With the New Year, everyone thinks about what they can do to improve in their own lives – but resolutions don’t just have to be personal. It isn’t uncommon to see New Year’s resolutions popping up in workplace environments nowadays, and it can be a great way to improve the atmosphere around your clinic!
Think about your practice. It had a great year, but is there anything it could do better for 2017? We’ve gathered a few resolutions that your practice could take on for the New Year:
Resolution 1: Spruce up the office
Does your clinic need a little TLC? If it’s got peeling paint, colors left over from previous tenants, or even just a set of outdated magazines, you could resolve to spruce things up. You don’t have to follow in Google’s footsteps (think installing a multi-floor slide or a suite of foosball tables), but a little refresh can make a big difference. Grab a few cans of paint (or hire a painter), sign up for a new subscription or two, and update your clinic’s look and feel to make it more welcoming for both your team and your clients. It’ll be worth the investment!
Tip: If you’re looking to update your colors, cool, calming shades like blues and greens are great choices. Warm them up with a splash of yellow or orange – or if you choose to go with red, try to avoid making it the primary choice. After all, it is the color of anger!
Resolution 2: Modernize your online presence
It’s one thing to update your office’s look; but if you don’t update your online look, too, you could be missing out on bringing new clients in to see the fresh paint job.
So many people do the majority of their research online before even venturing out the front door, especially in colder climates. Make your resolution to ensure you aren’t being passed over in online searches; create an informative, eye-catching website and get found online.
Tip: WebDVM4 websites are specially designed to help your clinic make an impact on your online audience. A sleek, modern look, personalized to your clinic’s aesthetic, will help get your message across.
Resolution 3: Create a welcoming workplace environment
It’s easy to go to work, get your job done and go home at the end of the day. It’s not always so easy to engage with coworkers. Often, the only interactions coworkers will have are work-related.
Make a resolution to open up your workplace: have regular social nights, plan a get-together once in a while or even just grab a cup of coffee and make the rounds. Even if your clinic has great morale, you’ll be surprised at the difference these little changes in atmosphere can make.
Tip: Just like the office refresh, we’re not talking drastic changes here. But higher employee satisfaction and happiness levels generally translates to friendlier customer service and a higher employee retention rate. So while it might seem like you’re bunking off to stop and have a quick chat with your team, think about the long-term benefits!
Resolution 4: Trim excess where you can
It’s a universal problem, but can be especially tricky in veterinary clinics: there just never seems to be enough time in the day. But there’s nothing for it, right? There are only so many hours.
If you want to speed things up in your practice, it comes down to a matter of trimming excess where possible. What do you spend a little too much time on every day? Think about things you do every day: maybe you introduce a more automated way to input patient details, or maybe you improve client education so you don’t have to spend so much time discussing why that search engine information wasn’t quite right.
Tip: If you find that your clinic is spending a lot of extra time on appointments but you aren’t quite sure where, try implementing a tracking sheet system to monitor check-ins, appointments, and check-outs. This will help you identify where your excess is – and knowing is half the battle!
However you resolve to improve your clinic this year, keep in mind what it already does well – and find a way to work with it to improve! Have another idea for a New Year’s resolution? Share it in the comment box below.
