Friday, March 29, 2024

Welcoming the world

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Creating a good team culture in an international farm team can be as much about being open and being willing to learn as it is about leading and teaching.
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Canterbury dairy farmers Jeremy Casey and Kim Solly have been employing overseas staff for more than 20 years and have had up to nine people, all from different countries, in their farm team.

They take on international trainees through exchanges as well as overseas staff wanting a more permanent Kiwi life.

Kim says you need the right mindset if you’re going to hire international staff.

It takes empathy and tolerance, particularly if English is not that good, as well as a level of compassion given people are far from home and working in what can be testing situations some days.

You definitely need a good sense of humour too, she says.

People are people no matter where they come from so all the usual good people management practices apply. But there are things that you can do to help yourself especially if language is a bit of a barrier.

Start by creating simple systems that are easy to teach, and document them.

“Practice Pictionary – a picture can paint a million words,” Kim says.

Pictures can be used when giving instructions or used in documented systems and procedures. Hand-drawn pictures can work displayed at the place of operation – for instance how the taps should look for the vat wash. Make what’s required very clear so there’s less chance of misinterpretation.

Having a farm manual will make it easier because it documents what the systems are and what’s expected. Keep it where people can refer to it and read it at their own pace.

The couple use detailed rosters that tell each staff member what their responsibility is for the day, and certain tasks are linked to specific shifts on the roster.

They try to ensure people get a good variety of work.

Kim and Jeremy try to make sure they don’t have more than two people from the same country on the team at any one time to avoid them forming cliques.

Most of their employees also want to improve their English while they’re here, so having to communicate with each other using English as well as with Jeremy and Kim helps that.

Being open to their culture, showing an interest in special days and their foods helps each of the team members appreciate each other’s differences.

Jeremy and Kim also like to share some Kiwi culture too – having them all to dinner on a regular basis, having barbecues and hosting social fun events. They also give them opportunities to get along to a rugby match, go to school concerts, swim at the local school or learn to water or snow ski.

Canterbury operations manager Bob Bolanos is from the Philippines and says Filipino people naturally enjoy a team culture more than an individualistic approach to work.

Both he and Jeremy and Kim have spoken on the topic at previous SIDE conferences. (www.side.org.nz/pastproceedings/ – 2015 Bolanos, 2017

Casey and Solly)

Bob says Filipino staff generally have a co-operative nature and if there’s a group onfarm they are likely to relish the opportunity to self-manage rather than be allocated specific tasks with no understanding of how they fit into the big picture.

Bob says the group will take the tasks and work out the most efficient way to get them done based on their own skills, so it’s important to share the outcomes you’re trying to achieve and share the why as well as be clear about the standards to be met.

Like staff of any nationality, he says Filipino staff will do better if the manager invests time to explain the reasons why a job is done in a particular way and how one job ties in with the other jobs on the farm.

“The idea is for the worker to see the big picture and how doing one job well makes the other jobs easier for oneself and for the team in general.

“You want a team of thinkers who see themselves as contributing to the success of the whole team and not just robots whose goal is just to complete a task or series of tasks.”

Because they’re team players they won’t leave anyone behind, and will help out their team-mates rather than head home at the end of the day. He says Filipino people can appear timid but they’re respectful of hierarchy and will contribute to discussions if they feel safe and respected themselves.

Good people management skills from the manager will allow them to contribute fully and Bob says they’ll respond well where creating a team ethos and good culture of co-operation is promoted.

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