In the world of veterinary practice consolidators, challenge often come hand in hand with growth. With rapid expansion, immature systems and processes can hinder progress at the clinical, operational, and corporate levels. In this article, we will explore the obstacles faced by veterinary groups, as they transition from acquiring hospitals to optimizing their operations, and most importantly, we’ll delve into the potential solutions to these challenges. The aim is to provide actionable insights that empower veterinary group leaders to create value, drive change, and foster effective leadership within their organizations.
Defining the Challenge
Historically, veterinary practice consolidators have faced three primary challenges. First, managing rapid growth without the concurrent development of enterprise systems to support their expansion. This growth extended across the clinical, operational, and corporate tiers. It created challenges in establishing accurate and easily digestible Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and training protocols.
The second significant challenge centered around misalignment. Change comes with any transition and often the scope and details of the changes necessary at the clinical level to integrate practices into the larger group were unclear- or unclearly communicated- at the onset, which led to misalignment between the consolidator and the stakeholders throughout the organization.
Finally, a lack of effective change management further compounded these challenges. Unfortunately, too little time and resources have traditionally been committed to effective change management.
Rapid growth exacerbated these issues, creating an imbalance between what the consolidator expected and what the clinic experienced. The consolidator’s demands often resulted in increased work, change, and training for the clinic, without a clear understanding of the “why” behind these changes.
Creating Value: The Key to Success
The core challenge for veterinary practice consolidators is to understand how to create value across the entire chain, from pet parents to employees. While private equity-backed companies aim to create value for shareholders, this necessitates value creation along the entire spectrum. However, concentrating exclusively on shareholder value may prove counterproductive. Without grasping the intricacies of value creation at each level, veterinary groups risk expending time and effort on protocols and changes that benefit individual departments without adding overall value.
It’s crucial to recognize that while departments do need Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), effective implementation (change management) and understanding of the downstream impact on frontline teams are equally vital. Neglecting these aspects can result in departmental SOPs negatively impacting clinical productivity and employee engagement. This underscores the importance of aligning departmental procedures with the broader organizational goals and the need for transparent communication between all levels of the veterinary group. It also emphasizes the necessity of change management and understanding the consequences of actions on frontline staff, who play a pivotal role in delivering quality care and services.
However, veterinary groups often lack the systems that provide visibility into the current status of their operations. This lack of visibility hinders their ability to make improvements. Without understanding the existing processes, they cannot effectively enhance them. The absence of a two-way relationship exacerbates the challenges. An imbalance emerges when veterinary groups impose requirements on clinics without considering their needs and lacking transparent communication.
Change Leadership within Hospitals
While involving hospital leadership in decision-making is a step in the right direction, the challenge lies in ensuring that these leaders understand the “why” behind changes and how their roles fit into the broader vision of the veterinary group. Change leaders within hospitals must possess the skills to implement and lead change effectively, and understand the cause-and-effect relationships. To facilitate change successfully, veterinary groups need to address the imbalance between their own requirements and the clinics’ needs.
The Road to Solutions
To overcome these challenges, veterinary groups can consider the following steps:
- Define Value Creation: Start by clearly defining what value creation means for your organization. This includes not only shareholder value but also value for pet parents and employees.
- Balance the Equation: Ensure a balanced approach that addresses the needs of both the consolidator and the clinic. Align the focus on creating value with the clinic’s requirements for efficient and effective operations.
- Targeted SOPs and Protocols: Rather than imposing generic SOPs and protocols, pinpoint specific problems and inefficiencies within clinics. This may require operational improvements. Tailor the development of SOPs and protocols to address these issues effectively.
- Improve Training and Efficiency: Invest in training and systems that help clinical teams work smarter, not harder. Identify and resolve bottlenecks and inefficiencies within clinics to improve overall performance.
- Enhance Communication: Foster transparent two-way communication between veterinary groups and clinics. Ensure that clinics understand the reasons behind changes and how these changes benefit their operations and ability to serve their clients and patients.
- Measure Impact: Implement key performance indicators (KPIs) from the outset to measure the impact of new protocols and changes. Evaluate the actual effect on people and outcomes.
- Value Beyond Profit: Expand the metrics for success beyond revenue and profit. Include measurements related to client and employee experiences, throughput, care quality, pricing, and staffing. These metrics are tangible and meaningful to frontline teams.
- Create a Culture of Understanding: Promote a culture in which clinical teams not only understand their individual roles but also how their actions impact their colleagues and the organization as a whole.
In Conclusion
Achieving a balance between profitability, productivity, and effective change management is crucial for the success of a veterinary practice consolidator. Creating value for all stakeholders is the key to overcoming these challenges. By balancing the equation, targeting solutions, enhancing communication, and improving efficiency, veterinary groups can foster a culture of understanding and achieve long-term success.
Co-author: William J Griffin, VMD – VetEcoSystem