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Team Culture

5 Ways to Keep Employees From Dreading Staff Meetings

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Staff meetings. Easily one of the most underutilized and often dreaded of staff interactions. Many clinics don’t have staff meetings due to time, workload and staff compliance. Staff meetings are scheduled with intentions of being an open dialogue amongst the team. An inspiring, team-building, and open way to discuss issues in the clinic. With starry eyes, those in supervisory roles daydream of important conversations, idealistic thoughts on how to better the practice, patient care and our client’s experience.

Then, reality sets in… (Buh buh bummmm) and your team begrudgingly shows up on their day off. The staff filters in. Everyone sits down with a caffeinated beverage in hand and the meeting commences. Often it is led with issues in the hospital. Which turns into an epic wrist-slapping for the entire team. No one wants to come in on their day off to hear how they’ve been screwing up, that there are unhappy clients or to be reminded yet again that if the lids on the dip quick stains aren’t sealed tightly, the stain will evaporate. I kid you not, this was a topic at every monthly staff meeting for 6 months. So how do we have a productive, encouraging staff meeting without people leaving feeling like it was a complaining session?

1. Focus on what the team is doing right and not what people are doing wrong.

Imagine that meeting after meeting was a list of things that YOU were screwing up on. When people consistently hear what they are doing wrong, it’s hard to remember what they are doing right. Opening staff meetings with acknowledging the team working through a busy period or a happy client’s perspective is truly important to boosting morale. It also keeps people from feeling like they are being reprimanded publicly.

2. Keep it fun!

Maybe playing a silly game of some sort, have a scavenger hunt, or implement team-building exercises. I am not talking trust falls here or a drum circle. Just little exercises where coworkers can get to know each other and work as a team in a non-work-related manner. By getting to know one another and have fun together we can create a refreshed and positive team.

3. Don’t allow people to dominate the conversation.

There are always more vocal members of the team. That isn’t necessarily a terrible thing, but you must find balance. When one person is solely bringing up concerns or ideas, it restricts what others who may be a little shyer to bring things to the table.  Asking employees and coworkers for input is crucial. You may be met with silence. Some people are reluctant to speak up in a group. Let people know if they have ideas they can come to you individually to discuss options. Even better have an anonymous idea box. The biggest factor is allowing various avenues for various personalities.

4. Don’t beat a dead horse.

If a topic is brought up repetitively at a staff meeting then it needs to be addressed with solutions. When topics are repeated, it forces people to zone out during the fifth conversation of why it is crucial to obtain a patient’s weight and temperature when checking them in. Quite simply, if this problem keeps repeating itself, it is time to make a policy. This policy is discussed at ONE meeting and documented. That’s it. We’re not going to revisit it again. Moving on.

5. Express appreciation to the team.

One of my favorite ways I have seen this done is an appreciation box. People write down reasons they appreciate a coworker on a slip of paper and put it into a decorated box. Every staff meeting these slips are read out loud to the team. It shows how simply covering a shift or answering a phone call when the receptionists are tied up, makes a difference. Anyone who has had their name on the slip can pick a treasure from a box of goodies.  These goodies can include candy, gift cards, stickers or any fun little item the clinic can compile. My favorite goodie I have received was hand sanitizer. But everyone has a small thing that can brighten their day.

Staff meetings don’t have to be a dreaded occasion. They can be an opportunity to bring a team together, get to know each other better and bring about new and innovative ideas. The best ideas are brought about by people who do their jobs every day and think of ways to make it better. By finding ways to allow the team to express their thoughts, opinions and ideas they will become more invested in the clinic. Never underestimate what your team has to offer!

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the DrAndyRoark.com editorial team.

An Open Letter to My Receptionists

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Dear Receptionist,

I swear I don’t hate you. I don’t find you annoying. I don’t think you are (insert whatever horrible thing you think about yourself here).

The truth is, that I absolutely know you are doing the best you can in this moment. I absolutely know that you have one of the most difficult jobs in this place. And I absolutely know I could never do what you do so well.

It occurred to me to write this letter when you came and told me that Mr. Puppylover wanted to cancel his dental appointment. The dental appointment that was to happen tomorrow. The dental appointment that we had already done lab work for. The dental appointment that took me two appointments, three phone calls and I don’t know how many minutes explaining how we do a dental, why we should do a dental, why a dental is safe for his middle-aged small-breed dog with terrible teeth that he wants to live forever, and how this was a good procedure to do.

