Labor Advice on Tap: Women Farmers Offer Insider Tips to Successfully Hire & Manage Farm Staff
This interview is part of the Farm Labor Dashboard's "Labor on Tap" series of conversations with five women farmers who have been successfully leading staff for a number of years. Topics covered in the interviews range from tangible, practical employee recruitment and management strategies to bigger picture philosophical advice, insights and inspiration.
Name: Stout Oak Farm
Farm Name: Kate Donald
Website: www.stoutoakfarm.com
City/State: Brentwood, NH
Years farming: 24
Years managing staff: 30
About: Kate Donald has been farming for 20+ years, having worked on farms in California and Massachusetts before returning to New Hampshire, where she grew up. She and her husband Jeff co-own Stout Oak Farm, a Certified Organic vegetable farm in Brentwood, NH, where she works with a team of twelve employees to grow vegetables, microgreens, seedlings, and cut flowers for a CSA, farm store, and wholesale accounts. In working with her team, she strives to create a workplace culture that is both collaborative and production-oriented. Kate also co-owns the local food hub Three River Farmers Alliance.
FLD: What advice would you give a fellow woman farmer about the decision to become an employer and take on staff? What did you wish you knew when you started?
KD: Open communication and building trust are at the core of our positive working relationships. We invest a significant amount of time and energy in training and making sure people feel prepared, capable, and supported in their roles. In choosing new employees, we are looking for people who demonstrate self-awareness, flexibility, attention to detail, and interest in the technical aspects of the work.
When I started, I wish I had known that there are many ways to structure your farm labor, and many different management styles. For example, we like having multiple managers who oversee different aspects of the farm. We enjoy working as a team that is more collaborative and less hierarchical. It’s okay to create a management structure and roles that best suit you and your team.
I wish I had known that there are many ways to structure your farm labor, and many different management styles
-Kate Donald
FLD: What advice would you give someone hiring their first employee?
If you are accustomed to working alone and doing everything yourself, then sharing your space and your time with employees can be a big adjustment - but when you have a team of people working together so much is possible! Employees can help you increase your capacity, help your business grow, and provide an amazing support system for your farm.
My advice is to get really organized so that you can delegate well and communicate clearly, set up systems that work well for both you and your employees, plan time into the schedule for thorough training, and be prepared for the reality that managing people takes time.
FLD: How did you find your employees? Where did you recruit from/look? Did you develop a job description and any advice on that?
Developing detailed job descriptions has helped us find the right people for specific positions, and has helped us really understand the roles we are hiring for, and what we are looking for in an employee. We provide a lot of detail about the tasks, the schedule, the work environment, and our culture around training and communication, and this helps a potential employee really picture themselves in the job, helps them decide whether they want to work here, and then creates accurate expectations.
We have found employees by posting job announcements on social media, in our email newsletter, on farming listservs, nonprofit org job boards like NOFA-NH, Good Food Jobs, fliers posted on bulletin boards, and word of mouth.
FLD: How do you keep momentum and energy going amongst your staff during the busiest peak of summer?
Frequent check-ins are important. Ask people what they need. Don’t let negative energy fester - if you feel like someone isn’t doing well, take the initiative to touch base with them. Be prepared to switch things up when you recognize signs of stress in people - swapping roles or assigning people to different shifts can help people stay positive when they are feeling worn out or frustrated by specific tasks or situations.
Focus on teamwork and help everyone feel connected to the big picture of what’s happening on the farm. It’s okay to keep your expectations high regarding productivity and quality of work - but also make sure you regularly show appreciation for your team and the work that is being done.
FLD: Advice on working through conflict?
Try not to ignore tension or conflicts. Things only tend to get worse if not addressed. Sometimes the problem is something that can be solved by listening and talking things through, or making changes to job descriptions or work schedules. Other times, the issue is something more complicated, and larger than what can be addressed by making reasonable changes at work. In any case, open communication and active listening are critical to understanding the conflict and how the issue can potentially be resolved.
FLD: Advice on navigating cell phone use? Do you have a cell phone policy with employees?
Work toward creating a work culture that is focused on productivity and being present in the task at hand (no time for scrolling). Set clear expectations around cell phone use so that everyone knows what is expected and appropriate. We have opted to work toward building trust instead of creating rules.
We leave it up to each person to decide whether to keep their cell phone with them during the work day. Most people choose to carry their phone with them, and we regularly use our phones for work communication via Slack, texts, and other notes throughout the day. We also use walkie talkies so if someone prefers not to carry their phone on them, we can still communicate. We don’t allow people to use earphones or earbuds for safety reasons, and also because we are often working together as a team.
open communication and active listening are critical to understanding the conflict and how the issue can potentially be resolved.
-Kate Donald