HR Problem: The industry is losing support staff because of a lack of career paths for staff members. How can your practice create a mentorship program to keep support staff for the long term.
Samantha Berg & Kellie Olah, SPHR, CVPM, SHRM-SCP
Imagine that you are twenty years old and have been working at the same veterinary hospital since you graduated high school two years ago. You started as a kennel technician and moved up to a veterinary assistant after your first six months because you are a hard worker, and you are good with animals. You love working as an assistant, but you don’t quite know what you want to do next in your career. You may want to pursue being a certified veterinary technician (CVT) but don’t know what exactly technicians do and if you would enjoy the work. The more senior assistants and technicians have helped you to learn your job responsibilities, but that is about it. Everyone is so swamped with appointments and hospitalized patients that they do not have time to train you in new technical skills. What do you do? Do you stay at the job where you feel as if you’ve reached your advancement potential? Do you move on to another hospital that will train you as a technician? Do you ask for further training and guidance?
Unfortunately, at many hospitals, the answer for people in this situation is to move on—either to a hospital that will train the person as a technician or to another field entirely. According to Merck Animal Health’s 2021 Veterinary Wellbeing Study, 31 percent of non-veterinarian clinic staff are likely to leave a practice in the next two years. Offering a clear path to mentorship for support staff, though, may encourage staff retention rates. Mentorship as it refers to veterinarians can be defined as “a relationship between experienced veterinarians and recent graduates who seek to expand their knowledge, confidence, productivity, and clinical skills in a private practice setting.”
The discussion surrounding mentorship in the veterinary field is usually focused on mentorship for veterinarians, but should it be? While ensuring that veterinarians have access to mentorship opportunities is certainly important for any practice owner or manager, it is just as important to ensure that your non-veterinarian staff have the same opportunities.
So, how do you set up a robust mentorship program in your hospital? First, take stock of your staff and identify each person’s career goals and learning interests. Do they want to improve their technical skills? Gain confidence in client interactions? Explore future career goals? Perhaps you have receptionists/customer services representatives (CSRs) who would like to explore practice management and administration. Or you may have assistants who want to pursue their CVT. Maybe you even have non-Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) staff who want to pursue veterinary school. This has the added potential long-term benefit of funneling future new graduates into your hospital.
The next step is to identify staff members who you think are equipped with the right skill sets and personalities to serve as mentors. Acting as a mentor is, of course, optional, and not everyone has the time or mental and emotional bandwidth to do so. If a potential mentor is reluctant to participate, you could point out how mentorship can benefit the mentor as well as the mentee by providing a sense of purpose and motivation to the mentor. The mentor has the potential to feel valued in the organization and form closer relationships with newer colleagues.
Finally, develop a clear plan and set of expectations for the mentorship program. If your practice already has a codified training program and/or skill tiers, make sure that they are available for mentors to use as a guide. Carve time in your clinic schedule to allow mentors and mentees to connect. This can be during staff meetings or could involve scheduling mentor/mentee pairs for the same shifts. Mentors and mentees also have the option of meeting outside of the clinic as their schedules allow. As with a mentorship for veterinarians, it is important that a mentorship relationship is accompanied by clear boundaries. Additionally, the goals that mentors and mentees set should be realistic and in line with your organization’s long-term goals. Mentees should provide regular updates to management regarding their progress with their mentor.
As with any training initiative, this should be tailored to fit your clinic’s needs. The exact format of the mentorship will depend upon the number of each type of staff you have, their skill levels, the clinic’s schedule, and so forth and will probably evolve over time. Starting a mentorship program provides an excellent opportunity for you to reevaluate your training program and helps to ensure that you are aware of your staff’s goals. As you institute your program, remember to keep it well structured so as to yield the greatest benefit for your staff. A successful mentorship program will provide your staff with new learning opportunities, empower them to pursue their own development, foster closer relationships within your clinic, and lead to greater employee satisfaction.
1. extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.merck-animal-health-usa.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/2022/02/2021-PSV-Veterinary-Wellbeing-Presentation_V2.pdf
2. https://www.cliniciansbrief.com/article/mentorship-veterinary-practice-good-mentor-mentee
