Dairy farmers might think they are in the business of milking cows, but a leading Australian business consultant says they’re really in the people business.
“If they can’t get someone to milk their cows, they’re screwed,” author, keynote speaker and business consultant Mandy Johnson said while visiting south-west Victoria in June to present a WestVic Dairy workshop on helping dairy farmers ‘Win the War for Talent’.
Mandy says dairy farmers have to be positive and proactive in selling their farms as a good place to work.
“In the 20th century we had more people than jobs, now we’ve got more jobs than the right people,” she said.
“We’re all in the people business now whether you know it or not, and that includes dairy farmers. Competing for employees is now as difficult as competing for customers.”
Mandy said farmers had to re-think how they attract and retain staff because traditional hiring methods weren’t working.
“Hiring is now a sales process; they have to think about what people want, not what they want.”
She used an example of an airport advertising for security staff that highlighted that people must be prepared to work 24-7.
“There was not a single benefit advertised to attract a person to apply.
“You can’t just say what you want and not think about it as a sales process ... you have to inspire and engage people.”
Mandy has been working with dairy farmers for about five years, speaking at Dairy Australia conferences and also running a People and Culture accelerator program.
She helped one NSW dairy farming couple in their mid-70s who had been forced to return to milking their cows because they couldn’t find milkers.
“They were advertising ‘must be able to milk’ so we changed it to all the benefits of working for them on the farm and they filled every position.”
When recruiting, Mandy said farmers needed to look for attitude.
“Most recruit for work skills so they don’t have to train people, but recruiting for attitude is how we determine whether someone is great and going to be a stayer.”
Mandy recommends looking back on past performance, not just relying on an interview.
“The two things I really look for on CVs is past achievements because if they have good past achievements, they will be enthusiastic and will be good learners.
“The second thing I look for is solid job tenure because that shows perseverance. If people constantly turn over, there’s a reason. If you get good people from the start, it avoids all the HR issues.”
She also advises farmers to act quickly.
“Great people are like really good houses in the property market — they don’t hang around for long.
“In a tight labour market like it is now, if you hire within a week, you get great people and you don’t get into bidding wars because you’ve moved faster than everyone else.”
Mandy said hiring remained a big issue for many dairy farmers, but they can improve their skills.
“A lot of farmers are introverts so they don’t like the people stuff, but once they increase their skill level with sessions like this, they find they enjoy it and start to get better at it. It’s all about providing practical tools they can immediately use, not fluffy stuff.”
WestVic Dairy extension officer Matt Wood, who co-organised the workshop at Cobden, said the return of backpackers was very welcome, but the market for more skilled farm hands and managers remained very tight.
“There is no doubt that the shortage of skilled employees is a significant issue on many dairy farms,” he said.