So you can imagine my frustration in that moment when you delivered the news. I’m pretty sure I started with presenting a certain one finger salute which was accompanied by my head exploding which was followed by a quick apology that I wasn’t mad at you and that if you would kindly leave me a written message I will call Mr. Puppylover and discuss this with him later. Professional? No. Proud moment? Absolutely not. Real? 100% yes.

What this moment helped me realize was that I have a conditioned response to the sight of you. The sight of you looking at me with intent to talk to me makes me have an automatic defensive response. Inevitably, when I’m tired or stressed I’m sure that the face you get when I look up at you is not a Mary Poppins face, but more like a Cruella Deville face.

It wasn’t a good feeling to realize that I have this trigger in me. It took me about ten seconds to then realize that you must think I hate you. Or that you annoy me. Or that I think you are (insert whatever horrible thing here). From there it was a short ten seconds later that I realized that I was potentially making your job harder than it already was. Which made me feel even worse.

So from now on I’m going to strive to channel Mary Poppins by relying on a few of my tools and putting these tools into action when I see you coming. Please be patient with me as I try my new face on, I’m sure it will be a bumpy road from Cruella to Mary but I promise to keep trying and to do my best.

Sincerely,
The Purposeful Vet

P.S. I’m including my tools so that I have a handy reminder for when I forget:

Tool #1: Utilize the space between the moments and choose to respond instead of react.

All this time I’ve been reacting to you in a knee-jerk fashion without taking the time to consider how my reaction is impacting you. By really capitalizing upon the space between the moments I can begin to acknowledge my automatic reaction, use my other tools to help me get to a better feeling place, and then respond purposefully and kindly.

Tool #2: Live in wonder.

By giving up the expectation that whatever you are going to tell me is about to make my head explode I can begin to difuse my automatic reaction. Wouldn’t it be nice if you were coming to tell me that there is a delivery man waiting for me in the lobby holding a large bouquet of red roses, chocolates and a new Harry Potter bracelet? When I live in wonder it includes gifts (trust me, it helps).

Tool #3: Look for the gift.

I like to live in a world where the universe has my back. There is always a gift in any situation. Sometimes it is obvious, other times not so much. While doing a dental on Mr. Puppylover’s dog is clearly the best thing for him, canceling the dental actually freed up a spot for my other patient that needed to get in ASAP. The gift is there somewhere so there’s no use in getting my undies in a bunch no matter what’s happening.

Ericka MendezABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Ericka Mendez is a small animal veterinarian on the east coast of Florida. She loves reading, teaching and writing about veterinary wellness and channels all her loves into her site The Purposeful Vet.  She shares her life with her husband and daughter and can often be found at the beach, at a Disney park or on the couch watching Harry Potter movies.

 

What I Learned from Quitting

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Years ago, I felt burned out at my job and so I quit. It was a hard thing for me to do. I’m not really a quitter; I always push harder and do more. I just didn’t feel like I was making a difference no matter what I did. During my last few weeks there, I learned something profound.

My dream was to have all the standard protocols for the whole hospital in written form to help train new employees and to keep current employees on the right path. A full training program complete with checklists, videos, and other training material was one of my goals for my department. I also wanted to contribute to the business side of the hospital. All around I was interested in simplifying the way we worked and being more efficient.

My reality looked a bit different from my dreams. I developed a few new written protocols and revised some old ones. I put out fires in my department (and sometimes in other departments) on a daily basis. I took care of whatever my different managers needed. I filled in when people were out sick. I didn’t get around to creating my training program, and I never got involved in all the business stuff.

I taught the people I supervised as much as I could whenever I was able. I interceded when there were coworker disagreements. I did what I could to help each department understand and work better with each other. I tried to be there for my fellow supervisors when they needed someone to bounce ideas off of or just to vent.

I was doing many things but couldn’t see any of the results that I had envisioned. I got frustrated. I grew weary of trying. I repeated cycle after cycle of trying harder, getting frustrated and becoming tired.

Then I quit.

When people learned of my eventual departure, they congratulated me on my new job. They told me they would miss me. Some of them even cried. Basically, the normal things you expect when a person is leaving.

What I didn’t expect was to hear people say what a difference I had made in their working lives. Some didn’t want me to go because they felt I made work a better place. Others appreciated everything I had done or tried to do. I was blown away by their recognition of things I had tried to do even though those things hadn’t become a reality. Even people who I didn’t think would care at all that I was leaving told me these things.

