When you get home from a busy day at the hospital, probably the last thing you want to think about is what to make for dinner. Or maybe you rummage through your pantry and refrigerator, only to find that you don’t have what you need to prepare the meal you want. Fast foods such as burgers, burritos and pizza might be convenient in a pinch but are typically high in salt, fat and preservatives.

Meal delivery services are making those dinnertime dilemmas a thing of the past, but do they really save time and money? We tested four nationwide services and talked with veterinarians who have tried some of them. Here’s what you need to know.

Whether you want meals with organic ingredients or paleo, vegetarian, gluten-free or kid-friendly options, there’s a delivery service that’s right for you. Most offer two-person and family plans, with two or three — or more &mdash; meals delivered weekly. Typically, all you need in your kitchen are oil, salt and pepper, plus basic cookware.

Blue Apron has the fewest meal options at six per week. The company makes an effort to use natural and sustainable proteins. Examples of meals include salmon and udon noodle stir-fry, smoked trout and asparagus salad, and skillet vegetable chili with cornmeal and cheddar biscuits.

Home Chef offers a choice of 10 different meals each week, including breakfast options and one premium meal, such as lamb chops with basmati rice, creamy feta sauce and cucumber salad. One week’s menu included steak burritos, chicken Milanesa, grilled pork chops, and French onion risotto with Swiss cheese. Recipe cards are easy to follow and can be saved in a binder that comes with the first order. Meals are easily scheduled or canceled.

Sun Basket is a good meal delivery choice for families who prefer organic ingredients or more exotic or ethnic options. Among the dozen options for one week: yakitori chicken meatballs with roasted cauliflower and carrots, curried tofu and summer squash with carrot ribbons, steak with paprika butter and pan-charred vegetables, and two breakfasts — peach smoothie bowls and whole-grain pancakes with strawberries. The website is easy to navigate &mdash; unless you’re trying to skip a week.

Hello Fresh has eight weekly options, such as Monterey Jack burgers; crispy Cajun catfish; orecchiette with sausage, broccoli and pesto; spiced chicken thighs with basmati rice and sugar snap peas; and one breakfast choice. Subscribers can choose among egg-free, nut-free, gluten-free and spicy dishes. Premium meals are also available.

The main advantage of these deliveries is the savings in time spent planning and shopping for meals. The kits also encourage cooks caught in a rut to try new things and use ingredients they don’t normally have in the pantry. Other benefits include portion control and calorie-counted meals. For busy veterinarians, however, they don’t 

Kathryn Primm, DVM, owner of Applebrook Animal Hospital in Ooltewah, Tennessee, says meal planning and shopping aren’t difficult — she takes care of those tasks on weekends. For her, the chopping, prepping and cooking time required by meal kits were a strike against them. Some can be prepared in just 15 or 20 minutes, but most require 30 minutes or even up to an hour. “What I need is something to save time on workdays,” she said.

Jessica Wilcock, DVM, who practices at Evergreen Veterinary Hospital in Kirkland, Washington, had the opposite experience. The meals didn’t get her out of the kitchen faster, but they did reduce planning and trips to the grocery store.

They can cut costs, too. “I think we’ve saved money by eating out and getting takeout less,” Dr. Wilcock said. “Also, I waste less money on getting, for instance, an entire bottle of capers when I only need a table-spoon. So there are some grocery savings also.”

Recipe cards are generally easy to follow, with prep and cook times listed. Home Chef recipes note the difficulty and spice level of each meal. The amount of chopping and number of steps required vary by recipe, and may take longer for inexperienced cooks. Meal preparation goes fastest if two people work together.

The meals also generate packaging waste, although companies use recyclable materials. Home Chef’s plastic containers with screw caps can be reused. Blue Apron has the least amount of packaging, but that’s because everything arrives jumbled together in a box and must be sorted. It’s easy to put the wrong items together.

Dr. Wilcock recommends meal kits regularly to coworkers and clients, but noted that it’s important to research the types of recipes each company provides, cost per week and number of people served before making a choice. “It may take trying a few services to find the one that fits you best,” she said. 

Kim Campbell Thornton has been writing about dogs and cats for 32 years. She is the award-winning author of more than two dozen books and hundreds of articles on pet care, health and behavior.

