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The veterinary team forms the practice’s beating heart – but without effective, structured management, they can fall out of rhythm. As the Society for Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS) launches its new HR Foundations course, we consider the role of HR in increasingly busy veterinary workplaces.
Most vets and nurses will have received little to no training on the labour, logistics and legalities involved in managing a veterinary team. Embarking on their veterinary career, newly qualified individuals are typically more focused on their clinical skills; however, an integrated understanding of how veterinary teams are managed can prove invaluable as they continue to develop in their roles.
Over time, many of these vets and nurses will go on to take up leadership and management positions. Topics that may once have seemed irrelevant are suddenly crucial and highly trained, skilled individuals are often left trying to ‘learn on the job’ – while overwhelmed with responsibilities, requests and to-do lists.
This is why SPVS are launching their new HR Foundations course, designed to provide veterinary professionals with the knowledge, skills and insight needed to effectively understand and manage HR in busy, often high-pressure veterinary workplaces.
Why is HR relevant now?
In the past few decades, the veterinary profession has come a long way, shifting ever further from ‘sink or swim’ attitudes to become a sector that values supportive, flexible workplaces and encourages effective mentoring and training for staff. Simultaneously, recruitment and retention have become real challenges to veterinary practices across the UK.
With these changes has come an ever-growing need for high standards of HR provision in practices – yet support and training in HR remains difficult to access, with HR roles in many practices filled by staff with minimal instruction.
Such training is especially significant for women in veterinary workplaces. HR responsibilities are typically combined with senior leadership and management roles. Despite female vets now outnumbering their male counterparts, they remain underrepresented in these positions. Studies suggest one potential barrier is a lack of training; effective courses that can boost leadership skills and confidence may help to close this gap.1
What does HR actually mean – and how does it help your practice?
HR, or human resources, refers to the management of the people in your veterinary team. Responsibilities that fall to HR range from building a positive culture and motivating the team to establishing protocols for employee absence and recruiting new staff.
Throughout each staff member’s time at the practice, from the job advert itself to their interview, induction, development and eventual departure, the practice’s HR management will play a vital role.
While HR responsibilities can be allocated to an individual role, in many practices they are spread across multiple members of staff; it’s vital that all of them understand the importance of these tasks. HR can make the difference between a committed, resilient team able to cope with the pressures of veterinary practice and unhappy, overstretched staff providing compromised care.
So, what are some of the main HR responsibilities?
1. Building a positive practice culture and managing the team effectively
At its core, HR is about managing teams successfully and helping them to achieve at a high level. In veterinary practice, this is particularly relevant: providing a high standard of care is a priority for the whole team.
To facilitate this, it’s essential for the management of the practice to develop and share a vision of the practice’s goals, values and mission and ensure this is shared by the whole team. Whether your goal is to provide gold-standard treatments or accessible, friendly care, it’s vital everyone is on the same page and motivated to work together towards this goal.
It can be difficult for individuals familiar with being a part of the team to transition to a managerial role and learn how to assess and influence the team dynamic, so management and leadership tools can be valuable resources.
2. Development, engagement and motivation
It’s not just about team level management – monitoring and supporting individual development and motivation is also vital. From carrying out regular performance reviews and tackling tricky conversations to encouraging and supporting staff to pursue new opportunities, this responsibility can be daunting.
Receiving effective training and understanding the science behind motivation can make the difference between a demotivated team with reviews seen as a tick box exercise, and an enthusiastic team where personal growth contributes to the practice’s success.
3. Protocols and procedures
Often underappreciated, strong protocols and procedures can prevent HR headaches and help your practice to run smoothly – helping not just you, but the rest of your staff too. From managing staff absences and departures to grievances and disciplinary processes, a consistent, fair approach is vital to improve staff wellbeing and prevent problems escalating.
4. Legal obligations
The laws that apply to veterinary practices are an area of confusion for many veterinary staff, and it’s crucial to ensure all individuals involved in an HR capacity are familiar with them.
From fair hiring practices with respect to protected characteristics, to reasonable accommodation of staff illness or disability, being aware of your practice’s responsibilities as an employer will not only avoid legal complications but also enable you to manage your team in a fair and inclusive way, improving staff satisfaction and retention.
5. Job design and recruitment
Recruitment and retention in the veterinary sector are more topical than ever, with huge numbers of practices struggling to recruit and retain staff, placing additional strain on already time poor veterinary teams.
In this competitive environment, individuals are not only looking for fair salaries that reflect their knowledge, experience and commitment to the role, but a whole host of other factors. A positive practice culture is high up on this list – alongside flexible working patterns. Whether due to childcare commitments, health issues, other personal circumstances or simply a desire to spend more time outside the workplace, increasing numbers of veterinary staff are looking for flexible roles.
Part of your practice’s HR is not just distributing job adverts, but considering your practice’s setup and what you can do to attract new staff, and retain your current ones. Managing rotas may be trickier, but flexible roles can make your practice team much stronger in the long run and allow you to retain more experienced vets who are no longer willing to work standard patterns.
There’s much more involved in recruiting and retaining a great team, but offering your staff flexibility and reasonable hours is a great start. HR’s responsibilities will also extend to interviews, contracts, induction and more.
“Human resources isn’t a thing we do. It’s the thing that runs our business.”
Steve Wynne
Keen to find out more?
Managing a veterinary practice’s HR is clearly no easy feat, but it doesn’t need to be overwhelming. Whether you’re recently qualified or an experienced manager, the SPVS HR Foundations course can equip you with the HR fundamentals that are central to leading and managing people in your practice.
Flexible, on demand modules cover processes, people responsibilities, job design, engagement and motivation, recruitment, retention, return to work, culture, and much more; the training provides a holistic overview of key HR areas, equipping individuals with the knowledge and confidence to successfully manage their HR responsibilities and help the whole team to flourish.
Made by veterinary professionals, for veterinary professionals, the HR Foundations course aims not only to alleviate the stress of HR roles but also to facilitate the smooth and efficient running of the whole team within a positive practice environment. If you want your practice to reach new heights, a motivated, well-supported team is key to taking you there. To find out more or sign up visit https://courses.spvs.org.uk/spvs-courses
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