Finding and Keeping Your Dream Team

Natalie Fayman, DVM, ACC, CPC, CPQC

Creating a Culture That Attracts and Retains Extraordinary Talent in Your Veterinary Practice

In today's world of employee-scarcity, attracting and retaining top talent in veterinary practice has become a real challenge. It’s no longer enough just to offer a competitive compensation package. Today’s veterinary professionals want a supportive and positive workplace culture.

Let’s explore some practical strategies for veterinary practice managers and owners to nurture satisfied employees who stay long-term.

Understanding What Drives Veterinary Staff Retention

Beyond Financial Incentives

Many employers believe that offering higher pay will keep employees from quitting. While fair compensation is a preliminary requirement, prospective employees can find that just about anywhere. Compensation and benefits are really just the minimum threshold that a veterinary professional will use to screen for job prospects.

Studies show that once basic financial needs are met, more money doesn’t improve job retention. Why not? Because there’s really not an amount of money that makes up for being unhappy at your job. I know this from personal experience, as well as from talking to hundreds of other DVMs and veterinary staff. When you dread your job, you’re not only miserable at work. You’re miserable at home too, because you’re counting the hours until you have to go back. When employees aren’t happy, they won’t stay for a paycheck.

So what is it that keeps employees fulfilled and engaged at their jobs? It’s the culture of the workplace. This can be the deciding factor in who chooses to accept your job-offer, and how long they decide to stay there. In fact, negative workplace culture and conflict with management are the top-cited reasons why veterinary staff and DVM’s alike quit their jobs.

What makes a negative workplace culture? It can be a lot of things, but here are some of the top stressors cited by DVM’s and veterinary teams:

• Too much workload/not enough time or resources

• Work intruding into personal life (including texts, phone calls, emails expected to be responded to on personal time)

• Conflict with management

• Co-workers perceived as unreliable

• Poor communication

• Feeling unappreciated or disregarded

These and other factors may be occurring in your practice on a daily basis without your knowledge, slowly eroding the wellbeing of your team. This is an especially pervasive problem when employees don’t feel safe speaking up for fear of confrontation, backlash, or just being ignored.

The Importance of Work-Life Balance

Poor work-life balance is a major cause of stress and job dissatisfaction in veterinary practice. Employees who feel overworked and undervalued are more likely to think about leaving. Practices that protect their team's wellbeing and respect their personal needs have employees who are more invested in their work, and aren’t looking for better jobs elsewhere.

Creating a Supportive Culture

Happy employees are productive employees. A supportive, growth-minded workplace where trust and psychological safety are non-negotiable will attract and retain talent. Veterinary practices that prioritize employee satisfaction enjoy lower turnover rates and higher levels of team cohesion and engagement.

Actionable Steps to Improve Workplace Culture and Staff Retention

Define Your Core Values

Core Values can't change anything if all they do is hang on the wall. Decide what your practice's core values are and what kind of culture you want to create. Involve your team in this process to ensure that everyone feels included and invested in the outcome. Once these values are established, only hire people who share and uphold them. This will lead to a more cohesive and supportive work environment.

Hire for Cultural Fit

No matter how technically skilled or experienced a prospect may be, if they do not align with your practice's core values they will become a source of friction and resentment for others. It's better to recognize the problem before it infects your work-family. Such individuals will be happier in another environment that aligns with their values, and your team members will be more productive without the extra friction.

Create Psychological Safety

Psychological safety is the knowledge that everyone can speak up without fear of criticism, consequences, or humiliation. Encourage open communication for all, and provide structured opportunities for feedback. When employees feel safe to express their ideas and concerns, they are more invested in their work.

Respect Work-Life Balance

Create policies that promote work-life balance, such as flexible scheduling, adequate time off, and mental wellbeing support. Encourage employees to take breaks and recharge. And set specific guidelines on when & how often it’s acceptable to contact people about work-related issues when they’re not at work.

Recognize and Reward Contributions

Go out of your way to acknowledge and reward your employees' hard work and achievements. Recognition can be anything from verbal praise to tangible rewards. Showing appreciation boosts morale and reinforces a positive workplace culture. It also trains employees to adopt a mindset of “what else can I do to help”, instead of “what’s the least I can get away with doing?”

Provide Opportunities for Growth

Offer professional development opportunities, such as training programs, workshops, and mentorship. When employees see a clear path for growth and advancement, they are more likely to stay with your practice long-term.

Conclusion

Happy employees rarely leave. A team that takes personal pride in their work will support and supervise each other, instead of looking to the boss to do it. A tight-knit positive workplace culture will automatically select against negative contaminants.

Creating a culture that attracts and retains extraordinary talent in your veterinary practice requires a proactive and intentional approach. By prioritizing employee satisfaction, promoting work-life balance, and creating a supportive workplace culture, you can reduce turnover and build a dream team that’s committed to your practice's long-term success.

I’m here to help! I’m here to help! Let’s identify some doable changes to strengthen the culture in your veterinary practice. Schedule a free strategy session with me today, and feel the difference tomorrow!

Talk To Me In Person!

The reasons people give for leaving their jobs aren't usually the real reasons... they're just the superficial excuses they give to avoid having a more difficult conversation. For example they might say they're leaving for more money, because they don't feel safe telling you that your practice manager is making them miserable. If turnover is a problem at your practice, try setting aside 20 minutes a month to just have a 1:1 conversation with everyone who works for you. Find out what's on their minds, so you can fix it before they give their notice.

Natalie Fayman is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) and a Certified Positive Intelligence Coach (CPQM), whose work focuses on stress & burnout in veterinary professionals, and building workplace cultures that attract and retain the right people.