Embrace change and step out of your comfort zone.

“Leaders that use a vision board accomplish more than half of the goals included,” Dueppengeisser said. “Where do I want to be in six months? Where do I want to be in a year? Utilize small incremental goals to get there. Put it on whiteboard, on the screensaver, on your cab, or door. Keep it in front of people.”

PERFORMANCE REVIEW 

Provide regular feedback to employees. Learn about employees’ personal interests and celebrate their successes.

“Employees really, really desire feedback and it should always start with something positive,” he said. “They want to know where they stand. It shouldnʼt always just be, ‘Oh, youʼre doing this great, this is awesome.’ Thereʼs got to be feedback that they want to know about what they can improve and work on.”

EMPLOYEE RENTENTION

Identify the top two reasons for employee turnover at each farm and focus on improving those areas in the next year.

“There is a healthy level of turnover, but investigate your culture issues,” Dueppengeisser said. “Are they leaving for personal reasons, unsatisfactory compensation, lack of purpose, or other opportunities?”

Consider implementing an onboarding process with employee introductions and safety training. Include highlighting the impact on their future success and the companyʼs responsibility to provide a supportive environment. Offer a facilities walkthrough, safety training, employee introductions, and performance evaluations. 

TRAINING

Grow skill sets through internal training programs. For example, have the parlor manager lead a safety training and facility walk for new employees. Develop language skills to connect with employees. Offer regular trainings and feedback sessions to teach employees the why behind their tasks.

“We hold monthly trainings that are just small learning sessions,” Dueppengeisser said. “Weʼre trying to teach the why in everything we do. For example, the reason behind why you push up feed several times per day. And if they do it accurately, we can see increased dry matter intake and milk production increase.” 

CELEBRATE SUCCESS

Keep the company vision and goals visible through displays around the farm. Offer incentives for somatic cell count, including year-end bonuses.

“We often hold employee appreciation events a few times a year,” Dueppengeisser said. “Weʼll have a taco or a food truck. We have lunch meetings. We give Christmas gifts. We’ve started giving small gifts like a company shirt or jacket.”

The farm also offers quarterly and annual bonuses, like the performance evaluation at the end of the year, with a wage increase and bonus. Together this all contributes to morale improvement, employee engagement, improved milk quality, and increased production.  

“Itʼs a ripple effect, all these things, and they all play off of each other,” Dueppengeisser said. “Make a difference, one person at a time. Itʼs our responsibility to have impact on our workers and on our teams. And the difference that we can make to somebody is more than you can imagine.”