Keeping Your Word

Communication plays an important role in veterinary practices and the more effective the communication, the better the overall results.

Communication consists of both verbal and non-verbal components and if our words don’t match our actions, the repercussions can have negative effects on our relationships with the practice team.

The power of keeping your word runs deep and significantly impacts the health of the practice.

Nothing Ever Happens
I recently visited with a practice that wanted assistance in improving their productivity and efficiency. I was able to spend time with each team member to get their perspective on how they believed things were going in the practice.

One frustration that was consistently mentioned was the owner’s habit of saying something is going to happen and it never does. Team members used to get excited about ideas announced by the owner, only to experience disappointment when no action was taken or the idea was never mentioned again. When the owner was reminded of his announcement, his responses would include, “Oh yeah”, “I’ll get to it”, “When did I say that?”, or “I changed my mind.” The team members also shared that the owner is a great guy, is very busy, and means well. The Office Manager shared this example:

Office Manager: “I have worked with the owner of this practice for thirteen years. He has a difficult time letting go and delegating tasks to team members. We are all ready to help him with projects, but he thinks he has to do it all and as a result things get dropped and promises are not kept. 

An example involves the receptionist’s computers. There are two computers in the reception area. One of them has a monitor that has a blurry screen and sometimes just shuts off. So, what happens is that one receptionist has to wait for the monitor to come back on or go to another work station all while the client is waiting. The owner knows about it, has heard why it’s a problem, and has said many times that he will go down the road and get a new one. It never happens.”

Question: “What do you think are the barriers to making things happen?”

Office Manager: “I truly believe he means well, but is just so overwhelmed and as a result nothing happens. Now, unfortunately the staff doesn’t believe a word he says when it comes to great ideas. If it’s related to patient care, he is fantastic, but if it involves following through on an idea or showing up for a meeting, the trust is just not there.”

Is It Wrong To Change Your Mind?
The reasons for not keeping one’s word are often understandable.  Most of the time it’s not associated with poor intentions, for example, “I’m going to give you a raise…psyche, just joking”. Often we just over-promise or our intentions are more than we can actually make happen at that moment.

Reasons The Word Is Broken

1. Forgot
2. Overwhelmed
3. Over-commitment
4. Underestimated
5. Lack of reminder system
6. Don’t know where to start
7. Can’t afford
8. Dread to share bad news
9. Changed our mind
10. Life happens

Most of us understand that things come up or we may even change our minds, but we often drop the ball in communicating, to those involved, that there is a shift in the plan.

Impact

Team Relations
The impact of consistently not keeping your word with team members, results in negative effects on trust, integrity, and performance. According to the Journal of Applied Psychology, “Employees with higher levels of trust in supervisors will exhibit a higher level of routine performance (Kanfer).

Clients Relations

Keeping your word in a veterinary practice does not only concern the practice team as clients have a concern as well. Did you ever have a client who was very upset because nobody called her back? When a client is told by a team member that she will receive a return phone call in five minutes, they sit in their chair, watch the clock, and wait for the call.  

It’s so easy to get into habits and say things like, “I’ll call you right back” or “Call you back in just a second”. Team members have great intentions, but it’s necessary to be extremely aware of what is communicated to clients. Clients associate words with commitment and will hold team members to what they say. Clients will also experience disappointment and even anger if they are not told the truth. This negatively impacts the bond and relationship the practice team has established with the client. 

It’s important for team members to be mindful of what they are saying to clients. If a team member says five minutes, the client needs to be called within that time. If the practice says they will call within 24 hours, systems need to be in place to accommodate the commitment and the word.

Small Things Matter
Owners and Managers have so many responsibilities in leading a team and it’s good to remember that sometimes it’s the small things that matter most. What may be small things to some are actually very big things to others. Small things may include remembering that you told a team member you would meet them at noon to discuss their schedule and then actually meet them at noon. The benefits of keeping your word may not be regularly discussed with a CPA or an attorney, but the impact on relationships with team members and clients will definitely net positive results.

Your Story
Have you experienced a situation where someone in your practice did not keep their word?

What was the impact?

References

Kanfer, R., Ackerman, P. L., Murtha, T. C., Dugdale, B.,&Nelson, L. (1994). Goal setting, conditions of practice, and task performance: A resource allocation perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79, 826–835.