Wanted: Able associate, must love dogs

FEEL LIKE YOU'RE SEARCHING FOR SOMEONE WHO doesn't exist? Like the right new associate will never find you? You could be looking in all the wrong places. Or maybe you need to update your approach. One thing's for sure, this challenge isn't in your head. New associates are harder to find, and the market is increasingly competitive.

According to the 2005 Veterinary Economics Job Satisfaction and Professional Outlook Study, 32 percent of veterinary hospitals plan to add a veterinarian in the next five years. Graduating veterinarians receive four to five bona fide offers for employment; corporations say they can hire every veterinarian coming out of school next year and still not fill all their vacancies.

So it's definitely an employee's market—as it has been for several years. But the market will get even tighter. So if you want to hire a new associate, you need to strategize or you may not be successful.

Case in point

I recently presented a seminar in Philadelphia, and an attending veterinarian told me he's been looking for an associate for more than three years and hasn't had a nibble. He's in his early 40s, married, and has a 3-year-old daughter. He works long hours, owns a high-volume, relatively low-cost practice, and says he's on the edge of burnout. In fact, if he doesn't find someone by the end of the year, he's going to sell the practice and get out of the profession.

I asked him what steps he had taken to try to recruit a new associate. He said he'd put some ads in the journals and talked to the sales people that came to his practice—and that was it! He didn't know what else to do, nor did he have the time or energy to do much more.

Times have changed. And if you want a new associate, you need to recruit more aggressively. And these strategies can improve your chances of finding and hiring a new doctor.

Cast a wide net on the Internet

Not too many years ago I lectured at veterinary schools and received numerous thank-you cards days and weeks later. I still lecture at veterinary schools, but no longer receive cards. Instead, I receive e-mails.

Today's students e-mail their friends down the corridor to see whether they'd like to go out for a drink. Their primary method of communication and information is the Internet. So it stands to reason that most new graduates will go to the Web when they look for a job.

Posting on the Internet today is a must. And this approach has perks. It's often less expensive than print advertising, and you can include more information and post pictures of your practice. Most veterinary schools have a Web site for job postings, and there are numerous veterinary-specific Web sites where you can post a job listing.

Look at some Web sites and ask yourself, "If I were looking for a job, which site would I go to and what type of ad would I respond to?"

Become the practice of choice

Veterinary medicine is a relatively small profession. If you don't treat associates well, provide them with a challenging work environment, provide a state-of-the-art facility and up-to-date equipment, allow for a life outside the practice, and compensate them well, you'll have a hard time recruiting. When you start the hiring process, you're entering a very competitive environment. So take a long, hard look at yourself and your practice to see what, if anything, needs to be improved before you seek a new associate. Ask yourself:

> Are you managing the practice effectively or do you need to hire a practice manager?

> Is the facility up-to-date or could it use a facelift?

> Are you using team members correctly and leveraging them well?

The list goes on and on, but the idea is that often you need to work on your practice before you hire someone to work in it.

Decide what makes you unique

You don't need a large, new, expensive facility to attract new associates. Yes, these features will appeal to some applicants but certainly not to all. Instead, think about what makes your hospital special.

Maybe you're in a small community and enjoy close interaction with your clients—a James Herriot-style practice. Maybe it's the types of services you're providing—say, equine, bovine, alternative medicine, or exotics. Or maybe you provide the opportunity to work with board-certified practitioners or with special facilities or equipment.

I know of a practice in a rural area of New York that offers mixed animal services in a family-oriented, high-quality, environment. It has no problem recruiting new associates.

The point is that every practice offers some special quality. Find yours and highlight it in your ad.

Develop recruiting materials

When I help clients find new associates, one of the first things I do is develop a recruiting packet. It's usually a printed folder with the practice name on the cover and information inside. Practices send it to interested applicants or to veterinary schools, and it sets them apart.

When putting your recruiting packet together, include:

> General information on the practice and highlights about its unique attributes.

> Pictures of the practice and information about the services that you provide.

> A CD with a virtual tour of your practice's facility

> Information about your town and area. You can obtain information from your local chamber of commerce or from demographic Web sites.

I know one practice that even developed a professional video patterned after the TV show ER. In the first scene, an emergency crashed through the front door—complete with music. It was awesome. They sent the video to all the veterinary schools in the northeast and found themselves inundated with applications.

Consider implementing mentoring programs

Speaking to future veterinarians all over the country, it's clear to me that many new associates feel very concerned about their first job. They want to join a practice with a mentoring program—not one that will throw them to the wolves.

If you're serious about hiring a new associate, consider devoting the time necessary to develop a mentoring program. Or at the very least, put an orientation program in place to assure the new associate that all the doctors in the practice won't take off for a meeting in Hawaii the day after he or she is hired.

Review your compensation and benefits package

You need to offer competitive pay and benefits to attract applicants. You'll get some idea about the going rate when you read other ads on the Internet.

I recommend the ProSal method of compensation (see "Salary vs. Production" in the February 2006 issue for more), but other factors may be as important, or even more important, to the associates you're trying to attract. So also look at the work environment you offer. Flex-scheduling is in demand and some associates would prefer to work two or three days a week, maybe two days one week and three days on the alternate weeks. Some may prefer three 10-hour days or an every-other-week schedule.

The needs of the practice must be met, but some creativity can make this a win-win situation. Think outside the box. Just offering above-average salary or benefits doesn't necessarily mean you'll attract viable applicants; many associates today are more interested in quality of life issues than compensation.

Think about a signing bonus

To be competitive and stand out from the crowd, you may want to consider offering a signing bonus or relocation bonus. This is a common approach in other professions and industries, and I think someday it will be the norm in veterinary practice.

I've seen practices offer between $2,000 and $20,000 as a signing bonus. Normally associates won't collect the bonus until they've been employed for six months or even a year. But consider what it costs you to recruit a new associate. What income are you losing by not having that new associate? How does it affect your quality of life? When you weigh these issues, a signing or relocation bonus could be worthwhile if it attracts the right person to your door.

Offer a finder's fee

I've also seen practices offer their current doctors and staff members a $1,000 to $5,000 stipend if they find and you hire a new associate. And it has been highly effective. Like the signing bonus, you typically pay when the new employee completes six months or a year of employment. Of course, you can enlist the help of employment agencies or headhunters, too.

The bottom line: There are and will be more and more veterinary practices looking to hire new associates. You know how supply and demand works. It's going to become harder and harder to find qualified veterinary associates. If you intend to compete, you'll need to change your approach.

WANTED: Associate who can leap tall buildings in a single bound, withstand the worst temper of a thousand angry poodle owners, and occasionally negotiate peace talks between warring factions of our practice team.

Associate needed for small-animal veterinary practice. Cleanliness preferred. Intelligence preferred. Sanity a must.

Veterinary hospital desperate for able associate with vast medical knowledge and proven clinical track record. Will compensate fairly for full-time position in busy clinic—and for dealing with Mrs. Notsonice twice a year.

Associate eaten by Chihuahua. Need replacement to start immediately. Must have strength of 10 oxen, brilliance of Einstein, and a can-do attitude. Also, must like dogs.

Mark Opperman

Veterinary Economics Hospital Management Editor Mark Opperman is a certified veterinary practice manager and owner of VMC Inc., a veterinary consulting firm based in Evergreen, Colo. Send your comments or questions to ve@advanstar.com.