Follow us on   
  

Innovative Ideas for Bringing in Clients During the Holiday Slump

Christine Q. Shupe, CAE, Veterinary Hospital Managers Association , November 26, 2012

As we all know, when we are spending our discretionary income on gifts and entertaining, we are more likely to put some essential care and services on hold until the holiday frenzy is behind us. If you’ve noticed at your clinic that appointments, inquiries and other visits are waning, it’s time to consider strategies to increase traffic to the practice during the holiday season.  

Using innovation, imagination and inspiration, the VHMA has shared with me some effective approaches for getting clients in the door.  

Follow that Trend!

Christine Q. Shupe, CAE, Veterinary Hospital Managers Association (VHMA), October 21, 2012

Understanding consumer trends can inspire practice management professional to introduce profitable changes in their practices.

Relationship Advice for Emergency and Specialty Practices

Christine Q. Shupe, CAE, Veterinary Hospital Managers Association (VHMA) , September 13, 2012

Good relationships benefit business. A simple statement, but true nonetheless. More challenging is adopting the right approach to ensure that emergency and specialty practices cultivate good working relationships with their target audiences. In this entry, I focus on the issues that practices should consider implementing to nurture productive, professional relationships.

The Right Stuff: Tips on Strengthening the Owner-Manager Connection

Christine Q. Shupe, CAE, Veterinary Hospital Managers Association (VHMA), August 31, 2012

The teachings of Confucius form the foundation of how individuals should live life and interact with others. His sage advice lives on. To examine how the practice owner and manager can develop strong productive relations, one saying stands out “Seek to understand and then be understood.”

Firing an Employee: Human Resources Issues

Christine Q. Shupe, CAE, Veterinary Hospital Managers Association, July 13, 2012

The Scouts certainly got it right! The motto “Be prepared,” admonishes members to equip themselves to successfully deal with the difficulties they confront.

And while I hardly think the Scouts were concerned with addressing human resource issues related to hiring and firing and preventing a legal quagmire, the advice, nonethelss, is particularly relevant to managers responsible for personnel issues. Avoiding legal and emotional fallout from a sloppy hiring or firing requires managers to proactively address legal and ethical issues.

Now We Know What Keeps Them Up at Night

Christine Q. Shupe, CAE, Executive Director, Veterinary Hospital Managers Association, May 30, 2012

In my previous blog, I wrote about the importance of asking your employees to identify what keeps them up at night. The question was posed to VHMA members in a series of surveys known as “The Demon Exchange.” I shared with the readers the how and why of surveying stakeholders, employees, members and clients as a barometer of their level of satisfaction.

Critical Debriefing for Your Team

Katherine Dobbs, RVT, CVPM, PHR, May 25, 2012

We just finished exploring the last law of the Eight Laws Governing a Healthy Workplace, which is to have grief processes in place when traumatic events occur onsite.

Managing Grief in the Workplace

Katherine Dobbs, RVT, CVPM, PHR, May 16, 2012

Self-care is important to a profession that involves long hours, hard work, and unhappy endings, and this is never truer than during a traumatic event in the practice.

What Keeps You Up at Night?

Christine Q. Shupe, CME, Executive Director, Veterinary Hospital Managers Association, April 29, 2012

“What keeps you up at night?” is almost a universal question. When used in a business context, once you get past the glib responses from employees, colleagues, or clients (ie, crying babies, a drippy water faucet), you will have information that can be used to improve your response to the concerns of your staff and clients.

Is Your Door Really Open to Staff?

Katherine Dobbs, RVT, CVPM, PHR, April 23, 2012

In the spirit of creating a healthy practice, communication is the keystone; it is imperative to the process. The practice has to set up policies and encourage open communication throughout the entire team. These days we hear a lot about “open door” policies. What exactly does that mean?

About.com Human Resources answers: