Effectivet

2012-02-21T11:12:00.000-08:00

The word effective as defined in the Webster’s Dictionary is, “producing a decided, decisive or desired effect, one that is both striking and impressive”. I personally prefer to paraphrase the definition as ‘to get what you are going for, to do it well and to make it worthwhile’.

Our company’s moniker ‘Effecti-Vet’ is a play on the words effective and veterinarian. Our goal is to help you become more effective in your practice, your communications and inevitably your life. Why not change your life for the better?

There is no question of the merit of effectiveness. Many people would like to change but many do not see how their daily conduct sabotages their effort. Common signs include procrastination, inappropriate prioritization and failure to communicate clearly, promptly or at all. The basic element for effectiveness includes the need to accept change as a positive influence in making improvements in one’s circumstances.

Albert Einstein once said, “To continue to do the same and expect different results is the definition of insanity”.

I regularly encounter veterinarians who wish to make improvements in their business and personal lives. Many of these individuals fail to see that is imperative to change themselves first in order to improve their circumstances. Fundamental practice improvement is born through personal change. True effectiveness comes from within.

To be truly effective one must embrace change and be willing to learn and grow, seizing new leadership and communication skill methodologies. Once this epiphany has been realized, there will be no stopping an ‘effective veterinarian’. This ‘effective veterinarian’ will become a true leader, communicating well and improving their circumstances as well as the circumstances of those around them. It can be truly said the ‘effective veterinarian’ will be fulfilled in their quest for both personal and business excellence.

I love working with veterinarians and coaching them to be more effective. When I see the positive changes that come about in them and their practice teams, I know I am in the right business.

2012-02-13T12:23:00.000-08:00

The 6 most important words	“I admit I made a mistake”
The 5 most important words	“You did a great job”
The 4 most important words	“What is your opinion?”
The 3 most important words	“If you please”
The 2 most important words	“Thank you”
The 1 most important word	“We”
The least important word	“I”

As my parents always used to tell me, "Steve its not what you say, its how you say it" Great Leadership involves knowing when to speak and using words that are empowering. People are not interested in listening to others when they do not themselves feel heard.
Try these powerful phrases more often, "with feeling" and look the other in the eye. Try catching yourself saying "I" and make it a game to say "I" as little as possible. You may be pleasantly surprised how much more information your staff AND your family are willing to share with you once they feel they are being listened to.

To quote the great philosopher Lao Tzu, " Great acts are made of small deeds"!

Time Management in a Nutshell

2011-12-13T20:15:00.000-08:00

Rules of Time Management from all the books – to save time in reading them:

Don’t rush
If in doubt – ask
Write it down
Organize your work area
Plan your day – the day before
Schedule tasks in a planner
Keep files trim – cull them
Give specific deadlines
Don’t be a perfectionist
Have a daily focus period
Respect other’s time
Handle paper once
Use a follow up file
Don’t procrastinate
Scrap magazines (tear out useful bits)
Schedule personal and family time
Say no more often
Record your telephone calls (Log)
Delegate more
Subscribe to condensed information
Have one planner only
Avoid stress
Practice Pareto’s Principle (80% of results are achieved by 20% of what you do)
Prioritize
Put goals in writing
Attend fewer meetings
Don’t let others dump their problems on you
There are 1,440 minutes in a day – use them wisely!

Time Management – in just 4 principles:

Delegate
Defer it
Do it
Dump it!

J D (Jim) Stowe DVM

Medical Anarchy - Is Your Practice a Victim?

2011-12-13T19:55:00.000-08:00

The Winston Canadian Dictionary defines anarchy as "the absence or lack of government". I have seen it in Veterinary practices. It is all too commonplace. Lack of or abdication of leadership is prevalent in the corporate world. Recognition of this fact has prompted leading institutions like the university of Guelph to offer a Master Degree in Leadership Studies, one of the first in North America.

Lack of leadership, or anarchy has many ramifications including confused or dissatisfied employees. Some employees just "wing it", others will under perform, while others yet give poor customer service. Employee turnover is high, a very costly scenario. Customer satisfaction is low as is employee morale. The negative effect on employees and customers can be potentially disastrous.

