The people thing

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By Dwain Duxson

The people thing - Not everyone is cut out to manage people. I know of a Farmer who has quite a few staff, and he said that managing them is no fun, and he resents the Monday to Friday working week. So much so that he only ever enjoys working on the Farm on weekends when he can do tasks on his own.

I'd say that is a pretty sad way to operate, and I guess he's just not cut out to manage people. And not everyone is. You hear lots of Tradies who once ran teams of people, and as they get closer to their retirement years, they go back to working alone because they can't handle the managing people thing anymore.

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It's the hardest thing managing a team of people, but it's also very rewarding when you get it right. With our Farm Tender business, because we work remotely, we have access to better-qualified people because we don't have to uproot them and shift them to a central office to work. And if they don't work out, then the employee hasn't moved their life 500km to a new town. But managing staff remotely is something that requires good systems.

I know on our family Farm, we have always had staff, and I know 3 of them have been there for more than 20 years. So, it can be done with a bit of give and take. Get a good one and don't let them go and the ingredient to that is being easy to get along. Have you had any good, bad or indifferent times when managing people? - Reply to dwaind@farmtender.com.au

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