Thank you. Hi, everybody. It's great to be invited back today.

Hope you've all been having a good day, and I'm not gonna ruin it for you over the next half an hour or so. When, they asked me to do this again, I, I was trying to think of what, what's quite current and topical at the moment. And in recent weeks and months, a lot of practises, particularly independent practises that I work with, you know, with the Saint Francis Wet West Group, have been trying to look at how they can, they can support their new graduates to the best of their ability.

And in turn how they can get the most out of those new graduates and vice versa. So I thought that was quite a good topic for this evening. So really, when I started thinking about it, the approach really is that it really is a story of two halves, as Andy touched on.

It's all about the practise needs and wants, but also about those wants and needs of our newly qualified veterinary surgeons. And I genuinely believe if we can harmonise the two quite quickly in practise, potentially, but we've got an absolute match made in heaven and we can really maximise on our new grads potential and really help those practises benefit as much as we possibly can. And it's not an easy thing to do.

Had a look in the marketplace, you know, we've, we've recently set up a new graduate training programme, and, and I wanted to do that, having done a lot of research into what practises were needing or where they were found that things were lacking. And the feedback that I was getting from practises was first and foremost, it is quite a struggle to attract new grads. Often that's believed to be due to the lack of a formalised training structure once these newly qualified vets actually get into practise life.

They feel, you know, from an independent practise perspective, you know, there's a lot of, information from corporate practises that tend to have an integrated training programme for new grads that's publicised through the veterinary colleges, and a lot of independent practises were finding that they were struggling to attract new grads because they haven't got anything else to offer. Although obviously within their own practise and their own setup, they've got an awful lot to offer these new graduates. So they were really keen to try and find an answer to these issues and try to continue to attract new grads, but also put a structure in place so that not only are they teaching the clinical stuff, but teaching all the other really important stuff as well and wanting some guidance on how to get it right.

When we looked at, you know, practise needs from a practise perspective, what it is they're wanting their new vets to do, we had quite a list, and, you know, as a business owner, a business leader, We're, we're looking to our new young blood to come in and really raise our game from a practise perspective. But obviously, that's not an easy thing to do when you've only just come out of school and you've never actually been in the workplace before. So, what I wanted to do is to look at what practises, wants and needs were, and look at how that marries up with what our, our newly qualified and our young veterinary surgeons are looking for, because unless we get the marriage right, it's not going to work.

So when we look at what practise needs are, they wanted new vets to be competent on the clinical side of the role, understand how important the communication side is, because you can be the best clinical vet in the world, if you can't communicate it, you're never gonna be a good veterinary surgeon, so important. Have that greater understanding of the business aspects of practise, because with the best will in the world, again, those veterinary surgeons that really start to understand practise as a business, where they fit in, where their role is, and what their contribution is, and how important that is, are the vets that are going to be superstars in practise. When new graduates come out, often they don't realise they are naturally in a leadership position, and this is something we're going to look at a little bit later on.

And if you're not even aware you're in a leadership position, it's very difficult to prepare yourself accordingly. Also, the importance of the team, you know, veterinary practise of all businesses is so, so based on the team dynamic. One does not work without the other.

And, you know, coming from, An environment where you've been training all the time, where you've been learning all the time, being thrown in at the deep end into a practical world can be a very scary for a new graduate. And B, getting to work with that team dynamic where you've never done that before, is a real challenge. And it's a real challenge when you're learning on the job and you're trying to deliver and do all the things that practises are expecting at the same time.

But actually knowing the value of that team is probably the most important thing of all. Then grasping the depth of the role outside of the clinical aspects, you know, speaking to a lot of the new grads that I've worked with over the last year. Very few of them when I asked the question, thought about any of the other aspects other than the medical side of veterinary medicine.

They haven't thought necessarily about the business side, they haven't necessarily thought about the people side of the equation. They thought a lot about the medicine, a lot about the clinical side, but much less about the other aspects. Practises are wanting people to learn and adapt with both clients and colleagues to get the best results.

To have a harmonious working environment, really get the best from our colleagues, but also get the best from our clients and in order to do the best for our clients. And then reaching full potential for themselves and the practise. You know, it's been fantastic working with some of these guys.

They're really young, they're really fresh, they're really enthusiastic, backed up by really being quite scared and on this massive learning curve. So there's an awful lot that needs to go into working on it from both sides. When we look at practise expectations, when I spoke to, to this number of practises, these are the things they're looking for from their veterinary superstars.

They want somebody who's prepared to work hard, someone who's really good with the clients, but he's a team player. They want the, the characteristics they're looking for are honesty, somebody who's timely, who shares the same values that the practise do. They want that person who's going to do the right thing.

Good at communication, but able to ask if they need help. Somebody who really enjoys the role with approachability and friendliness, and someone who is adaptable, let's face it, guys, no two days are the same in veterinary medicine, no two days are the same in practise life. What we think we're gonna do when we get up in the morning is completely gone out the window by 8:30.

So, you know, being flexible and adaptable is a, is a massive quality for our team members, and that's quite hard, that's quite stressful. They need to be good with the team, they need to be as accurate as possible. Practises want them to enhance the practise, to care about the business and have that sense of personal responsibility.

So from the time management, attention to detail, being able to work independently with accountability, organisation and good productivity. So it's a massive ask. What our practises are asking of our new guys is a huge deal.

And that's what they're expecting from them. They want that sense of professionalism, people who are punctual, people who are smart, you know, exhibiting appropriate behaviour, using their initiative, and like every other team member, making the practise busy. So lots and lots of things that our practises are requiring of our veterinary surgeons, and quite rightly so.

And I looked at the other side, what are our new graduates' expectations? What do our newly qualified vets want? What is it they're seeking for, for practises?

Are your practises geared up to offer this to them? Are you in a position where you can do that, to give them that help and support, to give them the training, to give them time. You know, it's one of the hardest things.

