Going beyond the call of the job

By Nichole Gouldie, Communications Specialist

His business casual was put away and replaced with more suitable attire including steel toe

MKC Human Resource Manager,
Jeff Frizell, (at left) gains insights
to different positions during a
week-long experience in Haven.

boots, gloves and a hat. His face saw more sun and his hands were dirtier than usual as he set out to learn the job. But this MKC employee wasn’t starting a new job, instead Jeff Frizell was learning the jobs for which he hires.

"In conversation with senior management, the point was made it would be of value to me and MKC to experience the jobs I spent my time hiring candidates for," Frizell said. "By doing this, I would gain a better understanding of what is needed for the position."

Going beyond the call of his job, Frizell, MKC Human Resource Manager, endured a week-long experience at the MKC Haven location in late June.

Frizell started the week with orientation, followed by learning the ropes of the fuel services with Cory Elswick, Haven Customer Service Specialist. His next responsibilities took him through the elevator, followed by spending the afternoon dumping harvest trucks and cleaning the elevator. Tuesday’s itinerary consisted of pit clean-up, dumping harvest trucks and turning milo.

On Wednesday, he spent the day at the agronomy operations center learning the responsibilities with crop protection application and inventory. He shadowed Jake Thetford, MKC Certified Sprayer/Spreader Operator, doing field application, and then spent the afternoon with Curley Gingerich making deliveries with the tender truck.

Thursday brought Frizell to experience agronomy billing, grain settlements and working the grain counter as harvest was underway. Frizell’s final day was spent checking fields for storm damage with MKC Field Marketer, Willie Swartz, following the previous evening’s storms that swept through the area, as well as helped inspect Peace Creek following the storm damage.

One of the most fun parts of the experience was getting to experience harvest, he said. Frizell added the toughest part of the week was the 100 plus temperatures experienced in the area.

Frizell recalls his surprise at the amount of physical labor he experienced. He chuckled as he said it might be because he is 56 years old but said it is hard work.

"I thoroughly enjoyed the work ethic and camaraderie I observed during the week," he said. "Employees were willing to help each other out and even during the stressful times during harvest, employees had pleasant attitudes with each other and customers."

As the person who does the hiring, he believes this experience was invaluable. "I have a greater understanding of the specific job responsibilities for the positions I am hiring for," Frizell said. "I have developed my interviews to incorporate the information I experienced to make better hiring decisions."

Frizell hopes current employees understand he has experienced what they are responsible for. "Although I only touched the water in terms of their job, I hope they know I can understand the issues they come to me with," he said. "I am by no means an expert, but I understand what they are doing and the physical aspect of what they do to get their job done."

After his tenure at the Haven location, Frizell stated he would be back to hiring more good people. "I really came to understand if a location is down even one person, the team isn’t complete," he said. "Everybody on the MKC team is important and affects the entire operation."

Several new ideas for hiring and retaining employees came to Frizell’s attention because of this experience. He knows he will look back at this experience for many years to come.

After eight years with MKC in human resources, Frizell will continue to meet people, schedule interviews and make offers to people to join the MKC team. But after this experience, his shoes have seen more dirt than most hiring professionals.