Veterinary practices require a team effort to operate effectively and to serve clients' needs. It is imperative for leadership to establish a vision for the practice and a to establish a team-oriented culture.
A team culture includes clear definitions of roles, expectations, and objectives for the practice as a whole. Every team member must know, with certainty, what they are expected to do and have measurable outcomes with which to determine whether they succeeded or not.
In addition, a team culture, must provide incentives for team members to work towards common objectives that will deliver to the goals of the practice. Without alignment of incentives between owners, associates, and staff, it will be difficult to get people to work together. Examine your incentives closely. If you have conflicts on your team, most llikely, it is the result of mal-aligned or missing incentives that motivate the behaviors and activities that you want in order to accomplish the practice's goals.
Lastly, make sure to communicate to your team and then when measuring outcomes and results, celebrate the successes you achieve. Celebration will help to build your team!
