Building a team: how do you find the right people?

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1 Vet Times The website for the veterinary profession Building a team: how do you find the right people? Author : Ruth Fenton Categories : Business Date : August 1, 2009 and how do you get the best out of them once you ve found them? The author reflects on who you need in your team, where you can find them, how you keep them motivated and how you can ensure they stick around. THE SECRET TO success is in the planning. If you have a realistic plan, determination and the right resources, there is no reason why you cannot create an amazing practice team. Your business plan should include a recruitment plan that is reviewed on a regular basis to ensure the practice needs are being met and changes in staff skill sets are being accommodated. Whether you are in a small or corporate veterinary practice, you will need committed, professional staff to help it reach its full potential. Who do you need? Due to the nature of veterinary practice, it is extremely important that you find the right mix of people. Veterinary professionals have to work in an extremely stressful environment and cooperation is paramount for a happy working environment. High standards of client care are especially important, as clients may be extra sensitive and upset about their animals. Figure 1 shows the people you could have in your veterinary team. Over the years, a number of psychology theories about team building have been put forward, for example Belbin s team role theory and Myers-Briggs tests. These tests indicate personality traits 1 / 10

2 and provide insight into how a winning team can be formulated. Many companies use them worldwide. So, if you need more staff, how do you decide exactly what your requirements are? Skills. What skills does the person need? How could they develop their career and skill set at your practice? Job descriptions. It is very important that prospective employees know exactly what is expected of them in advance. If there is something on the job description they are not familiar with, this can be discussed at interview, and training can be arranged if necessary. Academic versus experienced. How do you decide? New graduates will be familiar with all the latest advances in technology, but will lack actual experience. They will need proper supervision and a support network until they find their feet. Does your practice have people who can properly provide this support? Interview. Should the interview include a practical test? Some practices may like to see a candidate in action, for example conducting a consultation to see how he or she interacts with the clients and animals. How long should the interview last, and who should meet the candidate? There are clear benefits to candidates meeting the whole team, especially in a small practice. First impressions do count. References. Commonly, past employers will only confirm that a person worked for them for a certain period, rather than comment on their skills. Should the candidate have a criminal record check or a medical if, for example, the practice provides private health care insurance? Trial period. This can be used to gauge how a candidate works as a member of a team, where his or her skills and experience can be utilised best and where training can be implemented to bring him or her up to speed. A trial period is a two-way process; with a shortage of vets and nurses in the UK, candidates can afford to take time to choose the best practice for them. The practice needs to be realistic about what it can offer employees in terms of career development, training and partnership prospects. Understanding market trends will help the practice plan. For example, many veterinary nurses change career after a few years for a variety of reasons, including low pay, lack of job satisfaction and limited career opportunities. Where do you find your perfect employee? A number of options are available to you, including the following: Recruitment agencies. They will charge the practice a fee, but they may have a number of 2 / 10

3 candidates on their books who are available at short notice. Word of mouth/head hunting. This is one of the most common ways that practices find staff. The veterinary profession is a small world; most vets will know other vets from university or regional CPD events. Word soon gets around if a practice is looking to recruit. Advertisement on the radio. This may be very expensive and not the ideal medium. Advertisement in the local press. This is a good place to advertise for receptionists, kennel assistants and administration staff who are looking to work locally. Specialist veterinary journals. You should advertise in journals like Veterinary Times or VN Times. Veterinary professionals often actively look at these as a matter of course in their tea breaks to see who is recruiting in their area. Conferences and seminars. Staff may bump into acquaintances at these events and mention their practice is looking to expand. Corporate practices may also have a stand at these events. Notice at the surgery. The window may be a good place to attract people. Veterinary schools and nursing and agricultural colleges. This is a captive audience; students will be looking for employment after qualification. Local schools. Having staff who can attend school careers evenings may be a great way to find young, enthusiastic people looking to join the profession. Open evenings. People get to look around the surgery and meet staff for an informal chat without having to make a formal application first. Work experience and student placements.the practice gets to know a candidate on a more informal basis, and can see how he or she might fit into the team. To be a great veterinary professional you need to be excellent academically, as well as have practical and interpersonal skills. But how do you get the best out of your employees? Getting the best out of them A happy, motivated employee will be more productive and pleasurable to work with than an unappreciated, unhappy member of staff. One psychology theory notes there are six human needs: significance, connection, growth, contribution, certainty and variety. How these needs are being met and the importance people place on them will determine how a person will interact with others and act in a certain situation. 3 / 10