I had been so focused on protocol and business that I was blind to the people side of it. Yes, I did things for people and worked with them every day. But my focus was not really on them. It was too bad that I couldn’t recognize the impact I was making on the people at the time. If I had been focused on my people, I might have been able to do more for them. I might have also felt better and not burned out.

Maybe it was a lesson I had to learn in the end so that I could go to a new place with new clarity about what making a difference really means. Making a difference isn’t always about a huge notebook full of written protocols and it isn’t only about the hospital increasing its profit margin. Making a real difference is helping your people learn and grow, helping them become all that they can be.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the DrAndyRoark.com editorial team.

Terri Barton, LVTABOUT THE AUTHOR
Terri is a Licensed Veterinary Technician who found herself gravitating towards management after 6 years in the field. She still enjoys placing IV catheters and snuggling puppies and kittens in addition to managing a two-doctor practice in Central Florida. Outside of work, she likes to spend time with her family, read crime fiction and photograph her two fluffy cats.

We Are All on the Same Team

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We all live in fear of the “Bad Review.” We don’t want to be accused of caring only about money, and we don’t want to be told we killed someone’s pet because we made a mistake. But the thing that hurts the most is to hear someone say we let them down because we just didn’t care enough. 

There are vets who care more about money than others. There are vets who make worse mistakes than others, and vets who blame others for their mistakes. We aren’t immune to bad decisions, bad planning, bad management, or bad marketing. But the one thing I don’t believe you can say about us is that we don’t care enough. It’s a sad generalization. I’m speaking about vets here because that’s what I am and therefore what I know from personal experience. But this can be said about just about everyone in your average veterinary hospital. We are flawed, sometimes emotional, sometimes abrupt – but we care. And we do it deeply.

The reason 1 in 6 veterinarians will consider suicide during their career is not that they don’t care enough. It’s almost certainly in part because we care too much, and because some of us literally would rather die than see ourselves painted as heartless or to be shamed publicly for things we could not control, or for things we didn’t even do.

The reason Fear Free and low stress handling, better pain management, and areas like acupuncture and physical therapy are gaining popularity is that they not only increase patient and client satisfaction, they make us happier at work too. We don’t like torturing animals. We care too much to be able to do that and be truly happy.

We didn’t become lawyers or stock traders or engineers because we aren’t smart or ambitious enough. We had to be plenty smart and ambitious to get into vet school, never mind get out with a degree and survive the first terrifying years of practice. We chose this career because we couldn’t imagine doing something that didn’t involve caring for animals and nurturing their relationship with people. We could make more money doing something else, possibly with fewer hours and less stress and less debt. But most of us stick around – because we care. Our hearts are full of sweet gray muzzles and kitten fluff and our pants are covered with dog hair and smushed treats at the end of the day, and we can’t imagine it any other way.

But caring so strongly about anything comes with a price. For too long now, vets have been expected to sacrifice nearly all aspects of their personal lives for the sake of the job, and we have succumbed because we had limited options and the weight of previous generations’ martyrdom on our shoulders. We all go into vet med knowing a certain amount of unpredictability is part of the deal. We might have to cancel plans because of an end-of-shift emergency. We might have days where we are swamped with calls that can’t wait. And we have charts (so many charts)  that have to get done before we forget what we saw and said, every single day. But here’s the thing: I believe the canceled plans, super late nights spent charting, and end-of-shift emergencies should be the exception, not the rule. I believe it’s OK for us to have goals outside of work that are just as important to us as being good vets. I believe it’s OK for us to have an identity that does not revolve only around whether we saw every possible patient or called every possible person back that day. And most of all, overwhelmingly, I believe this culture needs to start inside the hospital, with every member of the team.

Think about it: Those bad reviews where clients accuse us of being uncaring – the people who make a scene in the waiting room because they had to wait too long (what do they think we’re doing? We are seeing other pets! Because we care!). Those viral Facebook roasts – I mean posts – where someone blames their vet for a side effect, an “unnecessary” test or vaccine, an inability to see them at the last minute when emergency care was available elsewhere, or worst of all, a pet’s death, be it by perceived neglect or by mistake. We are walking in a social media minefield at all times. We are waiting to be the target. We can’t talk to every client about this directly, and we can’t change the minds of the angry mob once they’re shouting. But how can we expect clients to see things differently if our own team members judge us for wanting balance?

Patient care should not suffer just because a doctor wants to go home. But if there is an alternative – a drop-off appointment the next day, the ER that night, phone triage with a technician, a pain medication to send home before closing. It’s not unreasonable to expect that a client will accept one of these options and that most of the time, the doctor can go home to her family, her plans, or her microwave dinner and time on the couch with her dog. It doesn’t matter what the reason is. She’s allowed to go home without being painted by her team as indifferent. She probably poured her heart into every appointment she saw that day, every call she returned, every decision she made for her patients and her team, and she deserves to be done when she’s done.

