Ways to Show Staff They're Valued With Consistent Continuing Education
Your vet techs and client service representatives (CSRs) strive to bring the best possible care to patients every day.
Prove to your team how integral they are to the level of care provided in your practice.
Offer continuing education opportunities to every staff member.
Continuing Education (CE) shows staff they’re valued by giving them the opportunity to improve their skills.
CE supports staff in becoming better employees and caregivers.
Best of all, your staff will see that leadership believes in their professional advancement.
Here are a few ways you can offer your staff continuing education programs:
In-House CE: Easy to set up, inexpensive, and high value. In-house CE is a must-have for every practice. Schedule training sessions monthly or quarterly (at the least). You can run them by yourself or invite a guest speaker. Speakers could be another doctor you know, a representative, or an educator. Get staff involved, order lunch, and make it fun!
Virtual CE: It’s easy enough to host CE in a conference room and even easier to send a link. Virtual CE is a low-cost (sometimes free) way to give you and your staff access to conferences or lessons from vet med organizations that would usually be an expensive trip.
Offsite Conferences: Offsite conferences can be pricey, but they give your techs and CSRs the opportunity to learn about major advancements in their specific areas. For less expensive conferences, look for local ones run by your State DVMA. And when you do send a member of staff to a larger conference, have them report back with a presentation with the rest of the team.
Offering a dedicated continuing education protocol is key to the advancement of your practice.
Stay on the cutting edge of current vet med processes.
Prove to staff you value their professional advancement.
My Pro Tip: Buy Lunch!
If you feed them, they will come.
Bring educators in to do a Lunch + Learn, or buy your staff a meal during CE meetings.
To learn more about implementing continuing education in your practice, contact me, Shirley Lockhart, and tell me about your practice.