You Are the Boss, You Are the Boss, Cont...Cont...

Building on Your Building on Your StrengthsStrengths

AASV 2008AASV 2008Sarah Probst Miller, DVM

Sunday March 9, 2008

My StrengthsMy Strengths

Strategic Activator Ideation Individualization Maximizer

What are What are yours?yours?

What are yours?What are yours?

What are you going to do with them? How are your going to develop them? What will you bring to your workplace?

Suggested reading: Strength Finder 2.0

My StrengthsMy Strengths

Strategic Sort through clutter and see route

Activator You must put yourself out there You make a decision, you take action, you

look at the result and you learn.

My StrengthsMy Strengths

Ideation You revel in taking the world and turning it

around so we can view it from a strange but strangely enlightening angle

Individualization You tailor your teaching style to

accommodate one person’s need to be shown and another’s desire to “figure it out as I go”

My StrengthsMy Strengths

Maximizer You capitalize on the gifts with which you are

blessed You polish the pearl until it shines Having found a strength you feel compelled to

nurture it

Skiing and PigsSkiing and Pigs

80% of first time skiers never come back Bad experience Poor teacher Pushed beyond level No training

We sometimes treat swine farm employees like they know how to ski

Why establish a training Why establish a training systemsystem

Establish a system of repetition

Verification Cross-training

opportunities Create managers from

within

Why trainWhy train

Improve profitability Improve production Reduce employee turnover

For every 1% reduction For every 1% reduction in SB or reduction in in SB or reduction in

PWM, the cost per pig is PWM, the cost per pig is reduced $0.25-0.30reduced $0.25-0.30

For a 2400 sow farm that is weaning 1000 pigs per week, a 1% reduction in PWM reduces the cost per pig by $300 per week

>$15, 000 per year for 1%

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"Training Toolboxes mimic the hands-on approach we have used for years. We are able to take

employees through the lessons and then relate with similar issues that are shown on video. It

sparks good decision making and ideas among the staff,"

Bill Beckman, Professional Swine Management, Production Manager

2400 sow farm7% reduction in preweaning mortality$120,120 / year

Training Toolboxes--What Training Toolboxes--What are they?are they?

Fun creative way to implement SOP’s Hit employees from multiple angles

Pre-barn explanations Audio, visual

A compliment to in-barn training Get new employees started right Keep old employees educated and re-

educated and excited about job

Training Toolboxes--What Training Toolboxes--What are they?are they?

Based on well recognized learning methods

Based on years of production experience

Based on research done on production methods in the industry

Training Toolboxes--What Training Toolboxes--What are they?are they?

Very user friendly No computer skills necessary

Works on Windows 95 or greater

Training Toolboxes--Training Toolboxes--ContentsContents

Multimedia Audio--How well can your employees read?

Spanish and English Visuals

Animations Videos Multiple pictures Text

Quiz at end with immediate feedback Acts as a review

Implementation Implementation RecommendationRecommendation

Make and post a training mission statement Posted on-farm Presented to manager to

hang in-barn Explained to employees

[Your Farm Name Here][Your Farm Name Here]Training ProgramTraining Program

Mission Statement:Mission Statement: Through the Training Toolboxes, we would like to provide you with

the tools to succeed in your position and help us make [your farm name here] one of the best producing farms in the nation. We seek to

improve your understanding of when, why, and how to perform production tasks and to

understand the impact of your task on the productivity of the farm. We seek to provide

you with an opportunity for growth and development within the system and an

opportunity to monitor your improvement over time.

The why of training in The why of training in missionmission

To help standardize the chain of communication

To ensure communication has occurred in regards to how we want specific tasks done

To improve production

The why of training in The why of training in missionmission

To make sure every employee understands why all individual tasks are important

To be able to cross-train and provide variety in on farm tasks

To improve understanding between employees of the importance of their counterpart’s tasks

The why of training in The why of training in missionmission

To improve job satisfaction and reduce employee turnover

To provide employees with the means to improve themselves and prepare themselves to advance

To provide a fair way to monitor employee improvement over time

How are we How are we implementingimplementing

Computerized training lessons In English and Spanish

Computerized quizzing monitored on web over time Immediate feedback

Complemented by in-barn training

CertificationCertification

Password based file to monitor employees as they go through lessons

Problem based learning Continuous Improvement, Continuous

Learning

Show example

How are we How are we implementingimplementing

Web based quizzing system that allows monitoring of employees over time across multiple systems

Can compare systems Data extractable into Excel

Keeping Assessment FairKeeping Assessment Fair

Questions Pulled randomly from a pool of questions Quiz will be different each time an employee

takes it Quiz completed in a single sitting

ReportingReporting

Employee Percentage correct Pass or Fail

Manager View reports for each employee on web View scores, plus which questions were

missed on web

We need people to make We need people to make pigspigs

Training orientation Train employees in specific tasks Cross-train Create our next managers and department

heads

LIST OF LESSONS - ENGLISH

LIST OF LESSONS - SPANISH

WEB TRACKING LINK

Training Toolbox PricingTraining Toolbox Pricing

$800 for first two computers licenses All lessons in Farrowing Toolbox All lessons in Breeding Toolbox In both Spanish and English Access to web tracking system

$200 for each additional computer license $20 per individual lesson

Swine Farm Language Swine Farm Language GuideGuide

English-to-Spanish and Spanish-to-English Swine Farm Language Guide Translates many commonly used swine terms, numbers, directions,

statements, employer-to-employee questions, and more Includes six audio CD’s and a durable booklet that fits in pocket

$300 for first copy $150 for additional copies

BRIDGING COMMUNICATION BARRIERS BETWEEN

ENGLISH AND SPANISH SPEAKING SWINE INDUSTRY EMPLOYEES

Big ThanksBig Thanks2007/2008 2007/2008 CVS/PSM CVS/PSM

TeamTeam

Big Love and Thanks to Big Love and Thanks to My FamilyMy Family

Big love and thanks to Big love and thanks to my mom (the teacher) my mom (the teacher) and my dad (the pig and my dad (the pig

farmer)farmer)What I do is a combination of you!What I do is a combination of you!