May 03, 2023

Workable Workforce Series: Recruiting and onboarding talent

41 minutes

Finding and sustaining a workable workforce is a challenge. It starts with recruiting and onboarding. HR professional Lori Culler and dairy farmer Laura Finger share experiences, recommendations and tips for recruiting, selecting and onboarding employees. Dairy Stream host Joanna Guza dives into the topics below with Lori and Laura:

1:38: Where should farms start with sourcing and recruiting talent

3:44: Share the reality of the job

5:23: Best place to post a job

6:33: How Laura recruits for her farm

8:49: How to assess the talent pool

9:56: What to share about pay and benefits

13:46: How to select the best candidate

18:26: Ensuring the farm and candidates expectations are met

24:04: What is an effective onboarding plan

25:43: Making the handbook ‘fun’

27:00: How to build a positive employee culture

28:00: First week is critical, don’t forget about 30, 60, 90 day check-ins

31:22: How to check-in with new employees

32:34: Biggest mistake with onboarding

33:35: Ensuring all the backgrounds and cultures of employees are thriving

36:58: The future of recruiting and onboarding

Special thanks to Syngenta for sponsoring this episode.

About the guests

Lori Culler is the founder of AgHires, an online job board and recruiting firm dedicated to the Agriculture, Horticulture, and Food Production industry. Lori grew up on her family's 3rd generation potato and grain farm operating today across four states. After graduating from the University of Toledo with a bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management, she began working in recruiting and management consulting. While hiring for her family’s operation, she quickly realized the lack of resources in the industry to find and attract talent which inspired her to launch AgHires.

Laura Finger and her husband Phil are owner operators of Finger Family Farm in Oconto Wisconsin. They are the 5th generation on their dairy that milks 540 cows, raises all their own replacements and farms 1800 acres. Laura has a Dairy Science Degree from Iowa State University and uses both cow knowledge and evolved people skills to lead a team of 20 employees with a variety of backgrounds ranging from local people, high schoolers, retirees and migrant labor. Her main jobs are to raise calves and kids, manage the parlor and anything involving their team of people on the farm.

Dairy Stream has dedicated the next four episodes to focus on an asset on your farm, your workforce. The four episodes of the Workable Workforce Series will cover recruiting, engaging, coaching and HR legal items. The series is sponsored by Syngenta and Compeer Financial.

May 24: Workable Workforce Series: Retention and Engagement

June 14: Workable Workforce Series: Coaching and Counseling

July 5: Workable Workforce Series: HR Management and Legal Matters

This podcast is co-produced by the Dairy Business Association and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, sister organizations that fight for effective dairy policy in Wisconsin and Washington, D.C. Become a sponsor, share an idea or feedback by emailing [email protected].

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