Half of success is showing up. And when employees don’t show up to work it puts everyone behind. In Wisconsin, Vir-Clar Farm has worked hard at building a positive, family-like culture on their Fond du Lac dairy. This includes implementing a ride-share program that not only helps employees show up to work on time, but serves as an incentive that their employees have come to enjoy.
Through decades and expansions as Vir-Clar Farm grew, so did the number of employees. Today the farm employs 38 full-time workers. Home to 2,400 mature cows that are milked three times daily in a double-30 parlor, each shift at Vir-Clar Farm takes 7.5 hours with clean-up. Although their employees work 12-hour shifts.
Like many farms, Vir-Clar has been challenged with labor. But now they gauge how things are going by looking at how many employees are owed vacation time. They recently recognized an employee for 25 years of service.
“They have to put a year in before they get vacation hours,” Katie Grinstead with Vir-Clar Farms says.
Their farm’s vision emphasizes creating a good working atmosphere for their employees, which is one reason they began the ride-share program nearly five years ago.
“We knew of another farmer doing this and thought it could work for us, too,” Grinstead says. “Our farm does not offer housing and most of our employees live in Fond du Lac.”
She continues sharing that her farm was at a crossroads, discussing whether they wanted to offer some housing or go another route.
“We try really hard to take care of our employees,” she says. “We consider them our work family.”
Not wanting to manage employee housing, Vir-Clar decided to go with a ride-share program instead.
“Many of our employees only have one vehicle per household and it was putting them in a bind with the spouse working,” she says. “Providing a ride share was another kind of benefit or service we could provide them, so they didn’t have to worry about gas and they didn’t have to worry about whether their vehicle was reliable.”
Three-quarters of their employees utilize the ride-share program offered by Vir-Clar, and Grinstead notes that the employees do pay a small fee, but much of the cost is absorbed by the farm.
One employee’s’ wife, along with her sister and brother-in-law, help with this 365-day commitment of getting employees to and from their homes to work. Their main herdsperson oversees the ride-share schedule and communicates with those driving the routes.
“We have several employees who take part in this. And by not having a lot of turnover, it really helps with the ride-share program,” Grinstead says.
Vir-Clar has set rules for the employees using this program, including being on time.
“She is not going to sit there and wait for 10 minutes because that puts everyone late and nobody wants to be late for work,” she says. “Most of the guys are pretty responsible and good about it.”
Other Benefits
In addition to the ride-share program, Vir-Clar offers other incentives, including:
- Celebrating employees’ birthdays
- Hosting a Christmas party with gifts
- Holiday bonus
- Having an employee summer picnic.
“We also do a referral bonus, too,” Grinstead shares. “If an employee refers a new employee that sticks around for 30 days, they get a bonus. And after six months, they get a second bonus. So does the new employee that they referred.”
Vir-Clar also focuses on promoting within first before hiring someone from the outside.
“If you can get employees to stay, whether it’s the six-month point or whether it’s the year point, they see all of the benefits that we do offer,” she says. “The farm is clean, they are working in a nice environment and we try to have fun. There is always going to be a couple of those that will jump ship for a quarter. You’re never going to do enough for those employees.”
Grinstead says there is no secret ingredient to employee retention, but that her farm tries to make their employees feel that they are part of something great, offer a clean and safe work environment and establish a positive and fun culture. Adding the ride-share program has been a welcome boost, too.