The expression “you can’t pour from an empty cup,” is trite, but true. There are some rock star vets out there, I’m sure, who can work late every night, come in early every day, take late emergencies every Saturday, and make calls on their days off and still see every patient with a smile, treat all team members with respect, and practice excellent medicine. But for the mortals among us, we need time to recharge, get regular exercise, go grocery shopping, call our parents if we’re lucky enough to be able to, and set goals for ourselves that don’t involve work. Do team members really want to work with a burned-out, grouchy, sleep-deprived doctor with a week of canceled plans behind her? Do they really think that what defines a good vet is how many patients or calls she can make in a day without turning into a jerk?

For me, being a good vet means being a happy person, because that allows me to sit right down on the floor and chat with a client until a timid dog climbs into my lap. It means I may be running late, but because I had a good day off the day before or am looking forward to a fun weekend ahead, I don’t let the stress of being late show during my appointments and clients leave smiling even if they had to wait. It means I am able to make good decisions for both my patients and our team. It means fiercely guarding what I love about my job, so I don’t let what I don’t love about it turn into all I can see.

We are all on the same team. Front office, tech staff, kennel assistants, managers, vets – we must be advocates for one another and for our profession. We need to present a unified front to our clients. If we want to see a future in veterinary medicine that involves less burnout and lower rates of depression and suicide, we must start in our own hospitals with our own culture. Support one another. Assume the best of one another. We all tell ourselves stories every day about the people we meet and the things they do and say. Tell yourself stories that paint other team members in a positive light. There is always a choice to be made; make the kind choice. Good patient care and work-life balance for vet teams are not mutually exclusive, but lip service does nothing to show this to clients. The energy you create by lifting each other up, the assumption of best intentions whenever and wherever you can, and the message that happier vet teams provide better care – those are what clients need to see. Those are what we will get us to a better future. Those are what will save us from the dark.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the DrAndyRoark.com editorial team.

Not My Millennials

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I’ve got a problem with the millennial mentality.

You’ve heard that before, but this time is different. My problem is not millennials themselves, it’s the mentality about them that bothers me.

I love to learn and am constantly utilizing the number of resources available to help the veterinary professional grow. Lately, however, I have noticed a trend – every magazine, social media page and conference seems to have a suggestion for “dealing with” millennials. Why are we focused on “dealing with millennials” instead of learning to hire and coach for our culture? Yes, they grew up in the same time and may have similarities, but just as every Libra does not have the exact qualities as the other, all millennials are not the same! It is time to stop focusing on generational labels and start hiring the individuals who fit your team, no matter their age.

Recently, I was excited to be at a reimagined veterinary conference. (Dare I say it was reimagined to attract millennials?) This conference impressed me with several changes including a new lecture format that actively included attendees. As usual, I brought home several practice pearls, but months later, two pieces from the conference stick with me:

As a profession, we are far from fully open-minded and supportive.

One particular management lecture had several great discussions going, working through common problems involving workplace culture – a favorite topic of mine. The group was varied and broad and, I assumed, forward thinking. (After all, the lecturer was Dr. Nicol, a cheeky Scot who donates to charity when he curses.) This group surprised me though – a “millennial” manager and a “baby boomer” owner quickly and loudly made blanket statements deprecating their opposing generations instead of focusing on specific practice challenges. Dr. Nicol quickly and skillfully turned the conversation, but not before it angered me how much the room had rallied to take sides. Here in a lecture geared towards positivity was a group of veterinary professionals jumping on board to bash entire generations! What happened to supporting solution-based and positive open-minded environments? The attitude continued through the weekend. In the exhibit hall and classrooms, I heard again and again, “Millennials are lazy, they want me to be their mother, how can I find someone who wants to work?”

Why don’t I feel this way about millennials? Well, that’s the second piece of the conference that stayed with me.

My millennials are amazing!

You heard me right. The only thing is that I don’t ever think of them as “millennials.” I know them as my teammates. With me that weekend was my newly appointed lead client care specialist and my manager, both born millennials. This was the first conference for the CCS, and my manager had only attended one other, Uncharted Veterinary Conference, so the bar was high. These two blew me away. My CCS found an undiscovered passion for fighting compassion fatigue and my manager had us sit down and plan for the future right there in a conference hallway. They introduced themselves to leaders, asked questions, and shined. Exhausted, they still spent the 6-hour return trip planning, brainstorming and sharing what they had learned.