If I had a big pot of fairy dust, I'd like to sprink it all over everybody and give you all more time. Time, if, if I ask anybody, is always the one thing that we have so little of. Our guys are looking for a career, and hopefully most of them are stellar career in a, in a profession that they want to stay in for a long time.

They want to be part of a team. They want to practise what they've been learning all these years to do, with a good standard of facilities to support what they're doing. And let's face it, some lovely toys to play with.

But they also want to be given trust, they want to be paid for doing a good job, guidance by the people that they're working for and feel that they cared about. And thought about and somebody, a practise that wants to develop their skill set. Working in a good atmosphere, they're not frightened of working hard, but they would like to do it in a great working environment, and to be given opportunities within the business to really shine.

But at the same time trying to calculate that work-life balance, which is some, something which is quite elusive for our veterinary surgeons. It's a difficult balance to strike. So it's trying to think about how we can, as practises, deliver all the things that these guides need and as new graduates, if I've got any new graduates listening tonight, how you can position yourself so that you're going to get the best from your practise for your career, for you as a veterinary surgeon, and moving forward.

So the challenge is very much how do we get the two to marry up and work together for that best outcome on both sides. What do we need to do? Well, we know it can be a struggle, as I said just now, it can be quite difficult to, to get new graduates if you're an independent practise particularly.

Those practises need to demonstrate a structure to help our new graduates to gain confidence and turn into practise superstars. And this, as we know, is not gonna happen overnight. You know, from a practise perspective, investing in a new graduate, you know, there's a lot, it's not just a monetary thing, it's a time and a training and a skill transference thing and a support thing.

It's not going to happen overnight and it won't happen at all unless we provide the right circumstances, the right environment and the right support. As a practise, are we too busy? Are you sitting there with your head in your hands, thinking, oh God, I can't do that, I'm already pushed to full capacity.

My question to you would be, can we afford not to? You know, if we can get our hands on this lovely new talent and we can mould it in a way that works for our practise and our practise values and bring them along with us, hopefully they're going to in turn deliver really good results for us. One of the things I would say though, guys, bearing in mind that I qualified as a veterinary nurse when Noah was a boy, you know, remember what it was like for you when you first started.

It might have been a long time ago for some of you. But actually, put yourself in their shoes, put yourself in your new, new grad shoes. Think about what would have really helped you then.

Did you get that support? Did you have a plan in place? Was there a structure for you to, to be helped by?

Were you mentored and coached through the process? Were you given all the tools that you could be given in order for you to really thrive and come up to speed as quickly as possible? That's what we need to be aiming for to try and support our new guys.

So some top tips for success. I'm just going to go over from a practise perspective, looking at how we can develop a culture of safety, making sure we have a plan, looking at setting clear goals and regular reviews, some, a little tiny bit on coaching and support, and then recognising, encouraging, correcting and rewarding because that's what it's all about. And then from our new vet's perspective, You know, talking about being open and honest and not being afraid, remembering that they're part of a team, and there's much more work to practise than just clinical work.

And the fact that your success is largely down to you guys. You know, nobody else is gonna do it for you. Your practise can help you as much as you can, but unless you help yourself, you won't ever fulfil your, your true potential.

So, Looking at it from a practise perspective, how do we create that culture of safety? Guys, it doesn't matter what industry we're in, you can look at big business, you can look at small businesses. In order for any team members, any members of staff to be motivated, we have to create the right culture.

It has to be a culture of safety. It has to be an environment in which our team can thrive, not just survive, really thrive. And that has to be supported by a culture of trust.

And it's hard, it's hard as practise owners, and I can probably imagine some of you sitting there thinking, well, yeah, it's, it's my business, you know, I'm entrusting it to somebody who's got no experience or very little experience. It's a, it's a massive trust thing. But if the support is there, if the culture of safety is there, then that, that person will feel that they can, you know, they can flourish, they can learn, they can ask before they make mistakes, and if they, they're starting to make a mistake, they can share that and we can sort it out.

I can't tell you enough how making people feel safe at work affects work. If you have, and, and there's, I mean, we could go on for hours on just this one point, but if we don't feel safe at work, actually, we get a chemical reaction within the body, drips the cortico come in, I activate our flight and fight stuff, and actually all we start doing is becoming paranoid because we don't feel safe. What we need to do is create that culture of safety where people feel that they can You know, they can make mistakes, they can learn, they can ask questions and they're not going to get their head bitten off for doing it, or we're not gonna huff and puff because we haven't physically got time.

What I mean by that is being approachable, being open and honest. Remember what it's like when you first started as a vet. It's hard.

It's a massive learning curve. Encourage solution thinking. If people, if your new vets are coming to you with problems, encourage them to think of the solution before they come to you with the issue.

And actually, I would, I would really recommend, and those of you that have heard me speak before, it's something I talk about a lot, is encourage that solution thinking. With all your team members from your receptionist right the way through to your veterinary surgeons, because actually, if people have thought about the situation, often it affects them at the pointy end the most. They thought about the solution, they will think about it from a way that's going to work from their perspective.

So often if we then implement that solution, it will work and we get buy-in from everybody because the people doing the role have actually thought about it. Guys, as leaders of the business, we have to give responsibility but keep accountability. You know, the only, you know, if we, if we give responsibility and somebody doesn't do anything right, it's usually our fault.

Because it's probably because we haven't given them the time, the training, the skills, the knowledge, a clear pathway of doing it. You know, rarely is it actually our team members' fault. As leaders, we have to really make sure if we are giving responsibility to somebody, we are backing it up with the right tools, the right skills, the right guidance, the right approach so that they've got the time to complete it, checking in with them to make sure they're OK, that they're not drowning, that we don't need to provide them with more support.

