June 2017

Header

 

Phone (908) 823-4607- info@veterinarybusinessadvisors.com

Ten Strategies to Enhance Client Satisfaction
 
How does your veterinary hospital stand out from the other three down the road? Clients choose among veterinary hospitals based on a variety of factors and perceive quality of care in different ways than you might expect. The reality is that, no matter how outstanding your veterinary medical skills are, clients do not fully perceive quality of services until you convey how much you care about the client and the pet.
Here are ten ways to enhance client satisfaction. If you implement these strategies, it is reasonable to expect to strengthen the hospital-client bond and increase hospital loyalty and business.
Motivation is a Partnership
Inspiration for the Entire Veterinary Office
 
If you're a veterinarian or office manager, does this scenario sound familiar?

Sure, your veterinary office staff is getting their work done. They let you know when customers arrive and they check them in and out efficiently. They're never rude and you can't pinpoint anything that is blatantly wrong, and yet . . . something is wrong.

If you believe that your office staff is emotionally disengaged from work, your observation is likely to be accurate. A Gallup study of more than 1.5 million employees shows that:
  • 28 percent of employees are engaged in their work
  • 55 percent are disengaged
  • 17 percent are actively disengaged
This means that 72 percent of employees are not genuinely connected to the work they do! And, take an honest look in the mirror. Does this next description sound like you?

You arrive to work each day, needing to paste on a smile before you greet your veterinary office team and, although you do your best with each client, it's feeling like - well, like a job, when it used to feel much more joyful.

Now, let's look at the other side of the coin. If you're part of a veterinary office staff, have you experienced either (or both!) of these?

Scenario 1: You love animals and began working in a veterinary office for just that reason. But, the paperwork is grinding you down and the enthusiasm that you once had for your job just isn't there anymore.

Scenario 2: When you got a job at the Main Street Veterinary practice, you were thrilled! Working with Dr. Joanne was a real privilege and more than one person in her office went to veterinary school themselves because of her encouragement and leadership. And, it used to be so enjoyable to work there . . .

Whether you need to motivate or be motivated, and whether you're part of practice management or part of the practice office staff, the question remains: how? How can you motivate yourself or others to transform a practice?


In This Issue
   
Recently a client called asking how to deal with a millennial parent who showed up to interview WITH her son. 

How would you handle this situation?

Do you have any other crazy millennial stories?

What are 360 Reviews and should we use them?
 
The Society for Human Resource Management analyzes the pros and cons of 360-degree employee performance appraisals, ones where customers, coworkers, direct reports and the like also evaluate an employee's effectiveness. Although this initially may sound like a good idea, experts warn that companies should approach this idea with caution, especially if the evaluation can affect pay raises and/or opportunities for promotion rather than as an employee development tool.

Advantages include receiving a broader perspective about an employee, and it can be "eye opening" to hear different points of view. This can be especially valuable if the supervisor isn't in a position where he or she can directly observe an employee's behavior, perhaps because of differing geographical locales. And, if an employee is marginal in one particular area, a 360-degree performance appraisal may open up the opportunity for someone else to offer up a perspective about an area where the employee is strong.

Challenges include failure at the planning stages of this approach; skewed emphasis on isolated pieces of feedback; and the possibility that someone wanting a promotion may provide negative feedback about someone else seeking the same promotion. Plus, employees can collaborate, agreeing to give each other positive reviews, and some jobs that involve specialized skills may limit some raters' ability to give a fair assessment. As two more considerations: costs involved may be "fairly staggering," and these types of performance appraisals can hurt employee morale.

  


 
     
©Copyright 2017  - Veterinary Business Advisors, Inc.