Are we getting it right?

Claire Buchanan, CEO of Hi Form Equine UK Ltd explains why some employers need to wake up and smell the coffee.

"I have been watching carefully the developments around the “outing” of mental health issues across the world, in an effort to make it acceptable to talk openly and honestly about the issues that affect people.

I believe there is also a fundamental in the workplace that needs to change too and that is the way that staff are treated especially in the equestrian industry, as I have come to see.

What gives me the right to get on my high horse on this subject? In my time I have been an Executive running tech companies for American corporations, having responsibility for hundreds of people from all over Europe reporting to me which ultimately led to global responsibility.

I have seen great management and I have seen dire management. I have seen socially responsible management and management by threat. In fact, I have seen a lot of different styles from different nationalities from Japan to the UK, the US to the Middle East.

I thought I had seen everything but I was wrong. When I “retired” and moved from the corporate world to the Equestrian world, my eyes have been opened one more time. I have horses. I have a groom. I compete with British Eventing, British Showjumping and British Dressage. It is something I love, something I gave up to earn a crust and something that I worked very hard for all my life to return to.

What am I talking about? The treatment of staff. Please don’t get me wrong there are some fantastic employers out there who already have got it right but there are employers that haven’t, either because they don’t care or are not fully aware of what they are doing.

We employ or contract people to look after our horses and those of others. We expect those horses to be looked after correctly. We expect clean stables every morning, fresh water, feed, proper grooming, clean tack, horses ready when we want to get on but, do we really take the time to make sure that our wants, needs, requirements and standards are clearly communicated to our staff?

Do we take the time to make sure that our guys and girls are happy? Do we talk to them about their lives and how they are feeling? Do we understand what motivates them? What drives them? What their ambitions are? Would they feel comfortable coming to us if they have an issue?

Are we really there to help?

No, I am not perfect. I do make mistakes, as does my groom, but we are all humans, we are allowed to. If we don’t make mistakes, we don’t learn. The difference in my yard is that we openly communicate, if I am not happy with something, we have a constructive conversation. I take the time out to understand why what happened came about in the first place, a lack of knowledge? Something that was misunderstood? Oh, and by the way, my groom knows she has that same right coming back in the opposite direction.

We need to build an environment that is safe, where people are allowed to say I don’t know, or I haven’t done this before or even to give their ideas about a different way to do something. In my opinion, it is the day you are dead that you are not learning. You can learn from anyone, the great and the good do not have do not have unique insight or a monopoly on great ideas.

My groom and I have morning coffee together, made by me, to discuss the horses, what they have been doing, any quirks, any challenges, what she needs to make her life better and by inference the horses.

For example, I have expensive brushes, that I like to have used in a specific order however they were kept in an old bucket, with hay and general grime descending on them every day. Yet I expected my horses to be perfectly groomed.

My groom felt comfortable enough to say it would really help if I could get an additional set of brushes for my Roan and if could we have some proper grooming bags to put them in so she could carry them easily from box to box? Oh, and not spend time trying to get the brushes cleanish prior to grooming. Sure, no problem it was done.

One day she decided to tackle the tack room. I cannot tell you how many pairs of bandages and boots she found lying on shelves, tucked into corners, not protected from dirt, mice and things going missing. She came to me and said, can we do something about this?

Slightly embarrassing for me, one of my own companies, someh.co.uk, distributes bandage and grooming bags. I immediately gave her what she needed. Now I know where my schooling bandages are, my jumping boots, my hacking boots and my competition boots are. Her life is simpler when I go competing it now takes a minute to get them on the lorry whereas before it was a frantic panic to find everything.

Not only that, she asked for more bags, when I asked why, she told me that they were ideal for plaiting bands, studs, Vaseline, scissors – all the things that you always lose – as the internal pockets move she had realised that she could fit everything in.

The old saying are the best “A place for everything and everything in its place.” No kidding – as I say give people the freedom, right and ability to use their initiative and you will be greatly surprised and rewarded.

Like you, I lead a busy life. I rely on my groom for the general wellbeing of my equines. I give her responsibility for them, I trust her to do what is right and I rely on her to tell me what isn’t.

I have been shocked by some of the attitudes that I have seen out there. This may not be a corporate environment but the same general rules apply.

Where does screaming, rudeness or the belittling of someone ever get you? Just because you had a bad day, your horse went lame, you had a pole down, your dressage score wasn’t what you wanted or a livery customer was difficult, does not give you the right to take it out on your staff. Yet, I see it all the time. Why would anyone go the extra yard for you? Why would they be loyal? Why would they even want to stay?

Let me let you into a little secret. Every groom I have ever met has an emotional attachment to the horses that they look after. They all have a love of horses and for the most part, at least the ones I have spoken to who are not happy, stay because they are worried about the horse. That to me is amazing loyalty to an animal but it is a terrible state of affairs and one that I think is disgraceful.

Why would you pay less than minimum wage? Expect your staff to work unpaid for hours on end? For the joy of working for you? For the experience they will gain? That may last a little while but it soon gets old.

We all know that keeping a good groom is difficult. It doesn’t take a genius to work out why.

I was always taught to treat people as you would expect to be treated yourself. I hope, by and large, I do that though I know that I slip up. When I do, I always go out of my way to make amends, an apology goes a long way.

Teamwork is what it is all about. Respect for each other. An environment that promotes innovation, interaction and a sharing of ideas. A little give and take. Time out for coffee and cakes. A chat about life, the universe and putting the world to rights. These things cost pretty much nothing and not even an hour out of your day, it will bring its own rewards, a much nicer place to be for you and your staff.

It is time the equestrian world, woke up and smelt the coffee."

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