- Annual Revenue: $3M
- 3 Full-Time DVMs
- Vancouver, WA
- Open 6 Days A Week
- General Small Animal Practice
Practice
Snapshot
Challenges
Our Analysis
Background & Challenges
After experiencing stagnant growth over the prior two years, this hospital came to us with a myriad of concerns. They experienced problems with their senior staff refusing to train their junior staff, with no repercussions. Leadership was very passive, and their staff survey showed the results of that issue: 77% of staff felt that team members were not held accountable, 55% of staff felt that problems in the hospital were not dealt with effectively, and 25% felt that morale was terrible.
Our Analysis
In this case, the practice manager and owner rarely held employees accountable—their inconsistency was demonstrated in their acknowledgement of three “problem” employees, who were nevertheless given “excellent” performance evaluations. Not managing performance properly means employees are not given a chance to make changes, and so issues in the hospital are unlikely to be resolved. Accountability, for everyone from the top to the bottom, is imperative to creating a respectful, responsible, and nourishing culture.
Taking
Action
- Developed a concise plan of action in partnership with hospital ownership and management that was tailored to their specific needs.
- Trained the owner and manager in compassionate, yet firm leadership. This included instructing them on how to develop and implement a disciplinary points system to create instant accountability.
- Educated the hospital leaders on the principles of effective performance management, which helped them eventually phase out their problematic employees.
- To further nurture their staff environment and to boost their morale and team communication, we established a “check-in” protocol so each team member met with the practice manager at least once a month.
- We helped the practice implement a problem-solving strategy to ensure communication and explanation for leadership actions on issues.
Results
- 10% increase in staff members who felt that problems were being dealt with effectively.
- A whopping 91% felt that staff morale was good
- Double the number of team members felt that accountability was better.
- This practice eventually doubled in size after partnering with iVET360, and a more recent staff survey revealed the above major improvements.
The
Difference
