When working with new clients, one of the questions we ask is, “How would you describe your company’s culture?” This question is important as job seekers want an idea of what it would be like to work for your ag business on a daily basis. The typical answer from most clients is, “Hmm… I haven’t given that much thought before.”
Whether you have a team of twenty or just two family members operating your farm, you, in fact, have a company culture. This company culture has either been created on purpose, or most likely, developed over time. The definitions for company culture are vast, but in its simplest form, it’s the overall personality of the organization. Company culture includes the shared values, goals, behaviors, and communication styles of the team. These ideas can serve as how the company functions as a whole, in addition to how the public perceives the organization.
Is your culture driving increased performance and creating an environment that attracts and retains strong employees, or is it hurting your full potential as an organization? A strong culture will result in a group of individuals contributing at their highest level, bringing more ideas and value to your agriculture business.
As owners and managers, we can consciously accept the current culture of our company, or choose to change it into something more desirable.
Evaluating Current Culture
It’s hard to see what your culture is when you’re right there in the thick of it. Understand your company’s environment by doing these three activities:
Be an observer.
Watch for interactions between employees; how are they speaking to one another? Listen carefully to the wording your team uses when interacting. Watch for body languages. Overall, is your team collaborating cohesively? Look around you and ask yourself if someone walked in today, what would they have to say about your operation?
Ask your employees.
Depending on the size of your farm or ag business, you can do this on an individual basis or in small teams. Ask questions such as:
- If a friend were applying for a job here, how would you describe what’s it like to work here?
- What do you love about working on our farm?
- What do you not enjoy about working here?
- What would you be most likely to change about the company?
- Do you feel that your efforts are valued and recognized?
- Do you see yourself still working for this company in one year?
- Do you think your management takes your feedback seriously?
Conduct a confidential survey.
Create your own survey or fill in an online template to gather feedback from the team. Another option is to use an employee satisfaction survey to gauge your current team’s view of their job and the company.
Define Your Ideal Culture
After a careful review of your current culture and taking a deep dive into what really drives performance in your organization, define your ideal culture. Start to list what elements you would like to see present in your company’s culture. Those elements could be something like an environment of continuous learning, and defining what that looks like. There might be an element focused on driving creativity and innovative thinkers in the group. I would also encourage an element that focuses on ensuring employees are valued for their efforts. Write down the elements you would like to see in your culture and communicate that to the team, along with ways that they can be achieved.
Making The Change
Analyzing and working toward an improved company culture is not a one-time event. While it doesn’t have to take a lot of time, it does require continuous focus and evaluation. First, determine which changes and activities will have the most impact. Communicate with your employees where you would like to take the culture and what areas you will be focusing on to get there. Get your employees involved; create a team committee with an employee as the lead to focus on initiatives that support the new culture. You may even consider giving the committee a budget to use toward their initiatives.
Once your ideal culture is established and your team’s initiatives are heading in the right direction, be sure to take your newly defined culture into account when hiring new employees. This will ensure that as your team grows, the roots of your culture will remain strong.
Just like old habits take time to break, so does changing a culture that has been entrenched for years, if not decades. The top farm cultures I know of say it’s a constant work in progress.
Conclusion
While analyzing, defining, and taking action to revamp your ag company’s culture will take time, it is an effort that will improve your company’s overall future success. Your new culture can facilitate an environment of like-minded individuals who share the same values, higher productivity levels, and happier employees - resulting in lower turnover.
We know that hiring new talent for your farm or agriculture business is not an easy task. That’s why AgHires offers an array of solutions for your hiring needs - including full-service recruiting, job advertising packages, and hiring resources. Our team of agriculture recruiters is ready to support you in finding your next hire and serve as an advisor throughout the entire hiring process.
For more tips on company culture, lowering turnover, and the hiring process, visit our Hiring Advice blog.