Articles

Lifelines

Does not having to shop for and cook your dinner really save time and money?

Putting Meal Delivery Services to the Test

Growing a veterinary practice is not easy. It requires a fully engaged team focused on delivering excellent care, amazing service, and ever-increasing productivity and efficiency. Yet as a practice grows, so does the amount of complexity involved.

Running a practice with multiple doctors is not the same as running a one- or two-doctor practice. If you want to be able to grow your practice continually without it collapsing under the weight of complexity, chaos and confusion, then you must grow as a practice leader. That means your leadership style will likely need to change. If your skills and per-spective do not evolve along with the practice, then growth will likely sputter and stagnate, service will drop to “usually pretty good,” and the quality of care will begin to decrease as employee engagement, morale and commitment are replaced by drama, interpersonal conflict and miscommunication.

Most practice owners wouldn’t think of going too long without exploring new diagnostic and treatment advances, but all too often they fail to explore their personal growth as a leader, communicator, coach, change agent and business strategist. Your veterinary practice’s culture is tied directly to your personal development as its steward and shepherd.

What if you knew how to lead big changes in your practice quickly and effectively? What if you could systematically coach an underperforming team member so that he or she becomes more engaged and productive? What if you could recruit and train so those who join your practice raise the bar, improve the culture and continually provide better service and care? What if you knew how to structure your business to accommodate growth and organize teams so they collaborate and communicate more effectively?

Attention, Managers: Are You Making These Leadership Errors?

Many practice owners believe these are the tasks of a manager or administrator, and they certainly can be. However, practice managers are immersed in compensation, inventory, scheduling, accounting, equipment maintenance and other day-to-day aspects of running a business, so they might not be attuned to opportunities for leadership develop-ment. That area belongs to you.

First, make the choice and commitment to develop. You must believe the journey will be good for you and make a positive difference. And it will be, if you decide to make it happen and apply the effort its importance requires.

Nothing moves from idea to action without focused thinking and planning. If you want to learn more about leading a practice, you might make a point of reading a book on leadership each month or consistently searching online for new tools or ideas to spur growth. Exploring possibilities will help transform the idea of development into reality.

There’s no disputing the challenge of time, of course. You might not be able to devote time to development right now, but you have plenty of control over your time in the future. Perhaps you have no time today to ponder personal growth or the bigger picture, but you might find an hour next week or five hours next month or 40 hours next year — if you plan for it and seize the opportunity.

Signing up for a workshop, reading a book and browsing online are good places to start, but what else can help keep you on a developmental path? Try spending 10 minutes each morning thinking about the ideal culture for your practice, and consider one thing you can do that day to model it. Every morning, take a few minutes to jot down ideas for ways to help your staff better engage with their work. Go out for a walk at lunch each day and think about who did a great job that morning, then personally thank that person when you get back to the office. Leadership can start with tiny habits that form a solid foundation for continuing to develop and change your approach to the journey.

Organized growth is not easy, especially in the fast-paced, chaotic world of veterinary medicine. It requires learning and growing with the challenges. But often, that is where much of the satisfaction comes from. Making more of a difference with what matters most to you is a worthwhile endeavor, and you owe it to yourself to explore the possibilities and the rewards that come with it.

Randy Hall is a leadership trainer and executive coach who works with organizations of all sizes to execute change effectively, develop leaders, engage employees and help businesses reach their full potential. To schedule Mr. Hall as a coach, trainer or consultant, or learn more about his services, visit 

Leadership Lessons

Your personal development as a leader is tied directly to the evolution and prosperity of your business.

Your Practice's Growth Starts With You

So much effort goes into making a veterinary practice attractive to potential employees — entire websites and companies are devoted to perfecting the process &mdash; but employee retention is just as important, if not more so. Creating a positive environment that makes employees want to come to work each day should be a key goal for all business owners. If you have had a number of employees resign recently or wonder if your practice could do more to ensure happy employees, you will find help in this four- part series.

covered the importance of maintaining job descriptions and performing regular skills gap assessments. 

delved into the financial aspects of attracting and maintaining a talented pool of employees, including wages, benefit packages and reward programs. Veterinary practices that want to attract quality candidates cannot risk falling behind in any of these areas.

