- “It is so difficult to get good stockpersons.”
- “Having found someone experienced, it can be a real problem to retain him/ her”.
- “I worry too much about getting hold of and then keeping good people.”
I’ve been working recently on labour problems in some Eastern European countries and coincidentally in other parts of the world too. In East Europe they have plenty of labour – cheap labour too – but lack experienced pig technicians and motivation was poor on most farms, large and small. The smaller farms were mostly family farms employing one or more outside workers, while the big boys – 1,000 sows upwards – had a large labour force with many workers, many of them bussed in from a distance, and taken home again at night.
The smaller units needed rather different guidance on motivation from the ‘industrial’ farms, which is probably true globally, I guess.
This is best done by an independent person with their replies guaranteed to be anonymous and that they will be reported back to them.Then… hold a discussion session with your staff and see how many responses are appropriate to your conditions. I’ve organised several of these and it was both illuminating to all involved – and motivational too. From these sessions Table 2 could be compiled.Note that the predominance of dissatisfaction – sufficient to cause them to leave – were sociological reasons and that pay was rarely mentioned, although as Tables 1 and 2 indicate, pay is nevertheless a motivating factor. I adduce from this that not only do quite a few employers in pig industries across the world need training in people-management, but so do their section heads. Agricultural Colleges please note?
