Nuffield International Conference – South Australia October 2011 Wai-West Hort Orchard Field Staff Julian Raine, Nelson, New Zealand Human Resources

The HR Challenges for Agriculture 2011 and beyond Attracting and retaining the “right” staff Perceptions and reality Competition from other Industries Rewards and incentives If we fail we will Limit our business opportunities Or worse our business and agriculture will fail

Human Resources The HR Challenges for Agriculture 2011 and beyond Quote from Desiree Reid (NZ Nuffield Scholar 2009) “People drive success, Purpose drives strategy, Ownership determines purpose, Reinvestment enables growth”

Human Resources The Challenges for Agriculture 2011 and beyond My Business I growing People and crops/food Labour makes up 50% of my production costs and is a fixed cost so I have to get it right Follow simple rules But I don’t always get it right, but work to limit my exposure to expensive problems when things go bad Expect the best and plan for the worst

Human Resources The HR Challenges for Agriculture 2011 and beyond The pleasure and the pain of employing people Why do we do it? What are the traps and pitfalls? Rewards and Goals of Planning Training and Simple checks Clear Communication Incentives and signals to improve performance and productivity

Human Resources The HR Challenges for Agriculture 2011 and beyond Attracting and retaining the “right” staff Perceptions and reality

Human Resources The HR Challenges for Agriculture 2011 and beyond Attracting the right staff by Reputation (hard to gain and easily destroyed) Challenging staff and step ups of achievement Investing in good systems, machinery, working environment and people Retaining the good ones and moving on the mistakes Working conditions/environment and accommodation Pay rates and benefits Training (informal/formal) Regular Reviews Communication oral and written

Human Resources The HR Challenges for Agriculture 2011 and beyond Perceptions of orchard work Low pay Long hours Poor conditions Repetitive work Reality?

Human Resources

The HR Challenges for Agriculture 2011 and beyond Competition from other Industries Rewards and incentives

Human Resources The HR Challenges for Agriculture 2011 and beyond Competition from other sectors and countries for our youngest and brightest people In the mid to late 2000’s our unemployment rate in Nelson was less than 2% (and currently 6.5%) We couldn’t and can’t compete for wages and conditions for semi skilled employees

Human Resources The HR Challenges for Agriculture 2011 and beyond We identified our best staff and invested in them With Govt changes we adopted RSE 6 Pacific Islands (limited nationally to 8000/yr) Now have a direct relationship with families in Tongan villages on one island and invest back to their village. Productivity increases at harvest by 50 to 100%.

Human Resources The HR Challenges for Agriculture 2011 and beyond We identified our best staff and invested in them RSE pastoral care (24/7) Full time manager to oversee all aspects of Daily Performance and concerns Health Welfare Church and culture Sport and recreation

Human Resources The HR Challenges for Agriculture 2011 and beyond Management is the most important Human Resource and Challenge for Agriculture 2011 and beyond Knowledge, experience and action is the counter to the challenges of people, weather, seasonal changes, market forces, Forex, political intervention and many others influences Adaption to the variances of Farming has been our strength Making the $1000 decisions and getting them right! In most cases management means you!!

Human Resources Nurture and enhancement of management/skill is vital through; Better Information Regular Communication Leadership and style Time to think and concentrate on the important decisions first Working on the business as opposed to in the business Are you earning $20/hr or $1000/hr

Human Resources Remember part of Desiree’s quote “People drive success”

Human Resources The HR Challenges for Agriculture 2011 and beyond Are you investing in you? Are you investing in your staff? What are you as leaders and employers doing to change the perception of working in Agriculture?

Nuffield International Conference – South Australia October 2011 Acknowledge my staff and Qantas Julian Raine, Nelson, New Zealand Human Resources