In today’s episode, we want to share some experiences from VMX. What is new in the industry? What seems to be the challenges today’s veterinary clinics are facing?
Listen to the full episode here.
<https://soundcloud.com/mira-johnson-886161830/challenges-in-veterinary-industry>
If you prefer to read for a little bit longer, keep going.
It is so cool to be back traveling. I do have to share the first flight brought some old memories of how unpredictable travel can be. Boarded flight from Idaho Falls. Mechanical. Deplaned. Boarded another plane, crew-timed out. Deplaned. 5 hours later still at the same place. HAHA. The airline code is UAL and a friend of mine said that stands for You Aint Leaving. I was laughing so hard. Anyway, it’s all good. We made it to VMX and the airline staff was friendly, the aircraft was clean, snacks were yummy. 😊
VMX was a tiny conference compared to what it normally is. The exhibit hall was much smaller as well. It was nice to talk to people in person. Most of them complain about very similar issues. Number one is labor. We are not only missing veterinarians, which by VHMA survey just 10 years ago one of the challenges of profession was that there are too many veterinarians. Shortage of CSRs and technicians is what the industry is facing now on the top of the shortage of DVMs.
People are experiencing fewer applicants for the position, lots of interviews ghosting. What is interview ghosting? You call the applicant, schedule an interview. They confirm and they don’t show up. Some people come to the interview, accept the job, and then don’t show up on day one!
Where is everyone anyway?
Lots of clinics out there are short-staffed. What can we do?
It is time to rethink benefits and starting wages. It is time to rethink your culture. The shortage of technicians is likely to stay for couple more years and therefore I believe it is a good time to restructure your training. Implement a phase training to get your veterinary assistant to the next level. Empower the technicians to do more. As Dr. Santi said and I love it. Each state is different, you don’t want to break the law, but you want to come as close to it as possible when utilizing your technicians.
The competition for hiring veterinarians is huge. Go ahead and google right now. Hiring a veterinarian. Skip the ads for a job posting and explore what’s being offered in your area. Signing bonus $30K. No weekends and no on-call. Flexible schedule. Work-life balance. This is an employee market. Are you not looking for a vet? Look at the posts anyway and adjust the wages, benefits for your vet, so you don’t wake up one day to find out you are short a vet!
Learn more.
<https://soundcloud.com/mira-johnson-886161830/challenges-in-veterinary-industry>
Happy hiring!
If you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out to us:
solutions@cpasforveterinarians.com.