Do you bring groups of seasonal employees onto your farm? Every year do you say that next year you will be more organized when they arrive? Do you find it challenging to keep up with all of the regulatory requirements for bringing on a new employee? Then Onboarding Seasonal Farm Employees is for you!
Attend a 1.5-hour, online webinar Best Practices for Onboarding Seasonal Workers. Learn the key things you should have in place to be ready to welcome a group of seasonal workers. This program will follow an onboarding guide, Onboarding Seasonal Farm Employees, that was developed by Liz Higgins, CCE Eastern NY Commercial Hort Team, Mark Wiltberger, CCE Lake Ontario Fruit Program, and Richard Stup, CCE Ag Workforce Development. The onboarding guide covers:
- required paperwork and documentation for a new hire, including seasonal, migrant workers
- required trainings (with an emphasis on fruit and vegetable farms) and guides for developing a training plan
- tips for bringing on new employees and having them productive from day one, especially when you are up to your eyeballs in work
- tips for creating a welcoming environment where employees feel connected to their workplace and competent on the job
When you enroll in this program you will receive access to a Google Classroom with all of the resources organized for your farm and be automatically enrolled in all follow-up education, networking and technical assistance offered by the Onboarding Seasonal Farm Employees Program to help you have an onboarding plan ready by March 2021.
In February 2021 you will have access to four-weeks of online, personalized assistance to finalize your 2021 plan.
- Week 1: Planning for the First Day: Special Topics: Ag Labor Housing, New Hire Paperwork
- Week 2: Planning for the First Week: Special Topics: Required Benefits for Workers, Safety and Health Requirements
- Week 3: Your Plan for the Rest of the Season: Special Topics: Documentation best practices, feedback and assessment
- Week 4: Setting up a Training Plan for Seasonal Workers: Special Topics: Required NYS/Federal trainings, best practices in training, training resources
You will also receive one-on-one technical assistance from CCE and Ag Workforce Development staff on your onboarding plan and an opportunity to communicate with other farms in NYS who are working on their plans too. This program will be self-paced, so we can accommodate your schedule.
This project is supported by a grant from Northeast Extension Risk Management Education under USDA/NIFA award number 2018-70027-28588.
To Register (chose one of four dates):
January 26 | 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM
January 27 | 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
January 28 | 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM
February 1 12:00 to 1:30 PM (in conjunction with ENYCH veg school). If you are not participating in the winter school but would like to take the onboarding class at this time contact emh56@cornell.edu to register.
