minding your business HR toolkit in the works


CAHRC compiling resources to help farm employers recruit and retain skilled, knowledgeable workers.


H


iring farm workers has changed a lot since the day of looking for someone with a strong back and dull mind to work from dawn to dusk behind a team of horses.


Today’s farm workers need a strong mind with much less emphasis on the heavy lifting, as mechanized farm machinery is more computer than hard labour. Farm employers must also compete for labour, not just regionally or nationally but also internationally. Debra Hauer, a project manager with the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) explains that a fraction of farms are using human resource planning to hire or retain farm workers.


“Our Labour Market Information Research Project in 2009 found only one-quarter of more than 1,000 farm employers surveyed had a human resource plan,” says Hauer. Other results of the study: • One-third of employers reported they were not undertaking any specific activities to recruit or retain workers. • Producers have indicated they need strategies and best practices to help recruit and retain workers. Based on results of the study, CAHRC embarked on developing an agricultural HR Toolkit. A review of existing HR tools and resources from other sectors, industries and countries was conducted.


“We know that there are resources out there in agricultural sectors in Canada and other countries; and other industries also have tools that we could possibly use in agriculture,” explains Hauer.


Producer interviews were also conducted to assess what skills and knowledge is needed to develop a sound HR program for the farm. These interviews helped identify gaps between existing HR tools and what producers were saying they needed on the farm.


Subsequently, at CAHRC’s annual forum in Charlottetown last July,


British Columbia Berry Grower • Winter 2011-12 21


producers were asked to rate the topics they would like to see in the HR Toolkit. Topics included:


• Human Resources Planning (job analysis, job descriptions)


• Recruitment, Selection and Hiring • Compensation and Benefits • Employee Manual • Induction and Orientation • Performance Management • Cultural Diversity


• Hours of work, Holiday, and Leave • Employee Relations • Employee Departure and Retirement


• Personnel Records


• Workplace Health and Safety • Human Rights


• Employee Engagement and Retention • Training


• Disciplinary Measures • Supervision and Coaching (motivating employees)


• Communicating with Employees • Leadership • Effective Teams


• Seasonal Workers (Temporary Foreign Workers)


Hauer says that throughout the fall industry representatives have been providing input on the skills and knowledge a producer will need to successfully manage human resources on the farm.


“From the survey, we found a lot of potential topics to include, and some as a result of the review of other HR resources,” says Hauer.


She is also asking producers how the toolkit should be packaged so it is easy to use. By the end of this year, she plans on having the table of contents developed, and in early 2012 will be looking for producers to field-test the toolkit.


— Canadian Farm Business Management Council


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