One of the most frequently heard statements from veterinary clinic owners is that there is never a ‘shortage of ideas, just a shortage of implementation’.
This holds true from almost every aspect of the practice, especially growing ones. It’s hard to make a decision to hire someone or multiple people, when what you are looking for is ideally, to complete a project- something with a beginning and end point. It doesn’t make a great deal of sense from that standpoint, to keep someone on your payroll beyond the value they can provide to you for the project. Most larger-scale projects can have a great deal of planning required, and can be quite intricate. These can be replacement of veterinary software, replacement of internal phone systems, networking systems, servers, backup and restoration solutions, as well as the development of protocols and content that will enable a practice to create a level of consistency in both daily operations, and external service to clients.
This is the information age. Even in smaller clinics, when employees of any duration leave, the chances are fairly good that there is a specific amount of information that leaves with them, unless it is already being managed in some sort of structured format. If not, over time, practices that may have had standard operating procedures, and protocols in place for handling problems, will find that nothing remains, or worse, bits and pieces of information remain that is outdated and isn’t current. New employees replacing those who’ve left are absorbing that information, which often yields higher turnover, productivity problems, and a substantial burden of work shifted to those few employees who have chosen to stay. The on-boarding and training process takes much longer (in some practices, it’s not uncommon to hear that it can take up to a year). These are all problems which not only have a direct negative impact on service to clients as well as turnover and employee acquisition costs, but also an indirect negative impact on overall staff morale. Clients see a constant stream of new faces and question the stability of the practice, especially as those new faces are learning on the job, and making mistakes. It’s not a huge leap in the mind of a client to consider “if you can’t get my appointments set correctly, then what should I be expecting with any surgeries for my pets?”
Hiring a project manager to address these specific areas might have an upfront cost that will likely be higher, but ultimately, will position your staff and your business for greater sustainability and growth, as you move forward. Once the projects are complete, for all intents and purposes, that person is no longer on your payroll. The most advantageous aspect of hiring a project manager is that this is a person who will advocate for you and your interests throughout the process. For example, if you are planning, as many practices are, to go completely digital, having a project manager working on your behalf will free up time for you to continue seeing cases, or working on other aspects of your business development plan. A project manager will help identify a blue print or goal and then work through a process of vetting vendors, reviewing bids, and recommending those who could potentially fit your business model as a partner. For a project such as a transition to digital records, there are actually quite a few areas that are not routinely considered by most practices and create a problem post deployment. Assumptions are made that representatives from vendor companies such as the software company you select, will have an intimate working knowledge of your business goals and plans, and will make recommendations for you in terms of buying additional equipment such as digital X-rays, etc,…. to connect to your new software. If you have chosen a vendor who actually sells all of those under one roof, the likelihood is that they will be selling you more of their own product as it may be benefitting them more than you. Assigned account representatives are not the same as project managers. Their interests are not yours alone.
VMTSG offers project management solutions for practices of all sizes. We will work with you to identify specifically what your goals are, and develop a realistic plan and budget to help you reach your goals. We can relieve you of the stress involved with vendor research and selection, product integrations, system designs and feature sets, etc,….. as well as training and deployment for staff.
Veterinary Management Technology Solutions Group 