And then and only then, if we can put our hand on our heart and say, actually, do you know what, I've done all of that, it's not happening, then it might be that we've got a mindset issue or something like that. But actually hand on heart, most of the time if our colleagues fail, it's because we haven't set them up to be a success. So we have to work very hard on that.

If we're correcting, we need to do it in a positive way, you know, lead by example. People, you know, react to criticism in different ways. We need to make sure we're doing it as positively as possible.

Nobody's going to be perfect, let's face it, none of us are. We all do things that we wish we hadn't done, and we all do things that we wish we'd done better. But if we are correcting, let's do it in a really positive way and get something positive out of the experience.

We need to have a plan. Do you have a formalised plan for the practise? If you haven't, why not?

And one of the things that I would say to you is, and I do say this a lot, you know, I speak to a lot of vets in practise, and I say, oh, yes, I've got a plan. I say, well, have you, have you got a formalised plan? Oh, no, it's all up in my head.

And how do you communicate that to everyone? Well, I don't, I just expect them to know. Guys, this is not an osmotic process.

We need to make sure that they know what our plan is, so that our team members know what to expect. How on earth can we expect our team to get us to where we want to go if they don't know where it is? If we have no plan.

It just doesn't have to be war and peace, just something on a simple A4 sheet of paper outlining who we are, what we stand for, what our strategy is, what we want to achieve, what people's goals are, shared with the whole practise, why we're here and what we want to do. And, you know, we should be in a position with all of our team members that they should be able to deliver what we call an elevator pitch about your practise. Sounds terribly American, but all it is is a 30 to 62nd pitch on who you are as a practise, what you're all about, if they bumped into a potential new client in a lift and they were going from the ground floor up to the top.

Every single member of your team, including your new grads, very quickly should know what you're all about. What you stand for, what your values are, and sharing those values. It's really important, if we keep it all inside, we don't share it with the team, it's very, very difficult for them then to perform and deliver what we want because they don't know what it is.

Just very, very basic vision and mission stuff. You've all heard this before. We have to understand what our vision for the practise is.

Think about what your practise stands for, what your values are, and then how your staff fit into the equation. We cannot deliver the best service we can to our clients unless we've all bought in as to what it is we stand for, who we are as a practise and what our values are in the first place. And the way that this works is the vision starts off at the bottom.

And it's who we aspire to be. Our mission very much is who we are, how we bring value, and then those shared values throughout all of our team members. And then when we've got that, including our new graduates, then, and only then can we make that commitment to our clients.

It's so important, it's just very simple, we don't have to make it a great big deal, but everybody should know who we are, what we stand for, and what our values are. And make sure we're all, we're all sharing those. Otherwise we will end up with square pegs in round holes, because you'll have somebody who doesn't share the same values as you, and that won't work.

So very, very important that we know what those values are. So what are our standards? What do we expect?

What is our positioning as a practise? Think about what your philosophy is. Are you sharing what your values are and the values that you want your team to have, particularly with your new graduates, because, you know, they are going to be bastions of your practise.

They are going to be the flag bearers of your practise and taking your practise into the future. Think about how you want those values demonstrated and how you want to make them live and breathe. But it's also communicating that out to everybody so that everybody knows what is expected of them.

And have you got a new graduate plan? Guys, you know, it does, again, it doesn't have to be complicated, put a simple framework in place. Look at what your practise expectations are, look at what your objectives are, timelines for certain areas of achievement.

You can, you can show what assistance they're going to get if you set them up with a mentor, or you're going to do them on a rotation programme, or they're going to do half an hour with a receptionist on a Monday morning to see what, what that's like, or somebody's going to take responsible for them on a Tuesday to mentor them through the whole day. Whatever it is you've decided is going to be the best, to get them up to speed as quickly as possible, but also to get the best value from both sides. Think about what their plan, the plan will look like and who's going to be responsible.

It might not be that it's you. It might be that you've got a cracking vet that you've had, an assistant that you've had with you from a number of years who's up for, you know, more of a challenge, wants to get more involved in the practise, and actually they're really keen to try and bring this new graduate on and give them, you know, Pass on their wisdom to them through mentoring and coaching throughout the process. So, you know, don't think that this is a big black cloud hanging over you.

It might be that there's certain elements that your nurses and receptionists can do to get involved in the communication skills part of things. There is nobody better to help vets train on being at the pointy end and the receptionist is doing it every single day. I've recently done some difficult, dealing with difficult client and delicate situation seminars with, some vets and, and a front of house staff.

And actually the vets got as much benefit from it as our receptionists and nurses did. Now, we mustn't forget that we're dealing with people all of the time, and your new graduates, one of the things that they will know the least about is dealing with people, be it in consult or be it out of consult. So think about what your plan's going to look like.

Again, it doesn't have to be a big onerous thing. You know, I don't want you thinking this has got to weigh you down. But if you've just got an outline of what you're gonna do for the first, the next 3 months with them, fantastic.

And when you're coming up to the end of that, let's do another 3-month plan. And let's build on what we've done in the 1st 3 months, see where the areas we need, you know, where, where we need extra work, where we need less work, so we can introduce new subjects. And then move it on from there.

It doesn't have to be a massive deal, but if you don't have a plan, it can be very hard and very quickly your new teammates can start to drown a little bit. Always set clear goals. Guys, I've been banging on about goals and making them smart for years, so I'm sure you don't want me to go through it too much again, but if you are setting objectives, make sure you only have a few, don't have more than 3 at a time.

If you have more than 3, you won't get any of them done. If you have 3, you've got a very strong chance of getting them all achieved. By making them smart, what I mean is being as specific as possible, being able to measure what it is you're asking people to do, having some actions in place to enable you to do it, making sure it's realistic.

And knowing what the time frame is behind it. And really making sure that both parties completely understand the expectation, that our expectation isn't set at 90, and that your new grads expectation is set at 50. We have to make sure that we both understand.

