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“Core values begin with the owners. They must determine what matters to them.” Boone, 2021
Most clinics would disregard the need of having established core values. It may seem pointless to others, however, this becomes the foundation of the clinic. Vet clinic owners must first initiate this step. Having core values represents how you and your team become consistent about the business with integrity (Lynch, 2018). This practice also becomes your clinic’s competitive edge from its competitors. Identifying the clinic’s unique sense of service offerings becomes clear to the business and colleagues as to their responsibilities.
Another importance with established core values is boosting employee engagement and business initiatives in order to direct the whole operations, its people and customers to its desired direction or output. Unfortunately, several clinic owners fail to be consistent due to giving more priority to other aspects of the business and neglect its core values, in particular.
An article from Becker’s Hospital Review (2011) pointed out 5 ways in defining the core values of hospitals wherein clinics are included.
Being able to embed the core values of the business to its employees takes time. In order to make the values long term in the business, consistency is a must when it comes to the practices. It may take a while to make this possible due to the fact core values tend to be treated as a fluff concept. But over time, with continuous practice and familiarization, staff members will be more engaged when initiating its core values.
It is highly recommended to keep the core values brief and convenient to employ in their everyday work. It is suggested to create four to five core values with four to five words at maximum. In this way, everyone gets to remember and cite the core values easily. With its accessibility, it would be best to post it somewhere accessible or seen in order to establish well-known core values to the everyone involved rather than just the staff alone.
Having regular meetings should be non-negotiable in order to keep track of everyone’s standing and progress. Being able to make the core values a culture, promoting the core values to its people should be immediately done before it’s too late. For every decision-making, employees should be able to connect their decisions with the core values of the business in order to maintain consistency and efficiency as an organization and its services.
Lastly, thinking long-term is another must. Being able to apply the core values to its everyday work should be made possible despite the uncertain changes. Upholding the core values since day one is significant as a way to obtain a sense of community and be able to work together towards a common goal.
Practice the mentioned steps and this will surely help your clinic community thrive in the long run. However, be patient since the process of completely embedding the core values to everyone might surely take a while. With continuous practice, communication, and feedback, having clear and obvious core values will be established in no time.
Launched in 2021, My Vet System aims to provide a simple and user friendly network for veterinary clinics. Our system was designed to help veterinarians and clinic administrators efficiently organize their daily clinic operations.
My Vet System covers all of our clients’ needs — from the total automation of keeping records, creating reports, to booking appointments. We work hard on perfecting our services to give veterinarians more time to focus on what matters most: our pets!
