Now is a good time to pause and reflect how your team is tracking towards achieving annual goals. You may be well on your way, or you may be falling behind and wondering what you need to do to get back on track.
If the latter is true, don’t worry – there’s still plenty of time to turn things around. But first, it’s important to identify your strategy roadblocks, so you can hone in on them and get your plan back in shape.
Here are a few common areas of opportunity that veterinary practices experience, plus some tips on how to fix them:
Communication
Setting goals each year is just the beginning. If you haven’t involved your team in the planning stages, you need to communicate these goals early on and then keep them involved. Specifically, why each one is important and what the plan is to achieve it.
As mentioned in a Smart Business blog, “regardless of how perfectly outlined and well-thought-out your goals are, if they are not effectively communicated, they almost assuredly will fail.”
Once communicated, regularly remind your team how you’re tracking against each goal. This keeps your staff focused and engaged in working towards them.
What to focus on to fix it
Set aside regular, dedicated time to re-communicate practice goals with your team. Remind them of what was set at the beginning of the year and the reasons why. Then, show them how you’re tracking – whether the results are good or bad. Then, brainstorm with your team to come up with ideas of what you can do to improve results.
Training
You may find that your team is lacking certain knowledge or skills required to achieve your practice goals. For example, they may not know how to use a software feature correctly and have reverted back to old processes. Or, they don’t know how to communicate the benefits of your wellness plans and are therefore not meeting sales targets. Alternatively, there may only be one person in the practice who knows how to complete a specific task so it is falling on them each day/week/month resulting in the roadblock.
What to focus on to fix it
Once you’ve identified skill gaps, put a training plan in place to close those gaps. Make sure training is aligned to each individual’s needs so they can get up to speed quickly and learn what they need to succeed. Talk to your software provider on the variety of training resources available.
The right technology
You may also be missing the latest technology from your practice. Software and hardware development happens quickly, so it can be easy to fall behind and miss out on the benefits that the latest releases offer. For example, you may want to improve inventory management, offer online appointment booking, or speed up the checkout process. With the right technology these things are much easier to achieve.
What to focus on to fix it
Conduct an evaluation of your hardware and software and whether it has the right features to help you meet your goals. For example, does it support integrated payment processing for faster checkout times, or link directly to an online portal where clients can sign in and book their appointment? If not, it may be time for an upgrade. Leading technology partners offer virtual and on-site training to support practice management software and the integrated solutions that go along with it.