And reviewing regularly, often our new grads and sort of having spoken to them at length over the last year, they will try and soldier on cos they don't want to look like they're not coping. We have to have regular reviews, guys, just to make sure they're OK. It doesn't have to be a great big formal thing.

It can be a catch up 10 minutes on a Tuesday morning. It might be that at this point you then need to amend or tweak certain expectations, maybe some of the goals you set, you might need to adjust the timeline. You might have to, to take it back a little bit.

It might be that they could look through it and they're, they're performing like a superstar already, so you can give them a little bit more to do. It might be that you need to provide additional support, or it might be that you need to give them a big pat on the back and tell them how fabulously they're doing. You know, if this becomes part of the daily practise life, the whole situation becomes much easier and a much more natural thing, because it's something you're both used to.

And it's something that, that isn't scary, it's not, you know, a big formal thing, it's, it's as big a part for their education as it is for your reassurance, and it can really, really help because often the, The natural default for, for people that have just, just started in practise is to sort of get their head down and hope that they're gonna be OK, because they don't want to disappoint you. What you need to do is make sure we're not even getting to that point, that no, they're not going to disappoint us because we've given them everything we possibly can to stop that from happening. And watch out for the change curve.

This is my adaptation of the Kubler Ross change curve. We all go through change. Change is a difficult thing, you know, people generally don't like change.

The change from being at uni to go into practise is a massive thing. The change for you as a business of not having a graduate and then having a graduate, it has a knock-on effect on every single team member. And what we have to watch out for is that people go through this change curve in different times.

First of all, we have this change, we hit it with this wonderful gay band and we've got uninformed optimism. Way, this is a great idea, we're all gonna do this. And then 10 minutes down the road, we start bumping into some hurdles.

Maybe things haven't gone quite as we planned. Maybe we needed to spend more time on it, or we've discovered that there's a few obstacles in the way, and we hit what we call informed pessimism. And this can be where the day is darkest before dawn, and it's all really quite sad and quite depressing, and sometimes our team members don't feel that they can pull themselves out of this.

Hopefully they will, when we've, we've tweaked our plan a little bit. We've changed the goalposts a little bit. We've got rid of some of those obstacles, or we've changed the way we're going to do things.

Hopefully the next thing that we'll get to is that hopeful realism. It's probably different different to where we started. Maybe we're looking at doing something in a slightly different way, and then hopefully the next stage is informed optimism, at which point you're doing a mini wave and a victory dance around the car park because it's all going brilliantly.

The thing is, guys, as leaders of the business, and I have, I have mentioned this to people before, we will often as leaders of the business, get to informed optimism and be doing our victory dance, while sometimes some of our team members can be languishing in informed pessimism. The art of good leadership is to know exactly where on the change curve every single one of your colleagues is, because we need to lead them through the process. Because sometimes it can be very dark that day before dawn, and sometimes, particularly with our new grads, they can get in that situation where they cannot seem to find a way out of it.

And it's down to us as leaders, as, as mentors for them and as coaches to bring them out so that they can see the light through the trees and they can see their way forward. And then we all get to completion, which is fantastic. If we look at coaching and support, there are various different models that are available that you can use to help.

I'm sure a lot of you will have come across the Grow model before. Grow is a really useful and simple coaching tool to use. And basically, whistle stop, it basically goes through the goal.

So what you want, the reality, which is where you are now, what options, what you could do in order to get to where you want to go. And the will, so what you will do in order to do that, so what you're going to do first, your order of priority, a plan of action on how you're going to take it forward. And it's a very simple way to just coach people through the process.

And this is what I mean by, you know, doing these catch-ups. How are you getting on? What's the reality of the situation?

OK, this is the situation now, so, so how are we gonna sort that out? How are we gonna move it forward? Right, so leaving this 10 minute catch up, what are we gonna do?

What's your next thing that you're gonna do in order for us to get to where we want to go? If you employ that's just 4 simple steps, it's a really nice thing to do. It doesn't take up too much of your time, but it can really help your new graduates or your newly qualified vets to really understand, you know, what is needed of them and where they've got to go.

Situational leadership is also very helpful. I'm sure a lot of you will have seen this before. When we look at situational leadership, this is, we start off in the bottom left hand corner.

I'll use doing a bitch bay as an example. You know, at this point in the directive phase, this is where we're telling. So if we had a new graduate in with us, if we were looking at enhancing their clinical expertise, we're doing a bitch day, this would be the point that you would be doing a bitch day and you will be telling them what you're doing.

That's the directive part of it. We then move on to the coaching side of things. So you will still be doing the bitch day, but they will be telling you what you're doing and what you're going to do next.

So they will talk you through the process. When you are confident with them, then we go on to the supportive phase where they are actually doing the bitch bay and, and talking you through the process, and you are there supporting them and making sure that they're doing it in the right order, doing things in the right direction. And then we get onto the delegation phase, which is where They will be doing the bit today in one theatre and you'll perhaps be on the other table, or you'll be next door just there so that you're there if they need you.

They know that there is still support, but essentially they're doing it themselves. And, you know, we can apply situational leadership to any of the things that you're doing in practise, whether it be, you know, handling difficult clients, working in console. You know, new clinical experiences, talking about getting compliance from clients, whatever it may be.

So, you know, don't forget that that is quite a simple tool and a quite a simple way to get confidence built up really quickly. And recognising courage, correct and reward, I do believe that the practise role is often like that of a parent. You know, we're bringing these guys on.

They've had lots and lots and lots of stuff thrown at them in the last few years at veterinary college, and now it's the scariest part of all in that they're being let loose on live patients and people. You know, it's really scary. It's really scary, and the practise, as practise owners and leaders, you know, you've got to be there to support them.

