Beef Tips

Category: Management Minute

Send Everyone Home Safe

Most of you reading this are likely involved in agriculture in some capacity. Would you consider agriculture to be a high risk industry?

The reality is that agriculture is a dangerous business. A recent report (12/2023) from the U. S. Department of Labor contains some staggering statistics and emphasizes the need for safety. In 2022, workers engage in farming, fishing and forestry had the highest fatal work injury rate among U.S. occupations with 23.5 fatalities per 100,000 full-time employees. A total of 5,486 fatal occupational injuries occurred in the U.S. in 2022 with 146 fatal injuries occurring among agricultural workers. Fatal work injuries due to contact with equipment and machinery (738) increased 4.7% from 2021 to 2022. These statistics are sobering. The need for safety in agriculture is real and present. When was your last discussion about safety with your family or employees? Now is the best time to have those discussions.

A quote from Dr. Keith Bolsen, K-State emeritus professor, comes to mind:

“Our number one goal is to send everyone home safe at night; if an operation isn’t safe nothing else really matters.”

The full report from the U.S. Department of Labor may be accessed at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cfoi.pdf

For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu

How to Find More Time

One of the more common issues for many of us in the workplace is trying to find more time for family, friends, exercise or some new activity. However, the question becomes how we can find more time within the day or week for the aforementioned activity of choice? One of the ways that many people try to find more time (including myself) is the “do I really need that much sleep” method of finding more time. Although, this method does work; it may also result in some undesirable outcomes, especially if the activity involves interacting with others. Time management experts suggest that the best way to make more time for any new activity is to become more efficient within our day. Efficiency is essentially organizing and prioritizing the daily “to do list” but it also includes looking for places in our day where we simply waste time. The most common “time waster” for many people involves a computer or a phone in today’s world. Procrastination is also another common “time waster” that reduces our ability to get things done. Many strategies have been developed to combat procrastination. One simple strategy that I recently came across is the 2-minute rule and it essentially targets all those little things that we encounter during the day that eventually add up. This informal rule essentially says that when we encounter anything in our day that will take less than 2-minutes that we should do it, be it a quick email response or cleaning up our computer files. It is difficult to find more time in our busy work schedules, but one thing is clear seconds turn into minutes, minutes into hours, hours into days and so forth, which proves that little things do add up over time.

For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu.

Safe Work Practices for Working in the Cold

January and February are some of the coldest months of the year and often bring extreme weather conditions that can be challenging for agricultural workers who work in the elements. Although there are no specific standards or regulations regarding what employers must provide to employees that are required to work in winter conditions. Employers do have an obligation to provide workers with employment and a work place that are free from recognized hazards (Section 5a 1 OSHA, 1970). Thus, employers have an obligation to train employees and ensure that they are aware of the risks of cold stress and safe work practices for working in the cold. The U. S. Department of labor, OSHA website offers the following suggestions for preventing cold stress https://www.osha.gov/emergency-preparedness /guides/cold-stress.

Safe work practices to prevent cold stress.

  • If possible, schedule heavy work during the warmer part of the day.
  • Assign workers to tasks in pairs (buddy system), so that they can monitor each other for signs of cold stress.
  • Reduce the physical demands of workers (for example, use relief workers or rotate extra workers in and out of work for long, demanding jobs).
  • Workers can be allowed to interrupt their work, if they are extremely uncomfortable.
  • Employers should give workers frequent breaks in warm areas.
  • Acclimatize new workers and those returning after time away from work, by gradually increasing their workload, and allowing more frequent breaks in warm areas, as they build up a tolerance for working in the cold environment.

For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu.

Organizational Reflection

The current year will soon be ending. This is a great time for individuals and organizations to reflect back on the events of the past 12 months. The value of reflection within an organization dramatically increases if it used as a tool to evaluate not only where the organization has been but also where it is headed. A few basic questions may be used to guide the process.
What did you or the business succeed at?
What were your failures?
What was learned from those successes and failures?
What would you like to do more of or what generated positive outcomes for the organization?
What should you stop doing?

For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu.

Define the Culture of Your Organization

The term “organizational culture” continues to be a popular topic among management and leaders in the business world. Michael Watkins, in an article for the “Harvard Business Review” (https://hbr.org/2013/05/what-is-organizational- culture) explains this is the strategy which an organization or business uses to hire, manage, retain, and develop current employees for leadership roles. Many businesses, organizations and even universities lose exceptionally talented employees because their strengths and talents were not recognized. Additionally, an effective talent management strategy provides a mechanism to develop future leaders and managers. Managers play a key role in an organizations talent management strategy, as they must identify talented, exceptional employees. Managers also serve as mentors, providing coaching and feedback to develop employees. Research conducted by the American Society for Training and Development documented that those organizations with the most successful talent management systems, asked managers to discuss the talents and skills of their most talented employees with other managers and leaders. Discussing the organizations most talented employees creates an internal talent pool that various departments can draw from to fill current positions. Do you have exceptional employees in your organization? What is your talent management strategy? Are you at risk of losing your best employees? He suggests that organizational culture is often debated because we know it’s important, but there is little consensus on what it actually is. The classical definition of organizational culture is the shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterize an institution or organization. Others define organizational culture more simply as “who we are and how we do things.” Most employees spend more time in the workplace than their homes. Thus, the culture of an organization becomes an important component of a healthy workplace environment. A recent Gallup poll reported that employees who “strongly agree” with the statement “I feel connected to my organizations culture” are 3.7 times as likely to be engaged in their work and 68% less likely to feel “burned out.” Culture is important. So, what is the culture of your organization? Independently and anonymously asking your staff or employees to “Define the culture of your organization in one word” can be great way to capture and define the culture of your organization.
For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu.

