Brent Landis
Agriculture Services Coordinator
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Phone: (717) 397-3531 ext. 62
E-mail:blandis@icci.com
Success with Non-
Traditional Employees
The agriculture industry has
learned to deal successfully with a
lot of changes in technology,
finances, and marketing. But, we
have given far less attention to
human resource changes. With
the unemployment rate in
Pennsylvania at 4.2 percent and
Lancaster County's
unemployment rate at 2.5 percent,
farmers are faced with seeking
non-traditional employees in non
traditional ways.
Bernie Erven, a professor of
Agriculture Economics and
extension specialist on human
resources at Ohio State
University, recommends that we
first pay attention to the basics for
human resource success.
Employers must offer fair
compensation with benefits to
attract employees. You need to
hire the right people that "fit" the
business and the job. Proper
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orientation and training is
strongly recommended. To help
avoid confusion, good
communication with each of your
employees is needed. By
following these guidelines, you
can help to build your reputation
in the community as a preferred
employer.
Erven suggests we should
change the emphasis placed on
human resource management.
We need less emphasis on what
employers want from employees,
and more emphasis on providing
what employees look for in their
employers and their jobs.
Understanding the tremendous
competition for good employees
in a tight labor market will help
an employer focus on their
employee needs. Remember
there is also someone else in the
community that is interested in
hiring the best employee
candidates.
There are four key groups of
non-traditional employees that
Erven suggests can be an
excellent opportunity for farm
employees, each of which offers
special challenges. Working
parents, teenagers, semi-retired
and Hispamcs all are key sources
of non-traditional farm
employees.
1. Working Parents - will need
work schedules that fit their
family responsibilities and
include day-to-day flexibility.
Some farmers will train 3
working parents to fill 2 jobs, and
will let the parents work around
their own schedules and choose
when to work. Childcare is one
big benefit you could possibly
provide to attract working
parents. Health insurance is
another incentive that parents
appreciate.
2. Teenagers - will need flexible
work schedules around school
sports teams, clubs, etc.
Teenagers often are motivated to
work harder when shown
appreciation and recognition.
Another key to keeping teenagers
happy is a ready supply of food
and beverage at the work place.
Transportation is another benefit
you could offer to attract
teenagers unable to drive.
3. Semi-Retired - often enjoy
the opportunity to socialize at the
work place. They, too, require
flexible schedules for extended
vacations, etc. A mixture of part
time, full-time and time off may
be needed for a semi-retired
employee.
4. Hispanics - some may need
support in navigating through the
agriculture community.
Communication challenges must
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be recognized and addressed.
This can present an excellent
opportunity for both employers
and employees to increase their
awareness of diversity.
These four groups of employees
can all be excellent resources for
any farmer who is experiencing
challenges in locating employees.
Managers must keep close daily
contacts with employees and their
needs. A detailed, written job
protocol is strongly recommended
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▼ •
by Erven
confusion
Considering a non-traditional
employee may provide the
solution to the human resource
challenges farmers are facing in
today's competitive employment
market.
Feel free to send your
comments or questions by email
to Brent Landis at the Lancaster
Chamber at blandis@lcci.com or
call him at 717-397-3531.
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