As an owner or manager of your dairy, you are making decisions daily to make your farm more productive, efficient and sustainable. You are often reviewing common metrics such as income over feed cost (IOFC), energy-corrected milk (ECM), cost of production (COP) and net income per cow. Using metrics like these to evaluate the health of your business is effective because quantifiable metrics provide clarity, they are objective, and if they don’t meet your farm’s goals, there are actionable items to bring them within your target range.
However, another key driver of success is not a number but can easily be overlooked. That is the culture you, as owners, managers and employees, cultivate and allow in your operation. Your dairy’s culture can be the engine that drives success – or leads to its failure. So what is “culture”? Culture is a shared set of values, goals, attitudes and practices that characterize a business. A strong and healthy team culture can create a sense of unity and shared purpose among employees, it ensures that your employees feel valued and motivated, and it also helps them feel connected to the greater good.
Positive outcomes of a superior culture include the following:
- Cow performance and safety. A strong culture prioritizes both employee and animal safety. Remember, fast and safe are not always aligned. Emphasizing animal welfare and attention to detail ensures that animals receive the highest quality of care while minimizing accidents among employees. This high quality of care will, in turn, allow your cows to achieve their highest level of performance along with potentially an increased level of milk quality.
- Employee morale and retention. Employees who feel respected and empowered are more engaged and typically happier, reducing the likelihood they will seek employment elsewhere. Since feed and labor are the top two expenses on a farm, minimizing employee turnover and fostering engagement can reduce costs and disruptions.
- Profitability. A strong culture builds teamwork, open communication and collaboration. When employees feel they are part of a connected team, they are usually more productive and efficient.
- Community relations. Consider how your employees would describe your culture to others in your community. Equally as important is the community’s perception of how you run your dairy and treat employees. Are you seen as an employer of choice in your area?
So how do you build a strong team culture? Consider these three action items.
- Define core values. Spend time reflecting on what you believe is most important in your farm business. Don’t list values you wish you had – list those you practice. Communicate those values to your employees. These values should guide decision-making and behavior across the business.
- Hire the right people and train them well. Make your best effort to select employees who are hard-working, honest, open to learning, team players and passionate about working within the dairy industry. When you make a bad hire, you not only struggle to have them do the work, but you run the risk of their attitude or bad practices infecting the rest of your employees. Also, be willing to allocate time and funds for employee training. A properly trained employee will understand the whys of their daily duties and is more likely to follow the expected protocols.
- Encourage open communication. Establish channels for open, honest and transparent communication. Encourage feedback and ensure that employees at all levels feel comfortable sharing their ideas and concerns. When employees come to you with a concern or feedback, listen to them and respond to what they have to say. Make sure you (and other levels of leadership, if you have them) are approachable.
All employees are critical to overall farm performance, whether they are milkers, feeders or mechanics. It is important to make a concerted effort to monitor your farm’s culture on an ongoing basis. The effort that owners and managers invest into creating that positive culture will pay back dividends on employee retention and efficiency, cow care and your dairy’s financial performance. However, if not done correctly, it can impact both the financial health of your dairy as well as the mental and physical health of you and your employees. A strong culture starts with you.