What’s Your Talent Management Strategy

Do you have a “Talent Management” strategy? This is the strategy which an organization or business uses to hire, manage, retain, and develop current employees for leadership roles. Many businesses, organizations and even universities lose exceptionally talented employees because their strengths and talents were not recognized. Additionally, an effective talent management strategy provides a mechanism to develop future leaders and managers. Managers play a key role in an organizations talent management strategy, as they must identify talented, exceptional employees. Managers also serve as mentors, providing coaching and feedback to develop employees. Research conducted by the American Society for Training and Development documented that those organizations with the most successful talent management systems, asked managers to discuss the talents and skills of their most talented employees with other managers and leaders. Discussing the organizations most talented employees creates an internal talent pool that various departments can draw from to fill current positions. Do you have exceptional employees in your organization? What is your talent management strategy? Are you at risk of losing your best employees?

For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu.

Building Successful Teams in the Workplace

Most of us have had some experience with being part of a team or different groups of individuals. Some teams of individuals are highly successful and some are not. What makes some teams more successful than others? The tech giant “Google” has invested a great deal of time and resources into studying teams and reported their most successful teams have the following traits.

The most successful teams at “Google”

  • Establish psychological safety within the team. The team creates an environment where all members of the team feel free to bring new ideas forward to the group.
  • Are dependable. The team holds its members accountable, getting things done on time and up to the standards of the group.
  • Have structure and clarity. The members of the team know their role in the team and have a clear vision of the team’s structure and the expectations associated with their role on the team.
  • Have a purpose. The team members believe that what they are doing matters.

A wealth of information on building teams and characteristics of highly successful teams can be found with a simple internet search.

For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu.

Active Listening

Justin Waggoner, Ph.D., Beef Systems Specialist

Communication is essential in the workplace, but it’s not just about speaking. Listening is an important aspect of communication that is often overlooked and listening is more than just hearing what is being said. The process of active listening means that you are fully engaged in the speaker, not only listening to what is being said, but acknowledging the non-verbal cues and providing the speaker with feedback. So how can you become a better listener? Pay attention to the speaker, give them your undivided attention and try not to focus on what you are going to say while they are speaking. Don’t judge, enter and leave the conversation with an open mind. Ask questions; asking open-ended or clarifying questions is a great way to engage the speaker. Don’t be afraid to take a few seconds and reflect on what has been said before responding to the speaker. It also important to summarize the key points or central issues addressed by the speaker. Most importantly be genuine. Becoming a better listener and practicing active listening isn’t easy. There are a number of great resources available online just enter the terms “active” “listening“ in your search engine of choice.

For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu

Managing and Leading Change

Justin Waggoner, Ph.D., Beef Systems Specialist

As the saying goes, “the only constant is change” and most people are often resistant to change in general. Change is often viewed as negative, although it can and is often a good thing. The process of initiating, and leading an organization or a group of co-workers through Change can be difficult. Experts suggest that the best way to lead an organization through any type of change is to clearly communicate the “Why” and the vision for “Where are we headed” first and then focus on the “How are we going to get there.” It is also important to recognize informal leaders who can serve as “Change Agents” to champion the process and engage others in the organization at many different levels. Organizational change affects everyone and thus everyone has to be engaged. Lastly, it’s critical to reinforce and reward individuals or teams that are embracing the change. Change is a process and it’s the role of the leader to guide people through the process. Leading through change requires communication, feedback and most importantly letting people be a part of the process.

For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu.

Generations in the American Workforce

Justin Waggoner, Ph.D., Beef Systems Specialist

There are approximately five generations currently in the American workforce. I would add that since farmers and ranchers don’t often retire and the kids start doing chores at an early age there could possibly be up to six generations involved in the day to day activities of a farm or ranch. These generations are somewhat loosely defined across different sources as 1. WWI and WWII generation (born ~1901-1926); 2. Mature or silent generation (born ~1928-1945); 3.The Baby Boomers (born ~1946-1965); 4. Generation X (born ~1965-1980); 5. Millennials (born ~1980-2000); and 6. Generation Z or Centennials. All of these groups have defining characteristics, and ideals that make them unique. There is tremendous amount of differences between these generations, if we consider that Granddad may have been raised in a world with limited electrical conveniences, and the millennial grandson, has never experienced a world without computers or mobile hand-held communication devices. Have you given any consideration to the different age groups or generations that currently make up your workforce? Have you updated your policies, procedures or verbal expectations to include modern means of communication such as texting? For example, if a family member or an employee is going to be late is it acceptable to send a text. If it is a more formal organization, what about training materials? Millennials andthe generation Z’s (coming soon) likely prefer and are more engaged in something they can watch over printed material.

For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu