Mindset – how to stay sane when your world appears to be spinning out of control crazy through Covid Lockdown

Language of Appreciation at Work - Questionnaire

During Lockdown last year, I uploaded a questionnaire onto VetStaff’s website to help employers / employees discover how people like to be appreciated at work.  It’s a free questionnaire – you don’t have to provide your email or anything like that, takes about 5 minutes to complete, and helps you discover how you like to be appreciated at work.  

I recommend all teams complete it – that way everyone can talk the language of appreciation that each individual person understands. 

Topics this week:

How to get out of getting stuck in the negatives
9 ways to stay positive during the coronavirus pandemic
5 ways to mental hygiene
5 rules to live by to find your spark

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

Julie South interviews Jocelyn Birch Baker of Smooth Operating Vets + High Street Veterinary Clinic in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia

Jocelyn’s vision at Smooth Operating Vets is to ensure all veterinary women have the opportunity to work in a team where everyone knows their talents and calmly does their very best in an encouraging and supporting place…. That women can return to veterinary practice after the birth of their babies with the skills, knowledge and confidence they need, to work in clinics that are supportive and flexible … where everyone works together - like a community - to achieve everyone’s goals. 

Over the course of her career, Jocelyn’s experienced many areas of the veterinary profession – from the cattle industry through to mixed and small animal clinics.  

She’s held positions on Australian national and state boards and committees and has taken time out of her career to raise her children.

Today, as the owner of High Street Veterinary Surgery in Rockhampton, Queensland, she’s had hands-on, day-to-day experience of what it’s like to be a practice owner in today’s veterinary marketplace.   

Jocelyn understands the complexities of running a profitable practice, while having an excellent lifestyle for herself and enabling everyone on her team to have excellent lifestyles too.

As the founder of Smooth Operating Vets, Jocelyn is working to create mother-friendly veterinary practices.   She believes that creating mother-friendly vet clinics is essential to help reduce the number of highly skilled veterinarians who leave the profession because they can’t find positions that support, nurture and respect them as veterinarians and mothers.

In this episode Jocelyn talks about the:

• 5 "rules" at her clinic.
• 3 underlying tenets that enable her to attract and keep high performing veterinary professionals.
• 6 actions she took to help build a strong team of trust, respect and belonging.
• 7 different ways Jocelyn manages part-timers for maximum efficiency and profitability as well as fun.
• 11 things that Jocelyn implemented with her 30 minute consults that's meant she's never looked back

The way Jocelyn now recruits, together with the systems and procedures she’s put in place, is non-traditional but it works.   This is what Smooth Operating Vets is all about.

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

Julie South interviews Jocelyn Birch Baker of Smooth Operating Vets + High Street Veterinary Clinic in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia

Jocelyn’s vision at Smooth Operating Vets is to ensure all veterinary women have the opportunity to work in a team where everyone knows their talents and calmly does their very best in an encouraging and supporting place…. That women can return to veterinary practice after the birth of their babies with the skills, knowledge and confidence they need, to work in clinics that are supportive and flexible … where everyone works together - like a community - to achieve everyone’s goals. 

Over the course of her career, Jocelyn’s experienced many areas of the veterinary profession – from the cattle industry through to mixed and small animal clinics.  

She’s held positions on Australian national and state boards and committees and has taken time out of her career to raise her children.

Today, as the owner of High Street Veterinary Surgery in Rockhampton, Queensland, she’s had hands-on, day-to-day experience of what it’s like to be a practice owner in today’s veterinary marketplace.   

Jocelyn understands the complexities of running a profitable practice, while having an excellent lifestyle for herself and enabling everyone on her team to have excellent lifestyles too.

As the founder of Smooth Operating Vets, Jocelyn is working to create mother-friendly veterinary practices.   She believes that creating mother-friendly vet clinics is essential to help reduce the number of highly skilled veterinarians who leave the profession because they can’t find positions that support, nurture and respect them as veterinarians and mothers.

In this episode she talks about buying her practice – and then not long after she bought it two vets and a few nurses resigned …  Jocelyn’s first foray into recruitment to replace her departing staff was to do what everyone else does because that’s what she thought she had to do … but then she realised she didn’t need to do it that way at all – because “that” way doesn’t work.

The way Jocelyn now recruits, together with the systems and procedures she’s put in place, is non-traditional but it works.   This is what Smooth Operating Vets is all about.

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

This week Massey University Veterinary Science students asked Julie South questions relating to their first job interview & recruitment.

The questions asked were: 

Why should we go through a recruitment agency when we can get a job ourselves – doesn’t it just cost the clinic more to use an agency and won’t they then hold that against us?   Is it money they could have paid us instead?

Is it okay to ask about salary at the job interview?

I've heard from several vets over the course of my placements comment that they found an experienced vet at their first job to mentor them, and that they partially based their first job decision on that. 

How should I go about this? 

Is this a common thing new grad vets think about? 

Is it important or crucial to my development as a new grad? 

How do you balance finding a good first job with your partner's limited work locations?

How would you approach asking a clinic you've done placement at if a job might be available? (When they're not advertising a position currently) 

What things should I look out for when applying for jobs/employment contracts? 

Are there any hidden things that would be good to know? 

If something stated in your contract is broken by either party, does that void the contract and should a new one be written up? 

how to express your interest in a job vacancy while on placement!

 and when to ask about pay rate, i.e. in first interview? 

What are some ways I can ask my employer for a raise in salary? 

What are some ways that we as new grads can negotiate for a better starting salary during the job recruitment process?   

When you are looking for your first job, how do you figure out what you're worth? 

 And how do you ensure you end up in a job where they recognize your worth (financially and recognising your abilities)? 

If you have an offer early in 5th year for a job that looks like a sweet deal, could you hold onto that position while waiting to see if any better offers come up? 

If so, what is a good way to reply to the firsts original offer? 

I started sending my CVs to different clinics and then called you, but you told me you can’t help me – I’m on my own – why is that?

Other podcast references:

Episode #019 - Employee Attraction and Retention

Episode #022 - Power Negotiating Tips - "Never Split the Difference" by Chris Voss

Episode #026 - Questions you can and cannot ask at job interviews and at work

Blog article:  the difference between Trial Periods and Probation Periods

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE - EQ - part 2 (of 2)

Strategies to become more emotionally intelligent

6 ways emotionally intelligent people lead

#1 – Learn more about the inner workings of YOU

#2 – Get an honest & objective assessment of YOU – from people you trust who’ll tell you how you are, not how you want to be

#3 – Journal & Track – discover cause & effect

# 4 – Listen

#5 – Putting yourself in the other person’s shoes

#6 – open yourself up

NB: in the podcast I talk about my own experiences of "honest and objective feedback", "listening" and "opening myself up"

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

Today we’re looking at emotional intelligence (EQ) and how essential having a high EQ score is to your professional and personal success and development.

In today’s workplace - workplace performance and career success, and even employee health, which were once thought to be a function of someone’s IQ – or intelligence quotient - are, in fact, tied in with EQ – or someone’s emotional intelligence.

If you’re unfamiliar with EQ - it’s each person’s ability to recognise, understand, and manage their emotions and those of others. The emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ) is the measure of that ability.

That’s what today’s podcast is all about.   Developing and improving your EQ will not only help your personal relationships and life but will also dramatically improve your professional life as well.   

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

Has the idea of volunteering your amazing veterinary skills - either as a veterinarian or veterinary nurse - kinda got you a little bit excited?

If so, then Dr Yvonne Clark's experiences - on beautiful holiday-resort islands - Sardinia in the Mediterranean and Rarotonga in the South Pacific - will give you a bit of an insight into what volunteering is like.

Dr Yvonne Clark is a companion animal veterinarian who originally qualified in Australia.

She's worked in the UK, Australia, Sardinia, NZ and the Cook Islands.

She talks about some of the differences and similarities of working in New Zealand compared to other countries.

She also talks a little bit about what it's like as a locum companion animal veterinarian.

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

15 signs it’s time to change jobs + 4 next steps

1.       By the time Sunday night comes around, you’re in “dread mode” – you dread going to work on Mondays

2.       Time drags – you struggle to immerse yourself and be in the zone like you used to

3.       Little things start getting you down and you no longer believe in the clinic like you used to … favouritism, perhaps things don’t get fixed fast – it’s always been like that but now it starts to get you down … there’s never any money for upgrades – that didn’t bother you before but now it’s really starting to grind you down.

4.       There’s no sense of team or unity and it feels like everything is about to implode.  There’s no leadership – everyone’s pulling in different directions and/or allowed to get away with blue murder – tardiness, not following SOPs, lateness, questionable ethics, bullying

5.       You feel like you’re not growing professionally and there’s little chance of anything changing in the near future.  You could do your current role with your hands tied behind your back and blindfolded – there’s no longer the challenge of growing and/or doing better

6.       You feel invisible …unappreciated… taken for granted

7.       Technology is advancing but you’re getting left behind

8.       You have to fight and argue for CPD investment 

9.       Your life is totally out of balance

10.   You no longer feel you’re being recompensed / rewarded for what you’re doing – on-call, a/h, etc

11.   You often think things like “what’s the point?”, “why do I bother?” “what’s going to change?”, “why am I here?”

12.   You see others getting ahead, getting the good jobs, getting the CPD but you’re being left behind

13.   Your role has slowly morphed into something you don’t like / want to do and you have no idea how that happened … little tweaks over time and you’re where you are now

14.   You’ve noticed an uptake in your personal life of things that don’t support you in being the best you can be:  weight gain / excessive loss, smoking, drugs, alcohol, depression, apathy, and other self-destructive behaviours

15.   Even if your salary was increased by 50% or 100% you’d still feel the same way about what you’re doing / where you’re doing it

Listen to this episode to determine your four next steps if you can relate to any of the above.

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

The WHAT, WHY, WHEN & HOW to conduct EXIT INTERVIEWS at your Veterinary Clinic

Questions to ask at Exit Interviews

1. What is their reason for leaving?
2. Do you feel you had opportunities for growth or promotion within this clinic?
3. How well do you believe your work was recognised and appreciated?
4. Do you feel you were given adequate training and assistance?
5. How fairly were the rosters / after hours / on call requirements distributed among you and other veterinarians / peers?
6. Working conditions and culture?
7. Workplace policies?
8. Tools and equipment?
9. How do you feel you were treated by the lead vet / your manager?
10. What did you enjoy most about working here?
11. Have you been thinking about this for a while?   What could we have done differently?
12. What was the one-thing that finally brought about your decision to leave?
13. What do you think would make this clinic a better place to work?

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics

Asking good quality questions gets you good quality answers

In this episode you'll discover 15 questions veterinary clinics can ask job applicants to help them determine whether the new-hire will mess or mesh with your veterinary clinic team.

Determining and hopefully, matching clinic values, is imperative if you want your next new hire to mesh with your existing team.

The alternative is to hire someone who messes with your team - usually because of a total mis-match in values and integrity.

Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?

A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.

Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.

Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics