Nebraska Cooperative Extension EC00-280-A
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Position descriptions are essential. A detailed position, or job, description can help you as an employer identify and eliminate applicants who will not perform well on the job and gives you justifiable grounds for terminating an employee who does not perform the job satisfactorily.
On most dairy farms, employees can be grouped into three categories: herd managers, feeders or outdoor workers, and milkers. Therefore, you should have a written job description for each group. It is important to share the job description with every employee before starting employment so if any problem arises over work responsibilities later, you can quickly refer them to the job description.
A job description is a concise list of the duties that are expected to be done and the knowledge, skills and abilities required to do them. Also listed is the person to whom each worker will report. This is essential if you are to maintain an orderly flow of information to and from the worker. The entire management operation can come to a halt if the chain of command is unclear. This is especially important when hiring a new employee to work with long-term employees who might take advantage of new workers unless it is clear who is in charge.
In this publication are sample job descriptions for each group of workers commonly employed on dairy farms. If you are planning to hire employees, you can adapt these descriptions to meet the needs of your operation.
Please note when reading the following job descriptions that each employee has a few duties described that do not need direct supervision. The main reason workers give for leaving employment is not usually salary, but that "I was not allowed to do anything without first checking with my immediate supervisor." This is especially true when the manager works directly under the supervision of the herd owner. It's best to give the manager some slack and let he or she make some independent management decisions.
Supervise and coordinate herd, technicians, the day-to-day operation of the dairy and upkeep of the facilities at the dairy.
Characteristic Duties and Responsibilities:
Manage the Dairy Herd (50 percent of time):
Supervise employees in all phases of the dairy, including:
Herd Health and Reproduction (30 percent of time):
General Office Work and Procurement (20 percent of time):
Scope and Effect of Work Output and Independent Decisions Made and Acted Upon:
Make decisions pertaining to day-to-day operations. Examples: If an animal needs to be treated or bred, call veterinarians or service personnel. Decide whether a tank of milk must be dumped, when hay should be harvested, when and what feed to order and what repairs and upkeep should be performed. Solve problems concerning herd health, failure of milking equipment or outside equipment, nutrition and pasture management.
In addition, make suggestions for budget, decide when to sell cull cows and bull calves, and sign for items costing up to $500.
Minimum Qualifications (Education/Experience):
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required:
Primary responsibilities (accounting for approximately 70 to 80 percent of position time) will be to perform the duties associated with feeding and caring for all livestock on the dairy facility. Properly caring for dairy animals involves keeping the animal areas, lots and barns clean and free from manure and extraneous objects. The job is to be performed efficiently to allow the production of a high quality product and promote animal well-being and comfort. Examples of specific responsibilities are listed below:
Feeding Responsibilities:
Other Responsibilities (approximately 20 to 30 percent of daily work schedule) as Assigned by the Manager:
These responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:
Primary responsibilities (approximately 70 to 80 percent of daily work schedule) will be to perform the milking operation according to the State Public Milk Ordinance.
Milking Responsibilities and Procedures:
Milking Related Activities:
Other responsibilities (approximately 20 to 30 percent of daily work schedule) as assigned by the manager. These responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:
Before hiring new employees, explain fully their benefit packages (if any), such as health, workman's comp or life insurance. Also be clear about the vacation schedule, regular days off, sick leave policy and notification of unexpected absences from work.
Try to have the entire work force function as a team. Plan weekly or monthly team meetings to discuss ways to increase production efficiency or other management changes that may be needed. If you encourage an open exchange of ideas and discuss the options openly with employees and encourage participation, then it is far easier to get the work accomplished.
Once a year, sit down with all the employees and list short- and long-range goals for the dairy operation. Post these goals in a prominent location so employees are reminded of the goals that are expected during the next year. Attempt to have each employee responsible for obtaining one goal. This makes the employee feel more a member of a team rather than just an employee. If every goal is the responsibility of the team, then it may not get the attention it needs since the employees may all think that someone else is taking care of it.
Attempt to work on incentives for workers. This helps to maintain interest in a job that is mainly routine. In order to maintain interest, try to assign an extra duty to each worker weekly, or every two weeks, so the job does not become boring.
Communicate with your workers every day. Praise them when they do a job extremely well. Never discipline one employee in front of others; this lowers the self-esteem of the worker being disciplined and holds the employee up to ridicule from the others.
Conduct a yearly evaluation with each employee. List their accomplishments and discuss where they may not be performing up to your expectations. Give them the opportunity to respond - remember to listen to their concerns. Your expectations may be greater than your employee's ability and these should be openly and frankly discussed. A yearly evaluation gives you the opportunity to reiterate your expectations and gives the employee the opportunity to discuss any concerns that he/she may have. Do not tie together a planned salary increase with the evaluation. It is better to have the evaluation six months before salary changes. This six-month period will separate the evaluation from monetary concerns, thereby giving each of you the opportunity to discuss performance without having a pay increase directly associated with the evaluation process.
