When clients say no: shoring up doctor and team member morale (Proceedings)

Regardless of your position in the veterinary hospital, in this day and age you encounter resistance from clients in some way, shape or form almost every day (if not every hour). As a practice manager or owner veterinarian you may not feel that as directly as your veterinary technicians, receptionists or associate doctors do on a daily basis, however. Unfortunately, the toll that this resistance can take on any of your team members can be very hard...especially when they are trying to do their jobs of being an advocate for the pet and offering the best patient care. Before they know it, the wind is taken out of their sails when their attempts at offering the best medicine are met with a response of "no," or "we have financial constraints," or "we can't afford it," or the dreaded "if you really cared, you'd cut us a break or fix him for free" etc. If this is not demoralizing for anyone, I sure don't know what is!

During this presentation we will discuss how you, the practice manager or owner, can help shore up the morale of your team when they are being barraged with these responses. In order to do this, we will review how to keep their skills sharp even when they may not be allowed to provide the best medicine, how to increase compliance from the pet owners, learn some communication skills to take back to the team to help with the tough money conversations, learn how to notice when team is feeling demoralized, learn what can be done to support them, and, most importantly, share ways that we all handle this in our own practices. We are all in this together!

In this hour, we will work collaboratively and answer the six questions below so that all of us will leave with fresh ideas that we can take home and start using tomorrow. And, we will all leave this presentation feeling passionate about what we do and knowing that we can still make a difference in the lives of the pets that we care about and the team members that we work with every day!

1. How do you keep your doctors' and team members' skills sharp even when you they may not be allowed to provide the best medicine?

     a) Do daily rounds on the patients in the hospital

     b) Create pretend cases and discuss the best course of treatment

     c) Do "mock" emergency drills

     d) Have regular meetings where "gold standard" protocols and procedures are reviewed

     e) Read appropriate trade journals, magazines, books

     f) Provide CE for your team members and encourage their attendance to external courses as well

2. How do you make sure the pets are getting the best care possible under the circumstance (best medicine is still best for the business financially)?

     a) Always provide the "gold standard" of care first

     b) Work with the client to find a realistic option that balances their finances and the best care possible

     c) Don't assume that if a client can't afford the best care that will only choose a "treat and street" option or just the basics

     d) Create a long range plan which could include spreading out services over weeks or months

     e) Provide multiple options for how the client can pay

     f) Encourage team members to get clients in the door – do not allow "free advice" over the phone

3. How do you have conversations about tough subjects (particularly about money)?

     a) Be direct and do not avoid these conversations - be prepared to discuss money and options immediately

     b) Be open and honest and prepared – have Medical Treatment Plans for review

     c) Listen to the concerns of the clients and do not make assumptions

     d) Ask appropriate questions

     e) Acknowledge the client and their concerns

     f) Understand that emotions can take over when you talk about family members (the pet) and money independently of one another...and this is a conversation involving both

     g) Be empathetic!

     h) Make sure team members are confident in their knowledge of the subject matter

     i) Be clear in the recommendations

     j) Consider tone and body language

     k) Consider how you are reacting to the conversation

     l) Take personality in to consideration

     m) Work together to find a solution

     n) Be confident and knowledgeable in the "product" you are selling

     o) Reward and recognize what the client IS able to provide

     p) Know what differentiates you from others

     q) Have specifically trained people in the hospital who can help with the really tough circumstances

4. How do you get compliance from owners?

     a) A consistent message from the veterinary profession about the importance and frequency of veterinary care is needed (from the Bayer/Brakke/NCVEI Study released Jan 2011)

     b) Veterinarians must communicate the value of regular care to avoid deterring pet owners from making annual visits a priority (from the Bayer/Brakke/NCVEI Study released Jan 2011)

     c) Make our practices more "feline-friendly (from the Bayer/Brakke/NCVEI Study released Jan 2011)

     d) Provide reminders and call backs. Schedule rechecks prior to the client leaving.

     e) Work with our clients instead of against them. Be partners in the care of their pets!

     f) Provide an environment that offers phenomenal customer service

5. How do you recognize when the doctors and team members are feeling demoralized?

     a) Review symptoms of compassion fatigue and/or burnout

     b) Negative attitudes and comments about clients

     c) Inter-team conflicts

     d) No longer offering the "gold" standard

     e) Long conversations on the phone with clients providing free advice but not getting them in the door

6. How do you keep yourselves and those around you motivated and morale high even in these tough times?

     a) Share the success stories

     b) Let go of the not so good stories

     c) Recognize and reward the clients who are doing everything they can

     d) Have fun at work!

     e) Focus on the positive!

     f) Remember that you (and your team) are passionate about veterinary medicine! Have conversations about this and remind everyone of the good we do every day!