4 Essential Tips for Retaining Veterinary Staff

Starting a new veterinary practice can be exciting and cumbersome all at the same time. A key component of success for any vet clinic is hiring vet techs that can get the job done. 

According to the American Animal Hospital Association, keeping vet staff could become problematic as a vet shortage looms. Yet, there is a way to get ahead of this trend. 

Building up veterinary team morale is one way to help retention, but there are many ways to do this. Using veterinary software and learning to keep staff happy can go a long way. 

If you are looking to learn more about retaining vet staff, read these four essential tips on how to do so. 

1. Frequently Checking With Your Staff 

The first method of retaining veterinary staff can be done by checking in. Listening to your employees and using their feedback to improve daily processes makes them feel heard. Having weekly or monthly staff meetings is one way to implement this tip. 

Veterinary team members want to feel like what they do in their job matters. Asking your employees how they are feeling can help you identify levels of job satisfaction. Getting a pulse check on how your team feels personally and professionally can also help improve retention. 

2. Providing The Right Tools and Resources 

Another way to make retaining veterinary staff easier is by providing them with the right tools and resources to do the job. Many vet clinics don't fully utilize their staff's skill set. 

Underutilizing your staff can cause them to feel stagnant or unsupported. You want to provide them with opportunities to learn and grow. This will make managing staff easier while also retaining them.  

Lastly, onboarding new employees will help them get used to the veterinary equipment and allow them to learn the resources available to help them do their job. 

3. Properly Training Veterinary Staff 

Ensuring to provide adequate training is another tip for retaining veterinary staff. Training and hiring vet techs can be expensive, especially if you must keep finding new veterinary staff and then train them. 

That's a lot of company resources that can be used to improve your customer experience or marketing. Using the proper training methods will ensure your staff can maximize efficiency. 

For example, having senior team members train incoming recruits through a mentorship program can help you achieve this. It will build the veterinary team morale while allowing your team to learn from any mistakes. 

And if you are opening a new vet practice training your employees properly from the start will help you retain them down the road.  

4. Show Your Staff Appreciation 

One last tip for retaining veterinary staff is to show your appreciation. This can be as simple as writing a thank you card or highlighting a positive review that a specific staff member received from a customer.  Providing a liveable wage and competitive benefits are crucial.

More ways to show appreciation include a team appreciation lunch or event, or a "thank you" jars that your vet staff can fill for their team members. No matter how you do it showing appreciation is excellent for retaining employees and improving job satisfaction. 

Retaining Veterinary Staff For Your New Vet Practice 

Whether opening a vet clinic or looking to grow your current veterinary business, following these tips can make retaining veterinary staff easier. You keep staff happy when you check in with your team and give them the tools to be successful. 

Ensure your staff is trained on veterinary equipment to help improve job satisfaction. Veterinary team morale can be boosted by showing your staff appreciation. 

Book a chat with an IDEXX software expert to learn how our cloud software can help your practice.