Performance management process for Milk collection centres: a monthly scorecard for each centre
A route supervisor cannot watch every centre every day. A short monthly scorecard shows which centres run well and where a conversation with the operator is due.
Not sure what you need? Tell us about your business in six short steps and we will come to the first meeting prepared.
Share your requirementsWhy performance management process matters in milk collection centres
Centre performance is often judged by complaints. A centre that goes quiet looks fine, and one with a loud farmer looks bad, whatever the truth. Supervisors visit when something goes wrong, and operators hear from head office mainly when a problem has already happened.
A scorecard fixes four or five measures that the operator can influence: opening on time, accuracy of records, rejected or disputed lots, cleanliness of the cooler and what farmers say. It is reviewed in a ten minute conversation each month. The point is to find help to offer, and to recognise good centres.
How to set it up
1. Choose four or five measures
Pick things the operator controls: opening time, record accuracy, rejected lots, cooler cleaning and farmer feedback.
2. Decide how each is measured
Say where the number comes from, such as the supervisor's visit sheet or the tanker's receiving record.
3. Visit with the scorecard
The supervisor fills it at a visit, preferably at collection time, and leaves a copy with the operator.
4. Hold a monthly conversation
Spend ten minutes with the operator on what went well, one thing to improve and what help he needs.
5. Recognise good centres
Name the best centres in a plain monthly note, and use the results in appraisals. See performance and incentive design for rewards.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Ask an operator how he knows he is doing well.
- Check whether visit sheets from last month are filled and filed.
- See which measure has the most disputes about how it was recorded.
- Look for centres that have not had a conversation with a supervisor in two months.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach performance management process in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
Opening on time, record accuracy, rejected or disputed lots, cooler cleanliness and farmer feedback. Keep it to five lines so it can be filled in on a visit.
They may at first. Use it to start a conversation and offer help, share results openly and recognise good centres, so the scorecard is seen as fair.
Ask a few farmers at random during visits and record their words. Avoid giving one complaint too much weight, and look for patterns across the month.