Make a plan to avoid damaging team culture wars—and a toxic work environment.
Is there a civil war in your veterinary practice between the front client-services team and the back technician team? If so, you’re not alone. “One of the biggest contributors to tension is misunderstanding between the front and back,” says Megan Brashear, RVT, VTS (ECC), senior veterinary nursing manager at Purdue University Veterinary Hospital in West Lafayette, Ind.
If each team blames the other when things fall through the cracks or go awry, a toxic work environment is likely to arise. “Small disagreements can turn into hostility and gossip that can quickly take down the culture of the entire hospital,” says Brashear. “We all need to take responsibility for our actions and interactions with each other on the hospital floor.”
To build a healthy hospital culture and help the whole team function smoothly and effectively, encourage your employees to try these strategies for better communication:
Prepare. Before any difficult conversation, ask for a moment alone and calm yourself down by taking deep breaths. “Focus your mind on finding an outcome and prepare yourself to move forward,” says Brashear.
Listen. Give each other a chance to be truly heard. “Truly commit to listening to the other person,” says Brashear. After the first person speaks, summarize and reflect back the main points before taking your own turn to talk. This checks your understanding of what has been expressed and makes sure the other person feels heard and understood.
Don’t accuse. Resist the urge to use accusatory “you” statements. Instead, describe the situation from your own point of view and explain your feelings about what happened using “I” statements, Brashear recommends. “Accusing can put the other person on the defensive right away and stop meaningful resolution,” she says.
Focus on the facts. Keep the discussion grounded in the facts of the situation and what is known. Although it can be difficult, “keep listening to the other person and attempt to understand their facts and their truth,” says Brashear. Ask questions to clarify and understand, not to argue, and be ready to take responsibility when necessary.
Be aware of your body language. While the other person is explaining their side, maintain eye contact and keep your posture neutral and relaxed. Do your best to remain present in the conversation. Try to focus on what the other person is saying and feeling rather than planning what you’ll say next. “As soon as the mind jumps to how to respond or starts formulating a response, eye contact fades and you begin to communicate indifference,” Brashear explains.
Take a break. If new information is brought forward as you discuss, you may both need to take a break to research or to collect new thoughts based on that new information. “This will not only allow for the most appropriate response, but also can diffuse tempers before the conversation continues,” says Brashear.
Define next steps. Try to reach a resolution, but recognize that this may not always be possible within one conversation. If the conversation needs to end before you’ve resolved the issue, create action items so both parties know their next steps in attempting to work toward a resolution. “Conflict is rarely one-sided,” says Brashear. “Chances are there will be work to be done from both parties.”
Be flexible. In general, strengthen relationships with colleagues by helping each other out whenever possible. “A flexible customer service representative sees a medical team woefully behind and offers to take out the garbage and walk the crying dog. A flexible technician offers to load exam rooms or picks up a phone call,” says Brashear. When things are running behind, stifle the impulse to ask “What are they doing up there?” or “What is taking so long back there?”
Instead, just “walk to the front or back and check in,” she recommends. “Sometimes a simple ‘five more minutes’ is all that needs to be said.”
As for your role as a manager, Brashear suggests empowering your team to try and resolve most issues without you. “In any type of staff conflict, unless there is real fear of a physical altercation, the stress of involving management can unravel conversations that might not need to be so intense,” says Brashear. Team members should first attempt to solve the issue on their own. Make sure they can do so in a quiet spot, away from the hospital floor.