"Medical Anarchy" on the other hand is more insidious but every bit as costly to your bottom line. Failure of hospital owners to provide clear medical protocols and programs leads to a myriad of consequences. Different doctors will offer different treatments for the same condition. There is a risk that a client with several pets or frequently seen pets will have different treatments offered at different times for the same condition leading to a lack of confidence in the hospital personnel. This will also confuse the staff. They do not know what to expect nor can they educate clients about what the client might expect to happen when their pet arrives at the hospital.

Medical Anarchy rears its ugly head most insidiously when it comes to wellness programs. Lack of consistency in recommendations for parasite prevention, blood testing, dentistry and nutrition will cause compliance to plummet. Once again staff will be confused because they cannot be confident which treatment or product will be recommended. They cannot educate clients in the exam rooms during preliminary examinations prior to the doctor's complete physical exam nor can they speak with confidence at the desk when asked by the client their opinion.

Practices that have a nutritional protocol, that is, a specific first recommendation for a given brand of food, will be more successful in their program than the hospital that makes multiple suggestions. The clients are looking for a strong recommendation from their doctor and are more than willing to embrace that recommendation when it is given with confidence. It is much easier to train staff well when they are primarily responsible for one product line. Of course there should be a secondary line to backup the first recommendation for reasons of palatability or patient tolerance. When there is a clear nutritional protocol in a practice, with a well-trained staff, the hospital will sell more food. This results in more patient visits per year, more opportunities to interact with and educate clients, higher compliance and healthier pets.

Likewise practices should have a parasite control protocol. All the doctors should be giving all the clients consistent recommendation. The same logic applies to wellness-testing. When there are clear guidelines in place that are regularly trained upon, the practice will be a more organized, harmonious workplace. But WHO determines the protocols?

Veterinarians are well-educated, passionate and sometimes highly-opinionated individuals. When it comes to the health of the practice and the well-being of the patients there must be a setting aside of egos. I recommend all practices have an organizational chart clearly stating who plays the various roles within the organization. Someone must take the role of Chief Medical/Veterinary Officer. This person will be entrusted to develop protocols. They will study the best scientific information available. Solicitation of input from workplace colleagues who can help with research, may be helpful.

In an organization with a Mission and Core Values this will be easier. Common Core Values are... Respect, Trust, Medical Excellence, Exemplary Customer Service and so on. In these organizations once the Chief has developed protocols based on the excellent science, common sense and with an eye to the provision of excellent customer service, adoption of the protocols should be easy. The Chief will trust his/her colleagues to adopt the protocols as will the colleagues trust the protocols were developed with the patient's best interest in mind. The colleagues will respect the protocol and the effort to develop it while the Chief would have respected the opinions of his colleagues when developing them. Everyone will recognize the benefit of a consistent protocol to both the pets because they will receive consistent care and to the practice as compliance improves. It will be easy to train the staff on a clearly stated protocol and this will also improve the delivery of service to the client.

Is Medical Anarchy eating away at your practice's bottom line? Clear written protocols developed by a Chief Medical Officer, embraced by all staff and regularly trained on in an atmosphere of trust and respect is a sure way to "slay the dragon".

Is your practice healthy?

2011-12-13T19:53:00.000-08:00

Too often Practices go along from day-to-day with no clear idea of how well the practice is. There are busy times like "heartworm season" and quiet times. But how does one KNOW their practice is healthy?
Just like the astute clinician conducts a complete physical examination on their patient to determine the level of wellness, a practice management examination of your practice by either yourself or a consultant should be conducted annually. In both cases the examination will determine the level of urgency for additional action.
There are 5 broad areas of practice management on which to focus, along with a myriad of others. For our "checkup" purposes we'll focus on the Big Five. They are Financial, Human Resources, Facility, Client Relations and Marketing.

Financial
Only 30% of OVMA practices participate in the economic survey, counting on their colleagues to create the economic information necessary to publish a fee guide. Less than 250 practices conduct the customer satisfaction survey. The very act of participation in the surveys creates financial awareness in the owner that non-participation can never achieve. From this awareness a huge number of questions regarding finances should arise. Here is a tiny sampling:

1. Did I study and understand my annual financial statements, going over them with my accountant? The answer should be an obvious yes.

2. What was my net Profit and was it consistent with a well-run practice? Was the profit higher or lower than last year? At least 25% percent of gross revenue is the benchmark but sadly many practices fall well below this or, worse, don't know their profit margin.

3. Do my expenses match my budget? What!? DO I HAVE A BUDGET????? This is the granddaddy of all questions. Few small businesses have an annual budget, a tool that is paramount to developing financial information.

