Good staff can be hard to find and keeping them can be even harder. The level of competition to resource good personnel in horsey neighborhoods can be particularly fierce.
Two women trail riding on a dirt path through a grassy area.
It should go without saying that you will treat all your staff with respect but ensure this extends to the goodbye’s as well as the hello’s.
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It is not uncommon for one horse professional to spend much time training staff members to elevate an employee’s knowledge and talents, only to have them scooped up by another horse farm owner across the fields, who lures the person away just when they are finally competent at their job.
Here are some tips to keep your staff happy and productive, and hopefully in your own employ and avoid that frustrating experience.
- Don’t Overpromise – fulfil everything you state at the outset and keep your side of the employment bargain
- Provide Set Work Schedules and Duties – not always possible to stick to but any extra hours of work should be reimbursed and not taken for granted as available
- Encourage More Than Criticize – constructive criticism will be needed but sandwich it between encouragements and use a quiet tone and carefully chosen words and only offer criticism in a private setting
- Offer Opportunities For Extra Earning – everyone has unexpected expenses to cover
- Don’t Overface or Overwhelm Staff – provide training and support and don’t make assumptions that employees are content to work outside the scope of their comfort level or employment terms
- Be Accessible and Approachable – communication is a key ingredient to a successful relationship and it is a two-way street. Show good leadership.
- Housing Staff – If providing housing ensure it offers a private, secure and safe space that is clean and functional
- Livery For Staff Horses – offering the bonus option of bringing in their own horse can attract staff that have more experience in the industry – but consider the real costs of this carefully
- Contracts – Have an employment contract with clear standard operating procedures attached as a rider document. Remember that internships or working student arrangements may require by labor laws that you provide instruction and supervision.
- Provide Paid Time Off – while paid sick days and vacation pay may be required by labor laws, offering your employees flexibility to enjoy holidays with family by banking enough contiguous days off to allow them to travel home or attend to personal obligations will keep them happy.
- Extras – medical insurance and pension plans are often missing components for equine industry personnel during the course of their employment. Facilitating an opt-in arrangement can do much to boost morale and confidence for an employee especially one with their own familial responsibilities, and offering these options can keep them grounded in your employ.
As an employer you don’t want to go overboard with freebies and offering extras to staff in order to hang on to them. In my experience running a team of five employees as staff during my years of travel for advanced dressage competition, if a staff member is unhappy they are going to leave at some point anyway, so it’s better to move on for everyone concerned.
Also as an employer be cognizant that the horse world is a small industry, and you are highly likely to bump into the employee again at some point in the future. It should go without saying that you will treat all your staff with respect but ensure this extends to the goodbye’s as well as the hello’s.
It is essential to stay above the fray, avoid emotional outbursts or decisions and be kind, clear and consistent in your requests as the ‘boss’. It is wonderful to remain friends with your past employees, and to see them move along and hopefully up in the equestrian sport, and to know you gave them a good leg-up and were a positive part of their journey.
Consider that whatever you’ve trained your employees to do, even if they take that training and go off to work for someone else, at the end of the day you have done a good service not just for them, but also for every horse they interact with in their future endeavors. A most satisfying thought!
The bottom line is that offering perks on the job such as showing experience in the saddle for an employee; opportunities to travel as part of the team; stabling for their horses on site; great housing such as a Barndominium apartment or cottage/carriage house on the grounds, all give the employee good reasons to stay put.
Opportunities for personal growth are key to keeping staff moving forward and trying hard to develop their skill sets. While many horse aficionados are not primarily motivated by money, paying a good wage and not expecting any work for free is necessary for their self-worth and for stress free living.
A happy employee is a productive one. Horse facility owners who have not come up through the ranks often take for granted the long hours staff put in, above and beyond the scope and timeframe of their duties. Don’t be blind to your own shortcomings or level of fairness. Treat others as you would like to be treated yourself is a good idiom to live by in all walks of life.
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All wood. Amish Made. Most of our buildings are shipped 100% pre-built and ready for same-day use. Larger barns are a modular construction and can be ready for your horses in less than a week. All our barn packages include everything you need –
Horizon Structures also sells chicken coops, equine hay feeders, greenhouses, dog kennels, 1 and 2 car garages, storage sheds and outdoor living structures and playsets.
Headquartered in South-Central Pennsylvania, Horizon Structures, LLC was founded by Dave Zook. Dave was raised in the Amish tradition and grew up working in the family-owned shed business. He started Horizon Structures in 2001 in response to an ever-increasing customer demand for high quality, affordable horse barns.
For additional information about the company or their product line, please visit their website at https://www.horizonstructures.com
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