Onboarding a new employee is an important task for our dairy farms as it improves employee performance and retention. Employee turnover is expensive with the cost of losing and replacing an employee reaching as much as 100 to 150% of the employee’s annual wage. So, we need to ensure that each new hire is well-prepared and integrated into our farm. All too often, it is easy to say “Just go follow Joe (or Jose or whomever), he’ll show you what to do.” We can use a more effective approach that is focused on using a structured onboarding program that incorporates the 4 C’s: compliance, clarification, culture, and connection. This has been a focus area for the Agricultural Workforce Development program at Cornell as they have developed methods and tools to assist farms and have conducted research on educational interventions for onboarding.
Compliance involves teaching the new employee the basic rules, policies, and regulations for the farm. For example, we need to ensure that the employee understands how to report hours worked and request time off. We need to provide safety training on day 1 to prevent accidents and ensure a safe working environment so that everyone goes home safely. Also, we need to educate employees about state and federal regulations. Taking the time to do these things will help the new employee avoid mistakes and keep our farms operating safely and legally.
Clarification is making sure a new employee understands his or her role and expectations of the job. This can be done by outlining the duties and responsibilities of the position in a written job description, providing detailed instructions with an SOP on how to perform a task, and setting goals and providing feedback to help the new employee know what is expected. Doing these things should help a new employee feel more confident and lead to better performance and job satisfaction.
Culture encompasses the values, traditions, and social norms of our farms. We need to share our history, mission, and values to create a sense of purpose, belonging, and commitment. We need to encourage an environment where teamwork and collaboration is emphasized, safety for people and animals is prioritized, and employees feel valued. Doing these things should create a positive work environment and promote employee engagement.
Connection is building personal relationships with coworkers and creating a sense of belonging for the new employee. This can be facilitated by introducing the new employee to coworkers and key personnel on the farm, organizing a welcome event, providing a farm tour, and identifying a mentor. Building connections helps the new employee feel accepted.
The Agricultural Workforce Development program conducted a project reported recently in the Journal of Dairy Science that involved 36 dairy farms, with 17 providing complete data for analysis. Onboarding advisors, including educators and consultants, worked closely with farm managers, offering templates, examples, and hands-on facilitation to help them adopt effective onboarding practices based on the 4 C’s. The benefits of improved onboarding after the educational intervention were clear. Farm managers reported significant increases in their use of onboarding practices, particularly in the areas of compliance and clarity leading to new employees that were better informed about farm policies and their roles and responsibilities. Managers tripled their use of mission statements, first day safety training, and job descriptions. Also, managers were more aware of state and federal employment regulations and the need to stay compliant while being more satisfied overall with the onboarding process. By adopting best practices and utilizing available resources, managers were able to create a more welcoming and productive environment for new employees.
Investing in a comprehensive onboarding program is a smart move for any of our farms as we look to build a strong, committed team.
— Heather Dann