Where do you advertise to attract quality employees?

Question

Need to hire between 1 and 3 employees this year. We have tried quite a few avenues for advertising job opportunities in the past, they all seem to have pros and cons. Wondering what works well on your farm?

Answer

Craigslist to be honest. Facebook never works.

Answer

I'm not sure what type of employees you need. For graincart drivers this past fall we just used word of mouth to get a couple of young guys that we could quickly train. We also got quite a few offers form highschoolers and college aged people because we pay more than anyone around. And I think that answers the quality part of your question.

Answer

Farm house  fraternity,

Answer

I would suppose it depends on the type of employer you are and the type of employee you are looking for. If you are looking for a quality long term employee, you will need to offer a parity wage (cash)to what can be made in town. Wage will need to be variable if they own their own house vrs you providing housing. Retirement plan, insurance, and paid vacation are common.  In most cases remember that the best workers are already employees somewhere else or own their own business. Those type of people are the ones that make the best long term employees. One qualified worker that can handle the situation are worth two steering wheel holders that are there for the paycheck. We recruit help from repair shops, otr drivers, construction industry. We no longer advertise anywhere as we would typically get the wrong type of people that don’t care. I do not recruit from my neighbors farms as that leaves a negative situation in your neighborhood. 
Part time help is tough. $20-25/hr is what we offer. Again we typically have several types that like this arrangement. We pick ex farmers, farm kids, students, and school teachers in the off season. A lot of jobs offer a lot of time off, and quality people are available for say 10 days to 1 month intervals. Once they are trained to run the combine, they typically want to come back every year and help out.
Bottom line, good help isn’t cheap and a year around employee will cost substantially but will be a huge asset to a farm/ranch. If you are looking for seasonal or cheap help they are available, but you will get what you pay for.

Answer

The quality  employee will do the job of 3 that answer an add and you do not have to fix all the things they break. Go to your ag lender or to your coop and ask about struggling farmers. Go talk to them personally. If they love to farm just to pay the banker, you may be able to make it a win - win situation and pay them well.

Call (844) 200-FARM

Where do you advertise to attract quality employees?

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