We need to encourage if, if our guys are doing well, you know, don't forget what it was like when you first did your first, whatever it was, or you first diagnosed something unusual. You know, what it felt like, but how scary it was. So please recognise achievements.

If somebody seems to be going down the wrong path, just pull them into line, correct them when you need to. But we don't have to do it in front of everybody, it can be done privately and just say, look, just on this particular instance, I think it would have been better if you'd done this, this and this. You know, once it's all part of learning, but please reward them when a job is well done.

And please don't ever underestimate the power of a thank you. It's the most motivational tool we have in our armoury. It costs us not a penny.

And those practises that, that do thank their team members or recognise when a client's been particularly pleased with somebody, I cannot tell you it's worth its weight in gold because, And you guys, they're not in it for the money, they're not in it for that reward. They're looking to do a good job. They're looking to, to be recognised by you as a, as somebody who's a mentor, somebody with experience that they are doing well and they are filling out as a veterinary surgeon, whether it be from a communication perspective, from a clinical perspective, from a practical perspective, from a surgeon perspective, all of those things.

And a thank you really doesn't go amiss. However, It has to have value. Don't just thank them for nothing.

You know, those people that thank you all the time, it has to have a value. I used to work for two guys, one of them, it was like the, the sun came out and all the angels were singing if he said thank you for what we'd done, because we knew we really appreciated it. Another one of them just said thank you all the time.

It wasn't actually, you know, you might as well have not bothered because he didn't mean it. So it has to be genuine, but please don't underestimate how powerful it is because most of your new grads, your newly qualified vets are trying desperately to please you. With the new vets, if I've got any new vets listening in tonight, guys, be open and on this.

You've just spent an extraordinarily large amount of time learning the art of veterinary medicine. Putting it into practise is incredibly scary. You know, I mean, I remember my first days as a veterinary nurse, and I hadn't been in college for years and years and years learning stuff and didn't have half of the responsibility that you've got.

Remember your fellow vets and bosses have already been there. They've already experienced this. They do have empathy with you.

Please, please, always be open about the things you're unsure about. Be prepared to learn from all your teammates. You know, I don't want any veterinary snobbery going on.

Some of the best people to learn from are your veterinary nurses and your veterinary receptionists. They have a lot of experience, they've been around the block a few times, and a lot of the times they can really, really help you to achieve things and make you a much finer veterinary veterinary surgeon. You know, have empathy with them too, because they'll all be trying their best for you.

Quite often you're gonna be holding them up. So actually it's gonna take them longer to do things because you are still learning. Do have empathy with that as well, because that makes their job a little bit harder.

Sometimes you might be making it harder for them too, but they're trying their best for you. And actually, when it all works as a team and it works in harmony, it's a fantastic feeling and we get a fantastic result and we deliver the very best possible healthcare for our clients and their pets. So it's really important.

Please don't be afraid to ask guys. No one expects you to know everything at the beginning and actually if you think you know it all, you're in for a terrible shock. You know, if you think you know it all, then you are gonna come down.

Fat and fast. Often it's the communication side of things that can be even harder than the than the clinical, so please don't be frightened to admit that. You can be the best clinician in the world.

If you cannot articulate and communicate, you're going to struggle in your career. You need to learn to listen to how others approach things. Don't be scared to steal from other people.

If you hear a colleague or one of your nurses or one of the receptionists talking to a client and they've, they've got a really good result and the client is really happy, use that. Don't be frightened to use that. Don't be too, too, .

Snobby to use it either, it's really important. We need to make sure that we're communicating properly with our clients. In order to get compliance we have to communicate really, really well.

Remember Pareto's rule, and I'm sure a lot of you have heard about Pareto's rule. Pareto's rule works on the 80/20 principle. Pareto, very clever, had a look at lots of different businesses, lots of different industries, and discovered that in most businesses, 80% of the time we are only ever doing 20% of what we're capable of.

And it's absolutely true in veterinary practise. If we take small animal practise, for example, 80% of the time we're talking about flea control, worming control, vaccination, which stays, cat castrates, behaviour, feeding. Elective surgery, microchipping, all of those things.

We're talking about those every single day. Guys, when you first go into practise, those are the things that you're going to be involved in from a preventative healthcare perspective. You'll be seeing a lot of upset tummies, you'll be seeing a lot of grass seeds, you'll be seeing a lot of things on a regular basis.

Sometimes you'll get a gastric torsion, sometimes you'll get a cruciate, sometimes you'll get something weird and wonderful that nobody's ever heard of. My advice to you would be concentrate on the 20%, getting comfortable with that 20% 1st. And then when we come to the weird and wonderfuls, you know who you need to turn to to get help.

And it makes the learning process so much quicker for you, because the more confident we get in that 20% of the stuff that we're doing 80% of the time, the more confident you will be to the clients, the more help you will be, and the better compliance you will be, and the healthier, happier pets and clients you're going to have. So focus on that 20% 1st and get really comfortable with the process. Remember guys, you're part of a team as a veterinary surgeon, you are automatically seen as a leader of the business.

Seems a bit harsh when you've only just gone into practise, you've only just begun your career. But trust me, having worked in practise for many years, your team members, because you are a qualified veterinary surgeon, even if you don't feel like it, they will always look to you for leadership. Any vets in the building, they look, are looked at by the other team members as leaders.

So it's something that you really need to be very aware of from the get go. And remember that as part of a team, your colleagues are as equally as important as you are. You know, the whole place will fall apart, we won't have clients at all if our receptionists don't perform well.

The receptionist is the hub of the entire business. It's probably the hardest role in practise. Please have respect for them.

Please remember how difficult it is for them. Our nurses, our nurses, a good veterinary nurse is like gold dust. And you as a vet can be heightened to amazing heights by working with really good veterinary nurses.

