Recruiting New Staff

[Wheatland]

I will be needing to find a couple of new staff members soon and I’m considering how best to recruit them. In the past, I’ve managed to find people locally but this seems to be getting harder.

Have other members had much response from the Jobs Board in the classified?
I notice quite a few jobs advertised on Facebook but do they attract good people?
I’m guessing that an advert in FW will be money wasted.

 

[Bald Rick]

Son recruits through Facebook but if we’re looking, word of mouth brings in a few.
Mind, we are in a low employment area and pay weekly

 

[TripleSix]

Good luck.

Have used 4xtra hands, not with the greatest success tho

 

[Pan mixer]

I will be needing to find a couple of new staff members soon and I’m considering how best to recruit them. In the past, I’ve managed to find people locally but this seems to be getting harder.

Have other members had much response from the Jobs Board in the classified?
I notice quite a few jobs advertised on Facebook but do they attract good people?
I’m guessing that an advert in FW will be money wasted.

I recruited my current 2 chaps - one 5 years ago and one a year ago, by putting a notice out the front of the farm - we are on a busy-ish B road.

I had a surprising number of applicants, all of whom were local but from outside my kind of farming, I would not have encountered them using word of mouth.

 

[Wheatland]

I recruited my current 2 chaps - one 5 years ago and one a year ago, by putting a notice out the front of the farm - we are on a busy-ish B road.

I had a surprising number of applicants, all of whom were local but from outside my kind of farming, I would not have encountered them using word of mouth.

I guess this highlights the problem I may be facing, I need a level of experience and skill that really only comes in someone already doing a similar job. There’s little scope to train someone up from scratch.

 

[Ribble]

I guess this highlights the problem I may be facing, I need a level of experience and skill that really only comes in someone already doing a similar job. There’s little scope to train someone up from scratch.

That's the problem all UK industries face; massive, crippling overhead burdens of taxes, fees, and monopoly pricing make the UK labour force so expensive, nobody can afford to invest in training.

Meanwhile in Asia, the government makes sure it doesn't cost a fortune just to exist as a worker and the businesses don't have to carry those expenses in wages.

We used to practice that form of capitalism in the UK. The government kept a lid on the costs of infrastructure, housing, utilities, transport, so that the capitalists didn't have to fund it through wages and industry could thrive.

 

[little_p]

That's the problem all UK industries face; massive, crippling overhead burdens of taxes, fees, and monopoly pricing make the UK labour force so expensive, nobody can afford to invest in training.

Other countries (particularly Benelux countries) have similar 'crippling overhead burdens' but seem to find the money to invest in their employers. In the UK we just prefer to nick the employee that somebody else has paid to train by offering them a few extra quid (resulting in the expensive UK labour force).

 

[deleted user 837354]

That's the problem all UK industries face; massive, crippling overhead burdens of taxes, fees, and monopoly pricing make the UK labour force so expensive, nobody can afford to invest in training.

Meanwhile in Asia, the government makes sure it doesn't cost a fortune just to exist as a worker and the businesses don't have to carry those expenses in wages.

We used to practice that form of capitalism in the UK. The government kept a lid on the costs of infrastructure, housing, utilities, transport, so that the capitalists didn't have to fund it through wages and industry could thrive.

I'm afraid I find this kind of logic unfathomable.

You can't afford to train anyone? If that is the case then surely any such enterprise in that circumstance is borked beyond belief?

The way the bulk of TFF goes on it does make you wonder how the heck an egg ever makes its way into a sandwich on the shelf in the local Spar?

 

[unlacedgecko]

I've had 2 staff members and 2 work experience guys so far. Found them all through Facebook and trained them as required.

50% success rate.

 

[Brisel]

4Xtra hands worked well for me recently. Fish4jobs wasn't quite so good. I haven't tried Facebook nor TFF.

 

[Chasingmytail]

Can you do a group text to any skilled workers you know? Perhaps increase rates a touch just to entice someone experienced?

 

[TheTallGuy]

I guess this highlights the problem I may be facing, I need a level of experience and skill that really only comes in someone already doing a similar job. There’s little scope to train someone up from scratch.

