I had a question from last week's blog: "If waiting for an employee to ask for money is not the way to manage wages, what's the best practice?" If it's been over two years since this employee's compensation has been reviewed, it's time. My suggestion would be to make it an annual event; chose a month and mark the calendar. Ideally, review salaries during the same time as one of your bi-annual performance reviews. In a picture perfect world, pay would be…

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One of my clients reached out to me when an employee asked for a pay raise unexpectedly. With this sensitive topic I had to dig in further before I could advise. Pay has always been and will always be a delicate subject when it comes to the employer/employee relationship. Managers need to consider all angles and ramifications when it comes to responses to these requests. Employees come to the table for more green for a variety of warranted and unwarranted reasons. They may have more…

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We know the gratifying joy and pride working on the farm with family. We can also share vibrant stories of struggles and pain. When asked how to make those stressful times less common, "better communication" is the best advice you will ever hear from a consultant. Okay, you say. It's a great concept on paper, but have they ever worked in our world with high stress, long hours and extreme curveballs like the weather and fluctuating markets? It's intense, to say the…

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Have you ever felt you are the only one on your team thinking? Have you ever questioned why an employee didn't bring up an issue to you that seems obvious to mention? So why aren't they talking, adding more value, bringing up ideas? There are a lot of reasons this could be happening. You could be settling for poor performers who don't know how to add value. Those that read my blogs already know my ultimate suggestion if that is the case. You could have some quiet ones on the…

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It has been in the works for a while and the Citizenship and Immigration Services recently published a revised I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form.  Employers are allowed to start using the new form now, but are permitted to continue using the previous version until May 7, 2013. Starting May 8, 2013 employers must utilize the new form.  The form is very similar but the new form has a few key revisions including:  Improving the form's instructions to…

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For those of you in the south that have started planting this blog may be coming a little late.  For the rest of us it is time for pre-planting preparation. I am sure you have been prepping already; the equipment has or is being worked on, your seed is ordered, insurance is set in place, etc. I am asking for one more item to be added to your list; a pre-planting meeting with your staff aimed at communicating the game plan and setting expectations for the season. You will want to…

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Have you ever received a performance review? If you are an owner chances are you haven't had the pleasure. It is hard to fully appreciate them if you have not been on the receiving end. I actually remember almost all of the evaluations I have ever been given and no, they weren't bad.  Why was the event so impactful?  Part of it is just human nature and the fact that I had to stop to analyze if what I was doing was just good performance or was it performance that was…

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At the Farm Futures Summit an attendee asked my thoughts on recruiting military candidates for the farm. On our family farm our Director of Operations is a vet with excellent leadership skills, work ethic and strategic thinking.  I am a strong supporter of military recruiting. In my opinion there are five key reasons to hire. Work Ethic – They understand the importance of adhering to a schedule and coming to work prepared and ready to be productive. They have worked the early…

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At the Farm Futures Summit in St. Louis last week, someone in the audience asked me a question about wages paid to family members working on the farm.  She said on her farm, the non-contributing family members thought the contributing or "working-on-the-farm" members were overpaid in wages and that was taking away from shared profits.  She wanted to know how to support or prove the wages paid were appropriate. This is a broad topic to answer as each farm is unique in…

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I have had quite a few coaches in my days and I couldn't even name all of them. Although, one coach I distinctly remember and cherish to this day. He had this way about him. He commanded greatness from his players. He believed we were the best and with his confidence a team ego developed, one that gave us a presence when going up against our competition. He got us to work harder than any other coach and you knew in his heart he wanted nothing more than greatness for each of us. He…

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