Farming Training

Do you find that you can get on with some people at work, but struggle with others? Is staff management the biggest issue you face in your business?

How we communicate with each other has a huge impact on performance, effectiveness, profitability and the morale of the team. In this workshop, you’ll discover that each of us has a different communication style and behaviour which directly influences how we are perceived by others – and how this can work in your favour or against you. Before you consider how to motivate, lead and inspire your team, you need to know the basics of good communication – and this workshop will show you just how tricky positive communication can be…and the way to make communication work for you. This workshop uses the unique tool VITA Profiling.

Poor recruitment can cost your business dearly. And losing your best staff can be demoralising and stressful.

So how do you find great people for your business and hold on to them? This workshop covers in detail the eight steps to successful recruitment, how to keep hold of your best staff and how to develop them into high performing individuals within an effective team. From how to prepare a job description to looking at the proven approaches that will build trust, loyalty and long term commitment from your staff, this workshop will challenge you to review your recruitment process and to build a strong and harmonious team.

Is there a “right” way to run an interview? Do you sometimes employ an individual who three months later turns out not to be the person you expected?

Effective interviewing is a key skill often overlooked by business owners, leaders and managers. Knowing how to structure an interview, ask the right questions and gather the important facts about the interviewee is essential for you to find the right person for your business. In this workshop you’ll discover some of common mistakes made at interview and how to avoid them. You’ll learn about questioning techniques and how to adjust your style to ensure you impress every candidate and secure the right staff for your business.

Your regular 1-1 meetings with your staff should be supplemented with annual (minimum) personal reviews that discuss individual performance against the requirements of their roles and the business.

However, many farmers do not complete this process – sometimes because it feels odd to review family members and often due to a lack of confidence and training in how to deliver an effective review. In this interactive workshop, we outline the structure, approach and administration required to deliver an effective review. You will be provided with a simple framework that will enable you to run this process smoothly and positively – even when under-performance needs to addressed.

Do you recognise how your personality effects your leadership style? Are you aware of the important difference between leadership and management?

Based around our Team Dynamics Workshop, this first session in the People Manager programme examines how your leadership style impacts performance.  We look closely at the difference  between Management and Leadership and the importance of being able to effectively communicate for success. This workshop uses the unique tool VITA Profiling to establish your natural leadership style.

Are you ready to delegate?  Can you manage change effectively?

Change is happening continuously.  So is pressure on time.  In this workshop, we look at ‘Time Stealers’ and how to overcome them.  We review the process of change and how different people react differently and have to managed differently through the process. Delegation is a key skill that needs to be mastered to ensure effective use team resources and ongoing development of the team.

Managing performance begins with ourselves.  How do you set the right atmosphere and give effective feedback?

Most employees dread feedback as it’s often destructive and unhelpful. In this workshop, we provide simple tools and models that enable performance to be managed positively, maintaining morale and improving individual output on a daily basis.  Coaching conversations are explained and the importance of self assessment is explored to ensure that performance improvements are effective and permanent.

Managing conflict in a team can be draining and create staff turnover.  How do you manage conflict?  Recruiting the wrong staff for you team can create division.  How do you recruit effectively?

Good staff retention begins at the interview recruitment stage.  Employing the right people for your farm isn’t just about what they can do – it’s about how well they fit in. Dealing with conflict when it arises is also essential for team morale.  This workshop looks at the way we handle conflict and how we need address it.  It also looks at the recruitment interview and annual personal review processes.