Please don't underestimate how fabulous they are. Please don't, and often your veterinary nurses and your receptionists will be a communication channel between you and the client, because often, due to lots and lots of different things, often our clients don't always say to us what they will say to our receptionists and nurses, they don't always say it to the vet. So please remember, often they won't give you a hard time either that, that they may have given you a receptionist or nurse one.

So please remember that sometimes your team are taking one as well, and we have to be very, very aware of that. So please remember how important your colleagues are and that good communication and team relationships are paramount for your success as well as practise success. Any practise is only as good as its team.

It doesn't matter what equipment you've got, what facilities you've got, if you have a good team. It will guarantee happy clients. I can virtually guarantee walking into a practise if, if I, I will automatically know if it's a good happy team or not, and you can just see it reflected in the quality and the contentedness of the clients that they have.

It makes a massive difference. Please don't ever underestimate your colleagues. They are so important as part of the equation.

And that's why veterinary practise works because it is such a team environment. There's much more to practise than clinical work. To be honest, the clinical bit's probably gonna be the easy part for you.

Are we dealing with animals or people, that's what I often say, and possibly when you went in to study veterinary medicine, you didn't even think about people. In my experience talking to a lot of vets, they said it didn't even enter my head. You know, I was all for the medicine, I was really interested in anatomy and physiology.

I was really interested in making things better. It didn't occur to me that they come with people. Sadly, we're in a people business and people can be very tricky.

And often we're seeing people when they're worried or they're concerned or they don't understand, they're a bit twirly, they're not showing themselves their, you know, they're not showing us their best side. So we have to deal with all the emotion that comes with that. And that's one of the reasons that veterinary practise is such a difficult place to work, because of all the emotion.

So our communication is so key in everything that we do, whether it be with our clients, whether it be with our colleagues, or whether we're dealing with our bosses. And then there's the business of practise. Guys, there's a whole lot more to veterinary practise than just seeing patients, treating patients and looking after clients.

You know, we can be the best veterinary surgeons in the world if we're not delivering profit to our practise, the practise will no longer exist. It's a very simple equation. And those vets that truly have a stellar career, those vets that become practise superstars, are the vets that are not only good clinicians, but are also interested in the business aspects as well.

And it's not, you know, it's not a difficult thing to do. You know, do talk to your bosses, get involved with the business side of things, find out, you know, what their key performance indicators are for the business, how you fit into the equation, what's required of you from a business perspective, because part of your role is to make the practise busy, part of everybody's role is, because if the practise isn't busy, Then we won't be getting enough in to keep the practise going. So it's really, really important.

And I'm not meaning that we're recommending stuff we shouldn't recommend. That's not what I'm talking about. But it's making sure that when we're, we're doing a health check, that we're not rushing them through because we're running late and we're only giving the client 5 minutes instead of our 10 or 15 minute appointment.

You know, we don't see a booster in my. As a catch up, but we're making sure that that one time, once a year that that client comes, that we're giving them all the information about preventative healthcare, making sure we know they're worming or flea control status, making sure we're talking about all our added services, if we've got pet health plans, talking about the importance of those so that the clients can regularly get high quality, products and services from the practise rather than going and wasting their money in a pet shop down the road. So please, please get involved in the business side.

And actually what I've found over the last year, training, you know, some of the new graduates, they hadn't been involved in any of the business side at all, and some of them have come away from some of the modules and said, wow, this really interests me, and, and they've gone back to their practise, and then their bosses have rung me and said, oh my goodness, you know. The, this, the vet who came on your call got really interested. We've actually got them involved a bit more in the marketing side of the business, because they, you know, it's really piqued an interest for them.

The business side of things can be interesting too, and actually you can learn as you're going along, you can learn the business side of things as well, and that can turn you into a veterinary superstar. So guys, your success is down largely to you. You have to be interested, be open to new ideas and ways of doing things.

Get involved in the business side of practise. Learn that alongside the clinical stuff, and that will really help you paving your way for the future. And it will help the practise to perform better, you will know where you fit in more from a business perspective and why things are expected of you, it makes a lot more sense.

Be flexible and committed and go that extra mile. You know, when you go into work, want to do an exceptional job, I know you will do, you wouldn't have studied for this long if you didn't. We have to demonstrate that.

Communicate well with with your team. And when you're in front of a client, treat every client as if they were the only one. You're the only pet in the world.

That's how you need to make your clients feel, to get the best from them and to make it the best client experience. And work hard and play hard, because you need to be enjoying your downtime as well. But I would also recommend you get plenty of sleep.

So just in summary guys, we've looked at some of the challenges. It really is a two way street, you know, it is a game of two halves. Both parties need to invest in each other, showing that empathy and understanding, having a clear pathway where we're both going, and the learning and results will come from both sides.

So work together and enjoy those results. And that finishes me off. So if we have any questions, that would be fantastic.

OK, thank you very much, Bobby, for that very thorough, and interesting talk. Very much looking at both sides of the equation, both from, from the new graduate side and from the practise side. And on that note, this is a naive question from me.

Do you go in and do much work with the whole team, or is this you predominantly working with the new grads? I work with the whole team. Yeah, I, I train everybody from receptionists and nurses right the way through to the principals and leaders of the business and the new graduates as well.

Right, OK, brilliant. We've had a few questions, stroke comments come through. One was very early on, and I think you've covered this, but it might just be an idea just to summarise, how do you make people feel safe at work.

I think that question came. Before you went into it in detail, but just a succinct summary. Really, it's just allowing people to, you know, feel that they can come to you if they're not confident about something that they're not going to get their head blown off, then that you are giving them that time that they can feel that they can make a mistake and, you know, own up to it, and it's, we're not going to cut them off at the knees.

And then giving them guidance on how to take it forward, and it's making sure we do that with everybody in, in the business, not just, not just the new graduates, that's everybody from our receptionists and nurses through to the person who cleans the kennels, everybody. If we can create that, that bubble of safety, then people, actually what happens then is we unite as a team and we face the challenges from outside which is satisfying our clients. OK, brilliant.