How can you be sure that you know exactly what your current and future employees want or expect? It starts — and ends &mdash; with an interview.

Some people might assume that work-related interviews refer only to those with job candidates. Admittedly, the job interview is vital to identifying candidates who will fit into the culture at your practice, and myriad books and websites are dedicated to this topic. But what about the people who already work at your practice? Can you clearly distinguish between those who are in it for the long haul and those who might be looking for employment elsewhere? Listening to whispers among staff and trusting your intuition are not enough to safeguard your practice.

3 Things You Should Know After Interviewing a Potential Employee

How, then, can you figure out which team members might be unhappy or why they’re considering leaving? The simple answer is to conduct interviews but with a twist: the stay interview and the exit interview.

Stay interviews help reveal why employees choose to work at your practice. Open-ended questions uncover why an employee wants to stay — what makes your veterinary hospital a great workplace &mdash; and how you can retain this and other employees. This type of interview can provide valuable information about issues brewing below the surface that need immediate attention. Additionally, the employee’s feedback can be folded into marketing initiatives. For example, use the positive attributes of your practice to promote your next job opening.

Some examples of questions to ask in a stay interview:

What do you look forward to when you come to work each day?

What do you like most about working here? What do you like least?

If you could change something about your job, what would it be?

What would make your job more satisfying or the best job you’ve ever had?

What frustrates you about your current duties?

Stay interviews may be more beneficial than employee satisfaction surveys because they are conducted face-to-face using two-way communication. Some caveats: You must build trust, have open communication and demonstrate effective listening skills. One of the problems that may arise from a stay interview is discussing changes that need to be made but failing to take action. Employees may think that they haven’t been heard and, as a result, no longer trust the process.

Prepare yourself or the manager who conducts the stay interviews for handling difficult questions from the employees about getting a raise, taking on roles for which they lack the skills or making scheduling changes. Although none of those topics should be considered off-limits, the person conducting the interview must be prepared to discuss budget and scheduling constraints, strategic plans for compensation and benefits, and training opportunities for advancing employees.

So, despite your best efforts to maintain employee satisfaction, you have been handed a letter of resignation. Don’t dismiss this soon-to-be ex-employee’s ability to add value to your business. Take the opportunity to discover what factored into his or her decision to leave by conducting an exit interview.

A simple Google search will provide you with numerous articles about and examples of exit interview questions (see 

). Even if the employee is being terminated, asking a few open-ended questions about the practice and permitting the employee to vent can provide pertinent information for practice improvement.

When you sit down together, follow these pointers to ensure a comfortable environment for both you and the exiting employee:

Conduct the interview in a private office to avoid distraction.

Prevent telephone, intercom, cellphone and employee interruptions.

Allow enough time so as not to be hurried.

Arrange to sit in a nonconfrontational manner. Opt for circular or side-by-side seating rather than across a table from each another.

Have a neutral third party conduct the interview — someone other than the exiting employee’s direct supervisor &mdash; if possible.

Schedule the interview for the final week of employment to ease fears of leaked discussions, gossip or harassment.

Take notes for a written record, and keep the conversation comfortable to encourage sharing of ideas and criticism. The interviewer should refrain from becoming defensive or critical.

Your goal is to gather information that could improve the veterinary practice moving forward. Conclude the exit interview by expressing gratitude for the employee’s honesty and service. The procedure is doomed if you just go through the motions to appear “interested” or “legal.”

To make an exit interview valuable, take these steps:

Prepare yourself (as you do for hiring interviews).

Explain that you value the employee’s opinions and plan to use (or pass on) the information to improve the practice.

Ask questions that get to the root of why the person is leaving.

Ask the employee what measures, if any, were taken to resolve the issues, and listen for obstructions or suggest actions that could have been taken — the employee might accept some responsibility for the situation.

Finally, take the time to discuss the results with the appropriate people within the practice. Use the interview responses as an opportunity to develop action steps to improve the business. If you merely type up the interview and file it away, there will be no benefits.

Given the high cost of turnover, it behooves a veterinary practice to review both stay and exit interview information and take action where needed. Stay interviews offer the opportunity to identify and solve problems before an employee resigns. Exit interviews should be viewed as a proactive means to address complaints, improve the practice and prevent litigation.

