With the holidays coming up, what are your plans to celebrate your team? This year is quite different than those in the past. I believe that right now, it would be irresponsible to host an elaborate party. But that doesn’t mean holiday plans are completely cancelled. So today, we’re getting creative with our guest Marian Rowland.

 

Marian is a CVPM in Charlotte, North Carolina working in a 7 doctor practice. She loves the HR and culture aspect of managing a team and her creative ideas and encouragement during this unusual time is inspiring. We hope that the ideas we have in today’s episode will help spark your creativity and provide you with a way to celebrate your wonderful teams.

 

Show Notes:

[2:01] - Right now, it is corporately irresponsible to have a holiday party for our practices. Marian shares how things are going in the Carolinas.

[3:02] - Debbie shares that her practice went back to open exam rooms in September but isn’t sure how much longer that will last before they go back to curbside.

[3:31] - One of the Christmas traditions that Marian’s practice has every year is a holiday movie night at a manager’s home. They want to continue this this year in the parking lot of the practice.

[4:46] - Debbie shares that her team has done really well in regards to HR and culture and she knows she wants to celebrate them.

[6:02] - Practices have a holiday fund every year and instead of using it for a large event, get creative with the money you have. 

[6:48] - Marian recommends a gift tree and a cookie bake off. We need to have something to distract the team from the disappointment of missing an event.

[8:03] - Asking your team for ideas is also a great idea because there are people who think of something interesting.

[9:27] - There are some county and state restrictions right now, but a safe pot luck with just the team members could be very fun.

[11:49] - Something as easy as printing out something to bind at Office Depot that is personalized for the practice can be really meaningful.

[12:27] - Marian and her managers hid hundreds of rubber duckies in her large building and her team would find them throughout the month. Whoever had the most at the end of the month won a prize.

[13:45] - Don’t underestimate the little things and look ahead because ordering something to be shipped might be risky late in the month.

[16:05] - We need to do something to celebrate our teams and our clients but the thing to remember is that it won’t look like last year.

[16:42] - Instead of a Secret Santa, Marian is doing a White Elephant gift exchange which tends to be less stressful and more generic to make things easier on the team members.

[17:50] - Remember, even in the years that we have under normal circumstances, there will be people who don’t come or participate. 

[18:38] - Marian says that last year they had to get creative with a small budget because they were in a new building with new expenses that they were not accustomed to.

 

Thank you for listening. Remember you are not in this alone. Visit our website for more resources.

 

Links and Resources:

 

• VHMA Web Page

 

• VHMA Coronavirus Resources
• VHMA Facebook
• VHMA Twitter
• VHMA on Linkedin

 

• Park West Veterinary Associates

 

• Marian Rowland VHMA Profile