1. Contented Cows Give Better MILK
Your People…Your Profit
Richard Hadden, CSP
© 2017 Contented Cow Partners, LLC

2. PREMISE
Creating a focused, engaged, and capably led workforce is one of the best things you can do for your BOTTOM LINE

3. REPUTATION
Recruits
REALITY
Retains

4. Why “Contented Cows”?

5. contentedcows.com/milk

6. Contented Cow Companies
Grow faster
More productive and profitable
Better Employee Engagement
Lower turnover
Recruit more talented employees
Create more wealth for their owners

7. Nothing Else Matters Unless
Your farm is an EXCEPTIONAL place to work
Your farm has EXCEPTIONAL leadership

8. What makes a great place to work?

9. LEADERSHIP

10. Do This
Make leadership skills a primary qualification for every person in a management or supervisory role

11. The earned consent of followers
Leadership
The earned consent of followers

12. Leadership
Screen for it
Hire it
Train it
Coach it
Reward it

13. Personal Capability - Minimum Requirements
Discretionary Effort
Personal Capability - Minimum Requirements
DISCRETIONARY EFFORT

14. Engagement
What is it?
What good is it?
How do I get it?

17. Work is contractual…
Engagement is
PERSONAL

18. Extra Miler – Philip Omayra

19. ASK Exceptional place to work? Positive outlook/attitude?
Farm look good? Clean? Safe?
Environment: respect for employees?
Speak well of workers?
Care about all employees? Their families?

20. Contented Cows Are
Committed
Enabled
Cared About

21. Contented Cows Are
Committed

22. Do This
Hire for FIT
Values, attitudes FIRST
THEN, skills, experience

23. Listen | Smile | Care | Say “Thank You”

24. “It’s more important to hire people with the right qualities than
with specific experience.”
Bill Marriott

25. Do This
Avoid the “just” syndrome

26. Common Farm Hiring Mistakes
Haphazard process – or no process at all

27. Common Farm Hiring Mistakes
Haphazard process – or no process at all
Hiring whomever turns up on our doorstep the day we need someone

28. Common Farm Hiring Mistakes
Haphazard process – or no process at all
Hiring whomever turns up on our doorstep the day we need someone
Hiring family without regard to standards

29. Do This Identify your non-technical fit requirements
Communication skills
Rapport building
Team orientation
Reliability
Repetition tolerance
Courage
Attention to detail
Confidence
Problem solving
Multi-tasking

30. contentedcows.com/milk
Free Resource
contentedcows.com/milk

31. Do This Identify your non-technical fit requirements Don’t compromise
Relevant requirements

32. Do This
NEVER stop recruiting

33. Do This
Practice
RE-RECRUITING

34. The “M” Word

35. So, Millennials, What Matters More?
CEB, Inc. Global Labor Market Survey of 2015 University Graduates

36. Millennials 92% expect to own a home
Cornell University

37. Millennials 70% in the next 5 years
Cornell University

38. US Rural Population
61.1
59.5
53.5
projected

39. 5 – 6% rural growth among 30somethings by 2022

40. Do This ID people who grew up rural
Establish relationships with nearby colleges
AND with other RURAL colleges – nearby or not

41. Do This Focus on the family Hire spouse as well
Help them find good schools
Pay private school tuition
More flexible schedules
Mortgage assistance

42. Do This Emphasize: Quality of life Healthier pace
Cost of housing and cost of living
Safety and security

43. Establish a clear sense of mission
Do This
Establish a clear sense of mission

44. "Our mission is to maximize shareholder value and satisfy our customers' needs, while providing our employees a rewarding and productive work environment and conducting our affairs responsibly in the community.
We will accomplish this mission by creating a corporate vision of successful growth, by carefully managing our assets and by integrating our businesses through effective planning and allocation of resources."

45. WE
SELL
CHICKEN

46. it won’t come out of your horn.
Music
If you don’t live it…
it won’t come out of your horn.
Charlie Parker

47. Do This Ask 5-6 employees: “What are our top 3 business priorities?”
Check for consistency, alignment

48. Contented Cows Are
Committed
Enabled

49. Learn to speak each other’s language
Do This
Learn to speak each other’s language

50. Do This
Learn Spanish
speaky
gospeaky.com

51. Do This Help them learn English speaky Onsite classes
Community Schools
ESL – churches, etc.
speaky
gospeaky.com

52. Work Must Matter

53. Do This
Find creative ways to show people how their work matters

54. Contented Cows Are
Committed
Enabled
Cared About

55. If You Care, You…
Tell people the truth
Say “thank you” a lot

56. “A man will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon.”
Napoleon Bonaparte

57. If You Care, You… Tell people the truth Say “thank you” a lot
“Sit on the footlocker”

58. ELEVEN QUESTIONS

59. Eleven Questions What is your name? (I’m not kidding.)
What are you really good at, at work? Outside of work?
What do you do for fun, at work? Outside of work? (Be careful )
What are you lousy at?
What would you like to do better at work?
What are a couple of your strongest passions?

60. Eleven Questions
How do you get to work each day? Do you drive? Alone, or with others? Some other form of transportation? How long does it take?
Has there been some powerful life experience, good or bad, which impacts your approach to your work? (No need to go into detail, and if there isn’t one, that’s OK).
Who and what is most important to you, outside of work? (Don’t pry.)
Is there something in particular about you, or your life experience, that especially suits you to serve some need in your work?
What are you having trouble with at work, that you could use someone’s help with?

61. If You Care, You… Tell people the truth Say “thank you” a lot
“Sit on the footlocker”
Build a community, not just a place to work

63. Do This
Feed the troops first