Make time to meet

Q. We're always so busy. How do we find time for regular staff meetings?

"It's often difficult to get the whole team together for discussions and training, and the larger the practice, the harder it is," says Pam Weakley, a Firstline Editorial Advisory Board member and the practice manager at Dickman Road Veterinary Clinic in Battle Creek, Mich.

Pam Weakley

If you work in a smaller clinic or your schedule allows for it, consider coordinating your meetings with the lunch hour. A meeting during lunch is often more accessible and keeps your meeting time consistent. Team members can relax and eat while everyone shares critical practice information.

If your practice doesn't pause for lunch, consider conducting the same discussion or training during each lunch period on a specified day. This way, only the meeting leader alters his or her schedule.

If you work in a larger hospital, consider ways to gather a few team members in a meeting and then designate a system for communicating the information to the rest of the team. For example, at Dickman Road Veterinary Clinic, the four owners, practice manager, and five associates meet once every other week. On off weeks, the managing owner, practice manager, and five department heads meet. Afterwards, department heads convene with their groups to relay any pertinent information. For anyone unable to attend one of these meetings, the practice manager posts meeting minutes, including any policy changes.