Aiming a new hire in the right direction

Training a veterinary team is an endless challenge. I remember spending hours at a hospital dreaming up a tiered training plan for new techs only to have it fail spectacularly. Honestly, veterinary practices rarely have the time to sit down and do one-on-one training with new hires.

Instead we tell new hires to follow our most experienced staff around and pick things up on the fly. This is what happens in almost all practices, in spite of our best efforts to do otherwise.

And for most things, like how to clean a kennel, start a room or monitor surgery, this method works just fine, but what about the intangibles? What about the team's goals? Your new hire isn't going to pick that up on the fly. If you're like most hospitals, you're still wrestling with getting existing staff on board with whatever your core vision is, never mind the new hire.

However, your new hire needs to get on board with that vision and fast, or they'll end up being anything but an asset. Think of a new hire as a member of your vision team. You want them to be a missionary for whatever your vision is. In order to do that you need to stress not only what the vision is, but why it's important.

First, you need to bring up your vision during the hiring process. You bring it up, ideally, in the form of a question, you ask them what their vision is, what they want, what gets them out of bed in the morning. You want to come to an accord. You want to hopefully find a shared passion for your vision. you want your new hire to look excited and relieved that they finally found a place that shares their passion.

If your overriding hospital passion is excellence, then an answer during the interview of a blank stare and shrug is suboptimal to say the least. You need to bring up your vision. You need to stress it. You need to let them know that this is what you believe and what your hospital stands for. If you do not believe they can come on board with this vision, if you get the feeling that your enthusiasm is alone in the room, then this person isn't for you. Remember, you can always find someone with the skills, you need a missionary for the vision too.

Once you bring in your new hire, you need to be reinforcing your vision.  Write, "excellence" on the whiteboard, discuss excellence at the next staff meeting (you're already reinforcing your vision at every staff meeting, right?), remind the new hire politely if she falls short (wrinkled scrubs, etc...). Thank her for sharing your vision when she gets things right.

This is your moment to convert your new hire. You need someone who can internalize your vision and help you move it forward within the hospital. This vision need to resonate with the staff before your clients can begin to see it. For that to happen, you need to hire the right people, and take the time to show them how to walk the walk.