Therein lies one of the biggest issues I see in this country... for far too long businesses have relied on being able to pick up staff without planning or investing in the future. For instance, the influx of HGV drivers from Eastern Europe meant that many firms went down that route rather than training up new drivers, in the motor & building trades relatively few businesses want to take on apprentices - everyone wants experienced workers, but no one wants to train anyone up!

 

[unlacedgecko]

Therein lies one of the biggest issues I see in this country... for far too long businesses have relied on being able to pick up staff without planning or investing in the future. For instance, the influx of HGV drivers from Eastern Europe meant that many firms went down that route rather than training up new drivers, in the motor & building trades relatively few businesses want to take on apprentices - everyone wants experienced workers, but no one wants to train anyone up!

I love training people. I get great satisfaction from seeing them develop. One of my former employees now farms in his own right.

However, it's an expensive process and contracts need to be written to ensure the business is not left out of pocket should the employee leave before the anticipated payback time.

 

[Brisel]

I try to have a mix of young & experienced staff, accepting that today's yoof are more likely to move around more often. I've had good results from training up the right youngsters who have then stayed on but for every good one I've had 3 that I've spent thousands training up only for them to clear off within 2 years of getting most of the investment.

Perhaps you offer training with a quick wrote down period? For example, if they have £1k of training and leave within 12 months, have a written deal that they pay back 40% of that, 20% if < 2 years etc.

 

[Wheatland]

In my defence, I do have younger staff members who gradually get more responsibility and training but I have recently had a long standing driver leave due to poor health which has coincided with an unexpected increase in my workload which leaves a skill gap near the top.

 

[Ribble]

Perhaps you offer training with a quick wrote down period? For example, if they have £1k of training and leave within 12 months, have a written deal that they pay back 40% of that, 20% if < 2 years etc.

Good luck enforcing anything after someone leaves. These agreements are almost always unlawful or unenforceable. A good bluff against someone still around, not much use when they call it.

 

[Gerbert]

That's the problem all UK industries face; massive, crippling overhead burdens of taxes, fees, and monopoly pricing make the UK labour force so expensive, nobody can afford to invest in training.

Meanwhile in Asia, the government makes sure it doesn't cost a fortune just to exist as a worker and the businesses don't have to carry those expenses in wages.

We used to practice that form of capitalism in the UK. The government kept a lid on the costs of infrastructure, housing, utilities, transport, so that the capitalists didn't have to fund it through wages and industry could thrive.

You do know you are contradicting yourself right? The costs the government "carries" are paid for by the workers in the first place.
The problem isn't that government is not keeping a lid on all kinds of costs, but the nature of the government itself. The problem is far to much rules, not to little.
And don't be afraid, overhere in the Netherlands government f**ks it up all the same.

 

[Brisel]

Good luck enforcing anything after someone leaves. These agreements are almost always unlawful or unenforceable. A good bluff against someone still around, not much use when they call it.

I've only seen this type of agreement in practice for more senior staff for something like a management development course costing thousands here said staff member was on a salary paid in arrears. I never heard how it worked out when one chap did leave within a year of being put through a very expensive course.

 

[Boysground]

I recruited my current 2 chaps - one 5 years ago and one a year ago, by putting a notice out the front of the farm - we are on a busy-ish B road.

I had a surprising number of applicants, all of whom were local but from outside my kind of farming, I would not have encountered them using word of mouth.

Notice outside farm has also worked well here

Bg

 

[Ribble]

You do know you are contradicting yourself right? The costs the government "carries" are paid for by the workers in the first place.
The problem isn't that government is not keeping a lid on all kinds of costs, but the nature of the government itself. The problem is far to much rules, not to little.
And don't be afraid, overhere in the Netherlands government fudges it up all the same.

You seem to be under the impression that taxes fund spending. That's largely true in the Eurozone where governments are enslaved to the commercial banks and must collect money in order to spend, not true in the UK as we are a sovereign currency issuer who spends first, and possibly collects later, or not (£1.8tn and counting!)