Keeping your employees
By Lorne McClinton

Downsizing is history. Canada’s baby boom generation is racing towards retirement and there are not going to be enough young people to replace them. The disposable workers of the ’90s have become practically irreplaceable today.

Chester Elton, co-author of The 24 Carrot Manager, A Carrot a Day and other human resource books, says that while paying a competitive salary attracts workers to a job, letting them know that they are appreciated will keep them.

“Creating a workplace environment where employees feel valued, where they feel engaged and where their opinions matter, are the key things that people are looking for in the workforce,” Elton says. “They want to feel that when they speak their employer listens, and when they perform, they’re rewarded. ‘If I’m in on things, I’m solving problems, I’m building a career, I’m building leadership skills that I might not get somewhere else.’”

“It doesn’t cost you any money to tell someone that they’ve done a good job,” notes Greg Devries, owner of Cedarline Farms, a corn, soybean and greenhouse operation near Dresden, Ont. He says mistakes have to be pointed out so that employees can learn by their errors, but on the other side of the coin, people need to feel appreciated.

“A pat on the back is the cheapest thing that any business owner can do. People expect to be compensated but at the end of the day it’s not what keeps people happy and employed in the position, it’s the appreciation that does,” Devries explains.

“You need to be constantly encouraging your employees,” Elton says. “An in-depth Gallup study found that highly engaged employees need some kind of positive affirmation at least once a week. Now that doesn’t mean passing out Rolex watches or big fat bonuses. Verbal praise ranks very high. Handwritten thank you notes are very high. I mean these are simple, easy, low cost things. Giving out movie tickets, tickets to a minor league sporting event or dinner for two at the local restaurant are ways to let them know, ‘I really appreciate you sticking around and getting that last 40 done before the storm hit. Here’s dinner for two in town on me. Take your wife and have a great time.’ These little things can be very, very much appreciated.”

Praise has to be earned and be for something that matters, Elton says. If you just go around saying thank you, thank you all the time, for no reason, it has no meaning. “Specific praise is very valuable. It communicates that I know what your job is; I know what a good job you’ve done. When I see it I want to make sure I reinforce it. Because here’s the thing you know for sure: rewarded behaviour is repeated. So as a manager, I want to make sure that I’m constantly talking to people about what they’re doing right to make sure that that behaviour gets repeated.”

Farmers are very inventive at coming up with non-monetary rewards to keep employees happy. Some give out the odd free tank of fuel, others offer the occasional loan of a company truck, still others let employees keep a few cattle or farm a few acres using company equipment. Free meat, free produce, use of a garden space and free lodging are also commonly offered incentives.

“We have fun nights a couple of times a year,” Devries says. “One night we played floor hockey and another night we had a basketball net and foosball table. We just had some fun interaction back and forth with them to show our appreciation. At least once a month we do either a pizza or a hot dog day.”

Since most of Devries’ field hands are young Mexican Mennonite workers who send most of their wages to their families in Mexico, he has had to tailor his incentive plan so his workers see benefits. “We can give these kids all the pay raises in the world and they don’t feel it,” Devries explains. “We had to start looking at different ways to give them incentives. One way we do it, especially with the workers from the Mennonite background, is instead of giving them a cheque, we’ll give them a gift or we’ll give them gift cards. They can put that in their wallet and go to town and spend it as they choose.”

Cedarline’s farm management staff receives a sizable incentive bonus cheque at the end of the year. Devries’ theory is that they get paid first, before anybody from the ownership group. If there are only so many dollars to go around, they go to the managers that work the hardest to get the day-to-day jobs done.

“Bonuses have to be fair and have to be consistent,” Devries says. “When you are establishing a bonus program, remember that you can always make your incentive bonus higher in value but doggone it, it’s pretty hard to make it lower. Probably the biggest pitfall is starting an incentive program at too high a rate because you had an extremely good year. In agriculture, more often than not we have poor years too.”

Experienced farm employees are highly sought-after, and producers are discovering that if they want to keep a good employee in today’s job market, they have to do the little things right.

Tax implications
If a gift or award to an employee is cash or near cash (such as a gift certificate), it could be a taxable benefit to the employee. Complete details can be found on the Canada Revenue Agency website at: www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/business/topics/payroll/benefits/gifts/awards/menu-e.html, or contact 1-800-959-5525.

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