Hopefully, by following some basic labor management plans you will be able to foster an open, friendly and supportive environment at the dairy facility. Having everyone know the expectations of the job, as well as feeling a part of the management team, will help the dairy enterprise prosper over time and employee turnover will be minimized.
As Midwest dairy farms increase in size, and/or the managers advance in age, more producers are turning to hired labor as a means to maintain a viable operation. Hiring a traditional farm worker is easier than hiring an individual without farm experience because the farm worker in some way has experience with the hours that are required, as well as knowledge of the unexpected problems that are certain to arise on any farmstead. As the number of workers available with farm backgrounds continues to decrease, most producers are now looking at workers without farm backgrounds to meet their needs.
Nontraditional farm employees are not as aware of farm related problems and are more familiar with the conventional eight-hour/five-day work week. Therefore, you must adequately explain the expected job responsibilities and wage scale before the applicant is hired. This up-front frankness will help to eliminate potential problems with new employees.
The entire process of hiring a new employee should start with a clear, concise and inclusive position description. This position description should contain:
The items listed above are what you are providing for the employee. It also is vital to list your requirements for the position. They should include:
A written section thoroughly outlining the total starting compensation package should be included. The beginning hourly wage along with any benefits should be clearly listed. If health insurance is offered, be certain to indicate if it is a family coverage package, or only an individual program. If it is a family package, does it include pre-existing condition coverage for spouses or dependents? What are the limits of coverage and payment amounts? It also is important to list the copayment amounts. How much, or what percentage does the employer pay and what is the employee's responsibilities? When does coverage start — immediately, after one month, etc.?
If a retirement program is available, list the company and benefits currently available when reaching retirement age. Never guarantee in writing what will be available in the future - remember times and financial obligations will change.
In order to give employees a better understanding of the total wage and benefit package, itemize the total dollars you are going to spend on compensation each month. This should include health and life insurance, social security insurance payments, medical coverage and a reasonable cost for housing, if housing is part of the package. A good way to quantify housing costs is to check on comparable rental units in your community. Once this list is tallied, you and your prospective employee will be surprised at the actual amount going to each employee.
There are a few very simple incentive programs that are relatively easy to provide. Remember, any incentive program should be specific enough to not warrant misinterpretation. It also is advisable to have incentive programs structured so only one person is responsible for the incentive. Group incentives sometimes can lead to tensions if the perception exists that one or two on the team are not doing their fair share.
Below is a list of some common dairy incentives. You can alter the dollar amounts to suit your individual farm's cash flow and income projections.
These incentives reflect the growing management ability required to increase production beyond 17,000 pounds. This extra time spent fine tuning herd management should be rewarded.
These are five simple ways to initiate an easy-to-manage and documented bonus program. A bonus program to reward job performance that is above acceptable levels enables an employee to try new management skills and maintain interest in attending farm-related meetings, such as extension or agri-business related workshops.
Now that you have clearly identified what you want in an employee, be certain to design a clear application for employment. A good application will give you enough information to allow you to choose a short list of qualified applicants to call for interviews.
Remember, nonfarm employees will be familiar with completing an application form. They will not consider it a chore, but a sign that you are a professional and are treating your employees in the same manner.
The most important information to request on the application is:
After contacting the references call the candidates in for an interview. The interview should include a detailed breakdown of what is expected for the position, the line of command and other job related functions.
Let applicant meet the other employees. Plan a time when the candidate can talk openly with the other employees without you being present. This will tell the prospective employee you trust the other workers and treat them as equals.
Before making up your mind, talk to the other employees and ask, "Can you work with this applicant? Do you feel this applicant will fit in with the group?" Not only will this help the hiring process, but it will make your current employees realize they are a part of the team.
An example employment application form is included at the end of this publication to help you formulate your own application. Feel free to use all or any portion of this example application.
There are many questions employers want to ask prospective employees, most are appropriate but some should not be asked in order to comply with equal opportunity laws. The following list from the employment office of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln should help clarify what kinds of questions can and cannot be asked during an employment interview.
Questions that may be asked:
(Please note that some questions should be asked only after the person has been hired.)
You also may ask a person's age to verify they are of legal age for a specific type of employment.
Questions that should never be raised:
To view and print a sample employment application, you will need the free Acrobat Reader by Adobe.
Electronic version issued May 2000
pubs@unl.edu
Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Elbert C. Dickey, Director of Cooperative Extension, University of Nebraska, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension educational programs abide with the non-discrimination policies of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the United States Department of Agriculture.