Stats from the Veterinary Industry Tracker powered by Vetsource and AVMA
October 27–November 2, 2024
Building Your Dream Team
Driving veterinary industry revenue is more crucial than ever. In this week’s blog post, guest authors from Blue Heron Consulting, including Jason Maag, chief growth officer; Susan Bradshaw, director of HR; and Carissa Welsh, director of hiring services, share strategies to build a team that maximizes veterinary practice profitability. This is the first in a series where Jason and the team will explore strategies to drive positive revenue growth in veterinary practices.
Running a successful practice starts with people. Many practices could significantly boost their profits by focusing on hiring and developing the right team. A highly productive team can drive substantial revenue growth, while the cost of a subpar team can be equally high. In this article, we will discuss how practices can identify top-tier talent and develop them into “A” players. From establishing a robust hiring protocol to fostering team development and building a vibrant culture, there are numerous steps practices can take to assemble the right team to achieve their goals.
How to hire the best talent
Finding veterinarians is no easy task, especially in today’s competitive job market. With the unemployment rate for associate veterinarians at a remarkably low 0.5% nationwide according to the AVMA [1], the demand for skilled professionals is high, and the supply is limited. Practices must differentiate to attract top talent. They should emphasize what sets them apart, such as growth opportunities, mentorship, and unique benefits. Each step taken to stand out brings practices closer to securing valuable talent in this competitive hiring environment.
Here are a few tips to help practices attract the right people:
- Act quickly — Veterinary candidates move fast due to high demand, so practices must be proactive. They should aim to respond to applications or other candidate inquiries within 24 hours. Delays could mean losing the candidate to another practice. A quick response demonstrates respect for the candidate’s time and shows a practice’s commitment to hiring them. Whenever possible, practices should invite local candidates for an in-person interview promptly to expedite the process and prevent losing them to competitors.
- Focus on what candidates want — Understanding what candidates truly seek is key to making a practice stand out. Practices should ask open-ended questions to uncover a candidate’s priorities. What does their current employer lack? What does mentorship mean to them? What are their long-term goals? While sharing details about the practice is essential, focusing on the candidate’s needs can leave a lasting impression, making them feel valued and understood. Aligning their goals with the practice’s opportunities creates a mutually beneficial match that competitors will struggle to replicate.
- Be flexible — The veterinary job market has changed, and adapting to this shift can help practices stay competitive. Expectations around salary, PTO, and other benefits have evolved, which may surprise some practice owners. However, flexibility in areas like continuing education (CE) budgets, additional PTO, or other creative benefits can be the deciding factor for many of today’s candidates. Showing flexibility demonstrates a practice’s commitment to a candidate’s professional and personal growth.
- Get help — Recruiting isn’t always a primary job function for many practice owners. Considering the revenue an associate veterinarian can generate, hiring the right talent should be a priority. Many reputable industry agencies can help manage the hiring process. If a practice is short on time, they should consider partnering with a professional to ensure the best outcome.
How to assess the practice team
Once a practice’s team is in place, practice leadership must invest in the team’s growth to align with the practice’s mission and vision. A skilled team can drive a practice’s success, but knowing how to leverage the team’s strengths is equally important.
Practices should schedule regular meetings with team members and utilize one-on-ones, small group meetings, and all-team gatherings to assess each person’s performance, identify gaps, and uncover their potential. Documented performance records, feedback, attendance, and continuing education (CE) details provide valuable insights into each team member’s contributions. Practices should also review job descriptions regularly to ensure they reflect current responsibilities accurately and address any changes in duties. Building strong connections with each team member helps practice leadership to understand the team’s motivations and goals.
Conducting a skills gap analysis can help practices identify areas where team members need improvement and explore individual career goals that align with practice needs. Practices should offer various development options — such as training courses, project-based challenges, conference attendance, mentorship, and job shadowing — to close gaps and encourage growth. Clear goals should be set with follow-up dates to track progress.
The team a practice inherits vs. the team a practice builds
Reshaping a team often involves replacing underperformers whose skills don’t align with the practice. However, immediate turnover can impact team culture and cost the business time and money. While there are situations, especially involving incompetence or toxicity, where letting someone go is necessary, alternative approaches exist.
One strategy is to signal expectations for higher performance, which can prompt underperformers to seek other roles. Another approach is to reassign valuable team members to areas of the practice where they can be more effective. Behavior-based surveys can help the team understand their strengths and find the best fit within the practice. Ultimately, the goal is to create systems that ensure practices have the right people in the right roles, maximizing their strengths to drive success.
Next month, we’ll dive into strategies to increase average doctor transaction (ADT) while maintaining a high standard of care and practicing good medicine.
Check out the Veterinary Industry Tracker [2] for daily stats.
| +1.7% Revenue YoY (Last Week) |
-2.8% Visits YoY (Last Week) |
Veterinary industry year-over-year revenue was 1.7% last week, a drop from the previous week’s 2.6%, while visits fell from -2.3% to -2.8%.
 -9.3%Heartworm YoY |
-6.2% Flea/Tick YoY |
 +3.0%Services YoY |
-2.4% Products YoY |
Parasiticide purchases continued to fall last week. Year-over-year heartworm was -9.3% and flea/tick was -6.2%, down from -5.9% and -4.5% respectively the week prior. Service revenue fell from 3.9% to 3.0%, while product revenue declined from -1.5% to -2.4%.
| +3.2% Revenue YoY (Last 12 Months) |
-2.4% Visits YoY (Last 12 Months) |
The rolling 14-day trendline showed revenue and visits gradually increasing over the past month.
| 5,540 Practices |
2.2M Revenue per Practice (Last 12 Months) |
10.4K Visits per Practice (Last 12 Months) |
Colorado and Connecticut once again experienced the highest year-over-year revenue increases last week at 7.2% and 5.8% respectively. Minnesota saw a year-over-year visits increase of 0.4%, while Michigan came in second place at -0.4%.
*Numbers are subject to change based on data availability and PIMS adjustments.
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