25 Questions to Ask Your Farm Employees in 2023
The beginning of a new year can serve as a time to sit down with farm employees and go over their performance. Measuring their performance can help you both identify how well the employee executes on explicit and implicit standards, goals and priorities.
One of the most important duties you will have as an employer is to evaluate employee performance. Letting an employee know how he or she is performing can encourage the employee to perform at a high level, and letting the employee know he or she has fallen short can help reinforce expectations. You should attempt to do evaluations in a positive manner, and keep a written record of the evaluations to help document job performance.
“By asking specific, targeted questions in employee evaluations, managers can really dive into individual performance, employee motivations, and goals. This added level of depth shows employees their development is valued and gives managers ways to help employees grow,” says Natalie Wickham of Quantum Workplace. “Employee performance reviews are key to understanding and improving employee performance. But all too often, employee reviews fall flat and have little impact because managers are asking the wrong performance review questions.”
Instead of asking the wrong questions, Wickham suggests asking these instead:
Overall Performance
- What accomplishments this year are you most proud of?
- Which goals did you meet? Which goals fell short?
- What motivates you to get your job done?
- What can I do to make your job more enjoyable?
- What are your ideal working conditions to be the most productive?
Employee Strengths
- What personal strengths help you do your job effectively?
- What makes you the best fit for your position?
- What skills do you have that you believe we could use more effectively?
- What kind of work comes easiest to you?
Areas of Improvement
- What goals/deliverables were you least proud of? Why? How will you do those differently in the future?
- What 2-3 things will you focus on in the next year to help you grow and develop?
- What can I do to help you better meet your goals?
Current Role
- Which job responsibilities/tasks do you enjoy most? Which do you least enjoy?
- How do you think your role helps the company succeed?
- What do you like least about your current role? What would you change?
- What do you like most about working for this company?
Future Outlook
- What are your most important goals for the next year?
- What do you want your next position at this company to be? How would your responsibilities change?
- What professional growth opportunities would you like to explore in order to get there?
- What type of growth is most important to you?
Manager-Employee Relationship
- What (if any) concerns do you have when it comes to giving me feedback? How can I alleviate those concerns?
- How do you prefer to receive feedback and/or recognition for your work?
- What are two to three things could I do differently to better manage you?
- What do I do that is most/least helpful for you when it comes to completing your work?
- What can we do to improve our relationship?
