Employee Management

SwineCast 0321 Show Notes:

• Livestock movement concerns the focus of the National Pork Boards' Transportation Biosecurity Summit
• Catching up with Informa Economics Jim Wiesemeyer for a look at the Washington scenery
• AgCareer's HR Roundtable scheduled for Aug 4-6 this year 

Managing People in Tough Times:

SwineCast 0298 Show Notes:

• NPPC requests USDA help on US industry crisis
• Money-saving steps from Mike Tokach to help to you hold on
• Sow herd nutrition research featuring grad student Ryan Samuel.  Looking at the amino acid and energy levels of your rations
• Immigration regs tweaked by the Department of Homeland Security and your responsibility

SwineCast 0297 Show Notes:

• Looking to cut costs in your ingredient sources may expose you to more risk than you think. A conversation with John Ratcliff of the Food and Agriculture Consultancy of the United Kingdom
• Genetics are driven by data but who determines the direction? PIC's Technical Services Director for Genetics joins us
• Employee relations and recruitment questions continue to be heavily attended workshops. Don Tyler recounts a session at the Responsible Pork Symposium

SwineCast 0296 Show Notes:

• NAIS update from USDA
• COOL combined with feed prices potentially catastrophic for Canadian producers
• US producers looking for farm bill closure to see how the COOL rules are written
• New content from the NPPC to help producers move to the next level in recruitment and employee communications

SwineCast 0281 Show Notes:

• Paul Jeske at Pigski reports his experience with the new upper midwest strain of PRRS his practice is investigating
• Iowa Select's Joe Kerns shares important pricing knowledge and the possibility of another marketing opportunity
• Iowa State's fuels and feeding info
• Exploring feedstock alternatives in Canada
• Manager's minute with Sarah Fogelman... more than filling an opening
• USDA says the next decade should be plenty positive for ag 

SwineCast 0264 Show Notes:

• Dr. Bruce Janke discusses some recent work on Avian Influenza genetic material discovered in swine herds
• Handling employee conflicts with Don Tyler
• Sarah Muirhead of Feedstuffs uncovers a new source of organic foods in Washington D.C.

Here are a few hints for getting new employees off to a good start:

• Be sure that all documentation—federal, state, company—is completed on the first day and filed appropriately.  (W-4’s, I-9’s, ID verification, contact sheets, benefit information, etc.)
• Review the documents associated with their employment if they have not been fully covered in the interview process.  (Employee Handbook, Job Description, Emergency Procedures, Safety Checklists, etc.)
• Encourage current employees to help bring the new employee up-to-speed as rapidly as possible.  Remind them that the faster the new employees learn their job, the sooner that everyone can focus on their own jobs.
• The Manager should have some contact with a new employee every day for the first week or so to see how they are getting along, offer encouragement, and answer any questions they may have.

Failure to have documents signed and placed in the employee’s personnel file within the first few days of employment typically leads to paperwork and legal nightmares down the road.