Words of Advice from the founder of Equimax:
“It just seems to me that all these people that want jobs in the horse industry are a bunch of gypsies”
I hear statements like this about bad experiences with employees almost every day… I have listened to the complaints of both job seekers and job providers. One thing stands out. Many people are their own worst enemies when it comes to matters of employment.
Twenty years ago I gave up my breeding farm to start Equimax. At that time one of my employees said to me, “I can’t believe it, I’ve worked for half a dozen farms in the area and I’m losing the only good employer I ever had.” In my first job I was made a supervisor after only two weeks. I left that job with a glowing letter of recommendation with only one exception. “His supervision of the help has been adequate, but not outstanding.” I have been an employer or supervisor now for nearly twenty – five years and since that first job I have struggled to understand the employment process. I am still learning, but one thing is clear, I cannot control the actions of others, but I can control how I act. Knowing this has helped. Although the process of hiring and keeping good help is fraught with pitfalls, there are ways to improve the results.
The role of a successful employer lies somewhere between that of a parent and a disinterested consumer. One employer said to me: “I can’t understand it, I treated my groom like family, she lived in my house, and I helped her with all of her personal problems, and then she just left. It seems like she just didn’t appreciate what I tried to do for her.” It is inappropriate to treat an employee like a family member and equally non-productive to treat one like a machine. Get to know your employees as people. Take an interest in them. If appropriate help them with their problems. However, do all of this “at arms length”. Remember, you have limits too.
Good employers should be clear and consistent with their employees about what is expected. This means being clear in your own mind first. Many employers seem to make their expectations up as they go along, changing them as their momentary impulse dictates. This leads to employee confusion and alienation. Employees do not know what is expected and have no basis for judging whether or not it has been done. As you formulate your expectations, be as specific as you can about the duties, accomplishments, and relationships you expect. Keep in mind that everyone has limits. Only so much work can be done in a day. Job descriptions, whether written or verbal, should be based on these limits, not on the amount of work that needs to be done.
If you cannot afford to hire the number of people needed to get the work done, it will not help to give less people more work. Monitor the performance of the people you hire and give them feedback on how they are doing. Remember, people have good days and bad, make mistakes, get sick, forget, do not always listen clearly, etc. Be ready to talk things over as many times as it takes and to forgive difficulties if a joint understanding is achieved. The employer/employee relationship takes maintenance. Sit down with each employee about once a month one-on-one to check on how things are going and give feedback. Being a good employer should not take a lot of your time, but it does take some.
A great deal can be accomplished by something as simple as knowing the date of an employee’s birthday and sending a card. For employees, the greatest single factor in job satisfaction is being appreciated for what they do. It ranks ahead of working conditions and salary. An employee that is publicly or privately appreciated for doing a good job will work harder for less compensation. Employees are people with hopes, dreams, hurts, and fears. If they are treated like machines, expected to perform at a moment’s notice without complaint, only to be discarded or traded in when they are worn out, they will not stay in your employ very long no matter how much you pay them. Be clear with the employee about your business arrangement.
If you do not like sharing major business decisions, then stick to paying people completely on salary. If you ask someone to take a portion of the business risk with you, for instance, by paying commissions or entering into a partnership, be sure that the potential for compensation is commensurate with the risk you are asking the person to take. If you have tried building a breeding farm business in your area and are having difficulty, it may not be realistic to turn around and expect someone else to come in and build such a business based on commissions. Maybe there simply isn’t enough potential business in your area, or maybe advertising is the problem. If you base compensation on the condition of your business, you are off to a bad start. “I just can’t afford to pay any more.” Employees are not creditors.
If you want to keep good help, you must pay them a fair wage on time, and give them adequate working conditions. In the long run its worth the expense, because “turnover” can kill your business. Training new people takes time and energy away from income producing activities. When all is said and done, it takes two to build a successful employer/employee relationship and only one to tear it down.
A major factor in winning the employment battle is knowing how to select and hire the best people. Once you have taken a hard look at your policies, compensation, and employee relations, you need to look at the hiring process itself. There are certainly any number of people out there that you would not want to work for you, so you need to give the process some serious attention. When properly done, the process of hiring good employees takes time and effort, and usually results in some expense.
The most common problem I see when talking to employers about hiring is that employers are in too much of a hurry. It is certainly annoying when people leave or must be let go unexpectedly. Sometimes it seems like too much to deal with when you are short of help and have to spend time screening people. The single most effective thing you can do to enhance the hiring process is to arrange for more time. This may mean hiring temporary help, rearranging duties, or pitching in yourself. If you give in to the temptation to hire the first person who is available for the job, you may end up worse off than you were when you began.
When you hire, take the time to interview as many people as you can. Interview in person if possible, not just on the telephone. Check references religiously. Ask each reference if there is anyone else you might speak with concerning the potential employee. This may help you get deeper into a person’s background. Take the time to be sure that each person understands what the job entails, the hard work and the benefits. Pay attention to your intuition. If you are getting “red flags”, follow-up until you are satisfied that problems are imaginary or can be solved.
Here are a few common red flags: the candidate cannot provide references, cannot provide social security number, is more interested in what you can do for him/her than what they can do for you, is defensive, domineering, or very uncomfortable during the interview.
When you select an employee consider arranging a trial period of 3-6 weeks. If the person you hire is coming from some distance encourage the employee to “travel light” and not “burn bridges” until final agreement is reached. Above all take the time you need to “work the process” without short-cuts. Remember, you are the best judge of who is right for your position. Do not rely entirely on someone else to screen people for you. Try not to become cynical about employees. Anyone who has been an employer for any length of time has been tempted to allow bad experiences to color their relationship with future employees. In some instances I have seen this develop into a downward spiral and end in disaster. I am suspicious when I ask an employer what kind of a person they are looking for and they respond with something like, “I need someone dependable that won’t run off to town every night, use drugs, or steal from me.” If you find yourself describing the employee you need in primarily negative terms, watch out! You may be caught in the spiral. There are all kinds of people in the world. Each new person you meet may have the potential to be the worst or the best employee you have ever hired. If you allow your bad experiences to color your relationships, you will send a clear message to the good dependable people out there. They will steer clear of you like the plague, and you will attract a never ending stream of failures and deadbeats. Be positive, expect the best of people, but investigate carefully. When you’ve done your best, hire your best choice recognizing that there is no way to completely avoid potential problems. You may have to try more than one person until you find the right one.
Many horse industry employers spend endless hours learning about horses, health care, breeding, racing, bloodlines, etc., but spend almost no time on being a good employer. Knowing how to attract and keep good help is a crucial part of any successful business, and being a good employer does not come naturally to most people. Take the time and make the effort now before it’s too late.
– Copyright, Seth B. Burgess Founder of Equimax.com
