Finding and Keeping Good Staff

How can your business attract and keep good staff?

When people are no longer viewed simply as a labour resource but as the powerhouse of the business it becomes clear that they are worth investing in.

Our culture no longer expects people to stay in work that they do not enjoy. While the basis of a job may be set, such as milking cows or picking kiwifruit, there are many ways that an employer can make that job more enjoyable and sustainable. This helps a business avoid being stuck in the lurch by a sudden resignation and ensures they can get new staff over competition when needed.

Get to know your people

  • What are their hopes and aspirations?
  • Are they currently experiencing personal struggles? Could you somehow provide support?
  • Could you provide them training opportunities to fulfil their need to progress?
  • Do they really want to be in this industry?
  • Can you address any likely issues before they arise?

Show Gratitude

Do your staff know when they are appreciated and have done a good job or do they only get told when something’s gone wrong?

Provide flexibility in the workplace

Flexibility is expected in todays’ labour market. It is likely that the cost to the business of being overstaffed at times is far less than the overall cost of the team being understaffed, overworked and losing the freedom of flexibility to meet personal needs.

Go the extra mile for your people

The labour market is competitive. Look at ways your business can position itself as a great employer. The best way is building a reputation over time. What changes can be made to make the job more inclusive, flexible, dynamic, exciting and comfortable for your people? This could be investing time and/or money in things like:

  • New technology or contractors to do the unwanted jobs
  • New or updated accommodation to make lives more comfortable
  • Fostering a team environment through comfortable social areas and activities
  • Including staff in important changes and decision making so they feel a valued member of the team
  • Great communication and non-intimidating performance reviews where you also welcome feedback on your performance as an employer

Right now – Go through each staff member of the business and use the above to assess how well their individual needs are being met. Are there any issues and what is the likelihood and risk to your business if they resigned tomorrow? Often simply showing you care can go a long way.

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What Our Customers Think

Great local Accountants. They provide an excellent service with great explanations for the layman. They provide accounting services for non rural clients too.

Quinn Wilson, Restaurant Owner, The Wagon
What Our Customers Think


Rural Accountants is a real asset to our business.

The team at Rural Accountants pretty much manage all our administrative tasks for the group including payroll and tax planning, ensuring we don’t pay any more than necessary. They are at the forefront of technology and have helped us get up and running with Xero and Figured which is much more efficient than the way we used to work.

Sam Jones, Managing Director, Sybton Farm Ltd Partnership
What Our Customers Think


Christine is very knowledgeable, great to deal with and knows our business well. She is also a sheep & beef farmer so knows the industry really well and understands our needs.

Rural Accountants keeps us on track through strategic and forward planning meetings throughout the year. Christine knows our business inside out so she can deal with our questions instantly.

Mathew & Gemma Barham, Hawke’s Bay Farmer of the Year 2012
What Our Customers Think

What Our Customers Think

I used to work out my GST and process it manually which would take me at least a full day every two months. The team set up reconcilliation rules and other quick tools, and showed me how to do all my reconcilliations and process my GST returns through Xero which now takes me no time at all!

Mike O'Neill, Financial Services Northland Ltd
What Our Customers Think


As a farmer, Christine understands our business and how farmers and growers operate.

We use Rural Accountants to provide a full accounting service to an orcharding partnership which operates a number of orchards with a wide spread of varieties and management systems. Rural Accountants are always timely and accurate, and their annual financial accounts are extremely easy to understand and very grower-friendly.

Paul Jones, Orchardist