Training your staff shows you value them and this leads to increased job satisfaction and staff retention. It also allows you to fill in skill gaps that exist in your business and have confidence in your team.
Getting Started
- Discuss with your employee their existing skill set. Agree on any gaps between where they are at and where they need to be. Also find out the areas where your employee is interested in learning more.
- Think about what skill gaps exist on your farm, if any.
- Write a training plan for each employee which details what training they need, or want, and why. In conjunction with your employee, decide if on-farm or off-farm training will be most effective. Usually a combination of the two is best as it provides variety.
- Identify training providers and when courses are available.
- Schedule regular and structured on-farm training into your employee's roster (and your own where relevant) and encourage and support them to complete it.
- Provide opportunities for your employee to practice their new skills on farm post training. This cements the learning.
Remember to...
- For new employees, create a training plan in the first 2 to 4 weeks when things on farm are a bit quieter. This should be built into their orientation and will ensure they get up to speed quicker.
- Training should happen for all employees, not just those that are new.