Don’t Be HR, Be a Vet

Finding a brilliant vet tech with the right experience is worth a lot—and it’s rare.

It’s so rare that realizing this perfect tech refuses to record notes for the front desk staff isn’t enough to let them go.

Instead, you take the steps to address the issue head-on and try to have a conversation with them.

But they just keep denying it and saying they have been recording notes.

Denying is a classic example of 1 of the 4 Ds.

The 4 Ds are Denial, Deflection, Disruption, and Dumping.

• Denial is when they reject what you’re saying. They say, “That’s not true,” “I didn’t do that,” or something similar.

• Deflection is when they change the subject or place blame elsewhere, on other staff or their training.

• Disruption is when the employee starts to cry, swear, yell, or leave the conversation altogether.

• Dumping is when the employee dumps all of the responsibility on you. They say, “The culture, policies, or protocols were never clearly defined” or something similar.

When these 4 Ds appear, you can try to reel in the conversation, find more time to sit down with the tech, and bring evidence of their mistakes.

But you’re an expert in animals, not in handling human emotions.

Ensuring these difficult conversations with your employees are calm and productive requires a lot of preparation and careful planning, which takes time away from what you’re actually meant to be doing—caring for animals.

You don’t have to be a doctor and HR.

A practice manager can take over the responsibility of difficult conversations with employees so you can focus on medicine.

Practice managers will have the time to prepare for and conduct these conversations and the managerial skills and temperament to handle even the most difficult situations.

Use my practice manager job description in your search for the ideal practice manager candidate.