3 Mistakes Veterinary Practice Owners Make When Recruiting

Here are 3 mistakes I see veterinary practice owners and leaders making when it comes to this crazy game we call ‘recruitment’:

1. Reactive recruitment

This is when you start your recruitment process because someone in the team has resigned. The problem is, it’s highly unlikely you will advertise, perform interviews, and have your new colleague start before your existing team member leaves, which means there is going to be a gap in your workforce, which you may need to cover with locums. Or you have the rest of the team pick up the slack which stretches them even further.

You may think that advertising all the time would be expensive, and that it may not look good for your brand if you are advertising for new staff all the time. Both of those things are true. But there’s a difference between advertising that you need a new vet or a nurse all the time and being visible in the candidate market.  Check out my video, “When it’s a candidate’s market”.

2. Lacking a recruitment strategy

If you don’t have a recruitment strategy, i.e., a way of attracting prospective candidates and interviewing them, then every time you need to recruit, you’ll be starting from scratch, which sucks up a lot of mental and emotional currency that you could be spending elsewhere in the business.

Many practices rely on the same methods that 10 years ago may have resulted in hiring high calibre veterinary professionals, but the market has changed dramatically, and your strategy must evolve with it too. When I talk about strategy, I’m not talking about creating a one-size-fits-all approach, because that limits your flexibility and creativity to secure great people. The most effective recruitment process is high touch and creates a lasting impression. This is one part of the process that you have tremendous influence over so it should not be overlooked.  

3. Hiring in haste

How many times have you placed an advert, received maybe a handful of applicants, none of which matched your ideal candidate criteria, but you interviewed them anyway and just hired someone because hiring someone is better than hiring no one?

Big mistake.

If you hire the wrong person, it will cost you 3-5 times their salary in tangible costs and unseen damages. Let’s make it real – if you hire a vet on a £50k salary and they turn out not to be a good fit, we’re talking costs of £150,000 - £250,000 in costs! This is not something you want to get wrong!

People are so scared of being understaffed that they ignore their intuition and just hire someone because they are there, or because they are the only decent candidate to have applied. It appears to solve the short-term pain but creates many long term problems. 

Make sure you are super clear on who you want in your business. What values should a person have that align with the values of the team and the practice? What are your “hell no’s” and “hell yes’s” i.e., the things that are wholly unacceptable in your practice vs. the things that you promote, support, and encourage. Do not skip this step, and do not compromise on fit and suitability. It will come back to haunt you.

Have you taken my Are You Recruitment Ready scorecard?  It has been designed to show veterinary practice owners, managers, and leaders the missing pieces of their recruitment puzzle; the blind spots that are holding you back from being able to find high calibre vets and nurses for your team. Your personalised report will provide you with guidance on where to improve and how.  It takes 2 minutes, it’s completely free, and you’ll receive customised results.