Thank you. Leading on from that then, same person, presumably later on said, sorry, I don't agree with some of this. I've noted that some people seem to have very little issue with giving the wrong drug at the wrong dose.

How often should this be tolerated? I think, I'm sorry if that's been your experience. I mean, yes, if there are mistakes being made, then we do need to talk about it, particularly if it's something that is affecting, affecting a pet.

But you, you know, we need to be on top of it and make sure that we are, taking steps to make sure that it doesn't happen again. I think I would want to know why it's happened if it's happened more than once, why it's, it's happened for a second time, to get to the nub of it. Yeah.

But very much, yes, as you say, there are some things you you tolerate, but nevertheless, you nip it in the bud. Yeah, OK, comment then came in. So you help them train and get them to where they want to be and give them the confidence to be able to go anywhere, and then your little practise isn't what they want and they leave just when you need a break.

That's non-sustainable. Do you have a response to that? Well, I would hope that if you're in the environment that I've been talking about and that they are committed and they've had a really good working experience, that your little practise is the place they want to stay and develop and And make it better for them, but I, I understand the frustration that if that does happen, but it.

If it's happened to you once, what I would say to you is try not to let it put you off having another go. It's not gonna happen with everybody. And if you are committed and you are creating the right working environment, they're gonna want to stay.

Yeah, I think I would add to that. I think, also as well, you can build up a reputation for being a good practise and yes, it occasionally if people do leave, that might be a bit soul destroying. But if you are offering that environment, word will get around and you'll get the good, good people coming to work for you.

Yeah, I'd agree with that, Andy. Yeah. .

And again, just, it's another comment really. You talked about, saying thank you. But the question was, how often do new graduates thank their bosses for helping them and giving them a job?

So yeah, I guess we, we take that on board. I'm just checking, sorry, in the chat. Thank you very much for a fantastic presentation.

Where do you find more resistance to change from the new grads or from the practise owners? Oh, that's a, that's a good question. It depends.

I will, with tongue in cheek a little bit, it very much depends on the practise owners or the new graduate. I wouldn't, I couldn't possibly say one way or another. There is resistance to change from both.

There's also resistance to change from all team members, and it's just how we approach it and how we go forward with it. But as leaders of the business, it's down to us to be aware if our team members are going through it. Sometimes we have to be very aware that we might be the problem ourselves.

OK. And then I've just got some questions for you to finish off with, if you don't mind. Have you, have you got any like practical top tips for the first week, 2 weeks, month?

You know, how ease the new grad in gently. I think I would, you know, yes, ease them in gradually, make sure they know the, the line of, of command before anything else, so they know who is, if you've got somebody in the practise who they are going to be, you know, sort of mentored by, make sure they get to know them. I would, you know, sort of give them that confidence, make sure that they're, they are handheld a little bit for the first week or so, and then, you know, see how they're getting on and, you know, once they start getting a bit more confident then.

You know, it's keeping an eye and, and looking at what you're gonna do, but put a, put a 4 week programme in place that, you know, for the first week, maybe they're gonna shadow everybody and get to know the practise rather than being a vet. So they're getting to know who does what within the practise. It's entirely up to you what you put in place, but I would certainly start before they've even started with a 4 week plan.

So that they know what they're gonna be doing and that you're, you know, you're not just throwing them in at the deep end and expecting them to just swim. And, and do you have any, well, obviously you have experience, but, again, when's the right time to go on the on-call rota? Again, it depends on the practise, and it depends on, on the individual.

So, and what other support you've got on the on-call rota, it might be that you, you end up doubling up on the on-call to start with, so that they can shadow somebody. A lot will depend on the individual and the sorts of on-call that you're likely to do. There's a big difference if you're a veterinary hospital, for example, to, you know, if you're, if you're not or you're a more rural practise, the sorts of things that you're going to be looking at and the amount of work.

So it might well be that the best thing to do is to have a shadow on call to start with so until they get, get their sea legs. OK, brilliant. And then last one from me.

You talked about excellent nurses and I totally agree. I mean, you know, if you've got a great nurse, it makes things a hell of a site easier. However, I have come across new grads where actually The vet nurses undermine the new grads.

You know, that's not how we do it around here and start taking over. Any advice there. I think it would be, you know, before you've got a new graduate coming, if you think you might have that sort of an issue, sort of flagging it up with the nurses and explaining that, you know, it's a big learning curve for them.

And, you know, if you have got somebody that's undermining them, then you do need to deal with that on an individual basis and talk to that particular nurse and say, look, you know, Think how scary it was when you first started, because we can all empathise with that. I can remember when I first started and I never thought I was going to get the hang of it. And it, you know, for veterinary nurses as well, it takes a good 6 months to even feel vaguely confident about anything.

So you can tap into that empathy that when they first started, but again, if they are, you know, if they are undermining them, then, then you need to address it pretty quickly. OK, thank you. A couple of questions coming in then.

How long do you recommend to coach a new grad for? Again, it depends on the individual. You know, they're, they're going to, if you've got, if you've got groups of vets, I mean, I, you know, some of the practises I've been dealing with, they've had 3 or 4, you know, vets that have qualified between 4 and 4 years and just newly qualified.

So there, there is sort of there's, in those practises, there's an ongoing mentoring system. A lot will depend on how quickly each individual has adapted and how comfortable and confident you feel that they are. So it really is on an individual basis and working through with that particular vet.

OK, thank you. Then a comments. I've had two really good new recent graduates both understand what they need to do, in the team, so that's good.

Great. Yeah. And then another one at present, I have a really good team.

The difficulty is growing it. Not quite sure whether there's anything specific. Whoever's asked that question if you want to follow up, but have you got any comment on that?

