With fierce competition for quality employees in the agriculture sector, a proper human resources program can improve the odds of attracting and retaining productive farm workers.

That was the message Lyndsay Seafoot of  The Curbridge Group relayed to area producers gathered for the Dauphin Agricultural Society’s Farm Outlook 2026, Mar. 10.

“I think a lot of times we give up on some of these HR things that seem overwhelming, they seem complex,” Seafoot said.

“But there is a huge responsibility and a huge impact that you can have on other people when you’re a manager or an owner and people work for you and with you.”

Farms, like all businesses, are competing for employees and it is important to set things up professionally to slant the field in their favour, she added.

“What happens when you build up your business on some very basic HR stuff is that you become a better competitor,” Seafoot said.

“You want to give people assurance and trust and comfort that you’re doing things properly from an HR perspective.”

The HR function of any business, she said, is every interaction an employee has with a business from hiring to retiring.

“How do you hire people? How do you pay people? What do you do for overtime? What do you do on stat holidays? Do you have benefits? Why or why not? Do you have a retirement program? Why or why not? What happens if I do something wrong? How can I get fired? How much are you paying people when they get fired? All of those things, that’s HR,” Seafoot said, adding it is important to have all that information and more written down in an employee handbook and that the parametres are followed. Expectations and boundaries should be clearly communicated and communication should be continuous throughout the employees’ tenure. Employment contracts are another important area which should be considered.

“Employees feel stable, they feel comfortable when they enter a workplace that has things organized for them.”

Recommending leadership training as a worthwhile investment, Seafoot said the goal of developing a comprehensive HR program is to position the business as an “employer of choice.”

“When you’re hiring and you’re looking for employees, you have a good reputation and you’re a choice employer, meaning people want to work for you and try to work for you,” she said.

“So, setting yourself up as an employer of choice makes hiring and retention a heck of a lot easier.

“You can experience a lot of ease and a lot of smooth sailing with employees when you do things right.”