In the end, when you receive a letter of resignation and want to tell the employee not to let the door hit them on the way out, imagine that door swinging back and hitting you for failing to improve your business through stay and exit interviews.

Ms. Dunn is an award-winning speaker, writer and consultant who brings over 40 years 

of in-the-trenches experience and business education to veterinary management. She is founder and CEO of Snowgoose Veterinary Management Consulting, which helps veterinarians develop strategic plans that consistently produce results.

Managing Your Practice

Sitting down and talking with current and exiting staff could be the key to ensuring employee retention.

Shut the Revolving Door - Part 3: Stay and Exit Interviews

Selling is a dirty word in veterinary medicine. I am not talking about selling leashes or squeaky toys or dewormers. I am talking about selling ourselves and our practices and our services. The fact is, selling is an art as much as a science. Although there are countless situations in which clients can — and will &mdash; find something to complain about, famed lawyer and sports agent Mark McCormack described seven common selling snafus to avoid.

Sin #1: Overpromising and Underdelivering on Service

If you don’t deliver excellent service, customers will have reasons to be unhappy. I once had a client whose dog was referred to me for a partial maxillectomy because of an acanthomatous epulis. My physical exam also revealed a large lipoma on the dorsum. All of a sudden, it didn’t matter to this client that her dog had cancer or that her veterinarian had been skilled enough to notice the very caudal maxillary epulis. All that mattered was that her veterinarian had missed the lipoma.

The service we provide should meet the client’s criteria for excellence. There is no easy way to tell if you’ve succeeded, but you’ll certainly know when you haven’t.

When Should You Sell Your Veterinary Practice?

Sin #2: Overpromising and Underdelivering on Price

If we tell a client that repairing a fracture will cost $1,500 but present a bill for $2,000, even a logical explanation may lead to client dissatisfaction. After all, few clients enjoy paying more than what was agreed. There are exceptions, of course. If a patient that was hit by a car was diagnosed initially with a fracture, but a diaphragmatic hernia is found on preoperative thoracic radiographs, the final bill will clearly be higher than expected.

As long as the possibility of unforeseen charges is communicated during the initial consultation, and as long as the reason for additional treatment (and its cost) is clearly explained, most clients will understand the higher price tag.

Sin #3: Overpromising and Underdelivering on Time

Some clients don’t care that you have five surgeries, 16 consultations and 27 voicemails waiting for you. All they know is that Kiki was supposed to have surgery at 9 a.m. and that you said you would call with an update at 10 a.m.

Forget that promise, and some clients will never forgive you.

One solution to this dilemma may be to have a technician or a receptionist make the call for you. “Dr. Smith wanted me to call to reassure you that Kiki’s surgery went fine. He is with other patients right now but will call you later, as promised.” You then need to keep that second promise.

Thinking that delivering two out of three in terms of service, price and time is good enough is McCormack’s fourth deadly sin. In a service industry like veterinary medicine, we need to deliver on all three, every time. We need to provide the right product or service at the right price and at the right time.

Have you ever been sold a product by a skilled salesperson who never returned your calls when you needed help or had questions? You probably have noticed that some sales reps never return calls because “they had a crazy day,” while others excel in responding to customers.

Clients don’t like to be ignored either. Whether they forgot every word you said to them, found 10 tablets when the label on the pill vial said there should be 14 or forgot when the next bandage change should be, clients will call you and will want answers … now.

When clients pay for a product or service, they also buy into a relationship with you and your clinic. “They want you to stick around and hold their hand,” McCormack said. This concept is extremely important after a pet has undergone surgery. Most clients love callbacks. They need to know that you care about Fluffy and whether she is comfortable after her lump removal.

You might think you’re doing the best job in the world, but that may not be enough if you skimp on the details. And, unfortunately, you may have no idea what details the client considers important. “What’s minor to you may be major to the customer,” McCormack said.

For example, consider Cujo’s recent splenectomy. The recep-tionists were great on admission and discharge; the doctor was reassuring and skilled, both in the operating room and when Cujo’s heart rhythm went wonky the day after surgery. The nurses were helpful and accommodating during daily visits. Everybody did a great job, yet Mrs. Jones is livid because “somebody” forgot to trim Cujo’s nails, which can be done only under heavy sedation or anesthesia.

