The 15-minute Meeting that Engages Employees
More and more dairies are looking at multiple sites as the way to go and the way to grow.
But taking on another dairy can also mean taking on a new team of employees that are accustomed to the previous culture. So how do you walk into an existing dairy and recreate it to be what you need it to be so that this new site and the new team are as engaged and motivated as you are to hit your benchmarks and goals?
Two years ago, the opportunity came up for Schilling Farms in Darlington, Wisconsin, to purchase a second site with 1,500 cows, 40 miles away from their home site, in the town of Montfront. That also meant taking on a dozen more employees who stayed with the dairy through the buyout.
And it was during this time of transition. that Bridget Schilling stepped back from her 12 year nursing career to join her husband Brian, his brother Andy, and Andy's wife Sarah on the dairies.
Bridget borrowed a few key tactics from her professional management experience that have made all the difference with getting the Montfront crew transitioned so that Schilling Farms canemployee retention and engagement
One of those tactics that has made a notable impact on employee retention and engagement is regularly scheduled individual meetings.
“It's one-on-one meetings with each employee, three times a year,” Bridget said on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast.
“I pick one day, I put it through the WhatsApp, and I will put a sign on the window right by the time clock and say this is what's coming up,” she noted.
Employees can select their meeting slot within the time frame she has posted. Bridget brings in a local translator during these meeting days to support the conversations.
The slots are scheduled in 15-minute intervals.
“Sometimes we stick to 15 minutes and sometimes we don't. I don't want to ever cut them short if there's things they want to talk about because as we know with anything, people don't just come to work and just have work to deal with. They might have other things going on in their life, and I want them to know I will support them or I have resources,” Bridget added.
Whether those resources be medical care, rental assistance or family needs, she uses the opportunity to connect employees with local services they may need to take care of themselves and their families.
Beyond services and support, Bridget uses the employee one-on-ones to convey the simple fact that she truly cares about them.
“The very first time we did this, we had each person show us on the map exactly where they lived and what part of the country,” she recalled. “Several of our employees have come from the same part of Mexico. Just looking at the pictures of the churches and the beauty that's there, and listening to them talk about what life was like at home and their families or their kids.”
These conversations have built a foundation of trust with the new team, and Bridget takes it one step further by leaving each 15-minute one-on-one meeting with an opportunity to listen and hear how she can be a part of helping that individual achieve success at the dairy and in the personal life.
She noted, “I always close with the questions: What can I do differently as a leader? What support can I give you?”
For more, listen to the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Ep. 53: Multi-site Dairy Management: Getting a New Team Onboard with Bridge Schilling, Schilling Farms