4. What was the total number of patient visits this year and is this number growing or shrinking? What is the average number of visits per patient per year? Good management software along with an understanding of it is necessary to glean this vital information.

5. What percent of my expenses were attributed to Staff? The answer should be 18-22%. What about Facility costs? They should be in the 5-7% range. Deviations, while justifiable in some cases, must be clearly understood.

Effective management ensures these financial questions and many others can be answered and understood. A practice that makes a high net profit will have good management in place. Profitability not only fulfills one of the underlying reasons for a business' existence but it ensures sustainability and attractiveness to potential buyers.

Human Resources
An examination of the HR protocols of a practice will reveal a great deal about that practice's management.

Is there a Vision, Mission and Core Value Statement so staff understand their role? Is there a hospital manual, and is it updated annually? Do all employees have contracts? Are regular performance and salary reviews conducted for all employees?

How is the hiring process conducted? Is there a formalized interview format and hiring process? Are there frequent staff meetings conducted effectively by key personnel? Are there Standard Operating Procedures for veterinarians, receptionists, technicians and assistants to follow?

Many practices cannot answer these questions affirmatively, yet wonder why work seems chaotic. The justification for inaction ("we have no time", "we're doing pretty good)", is unfounded. It IS worthwhile to have effective HR protocols. The loss of one $40,000 technician will cost the practice $20,000 in training, rehiring and lost productivity costs! Goodness knows the amount of business lost due to unmotivated, unhappy and leaderless employees!

Client Relations
The way clients and their furry friends are treated is another key to the health of a practice. Here are a few questions for which I recommend affirmative answers:

Are there written protocols for meeting, greeting and dealing with clients? Is there a written protocol for how telephone messages are handled? Are doors opened and assistance with pets, children and pet food offered? Do you know the name of the client before they come in the door?

Customer feedback should be solicited regularly and acted upon promptly. Customer complaints should be dealt with in the same manner. I recommend written protocols for both. Great customer service is no accident; It is carefully planned, practiced and executed every step of the way.

It is well-known that likeable service providers are less apt to have a lawsuit or complaint lodged against them. Likeability can be hired for, trained upon and delivered in a consistent manner. The cost of lost business due to poorly trained, indifferent employees interacting with clients is inestimably high. A healthy practice will have a well-defined plan for dealing with their most precious commodity - their clients.

Marketing
External marketing to potential clients is costly, marginally effective and tightly controlled. Internal marketing to existing clients on the other hand is inexpensive and can be immensely successful. Some checkup questions include the following:

Are the reminders up-to-date? Amazingly they are not always current, even when the owner believes they are. There should be a system for phonebacks and recalls. Are there wellness, puppy/kitten, senior programs and packages for which all staff trained? You should know your active client numbers and whether they are going up or down. Do you know how long the average client stays with your practice?

Regarding compliance, do you know the percentage of your clients that are compliant with your recommendations on .... Regular exams? Parasite control? Vaccines? Wellness testing? Dentistry? Nutrition? Do all the veterinarians in the practice agree to deliver these programs or is there "medical anarchy"? Veterinarians generally underestimate their compliance to an astonishing degree. To generate a high level of compliance an effective internal marketing programs must be defined, understood by all staff, trained on and delivered in a professional fashion.

Facility
The condition of your facility along with its atmosphere tells much about your practice's health. Does appear modern, tastefully decorated and freshly painted? There should be a pleasant ambiance with no or little odour. An effective floor plan will be conducive to high productivity and smooth traffic flow. Staff uniforms should appear professional and even match the decor. The utilities and equipment must in good working order and receive regular maintenance, while the parking lot and washrooms need to be tidy, with a regular cleaning protocol.

Failure to attend to these details is not missed by clients. Conscious and subconscious opinions formed about the quality of care offered are directly proportional to the attractiveness of a facility.

We all know the importance of regular physical checkups and wellness assessments for ourselves. We strive to get our clients to bring our patients in on a regular basis for examination. Why is it that so few of us assess the health of our practices? One should strive to obtain the answers to many of the above-stated questions, along with others and compare them to benchmarks. If you are doing well, fantastic! If not, or if you are unable to glean this information out of your practice, you should consider a consultant. For many, the practice is a cornerstone to one's retirement plan. Successful, well-managed practices have much higher valuations and sell for more. Do yourself a favour and give your practice a checkup- it may be the best investment you ever make.