“No one in this area can get a decent worker.”

This is a common statement made by many dairy owners and managers in different areas of the country. Although this statement may ring true, it is not usually accurate. Employers have a direct responsibility to adequately interview and hire a reliable and informed worker, even if the potential worker’s primary language is not English.

There are some others issues that will influence the availability of hiring good workers, immigration policies, farm economics, etc.

Here are a few tips will help you hire “top notch” employees from the moment you interview them and avoid discovering that you employed a person with inadequate skills or character.

If asked how did you hire your last five employees, most would likely say, “I remember telling Jose (a trusted employee) to find someone he knows to hire.” This is a common hiring practice today.

Or perhaps you tried calling a phone number that was left by a walk-in, likely disconnected by now, or tried talking to a priest or a pastor of a local Hispanic religious congregation to see if he knows some good people who are in need of a job.

If you are using any of the above-mentioned hiring practices, then you will likely not find an awesome, hard-working employee. Why? You are not able to identify and determine the strengths and weaknesses of the candidate. You don’t know if the candidate has the skills or personality that best suit the work position.

In both cases, the applicant will not be attentive to your expectations, aware of his or her job description’s goals or attentive to official policies and your operation’s goals.

So what are the appropriate ways to identify and hire new reliable employees?

1. If you are not able to communicate in Spanish, find someone who you trust who can “speak dairy” in the applicant’s language. Translate all interview questions and job description and expectations before an interview.

2. Communicate the job description. Read the translated version, if necessary.

3. Clarify your expectations for the position and also explain what you expect from a member of your operation.

4. Have all the policies of your farm ready and explain them to a candidate.

5. Ask how candidates feel about your vision and goals of your operation.

6. Explain clearly the salary for the position such as how much per hour the position pays. Be clear and specific if you will not pay overtime.

7. Detail other employment benefits.

8. Describe the advantages the new employee will have working for you if compared to other operations.

Make no mistake, it is impossible to always “weed out” outstanding employees from mediocre ones but once you have developed and put in place a hiring practice, like the one we suggested, it is guaranteed that all new employees will start on the right path because: you have informed the goals of the position, you have set expectations, you have opened the communication channels, you have made clear the vision of your operation and most importantly you have identified in your candidates not just their set of skills but also their potential areas for training.

In conclusion, when executed properly, a hiring practice will determine the training and tools needed for developing outstanding employees. If you neglect this, the members of your staff cannot be hold responsible for their mediocre performance. The one left to blame will be the employer.  EL