Four ways to assess your needs and hire the right person for your team.
Good practice managers aren’t easy to come by, but there are great people out there looking for opportunities, especially positions that lead to professional growth and development. Alternatively, you might have someone within your own practice working toward a new career path.
Here’s how to recruit the best practice manager you can find:
1. Look for complementary skills. Don’t look for someone just like you, but rather someone who complements you. The ideal practice manager will have strengths that mirror your weaknesses, creating a great owner/manager team that can run the practice more effectively than either could flying solo.
2. Use personality assessment tools. Consider using tools like DiSC, CliftonStrengths Finder, Enneagram, or Kolbe A Index to evaluate candidates during the hiring process to gain broader perspective of how they will manage the practice.
3. Sell your culture. To attract the very best candidates, it’s critical that you sell your business as a great place to work. Focus on who you are as a company, your mission and core values, and highlight your workplace culture.
4. Know your pay range. While it’s not necessary to include salary or benefits in a job posting, these details will come up during the hiring process. Be prepared ahead of time by doing your research. Have a salary range in mind, and position your practice as a competitive and attractive employer by offering benefits such as continuing education stipends, flexible hours and a schedule of vacation days and paid time off.
Look for a leader
A practice manager serves as a leader within your veterinary practice. The skills and experience you should take into consideration and place high on your list include:
- Leadership, including training, coaching and providing feedback to others
- Emotional Intelligence, with experience in developing hospital policies and protocols, training manuals and materials, and employee handbooks
- Organization, with experience in developing hospital policies and protocols, training manuals and materials, and employee handbooks
- Marketing, with experience in planning and executing traditional and social-media marketing plans
- Financial experience in bookkeeping and/or the ability to manage a business using a profit and loss statement
- Conflict resolution, with experience in coaching others through issues that cause tension and friction
- Human resource experience is always a plus. An experienced individual will know the ins and outs of setting up payroll, and taking care of state and local paperwork involved in hiring and maintaining employee records
Get started on your search
If you need help writing a job description for your practice manager candidate, visit the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association’s Career Center for veterinary-specific job descriptions. Also, if you are looking for a highly experienced practice manager or a certified veterinary practice manager (CVPM), this is a good place to post. For local candidates, use local digital job boards such as LinkedIn or Indeed.