Orientation

Using a step-by-step orientation process helps staff settle into their new job and have the best start possible.

Getting orientation right will almost certainly add value to your business and it also sets a great tone for your employment relationship, helps clarify expectations and contributes to positive job satisfaction.

Step 1: Before your employee starts

• From the recruitment process file the CV, application form, reference information, any previous training information.
• Give the employee an introduction to the area, and community (doctors, banks, schools, community groups) as well as an introduction to the farm business.
• Prepare accommodation, PPE, tools and vehicles.
• Gather appropriate documentation for completion on day one of employment, and check the rest of the steps on this page to see if any other forms need to be printed.
• Talk through and sign the employment agreement and job description with your employee (you must source your own employment agreement). For the trial period to be valid, the employment agreement must be signed before the employee starts work (even 5 minutes after starting has been held by the courts to be too late), and the employee must be ‘new’ (this means they have never worked for you, even on a casual basis, before).

Step 2: First day of employment

• Accommodation if you are providing accommodation, talk through and sign a tenancy agreement and a property inspection form.
• Complete a tax IR330 form, a Kiwisaver deduction form and an employee personal information sheet.
• Plan week 1 with your employee. Ensure they have a copy of the roster, know what time they should turn up to work (and where), and know what they will be doing each day, e.g. shadowing another employee, assigned tasks to work on independently.
• Tips and resources for the first day
  • Check out the Additional Resources at the bottom of the page for our checklist and orientation documents and forms needed for the first day.
  • Follow these links for documents and forms you may need from other sources:
    • Tenancy agreement
    • Tax IR330 form
    • Kiwsaver deduction form
  • Ask all your existing employees to be part of the orientation process. Each person could spend time explaining their role and maybe demonstrating a specific task. This will aid teamwork and ensure everyone feels part of the team. Often current employees will have great ideas for topics to cover, so ask for their input! During the orientation process look for any training needs your new employee may have and make notes. These skill gaps can then be incorporated into your training and development plan.
  • Make sure that for the first two weeks on the job, someone is tasked to ‘check in’ with your new employee every few hours to make sure they know what they are doing, and can answer any questions.
  • We forget that dairy farming is a complex business. Do not assume that your new staff understand industry slang and terminology – do your best to explain even very basic concepts so that they can keep up and feel less embarrassed to ask questions.
  • Team meetings are very important to have when your new recruit starts. It gives them a chance to get to know the rest of the farm team, to pick up on what is happening on the farm and ask more questions.
  • Having visuals in the workplace will help new employees see what you are trying to achieve and get them up to speed more quickly. These visuals may include:
    • Whiteboards with to-do lists. Try a Kanban board with your team.
    • Calendar of upcoming farm events.
    • Point-of-use instructions displayed with relevant equipment.
    • Milk production, SCC, lameness and other farm metrics.
    • Team meeting outcomes.
    • Any team or business goals.
  • On large farms, it may be useful that you assign a ‘buddy’ to the new employee for their first week. Being a buddy to a new staff member may be a good opportunity for someone in your team to step up in their role – but only assign a buddy if you think they will get along well together! The new employee can then:
    • Shadow their buddy for their normal workday.
    • Be personally introduced to the rest of the team by their buddy.
    • Build a relationship with that buddy and keep them as a trusted source of help in the job going forward.

Step 3: At the end of week one

• Catch up and complete the relevant catch-up templates in the First 90 Days Kit.
• Tips and resources for the end of week one
  • Check out the Additional Resources at the bottom of the page for catchup templates for the first 90 days.
  • We know that good bosses have good communication and clarity with their staff – so now is the time for you to check-in with how the first week has gone for your new employee, before getting to understand one another’s expectations and preferences at work.

Step 4: At the end of week two

• Catch up and complete the relevant catch-up templates in the First 90 Days Kit.
• Talk through the signed job description together and discuss the responsibility areas and skills beside each. Ask your new employee to identify skills or strengths they feel they have, and skills they feel they need to grow.
• Map out a plan using the relevant templates in the First 90 Days Kit, to help your employee identify skills to improve on, as well as learn any processes specific to your farm (e.g. policies and how you like to manage calf rearing)
• Tips and resources for the end of week two
  • Check out the Additional Resources at the bottom of the page for catchup templates and a training plan for the first 90 days.
  • Training staff is time-consuming and sometimes it feels like it is easier to do something yourself rather than taking the time to train someone. However, once people are trained properly they will free up your time and you will reap the rewards of your training efforts. Staff who participate in regular training are generally more motivated, more efficient and less likely to leave.
  • To get buy-in, work together with your staff to develop and review their training plan.
  • Formal training is not always the best solution. Sometimes buddying up staff, or coaching, will work better than more formal training. These can still be added to the training plan.
  • Plan how you will train a certain task to your staff member. This way you can be sure they will understand the ‘why, when, how and what-if’ scenarios for them to problem solve more independently in the future. 
  • Review the effectiveness of all training to ensure the time, effort and money spent are having a positive impact on your staff and on your business.

Step 5: At the end of the first month

• Catch up and complete the relevant catch-up templates in the First 90 Days Kit.
• Tips and resources for the end of the first month
  • Check out the Additional Resources at the bottom of the page for catchup templates for the first 90 days.
  • Make sure you ask open questions during your catch ups to get a good understanding for how your new employee is feeling in the job, and really listen to any feedback they give you.

Step 6: At the end of the second month

• Catch up and complete the relevant catch-up templates in the First 90 Days Kit.
• Tips and resources for the end of the second month
  • Check out the Additional Resources at the bottom of the page for catchup templates for the first 90 days.
  • It is important throughout the whole orientation process that you give honest feedback to your employee on their performance, while being mindful that starting a new job can be exhausting, and mistakes can happen. You must also act in good faith and try to work through any disciplinary or performance concerns. Likewise, if things are going well, you should communicate this so that your employee knows they needn’t consider other job opportunities!

Step 7: At the end of the third month

• Catch up and complete the relevant catch-up templates in the First 90 Days Kit.
• Tips and resources for the end of the third month
  • Check out the Additional Resources at the bottom of the page for catchup templates for the first 90 days.
  • You’ve made it to the end of your third month. Have another sit-down and check-in to see how it is all going. You should review how your 90 Day Training Plan has gone and work together to build a new training plan to meet the employee and farm needs in the months to come.

Podcast: A newbie's perspectives on dairy farming

To meet our sector’s workforce needs, we need to be recruiting people who are new to farming. But for those who’ve never worked on a farm, like John Gibson, it can be a major culture shock. John, who traded Wellington for the green pastures of Waikato, joins us to share his views on how we can make it a smoother transition for other newcomers.