5 Rules for Managing Change in a Veterinary Clinic
If your clinic has experienced higher patient intake, you may be considering making some changes to keep pace with the increase in demand for your services. From changing veterinary software to implementing new patient care policies, change can be hard on staff, patients, and management.
Thankfully, there are a few tried and true methods for managing change in a veterinary clinic and making the process as smooth and enjoyable as possible.
1. Take The Time To Prepare Your Staff For The Change
Veterinary team morale can make or break any proposed change, big or small. Invest time in gaining your team's buy-in before implementing any changes.
Schedule training for your team well in advance of the proposed change. Provide them with time to get used to the idea of change, and allow space for staff to ask questions. Offer emotional support as well as technical assistance as your team transitions to the new way of doing things.
2. Opt For The Collaborative Approach
No one likes being told what to do, especially if they feel misunderstood or put upon. A key marker of success for any veterinary change management strategy is whether or not the affected workers have input in the proposed change.
Your frontline workers will have the best understanding of the day-to-day workflows of your clinic. Leverage their insights as you build a strategy for change; they may have ideas that make the change even better!
3. Start With A Reasonable Scale Of Change
When implementing change in veterinary medicine and how you run your practice, it can be wise to start with change on a small scale. If you try to change too much too quickly, it can lead to decreases in productivity, confusion for staff and clients, and errors in patient care and treatment. Running a pilot version of the change will help you identify errors on a small scale before you implement the change across the rest of your clinic.
4. Choose The Right Tool For The Job
One of the most stressful changes that could be proposed is changing the veterinary software that you use. After all, this is the software you use to book appointments, keep patient records, process invoices, and more! You need the best veterinary software to ensure that your staff can do their jobs, and do them well.
Neo makes the process of changing your veterinary practice management software easy and stress-free. The interface is simple to use, decreasing the amount of time it takes staff to perform key tasks and operations. You're provided with plenty of onboarding training and staff support from IDEXX experts, easing any concerns that your staff might feel over having to learn how to use a new digital tool.
5. Be Honest And Transparent
Overall, the best approach to change management is to communicate openly and honestly with everyone involved. Explain the reason for the change and how it will affect everyone. Bringing a human-centered approach to any change will make the experience a positive one.
Use These Tools For Managing Change In A Veterinary Clinic
Follow the rules listed above, and you'll soon be an expert in managing change in a veterinary clinic. By centering peoples' experiences, utilizing open communication, and finding the right tools for the job, you're setting yourself and your team up for success, no matter what the change brings your way.
Ready to start your change journey by upgrading your software? Book a chat with an IDEXX software expert to learn how our cloud software can help your practice.
