Farming Extra Focus: feature on a west Wales rural business or issue. This month: Investing in staff makes business sense.

Farmers must regard staff as an investment, not a cost, if they are to compete with other industries to secure the best workforce.

According to Pembrokeshire dairy producers Richard and Mandy John, the process of securing Investors in People accreditation encouraged them to address many issues.

The process was as much about retaining good existing staff as recruiting new workers, they say.

"We have put staff appraisals in place and they have highlighted a lot of deficiencies, which we are resolving. There were issues the staff were not happy with, which we have been able to change. If these had not been identified at this point they could have become a major problem," said Mr John, of Chapel Hill Farm, Templeton.

The Johns are members of Dairy Horizons, an employers' group formed by members of three west Wales dairy discussion groups, who were the first farmers in Britain to attain Investors in People accreditation.

It has taken these farmers 12 months to fulfil all the requirements of accreditation including management performance, target-setting and staff training and development. They can now use the Investors in People logo when they advertise for staff.

Calvin Williams and Eirian Rogers had worked at Chapel Hill Farm for three years before the Investors in People idea was suggested.

The accreditation process, the Johns believe, made them look at their staff in a professional manner. "We now view our staff as an investment, not a cost. We want the best staff," said Mrs John.

For them, it was essential to have good staff in place before they could move forward with plans to expand and develop their business.

Richard has been able to free up his time to set up Grazing Genetics with another Dairy Horizons member, Anthony Bushell, of North East Farm, Walton East, to import cattle semen from New Zealand.

"We have only been able to expand the business by having good staff on the farm. To move forward without a good employer-employee relationship would be like building on sand," Mr John said.

Attaining Investors in People status cost each farm £300, but there were additional costs funded and facilitated by ELWa and Carmarthenshire County Council.

Course facilitator, Jan Williams, has obvious confidence in the benefits to employers who develop the full potential of their staff.

"The Investors in People programme is common sense. It is what employers should be doing as a matter of course," she says.

Alex Holland, of Big House Farm, Pendine, believed there were many areas where employers could improve.

"I was extremely naive about employment issues,'' he admitted. "When I started learning what the law expected of employers, it scared me silly, but it is vital to any business to have an awareness of these issues.''

The facilitator had helped the group look at everything from personal management style to straightforward legal issues. "All these issues made me realise that, as employers, we are extremely exposed if we don't know what we should be doing,'' he said.

To maintain accreditation the farmers will re-register every three years at a cost of £300 a time. But, insisted Richard John, it is worth every penny.

"The Investors in People mark is a symbol job candidates look for in a job advert. They can be confident that there is a good structure in place for staff."