Personnel Day with the Chairman: The Science of Counting Money

Numbers are a stubborn thing. They characterize the activity of an enterprise, and therefore its head. If economic indicators indicate a decline in production, then management is absent. And vice versa, if the gross output growth rate, profitability, and sales revenue are positive, wages are paid regularly, and the situation is stable, then the head is in their place. This is clearly evident at the personnel day in the regional executive committee.

The approach to directors of agricultural enterprises is the same for everyone: the main requirements are for the results of work at the dairy farm, milk quality, calf yield, and cow density per 100 hectares of agricultural land, and crop yields in the fields.

A detailed discussion on all positions was held by the chairman of the regional executive committee, Nikolai Sherstnev, with the appointed directors of OJSC "Baliny" of Verkhnedvinsk district, Vladimir Fesin, and director of KUPP "Shumilinsky Rayagriservice", Yuri Savitsky.

Each cow must give the farm a calf annually. This is like in a household. Striving for a 100% calf yield is a real and specific task. The same applies to obtaining "extra" grade milk.

- A competent manager will always find reserves that will double production volumes, - says Nikolai Nikolaevich. - Having visited one of the farms in the Vitebsk region, I became convinced of this when specialists and managers worked together, and milk production tripled in a month.

Zhanna Tarletskaya, director of KUPSKhP "Leonishino", has been managing the farm for two years. In 2015, the grain yield at the enterprise was a record 46 c/ha, and the potato yield was also excellent at 300 c/ha.

- And why is the profitability low at 4.7%? - asks Nikolai Sherstnev and instructs the director to sort out the calculations. - Profitability should be much higher, pay attention to the ratio of wages at the farm to the revenue from product sales.

Nikolay Kurpatov, Director of OAO "Vostok-Chirino" in Dubrovensky District, complained: six years ago, neglected lands were attached to the farm, and it is necessary to bring them into order, it was even hard to believe that it would be possible. The chairman of the regional executive committee is not satisfied with such a period: the land must be brought into order within a year, not six years... The farm has a low livestock density, but only 28 centners of feed units per head were harvested, and why not 50? Today, feed is a golden mine for farmers. Surpluses can be sold well. This results in lost profits.

The "Brславryba" branch of OAO "Gluboksky Dairy and Canned Food Plant" has been managed by Georgy Teteria since January of this year. Temporarily, until the branch's laboratory is accredited, veterinary supervision has prohibited the supply of fish products to the Russian market. Previously, exports accounted for 52%. The way out is to search for markets in other CIS countries – Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan.

- Your enterprise should not bet on the Russian market, - says Nikolay Shershnev. – Canned fish can be sold in any country. And there is no competition as such in the domestic market. Go to exchange trading. You will increase exports, load the enterprise by 100% - you will reduce the cost of production.

The chairman of the regional executive committee also supported the director of the Dubrovensky Flax Plant, Anatoly Bosenkov, who has headed the enterprise since 1978. Today, flax cultivation is actively developing in the global market. China's flax processing sets the tone, China has changed the demand for flax, and dictates the pricing policy. The director has been instructed to maximize revenue and profit.

It has become a tradition for representatives of the economic services of district executive committees to be invited to interviews with the chairman of the regional executive committee. Nikolay Shershnev's position is unchanged: economists must prepare themselves and prepare enterprise managers for interviews so that they have a full understanding of the situation and can make forecasts.

Working ahead of the curve is a requirement for managers of the new era.

Svetlana Dedinkina,
chief specialist of the main department of ideological work, culture and youth affairs of the regional executive committee.