There are many things in the animal health industry that are not under our control. There are practices that are under your control within the clinic to have good efficiency. No two days within a veterinary clinic are alike and that is a simple fact that veterinarians come to terms with the first day they walk into vet school. What if we told you there are simple things that could repeat themselves daily or weekly that could help the clinic run more efficiently?
Efficiency within the Clinic: Under Your Control
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Reduce your office clutter.
When a client walks into your front office, they often make first glance judgments without even knowing it. If you keep this space picked up, it will not only help you and your staff become more organized but put your clients at ease that you are going to take better care of their pets. This is because a clean desk shows you like to take care of your personal space as well.
Not only will you have a better impact on the first-time and returning clients, but your staff will also be more at ease. They aren’t going to worry about misplacing something important on the mess of a desk either. Oftentimes if the mess is gone, so is the stress of it. It will also encourage your staff to take care of their personal space as well as on the desk. If everyone partakes in this practice it will create better collaboration between staff members. This will help create an overall better look to your office space(s) and make filing paperwork easier for everyone.
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Training of employees earlier rather than later.
Training in a veterinary clinic is important that staff have the best training upfront and as early as possible. This is so that they become better prepared for almost all scenarios that come through the doors. Training has to be a priority as a practicing veterinarian. Oftentimes having a written protocol of situations is best when training. This way, if the employee doesn’t remember a certain scenario right away they can look at the written directions. Training your employees also can reduce the costly turnover that comes with making too many mistakes within a clinic.
Frustration can also come with not training employees right from the start. If an employee is constantly getting frustrated because they are unsure if they are working to the standards of the clinic. It could lead to a higher employee turnover rate in your hospital. Turnover in a clinic can be costly on its own. Along with the additional training, and needed for any new employees that didn’t have correct initial training.
Continuous training could be considered as well. Sending employees to clinics or conventions such as Veterinary Meeting and Expo (VMX) or DVM360 conferences to become aware of the most up-to-date practices could also help your clinic run smoothly. The industry is changing constantly. Having your staff up-to-date would benefit greatly in the long run. This goes for the practice owner as well. If you are keeping up on the trends that are happening, or at least aware of them, you can answer questions for staff and employees alike.
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Hire based on attitude.
While the person with the most experience is most likely who you initially want to gravitate to in the hiring process. Make sure their attitude matches that perfect employee description as well. If there are riffs between staff in the office, it can lead to inefficient working, and make it harder to get things done. People can always learn new things and progress in their experiences. This goes along with number three on the list. Training employees correctly and upfront can help with someone who isn’t as experienced as the person that you wanted to hire initially with all that experience.
Oftentimes if a person is a little less experienced than the other staff, but their attitude matches the workspace well, the staff is more inclined to help them catch back up. This doesn’t mean knowledge of the industry and qualifications aren’t important BUT characteristics you cannot teach should be considered.
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Keep your team happy and hydrated.
Just like keeping an attitude-free or positive work environment, it’s important to keep your staff hydrated. This is simple, however, it is just as important as keeping your patients happy. Dehydration has a large statistic of costing nearly $5.5 billion dollars to the healthcare industry every year. This is a huge number for something that is as easy to fix as drinking more water.
There are simple ways to encourage better hydration like getting your staff water bottles with the company logo on them. This is not only a new bottle for them but a walking advertisement for your company. Something of this nature can also give your staff more company pride. If your staff is happy and hydrated, it is more likely that they will work more efficiently.
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Max out technology to your advantage.
Why should a practice max out technology? You may be saying, “Our practice gets along fine with what we have.” But what if your clinic and its staff could be helping more patients on a yearly basis just because you bought one more piece of technology or utilized that machine that’s been sitting in the back room?
There is a plethora of technology to keep efficiency within the clinic that you CAN control. As we have moved to a more “tech-friendly” world especially this year, we look at our phones, tablets, and computers more than ever before. So why not look at them for the purpose of helping your business become more efficient? MeasureON! smart harness an example of a technology solution that could help with efficiency within the clinic. To learn more about the smart harness technology that MeasureON! has to offer for your clinic click here.
Improving overall efficiency within the clinic easily be done with the key steps that have been talked about as well as some things that may be personal to your clinic. Whether you are changing all of your daily routines or just a few, this guide should help you get a head start to generating more efficiency within the clinic: under your control.