Team morale in a Veterinary practice thrives when a small, tight-knit group (typically 3–12 people) works together with complementary skills, strong mutual accountability, and a shared purpose.
Picture a busy day: triple-booked appointments, urgent care interruptions, and those challenging diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) cases that demand everything from the team. When everyone is aligned, interdependent, and flexible, the team handles these pressures efficiently. Staff leave on time feeling accomplished—tired from meaningful work, but not emotionally drained.
The small team size naturally builds trust, open communication, and agility, keeping morale high.
But introduce an untrained, poorly onboarded, or mismatched team member, and everything changes. Unforeseen mistakes, confusion, and repeated questions disrupt established workflows. Work volume feels heavier, emotional energy drops into negative territory, effort skyrockets, and morale begins to erode—often quietly isolating the struggling individual.
Handling an underperforming staff member is one of the toughest challenges practice owners and managers face.
Here are seven proven steps to turn things around—or recognize when it’s time to part ways—while protecting your team’s health and performance.
1. Hire for Smile, Train for Skill
When recruiting, prioritize attitude over immediate technical perfection. Seek candidates with a positive, can-do energy, warmth, and enthusiasm—these traits are hard to teach. A person with the right mindset can quickly become a valuable contributor through structured training and gentle, consistent coaching.
2. Turn “Vapor” into Paper: Create Clear SOPs
Verbal instructions (“That’s just how we do it here”) create confusion and inconsistency. Document your Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in writing and support them with short training videos (hosted on YouTube or Vimeo). Think of these as your practice’s “playbook”—clear, visual guides showing exactly what “right” looks like. Examples include patient restraint techniques, radiograph setup and positioning, client communication scripts, and treatment protocols.
The rule is simple: If it’s not written down, it’s not true.
3. Onboard Off the Floor (Quarantine Phase)
Never throw a new hire directly into the live workflow. Instead, dedicate an initial “off-the-job” training period—ideally 2–4 weeks—where the new team member studies SOPs, watches videos, and practices skills in a quiet spare room or training area. This “quarantine” phase shields your existing team from the natural disruptions a beginner brings: endless questions, mistakes, and workflow interruptions.
Protect your efficient, high-morale crew while the new person builds confidence and competence.
4. Apprentice with Close Supervision
Once the foundational training is complete, transition the new hire to hands-on work under direct guidance from a senior team member (e.g., Head Technician or Medical Director). This apprenticeship phase involves close oversight—yes, a temporary form of micro-management—to polish skills and ensure smooth integration.
Monitor performance closely until the person consistently demonstrates independence and accuracy.
5. Praise Publicly, Correct Privately
One of the biggest complaints in staff exit surveys is “I never felt valued.” Counter this by regularly recognizing wins in front of the team—shout-outs in morning huddles, thank-you notes, or small celebrations. When corrections are needed, handle them privately. Pull the person aside, review the facts of what happened, and refer directly to the relevant SOP as the objective standard. This approach keeps feedback professional and non-personal, reducing defensiveness. Remember: people are sensitive.
Be kind, but firm—your goal is to help them succeed and eliminate repeated errors.
6. Repurpose When the Fit Is Wrong
Albert Einstein’s famous quote applies perfectly here: “Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it’s stupid.” A technically skilled but introverted person may struggle at the front desk, where bubbly client interaction is key. Conversely, a highly social “Chatty Cathy” might frustrate the focused back-team environment. Observe carefully during the first 30–60 days. If someone feels like a “fish out of water,” reassign them to a role that better matches their natural strengths and personality—front to back, or vice versa.
Alignment boosts both performance and job satisfaction.
7. Know When to Offboard
After 30 days of intentional, structured onboarding (following steps 1–6), you should have clarity. There should be no major doubts about the person’s ethics, reliability, responsibility, or willingness to learn and improve. Leaving these doubts or uncertainties to the end of a typically 90-days probation period is too long. Your responsibility is to train thoroughly and fairly. Their responsibility is to absorb, apply, and grow. If you skip proper training, you’ll always wonder whether the problem is you or them. But if—after real effort—you still see persistent underperformance, poor attitude, or lack of fit, it’s usually time to cut losses and offboard.
Your existing team is precious. Protect their morale, efficiency, and well-being above all.
By following these steps, you create a culture where new hires have every chance to succeed, underperformers get clear direction and support, and the practice keeps its small-team magic intact. Train hard, observe closely, and act decisively—your team will thank you.
Action Items
- Review your hiring process — Add attitude-focused interview questions and scenarios to prioritize positive energy and can-do mindset in the next round of recruitment.
- Build or update your SOP library — Commit to documenting at least 5–10 core procedures (with photos/videos) in the next 60 days; start with the most frequent or error-prone tasks.
- Designate a training space — Set up a quiet “quarantine” area for new hires to study, watch videos, and practice skills away from the main floor for the first 2–4 weeks.
- Assign apprenticeships — Identify 1–2 senior team members (e.g., Head Tech) to serve as dedicated mentors for new hires during their integration phase.
- Establish praise and correction routines — Start a weekly habit of public shout-outs in team huddles and create a private “coaching corner” for one-on-one feedback tied to specific SOPs.
- Conduct 30- and 60-day fit reviews — Schedule structured check-ins to evaluate performance, attitude, and role alignment; be prepared to repurpose or reassign if needed.
- Set a decision deadline — After 30 days of proper onboarding, decide clearly: full confidence and continued investment or begin the offboarding process to protect team morale.
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