How DairyNZ is helping farmers create great workplaces

DairyNZ's 2023 GoDairy campaign is calling on farmers to list vacancies. Photo / Supplied

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DairyNZ is encouraging farmers to get their job vacancy advertisements online before the launch of its 2023 GoDairy campaign.

Many farms continued to be short-staffed, and the GoDairy campaign was committed to finding the right people for a variety of roles, DairyNZ lead advisor for people, Jane Muir said.

“We’re looking to attract people who are looking for a healthy outdoor lifestyle and job, and one where they can maybe build a career long term if they want,” Muir told The Country Sport Breakfast’s, Brian Kelly.

Initially, the focus was on finding full-time work for people, and then GoDairy would move to seasonal roles such as calving, Muir said.

Prior to the campaign launch, farmers are encouraged to get their vacancies up on Farm Source.

Any New Zealand dairy farmer can list their job vacancies for free at nzfarmsource.co.nz/jobs.

GoDairy aimed to be more “action-orientated” for 2023, Muir said.

“We’re trying to connect those active job seekers with the jobs that are available by linking them directly to Farm Source to apply for jobs.”

DairyNZ was reminding farmers to advertise all of the available jobs they had on Farm Source, so potential employees knew about the full range on offer, Muir said.

“Farmers [need] to do that before the end of March when our campaign launches.”

Muir had a few handy tips for farmers who wanted to attract new people to the dairy sector.

She suggested that the language used in job ads should be “new-recruit friendly”.

“If you think about it, ACR or AI isn’t common language outside of farming, so really just check that the language will be understood.”

It was a good idea for farmers to inject a bit of their own personality into the advertisement as well, Muir said.

“Farmers should tell job seekers about themselves and their farm and consider how they can stand out from the crowd because there’s a lot of jobs on there.

“It’s really about creating a feeling for the person reading the ad about what it might be like to work on this farm and why that would be great.”

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It was also vital to be transparent about “the important things” such as location, hours, rosters and accommodation, she said.

“You need to be upfront... different people are attracted to different things and being honest about it increases the chance of a good match.”

Sticking with the transparency theme, this year GoDairy is asking farmers to disclose hourly rates, so people can compare them to their current pay.

“Remember now in dairy, whether you do use hourly rates or salaries - it’s common practice that the accommodation is included in that.”

Meanwhile, DairyNZ has teamed up with Dairy Women’s Network to deliver four People Expo events in the Canterbury, Southland, Taranaki and Waikato regions this month.

The expos were an opportunity for farmers to hear from experts on a range of subjects, including economic and workforce trends, technology adoption and how to “make great workplaces on-farm,” Muir said.

It was also a chance for farmers to connect with each other and share new ideas, along with getting that all-important time off-farm, she said.

More information

DairyNZ offers a range of tools and advice on recruitment, new employees and creating a great workplace to retain staff at dairynz.co.nz/people.

To find out more about the GoDairy campaign visit godairy.co.nz.

Find out more about DairyNZ People Expos here.