Learning To Manage People Is A Leap Forward For Dairies
UNIVERSITY PARK (Cent re Co.) Learning to
manage people is a process that takes time and prac
tice, but it’s best to spend that time practicing tech
niques that are proven and will work when mastered.
The trial and error approach to human resource man
agement leads to years of disappointment, family
strife, and high employee turnover rates. Managers
who first learn the principles of effective human re
source management take a giant leap toward business
success.
Brian Craig, dairy manager at Murmac Farms in
Centre County, took his giant leap forward by attend
ing Penn State Dairy Alliance’s course Management
Essentials for Dairy Success (MEDS).
It was in this course that Craig says he found him
self as a manager.
“I learned certain techniques that I could use to
become more effective with people,” he said. He uses
those techniques to better understand the twelve
people he supervises. The result is a positive work en
vironment where he can better communicate with his
people and help them to improve at their jobs.
Craig goes on to say, “I’ve learned not to be a hard
charger all the time. I take an interest in my people
and show that I care about them as individuals.”
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Two of the key concepts that MEDS teaches are or
ganization and delegation. Many dairy managers
struggle to assign responsibility to others because they
are uncertain of the worker’s ability. They find it diffi
cult to move away from the role of hands-on worker to
the role of coach and supervisor. When managers
retain a strictly hands-on style, they prevent others
from developing into their true potential.
MEDS teaches managers how to create work condi
tions that lead to improved performance. Participants
learn about obstacles to performance and how to
remove them. The objective is to help managers grow
and develop in their supervisory role, so that they in
turn can help their people to develop.
Craig applied these concepts to his own manage
ment responsibilities at Murmac Farms. His responsi
bilities include herd health, cow comfort, housing,
parlor operations, and milk quality control.
“I’ve better organized myself and the people I’m re
sponsible for,” he said. “I try not to get tied up with
any one individual during the day. I delegate responsi
bility and encourage people to take the initiative and
achieve. We are all more productive and satisfied be
cause I let my people take an active role in getting
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(Turn to Page 41)