4 It is very important to understand that people are motivated by different things. For example, time off to spend time with the family may be more important than money or partnership. How can you add value to an employment package without breaking the bank? Some of the options available can be seen in Figure 2. Chances are if you asked your practice staff to put these in order of importance, the priorities would be different. Even if you repeated the same exercise a year later, the results may well change again, as people s values and needs change. People tend to make decisions either to avoid pain or gain pleasure. Some vets will avoid taking time off, because allowing their practices to be run by locums causes them more pain and stress than the pleasure they get from going on holiday. The key to finding out what motivates members of your staff is to listen to them and understand human psychology. Junior members of the team may find it very difficult to approach management or the senior partner. Having an anonymous suggestions box or setting aside time in your practice meetings so people can make suggestions and be heard will produce great ideas and bring the team closer together. Small things can make a massive difference, whether it s a cake on someone s birthday, recognition of a newly gained qualification, unexpected thanks for a job well done or just making a cup of tea for someone. Practices with fun, energy and excitement are the best places to work. Having clear career progression in achievable steps for junior staff members will keep them motivated to learn new skills. With the right mentors and rewards, they will remain loyal to the practice. For example, work experience student to kennel assistant to veterinary nurse to head nurse. How about introducing a flexible employment package? For example, put a value on what it will cost the practice to provide different perks, then let the employees choose what they would like up to a certain value. This can be reviewed every year to fit in with the employees career aspirations and the practice business plan. Asking staff to write down their perfect job may provide the practice with ideas of where they can add value and redesign roles so staff are using their key skills and following their interests. For example, if you have one vet who loves large animal work out on the farm and another who loves surgery, then changing rotas may allow them to follow their passion and bring out the best in them. Having a life coach available to staff may help them to plan individual goals both in and outside of work. Each staff member takes control of his or her destiny and achieves things he or she only 4 / 10

5 dreamed of, with the support of an independent coach. This may be especially useful for staff with personal problems they wish to resolve, or in helping build confidence in junior staff. A number of veterinary professionals from around the world have attended courses such as Anthony Robbins Unleash the power within and found that it has totally transformed their lives, relationships and business. Understanding the psychology behind how people think and what motivates them can turn any relationship or practice around. Appraisals Many veterinary practices out there have low morale, with staff who are not unhappy about the actual job, but with the relationships between other members of staff at the practice. A breakdown in communications, stress and personality clashes can lead to bullying and sickness, which costs the practice dearly both in terms of money and the quality of service it can provide to its clients. The word appraisal brings back memories of school reports and parent evenings to most people. If appraisals are handled badly, they can have a damaging effect on a person s self esteem and self worth. Staff may react in anger, frustration and disbelief, or lose confidence. People conducting appraisals should have training and really understand the process and why they are doing it. Feedback should be constructive and an appraiser should listen to an employee to gauge his or her feelings and how his or her needs will be best met. If the employee feels misunderstood, he or she may lose motivation and productivity will drop. This may have a knockon effect on other staff members. A 360-degree appraisal means that everyone in the practice has an appraisal, including the boss and management. Junior staff (anonymously if they like) have the opportunity to relay, for example, what clients really say about the boss and how they feel they have been managed. This can be very valuable and make a massive difference to the practice. Of course, it is best to deal with situations as they arise; for example, if a mistake is made it should be dealt with quickly and efficiently and discussed at the time. If it is left, no lessons are learned and it is likely to cause anger towards the appraiser. This creates bad feeling and resentment. Client feedback forms will help a practice to improve its service and also potentially indicate where staff training is needed. Practices that listen to their clients and staff will gain a competitive advantage over practices that do not. Exit interviews These can provide practices with an opportunity to hear things they would not have heard while a person was in employment. An employee is more likely to be open and honest about the practice 5 / 10

6 and provide information. Hopefully, the practice can then iron out problems that may well be affecting other members of staff, who might also be considering leaving. Conclusion In summary, every human has different values and beliefs, and each person is motivated by different things. Listening to and fulfilling individual needs will empower the individual to work to the best of his or her ability. Regular feedback from both sides, and a review of training needs, will help individuals to grow and develop their career aspirations. The practice can then make the best of the skills it has and provide a high-quality veterinary service. 6 / 10

7 Figure 1. The mix of people you could have in your veterinary team. 7 / 10

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10 Powered by TCPDF ( Figure 2. How you can add value to an employment package. 10 / 10