small
talk
07
K
os, the delightful Greek
island, what a place to
start this article I hear
you say! Well here’s why.... when
asked recently whilst on holiday
in Kos, by Mickey one of the
animation team, what I did back
in the UK, I replied Practice
Manager of a veterinary
surgery. Wow, what animals
do you see he replied, but he
couldn’t wait for me to reply as
he was too eager to practice all
his English ‘animal names’, on
me and the other guests! So
despite being thousands of
miles away from the Yorkshire
Dales, there was just no getting
away from the job!!
I started working for Kingsway
Vets in 2005 after leaving a
small accountancy firm. The
change from accounting to
vets sounds a world apart,
but for me ‘managing’ is
“managing” whichever line of
work you are in. The role I have
is extremely varied and I never
know quite what is going to
land at my door. We currently
have 36 staff members and
I have responsibility for all
aspects of personnel /HR which
in itself is enough to fill each
day besides thinking about
everything else it takes to run
a veterinary practice.
Not knowing what is going to
happen each day could be a
worrying thing for some people
but to me that is what makes
each day a challenge. Thinking,
during the drive in to work, if
one of the practice cars will
pass its MOT, or if the
computer system is going to
behave itself today, or if the
car park will need clearing
of the rapidly falling snow,
makes each of my days
varied and interesting.
Getting involved and being
‘hands on’ in my role is
essential. The way you find
out if things are working for
everyone, including staff and
customers is to be where things
happen. In our Practice,
customer service and their
satisfaction is high on the
agenda. Always looking in
detail at the little things that
count - such as is the waiting
room clean and tidy? Are
the vets running on time?
Has the receptionist a smile
for everyone who walks
through the door? Do systems
run smoothly and efficiently so
that staff have time to spend
with people rather than
processes?
When things don’t always go
quite right (and they don’t)
I keep smiling. Having a calm
‘we can do it’ attitude is
essential in this role. Dealing
with people, animals, suppliers,
IT, property and finances can
be stressful but having that
calm, almost tranquil approach,
is how I like to try and tackle
situations.
Animals are what we are about,
but make no mistake, as
Practice Manager I can’t sit
stroking furry animals all day, in
fact some days can be so busy
that I don’t even see a cat or
dog, let alone a cow or sheep!
