When it comes to managing employees in a farm operation, there can be some frustrations. That’s understandable – every human being, including ourselves, is complex. Communication in itself can be a challenge, as well.

Though all of this is true, there are also ways to shape the working environment on your farm to help achieve the results you want for your operation. It starts with a commitment to intentionally create and direct the culture that you want to be part of your farm.

Every farm operation – and every business, for that matter – has a unique culture or environment that’s developed. There are two choices when it comes to how culture happens on your farm. The first is to just let it unfold – however it will.

The second is to work to set certain standards – how we behave, how we speak to each other, how we interview a potential employee, how we solve problems, how we learn new things – in a particular way. The challenge is to foster the right environment to achieve the goals we have for our farm.

What’s your choice?

Chances are that if you choose the first option I described above, you aren’t going to like the results very much. When a farm’s culture is left up to chance, it can become just about anything. It certainly won’t magically become what you want it to be.

On farms like that, people problems are everywhere, and seem to be non-stop. Often, it’s the type of thing that the leader ends up having to deal with, taking their time away from doing the work that’s critical to the farm’s success. Personally, I don’t know of any farm leaders who want to deal with more of these types of problems.

The second option is likely more attractive. It does take more work and intentionality upfront, though. But if you’re dedicated to creating an effective, efficient work environment on your farm that runs smoothly, first consider what you want your farm’s culture to be, and then implement a plan of action steps to get it there.

Consider the culture

The first step is to think about what your farm’s culture is like now, and what you want it to be. Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

Think about the type of work that’s done on your farm. What sorts of attitudes and behaviors must employees have for the work to go well and smoothly? For example, what sorts of values would employees ideally hold?

The owners or owning family plus other key leaders in the operation may want to sit down together to discuss the values they believe should guide and direct the operation. Think about what you value most, as well as what’s necessary for the farm to run well. What values should guide the way we work together on the farm? The farm’s core values ultimately set the tone for what the culture will be like.

Also consider the processes and practices you’ll put in place to foster the right culture. When it comes to hiring, coaching and firing employees, culture and cultural fit needs to be a big deal. If someone isn’t the right fit for the type of culture you’re building on your farm, then they’re probably not the right employee for you.

If you’d like to discuss more about building the right type of culture for your farm – to get the results you want – you can talk with one of our advisors.

Read the new summer issue of the Smart Series publication, bringing business ideas for today’s farm leader. This issue includes perspectives on how to make your farm business more competitive, financial best practices, key ratios for leaders to watch, and more.

The opinions of the author are not necessarily those of Farm Futures or Penton Agriculture.