The problem may not be your fault. If you ordered a medication or a bag of prescription pet food that is not delivered on time, some clients will not understand that the delivery schedule isn’t under your control. “Customers with short memories are customers with short fuses,” McCormack said.

Sin #7: Not Understanding Why a Client Is Angry

It is important to know when and why a client is angry. That means being sufficiently close to the client to realize there is a problem. “You can be doing the best job in the world, but if there is something missing, or if the client is unhappy, then your opinion about your performance is worthless,” McCormack said. Sadly, the only way you may find out about their unhappiness is through a nasty online review.

Dr. Zeltzman is a board-certified veterinary surgeon and serial entrepreneur. His traveling surgery practice takes him all over eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey. You can visit his website at 

McCormack M. “On Selling.” Garden City, MI: Dove Books; 1996.

Like it or not, veterinarians are in the business of selling. Avoid these pitfalls to ensure happy clients and a successful practice.

The Seven Deadly Sins of Selling

When Anna Palin was hired as receptionist at Capital Veterinary Clinic (not a real clinic), she was misunderstood, perhaps because the older staff recognized that she had abilities different from their own. Her colleagues noticed, for instance, that Palin could answer very difficult questions without looking up from her computer. She was a millennial, and she was used to finding information quickly from a quick Google search, which set her apart from some of her older coworkers. But there’s much more to millennials than just being technologically savvy.

Dates vary, but millennials usually are defined as those born between 1982 and 2008 — coming of age around the millennial year. They are sometimes referred to as Generation Y or Generation Me. According to Jean M. Twenge, PhD, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University who has conducted copious research on generational characteristics, generational differences between millennials and their predecessors are centered around their worldview, with millennials focusing more on the self and less on social rules &mdash; thus the term Generation Me.

To understand the millennial worldview, one must appreciate the events that have contributed to it. Joan Nieman, owner of Essential Elements, a business consulting firm for pet care professionals, points out that every generation is impacted by events surrounding its formative years. The millennial generation experienced the 9/11 attacks, the war on terror, corporate malfeasance (think Enron, Goldman Sachs and BP Deepwater Horizon), the Great Recession, and scandals involving the Roman Catholic Church and heroes like Tiger Woods.

Balancing Three Generations of Veterinarians in Your Clinic

Why - and How - You Should Engage With Millennials

Before we use a broad brush to describe, label and categorize any age group, however, we should be cautioned about the danger of hasty generalizations. Individually, millennials may have been affected differently by these same events.

That said, some commonalities are worth noting. Although some see a dark side to millennials, observing seemingly negative characteristics, others view those same characteristics, among others, as offering a bright positive to the workplace equation.

Those critical of millennials are likely to make the following types of comments.

to high school seniors in the 2000s, Dr. Twenge reported, “Nearly 40 percent of millennials said they didn’t want to work that hard (an opinion embraced by only 25 percent of boomers), and fewer than half agreed that they would definitely be willing to work overtime to do a good job.”

Millennials want to stay home and play video games all day instead of working

. Erik Hurst, a macroeconomist and millennial expert at the University of Chicago, has looked at the research and raises this question: “Are young men playing video games because they are not working, or are they not working because they are playing video games?”

 Hurst thinks the latter may be the case — why work when you can live at home and play video games?

Millennials are slackers who lack focus. 

Tulgan, founder of the management training consultancy RainmakerThinking, said, “This will be the most high-maintenance workforce in history.”

 He concurs with those who say that if millennials are not supervised constantly, they become distracted and skip off the job. For her part, Nieman said she believes managing today’s workforce presents a new set of challenges. “To some of us, millennials are an alien species … we don’t understand how to deal with their ‘slacker’ attitude,” she said. “This generation grew up with lots of parental hand-holding and adult over-supervision. They are not accustomed to doing things entirely on their own.”

Millennials prematurely expect promotions and want rewards for every little thing. 

survey for CareerBuilder indicated that 60 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds surveyed believe they should be promoted within two to three years.