It's very hard. It's hard to get new people, but a bit like you said earlier, you know, if you, if you have a good reputation for being a good practise that, that provides really good support, if you, if you have a plan in place for them that, that you, you know, so you can use that to attract new graduates and explain if they're, you, you know, if you're going through the interview process, what support they're going to get, how you feel about it all. Then, you know, that in itself will attract people who are looking to, looking to develop.

I again, I wish I had a magic wand and I could, I could deliver new graduates to practises because it is a problem. We have a distinct lack of, you know, newly qualified vets to go around or vets, period. But, you know, I think one of, one of the things is very much making sure that you are.

You have a plan for them, and you can clearly demonstrate that because that will be more attractive to them. Because a lot of them, I mean, the ones that I spoke to, when I said, well, why did you choose to go to independent practise rather than corporate practise. Some of them felt that the corporate practise, it was too much.

So it was, it was too much, you're gonna do this, you're gonna do this, you're gonna do this. So I do think that independent practise, it's not quite so, Didactic perhaps it's more, more of a flexible working environment for them. And, you know, the requirements may be different from practise to practise or even branch to branch, and you have your unique, that is unique about you as an independent practise, and that can be very appealing to new graduates.

Yeah, it's finding that balance, isn't it, between offering, offering them enough but not overdoing it. And I guess as much as anything, then it's for the new grads to come back and say either I want more or. I've had enough, thank you.

So another question, do you think the Royal College can do more to support new graduates in or getting in practise? Oh, how long is a piece of string, really? .

I mean, yes, and what is my answer, really? I mean, I think a lot, a lot depends. I personally, I think there should be more of commercial awareness, perhaps taught at the colleges of what life is like in practise when you go out, and what, what the market is like.

I personally wish there was a little bit more of that, because I, you know, I don't know that a lot of new grads come out with much market awareness at all. Certainly, I've been to final year students. And done some training with them before and they haven't known what the market is, the difference between corporates and buying groups and stuff like that, which I found quite bizarre that they, they, there is very little on that side of things.

So I think in that way, you know, maybe the syllabus could incorporate more in the future. And as well, you did talk in your, in your talk, you did talk quite a bit about leadership as well, you know, obviously the Royal College have the Edward Jenner leadership programme that's, Being piloted at the moment. So watch this space for that.

I had another question. We're a mixed practise and get new grads that we do support, but they then go either large or small after a couple of years when they finally become independent. How can we change this?

Oh, that's a good question. . I think a lot of it is, is sort of the why have they done that?

Are there, is there any way that they could, within your setup, even though you are a mixed practise, that they could specialise within the area that they're in, within that mixed business, if, if they've decided that, you know, maybe small animal is for them or their heart is with large animal, Other than that, because obviously I don't know your practise, but, sadly, it's, it is a very, very difficult thing because if they don't want to be in mixed practise anymore and you haven't got that facility, it's very hard to satisfy what they need. Yeah, so I guess it's whether whether there's too often that flexibility is almost like specialising within the. Another question, they're all coming in now, .

So where or how do new graduates look for jobs? Advertising seems like gambling at present. I don't, don't know where to advertise and still end up with agencies, which is a major cost, that new graduates don't seem to be aware of and drains funds from wages.

Again, I mean, I, I think that I know that the, the corporate practises do go into the colleges. It is something that a number of practises have asked me about, you know, is there any way that independence, we can get together and try and form some sort of agency type thing to funnel through. For independent practises, I think advertising is probably still advertising and agencies at the moment, the way that the industry is set up, that's all that is available to us at present, but I do believe there is an opportunity there, you know, possibly to try and try and make the system work better.

Yeah, somebody's responded there, what's wrong with the vet record. I, I, I, well, my simple, I don't know, do you want to answer that? Do you have an answer to that because I do.

Well, it's this new, it's the new, it's a generational thing, isn't it? And the youngsters, these, you know, I'm sounding really old now, but the youngsters don't read the stuff. It's all online.

So that's my take on that is generational differences. Yes, we always used to read the that record and I always go to the job section, of course. But I don't necessarily think you've got to do that.

Another, some, somebody's also commented it would be useful to just advertise in one place. And again, that probably used to be the vet record, but, but now there are multiple, places. You know, if there wasn't a perceived need, the agencies wouldn't exist.

So yeah, maybe something could be done in that arena. I mean, it is a very real issue and sadly, it's not something I've got an answer to, but it is something that then, you know, there is an opportunity there to see, you know, what perhaps could be done from a recruiting perspective in the future. Yeah.

Another question's come through. From your experience, what makes a new graduate outstanding in the job market? I think it's being open and willing to adapt and being interested.

I think those are the three key things really. I mean, I had a few outstanding candidates over the last year, and they were the ones that really were interested in the business side of the practise, as well as being interested in all the clinical stuff as well. And actually then went away and expanded on stuff that we talked about.

So those for me are the ones that I could identify that were going to be the ones that will be really good and very successful. OK. And then we have another comment.

I assume this is due, related to the advertising. This is a perceived need, not an actual one. It may need some education at the colleges.

Yeah, yeah, fair point, . But again, With a lot, there are lots of different options out there for people to advertise. So having a, well, I don't know.

Yes. Any other questions from anybody, I'll give you maybe. 10 more seconds, I think.

We've covered a, a huge amount there, Bobby, that's been very useful. I'll just I'm counting in my head to 10. Right, just, 00, just a thank you.

There you go. Thank you. A good way to finish.

So yeah, thank you very much for that, Bobby. Really thorough, and, and very useful and, helpful information there. I'd just like to finish again by thanking our sponsors for tonight who were 8 Legal, Saint Francis Group, and Simply Health, and look forward to seeing you on another webinar at the webinar that in the future.

Thanks again. Cheers. Thanks.