Conferences inspire – the real test is if you apply what you have learned and my “millennials” sure did. Within a week they had created standardized behavioral habits for our team and developed an ongoing wellness program. Their dedication and leadership are continually evident and expanding in new ways. These two inspire their teammates to take better care of themselves, create solutions, support and grow.

Do my millennial teammates sound like problem employees who don’t want to work? Not to me!

My team is diverse. I imagine yours is too. My team is made of millennials, baby boomers and gen Xers. Instead of classifying them by their generation, I know them as talented individuals who come together to form a team that provides excellent pet and client care. Do you view any of your employees as “millennial,” or do you treasure their character traits that allow them to uphold your practice values?

Stop focusing on the generation. Focus on the person, your team, your values. When you hire someone, whether they have silver or rainbow locks, hire them for who they are and how they fit into your culture. Close your eyes to their generation. It does not define them. You may just be surprised – that baby boomer is still in practice for a reason and has plenty to contribute, the gen Xer could be full of passion, and that millennial may have the strongest work ethic you’ve ever seen.

Be the veterinary professional (and human) we all should be: supportive and open-minded. Your reward will surely be an impressive team!

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the DrAndyRoark.com editorial team.

Tracy SanndsABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Sands owns a start-up practice, Healing Paws Veterinary Care -an all-inclusive veterinary clinic and pet resort in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. She loves senior patients, gross dentals, all things cats, bonding with clients, and, most importantly, seeing her team’s personal growth. A mother and hobby sheep farmer, she is a “nerd” who enjoys spending her extra time listening to podcasts and learning about leadership and veterinary medicine.

Let’s Love Receptionists: Taking Care of You and Your Business

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Last week I was working harder than normal because my two associate veterinarians were away at a summer conference. For part of the week, I was the only doctor working at my very busy hospital. It can be fun to be the only doctor on one hand because I have the entire support team at my disposal. The down side to this arrangement is that I am responsible for everything – every pet and client that comes through the door. It can be overwhelming especially when clients don’t behave as expected.

Thank goodness for my veterinary receptionist team, defending the front of the house.

Veterinary receptionists are terrific at handling everything important from the initial client contact by phone, to the collecting of charges, to the “Have a nice day” goodbye. They handle very important things, which I sometimes forget, as I am frantically moving from exam room to exam room. They are rock stars as they deal with a steady stream of clients and pets. They handle phone shoppers, appointment scheduling, price quotes, prescription and food pick up, client concerns, dogs barking and even the occasional “accident” on the reception room floor. They handle our regular cast of client characters, with style and grace.

I saw a great example of this Tuesday. Early in the day I was scheduled to see a woman and her teenage daughter with the daughter’s little pet bird. The mother was obviously unhappy from the minute she walked in the door about having to spend money on an inexpensive pet. The mother scowled as the technician escorted her into the exam room. She sat with her arms crossed, glaring and grunted while her daughter talked with me about the pet bird. She didn’t say much of anything except when I suggested that surgery may be needed. “We are NOT going to pay for surgery on a nineteen-dollar bird,” she said. I told her that I understood and I would do my best to treat the pet with medication, which I sent home.

Once she was back at the front desk the woman exploded at my receptionist. She berated the receptionist, who had nothing to do with the charges, and threatened that she was going to leave a bad review for us on Yelp because of her outrageous bill. My receptionist kept calm and cool explaining the services rendered. She was kind, warm and patient. She may not have won over this particular client but she did impress the observers.

The very next client was a couple who had seen the interaction between the receptionist and the woman. They came to me impressed and in awe that my receptionist had stayed calm in the face of the rudeness. I told them that it was all in a day’s work for these rock stars of my front desk. It is something they deal with infrequently, but also far too often. They take the brunt of most of the problems that occur in any business. They are client service professionals of the highest caliber.

So, remember to love your veterinary receptionists. Pay attention to their needs. They are so important to the success of the veterinary team. I would argue that they are key to your success. They are the people that guard you from the cruel world that waits outside your veterinary hospital doors.

I would like to honor Joanna, Adrian, Erika, Jace, Miranda and my manager Kathy for the terrific job they do every day to keep the problems in the front from affecting the doctors in the back.

We appreciate and love you every day.

If you have a receptionist that you love please leave a comment here so they will feel your support.

– Dr. Julie Cappel

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the DrAndyRoark.com editorial team.