This is the final of 4 segments in our series on engagement. It’s not easy to keep good people engaged. There are opportunities everywhere in today’s work world.
Seeing Engagement
I just returned from 2 weeks of traveling to visit customers. I was in California, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and Kansas.
Most of these customers have good systems in place to keep their teams engaged. At the very least, they are working to improve their engagement.
For example – one customer in Indiana has been doing engagement surveys for several years. On one of their farms, I see many of the same faces each time I visit them. This is rare.
In an industry that ‘turns people over’ often, I see many of the same faces….and most of these faces are smiling, joking, engaged, and participating in the engagement surveys and workshops. This happens across cultures – some speak English, some speak Spanish, and some speak both.
The point is this – for them…for anyone. It takes effort. It takes intentionality.
To keep your team engaged…..it will take continual effort. It will take long-term intentionality.
The group that I’m talking about above is Martin Family Farms.
Martin Family Farms
They have a very, very good team in place. It’s a combination of folks from countries that speak Spanish as well as native English speakers from here in the US.
Martin has 14,000 sows in Indiana. They are good pig people. And – they are good people.
They work hard to develop and keep good people.
Here are some examples of good people that they have in place on their teams:
Azael – Azael was born in Mexico. He’s fully engaged with both English and Spanish-speaking people. He knows pigs. He knows people. He’s always learning. He’s always growing. I never sense that he’s too proud or has too much of an ego to learn or grow more.
Melissa – Melissa knows pigs and people also. It’s obvious that Melissa is ‘for’ you from the moment you meet her. Her passion and enthusiasm for people radiate. She’s worked with Martin Family Farms for many years. She’s grown and developed in many years. There are times she has to be ‘tough’ on someone and she can do it. I see her bringing out the best in those around her.
Ramon – You won’t forget Ramon once you meet him. He’s positive…engaging. He finds a way to engage with you…even if it’s unexpected. It’s never negative…but sometimes it’s surprising. Once you meet Ramon, you’ll wish you had him on your crew.
Jennifer – She manages one of the farms. We have done engagement surveys there several times. Jennifer is a high ‘D’ on the DiSC assessment. She’s definitely driven and wants excellence on her farm. But – she also knows her people well. Her people stay with her long-term – even though she challenges them. They know she’s ‘for’ them and they stick with her.
These are great folks….folks that anyone would want on their team. Martin’s have done well at finding and keeping good people like this because they stay after it. Not only do they produce quality pigs, they focus on serving and developing people well.
Engaging Your Team - Will You Stay After it?
You’ve likely made efforts in developing your people and engaging your team. Honestly, every little bit helps.
Will you stay after it?
It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day of running your business.
This is where Ag TeamBuild comes in. We can help you keep your team engaged. We can help you develop your people.
Engagement Survey
One way we can help is with our Engagement Surveys. These are done in conjunction with Summit Smart Farms. We measure specific things (satisfaction in the workplace, if workers find meaning in their day-to-day work, if they are satisfied with their Senior Managers, etc).
These are conducted confidentially – employees take the assessments without the employer knowing
their scores. Employees take 15 questions.
Click HERE to see an example of a set of results from the Engagement Survey.
Click HERE to see a presentation that we made recently to one of our customers.
Reach out today to schedule your engagement survey!
