Technology Is … A Business Asset
Improve labor management and even find a bit more time for yourself
When it comes to technology, you tend to think about how it impacts equipment, seed and various other inputs. There is also value in using technology on the human resources and time management aspects of your business, says Shay Foulk, an Illinois farmer and farm business consultant with Ag View Solutions.
For example, Foulk has a client who has seen huge return in farm insights by adopting a time management tracker. The tool most commonly used by his clients is QuickBooks Time.
“It takes subjectivity out of the equation — you know exactly where you are spending time,” Foulk says. “If an employee is spending 40% of their time on tasks that fit their formal job description and the balance on other tasks, managers either need to adjust the role or hire someone to do the other work.”
CUT THE PAPER CHASE
Using technology to digitize electronic records also brings simplicity and time savings. It might seem like a large undertaking, but the results are noticeable.
Imagine never having to comb through truck cabs to collect all the necessary receipts again because they are all digital, says Dane Braun, vice president of product at Bushel.
“To pick up all the scale tickets from a day in several trucks would take an hour or more,” he says. “During harvest, time is precious. Time with your family is precious. If you are trying to make a decision on where to send a load of grain, there’s a real return on using technology to track grain transactions.”
One technology Foulk says is underused by farmers today is task management software, which can provide great automation benefits. He uses a
customer relationship management (CRM) app called Hubspot, which he sees as a great potential tool for any farmer who has a diversified lineup of businesses.
“Having a CRM to follow up with people is a huge benefit,” he says. “I recognized I needed something that bugs me more consistently than a calendar reminder.”
Foulk has set up individual task lists, ranging from finalizing orders to machinery maintenance to monthly tasks for every month. The tasks can be checked off as complete or moved and a new reminder assigned as time dictates.
“It’s been a great tool to be proactive on things we know we need to do and not just rely on being reactive to things,” Foulk says.
