Editor’s Note: All names and companies in this Dilemma case are fictitious, but the scenarios are based on actual events.
We Design / Stock.adobe.com
2024 brought many logistical changes to veterinary clinical practice. With COVID-19, economic changes, and inflation, the one constant in the veterinary practice is the needs of pet patients. One of the profession’s biggest challenges is staffing, with the need for veterinarians and veterinary technicians increasing and the availability of these professionals decreasing.
Li Animal Hospital is a large, successful companion animal clinic in the Southwest. Our 48 staff members provide state-of-the-art pet care, as well as exceptional customer service and support. It is very important to choose new staff members diligently and with insight. The need for an efficient hiring process is key to successfully hiring talented team members.
Clinic management has determined that interviewing qualified candidates is the most important element in the recruitment process. This conclusion was the result of the influence of misleading interviews over the past few years. Analyzing past interviews has resulted in some new recommendations on basic do’s and don’ts when interviewing future staff.
Applicant interviews should be conducted in person if possible. For a variety of reasons, FaceTime, Zoom, and other digital options have replaced the in-person interview experience. There are immense nuances between an actual in-person interview and a virtual interview. An effective interview requires a thorough review of your resume, an assessment of your communication skills, and a discussion of your philosophy and goals for your new position. Lee Veterinary Hospital administrators learned from negative experience what situations to avoid when interviewing staff candidates. Below are some of their recommendations.
- Let the applicant do most of the talking. Answers to simple, to-the-point questions can be very helpful. This allows us to assess the applicant’s communication skills and practice philosophy.
- Don’t ask about family, marital status or social benefits (unless the applicant chooses to elaborate on the subject matter) (check state laws regarding search limitations). Additionally, although applicants may not say so, they may consider these to be intrusive inquiries.
- Don’t ask leading questions that encourage the candidate to respond in the way you think they want to hear, rather than answering honestly. For example, the interviewer says: “We are very proud of our relationships with local shelters. What is your experience with humanitarian organizations?” you may have, but you may be hesitant to reveal it given the key questions.
An important part of the interview process should be the “working interview” element. Applicants must spend at least a portion of their workday interacting with staff and customers in a clinic setting. Without job interviews, the information you need to hire your valued staff members will be incomplete.
The veterinarian workplace is unique compared to other medical settings. Not only does it require specialized skills, but staff are also surrounded by animals. Compassion is just as important as skill level. Collaborative chemistry in the workplace is essential when dealing with animals as patients. Once a hiring decision has been made, educating and training new staff is time consuming and costly. When a practitioner or applicant makes the wrong hiring choice, the negative ripple effects reverberate through all areas of the workplace. The interview process is the first and perhaps most important step in acquiring staff who share the culture and qualities of good veterinary practice.
Mr. Rosenberg’s response
In today’s veterinary facilities, technicians and veterinarians must be more than just medically competent. They must have excellent communication skills, be accepted as colleagues, and have compassion for their pet patients. These are the qualities necessary for gold standard practice. Hiring the best staff requires diligent consideration on the part of the applicant as well as the employer. We strongly recommend that interview practitioners carefully prepare candidates for their interviews in advance. Going into an interview with only a cursory look at your resume often leads to hiring mistakes.
Mark Rosenberg, VMD; He is the founder of Voorhees Veterinary Center in Voorhees, New Jersey. Although many of the scenarios Rosenberg describes in his column are based on real-life events, the veterinary practices, doctors, and employees described are fictitious.