4 Signs it is Time for Change in Your Veterinary Practice
The one thing that is constant in business is change. Times are changing so quickly these days you can easily get left behind. Sometimes it is easy to keep your head down and not notice where you need to adapt and evolve. If you resist change, if you hold onto the old ways and don’t invite in the new, cracks inevitably start appearing. Here are 5 tell-tale signs it’s time for change in your practice:
- Turnover
Whether you’ve had a stable team for a while and a couple of resignations have come in, or turnover has always been an issue in your practice, turnover is a clear sign that a practice owner or leader is not keeping up with the needs of employees, or worse – they are in tune with them but have not prioritised them.
It’s time to pause and investigate the reasons people have left, invite honest feedback without judgement or placing blame, then proactively making change in your practice to secure the futures of your remaining team.
People leaving can also be a positive shift for your practice. Disruption is often a catalyst for change; covid was a very important lesson on this!
- Same cr*p, different day
Have you ever noticed that you put out a fire in your practice, only for it to pop up again like one of those prank relighting candles?
In business, your career, and your life, similar challenges repeat themselves usually because they weren’t dealt with properly, or learned from, the first time.
I often see this with interpersonal issues in a practice. A leader can resolve the presenting situation but doesn’t get to the core of the issue. Cliques form and the drama continues.
Repeating patterns in business is often a symptom of low confidence in a leader, who has let fear get in the way of facing issues head on. Leaders must be comfortable with discomfort to help their business grow.
Blog – How Comfortable Are You With Discomfort?
- You’re working harder not smarter.
You and your team seem to constantly be chasing your tails, feeling like you’re not able to get on top of things, and you end up working harder but you’re not actually getting more done.
The belief of “I must work harder to get more done” is a dangerous one. It’s a sure fire way to lose staff and guarantees your business cannot grow because you’ll hit a ceiling.
If your team are prepared to work harder for you, congratulations, you have some loyal people! But something has to give at some point. Working harder is not a good long term strategy, and change is needed to shift your thoughts, beliefs, and therefore behaviours to take new action.
- Itchy feet
It’s every practice owner’s dream to have a practice that is running smoothly, with a happy team, happy clients, and minimal drama. But sometimes you feel the urge to shake things up and take your practice to the next level!
If you’re not feeling uncomfortable, you’re not growing.
Periods of calm in a business are moments to pause and reflect. But once you’ve embraced that, what’s next? How can you be even better than you are now? What does success look like for the future? Where would you like your practice to be a year from now, and what has to happen to take you there?
Is it time for change in your practice?
If not now, when?
Here’s how I can help:
✅ Team Training – Team Workshops - 1:1 Coaching
✅ Become the inspirational leader your practice needs you to be!
✅ Solve your recruitment problem once and for all!
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📞 0333 050 3554