“In 2023, payroll charges represented 51% of my turnover. Today, they represent only 40%”, rejoices David Chausset, at the head of a 3-hectare covered soft fruit farm in Loir-et-Cher. The reason? The farmer used a personalized “human resources diagnosis” fully funded by the competence operator and para-agricultural organization, Ocapiat.
“In agriculture, we are a bit like headless chickens”, admits the farm manager, who has two permanent employees: a team leader for seasonal workers and his wife part-time providing administrative support. So, this diagnosis, delivered by a human relations advisor over several afternoons on the farm, gives the opportunity “to question his HR practices”.
Specifically, the advisor first assesses the work organization and management on the farm. Job descriptions, relationships between employees, mandatory displays… “We look at everything existing in the farm on the HR aspects,” indicates Marc, who supported David during the diagnosis. The “highly personalized” follow-up convinced the farmer.
Unlike an HR training, the diagnosis focuses “on me and my employees. We touch on the concrete,” ensures David, who welcomed Marc during the harvest conducted by the seasonal workers to observe the work organization in real time. The advisor then made proposals to formalize a new work organization and optimize management.
Defining responsibilities
On the farm, the focus was first on creating an organizational chart to allocate tasks among workers. “Everyone was working, but no one had a well-defined position. It was not formalized,” recalls the farmer. “We worked on the organizational chart to empower employees and seasonal workers. It is more stimulating for them.” This involves “paying more” to the team leader and seasonal workers with responsibilities, but David sees it as a winning bet: “The business owner cannot be everywhere at once.” In parallel, the HR diagnosis also allowed him to “free up time to explore new, more profitable markets”.
The farmer decided to implement an annual interview with his team leader, who oversees about twenty seasonal workers. “Before, it was half an hour at the end of a tunnel. Now, we know we have an interview, we can think about it beforehand to prepare.” Result? The employee analyzed his season, allowing the farm manager to adjust his hiring and bonus system, to gain harvest efficiency.
Reorganizing seasonal workers’ positions
The reorganization of tasks was also considered at the level of seasonal workers, with specific teams and a referent by production. “We now have a special team for raspberry harvesting, rather than hiring everyone at the end of the strawberry harvest day. Since raspberries are ‘more fragile’, not all seasonal workers have the same dexterity to harvest them. With specialized people and a referent, ‘we gain in efficiency’.”
David also plans to hire a new seasonal worker specialized in packaging, with a dual objective: skill development through a qualified seasonal worker for these tasks and avoiding situations seen as favoritism among the season workers accustomed to working as a team.
The advisor quantified the cost and efficiency gain. It is a winning bet. “Hiring an additional person in production does not necessarily increase productivity. On the contrary, the reorganization by position saves time,” explains Marc.
The HR diagnosis allows overall to “question one’s practice,” observes the farmer, who recommends it “to all those who have questions”. But management also involves “bringing donuts on Sundays,” remarks David. “It’s silly, but it matters” when working on Sundays is mandatory. Another way to recognize the work of seasonal workers, and “to retain them”.
“In 2025, everyone was tired at the end of the season, but there was no tension” like in previous years. “We had fewer workers, yet we increased production!,” exclaims the farm manager. “When we are better managed, the working environment reflects it.” With, in the end, an assured productivity gain.
