Mind Your Farm Business — Ep. 31: Four elements of a human resource plan

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Which questions do you ask potential new hires? Where to you find your next star farm employee? Is the employee handbook up to date? If you laughed and thought, we don’t even HAVE an employee handbook, this podcast episode is for you.

In this Mind Your Farm Business episode, host Shaun Haney takes us on a virtual tour of four different farms, covering a range of farm types, locations, and levels of human resource planning.

Shaun asks Daryl Haanstra, at Smithville, Ont., Stewart Skinner, Listowel, Ont., Gerrid Gust, Davidson, Sask., and, finally, Leighton Kolk, Picture Butte, Alta., four simple questions and finds the answers are as unique as each farm’s set up:

  • Do you have a human resources plan?
  • How do you attract new talent?
  • How do you retain that talent?
  • What’s your performance evaluation protocol?

If you answered “Um, I don’t know?” to any or all of these questions, you’re not alone. People management can be overwhelming and more complicated to get right than the toughest of field zones.

In this episode, each of the four farmers outlines their individual farm’s strength and weaknesses in HR planning (or lack thereof), where they source talent from (Australia!), and how they create a work environment and culture to not just attract new employees, but to keep the great people they hire.

Disclaimer: Royal Bank of Canada and its subsidiaries are not responsible for the information provided in this podcast, and this information does not necessarily reflect the views of Royal Bank of Canada or any of its subsidiaries. No endorsement of any third parties or their advice, opinions, information, products or services is expressly given or implied by Royal Bank of Canada or any of its subsidiaries.

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