VETERINARY HIRING and the “white-water” employment scene…

Practice Tip 3 – Employment

VETERINARY HIRING and the “white-water” employment scene…

I hear it all the time: it is getting more and more difficult to find, hire and keep good quality veterinary staff. I wouldn’t say this is new thing but there are certainly some different forces at play today than there were, say, 20 years ago. For example, one practice owner recently complained that a large specialty practice opened up and scooped his technical and reception staff, “all for an extra $1.00 per hour”.

This was occurring with neighboring practices as well. After many years of having the same “loyal” staff, he is now scrabbling for new staff in an already short staffed market. The fact of the matter is that within the veterinary profession we are experiencing what is being referred to as a “white-water” employment scene. All the more reason to be very pro-active in this area of this practice.

Here are some basic tips to address this in your practice:
Money is a necessary fact of life BUT rarely the true motivation for staff. The bottom line? Use your staff or lose them. Most staff consider leaving one hospital for another just so they can do more things. So push them to do new things. Train them to do things that they are not trained to do. Remember - keeping them busy is the BEST way to boost moral, not money. It doesn’t hurt to add a bonus pay system and you'll be a step a head in the game.

Make sure to follow your instincts. If you think one of your staff members is unhappy, chances are they are! It never hurts to “check in” and keep in good communication with your staff. You’ll be surprised at what may look like a small disagreement is a huge problem waiting to blow up. You handle it before they start looking elsewhere.

Keep your hiring division “open”. I always kept a sign up front indicating we were looking for bright, motivated people to join our high quality team. You’ll be surprised who comes in the door. Clients can be a great source of new non-technical employees and they love telling others about you.

Please give me a call if you have any questions...

Dr. Joel Parker, President
Veterinary Economics Contributor