 Ron Alsop, the author of “The Trophy Kids Grow Up: How the Millennial Generation Is Shaking Up the Workplace,” explained it this way: “The millennials were brought up with an ‘everyone’s a winner’ mentality. Their parents were told to boost their children’s self-esteem. Hence, their offspring seek acceptance and continual ‘pats on the back.’”

“entitled” is often ascribed to millennials — entitled to move up quickly in their job, even “entitled” to the job itself. As one young graduate wrote, “You are not even guaranteed a job after going to college! And once we graduate, we are in debt up to our ears! What do you mean I’m not guaranteed a job?”

Millennials constantly criticize and question authority. 

Having lived through numerous high-profile

scandals and betrayals, like that of Bernard Madoff, many millennials are unlikely to take advice from an authority figure without question. Julie Reck, DVM, owner of Veterinary Medical Center of Fort Mill in South Carolina, and member of the 

that her millennial teammates are inclined to challenge a change in policy and require the reason to be clearly articulated. Unlike earlier generations of children who were taught to be “seen but not heard,” members of the millennial generation were taught to speak their minds.

specialist Frances (Frankie) Williams discovered a problem at her New Jersey practice during the summertime when many millennials called in sick to join their friends at the beach. “They want a life,” she said, so she had to institute a summer bonus plan to ensure coverage all season.

be too busy to converse with coworkers, because they are checking their smartphones an estimated 43 times a day, according to Christine Shupe, executive director of the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association.

 Management consultant Simon Sinek agrees that some millennials are so addicted to their smartphones that they can’t fully participate in meetings,

 leading to phones being forbidden in some workplaces.

Millennials don’t dress professionally. 

Most millennials (60 percent) don’t believe that how they dress is indicative of performance.

 This group is not concerned with social rules. They are likely to show up wearing flip-flops, with nose rings and visible tattoos. Millennials might find it difficult to conform to required standards of dress, such as a hospital uniform.

Some deny these criticisms, and others see some of these characteristics as positive rather than negative attributes. Those who praise millennials and paint a cheerier picture of this young generation are likely to say the following. 

DVM, a millennial and associate veterinarian at Peak View Animal Hospital in Fowler, Colorado, said, “We do have a strong work ethic. We can work hard on the job and play hard when we’re not.”

Millennials understand the importance of work-

Millennials who say they “want a life”

can teach everyone the importance of balance. More than previous 

generations, they value time for family, education and other pursuits. While this may mean less willingness to work overtime, the health and well-being they maintain as balanced employees are a plus for the practice.

Millennials want to work, but employers need to understand what motivates them. 

and workforce solutions company Kelly Services recently conducted a survey of more than 100,000 millennials and found that this generation is less interested in the size of their paycheck and more interested in personal fulfillment in a supportive and encouraging work environment.

Millennials are willing to work independently, 

in Waltham, Massachusetts found that 67 percent of young people want to start their own business. Bentley management professor Fred Tuffile, PhD, told Forbes, “Millennials are realizing that starting a company, even if it crashes and burns, teaches them more in two years than sitting in a cubicle for 20 years … While they know their chances of creating another Facebook are low, they do think it’s fairly easy to create a cool startup.”

More than earlier generations, most millennials have worked in study teams as they pursued their education. This comfort with and openness to teamwork is often in contrast to senior doctors, who may think “It’s all about me,” and can be a great asset in building cooperation and collaboration in the practice.

of the entitlement accusation is that millennials are a generation with soaring expectations. They were raised to believe they can be anything they want to be. More than the generation that followed them, millennials are likely to believe they can earn college and graduate degrees. According to Dr. Twenge, “They arrive at their job interviews believing they already know everything.”

 Some call this optimistic and confident.

Millennials are passionate about bettering the world. 

Wendy Hauser, DVM, vice president of veterinary relations for Crum + Forster Pet Insurance Group and also on the 

 board, said one of the things she loves about this generation is their passion for improving the world and their commitment to service. She references a book fair organized by millennials at a Colorado veterinary hospital in which the money raised was used to house abused women’s pets that were not allowed at the local women’s shelter.

Millennials are not afraid to challenge the rationale of decisions and protocols if the logic and reasoning are not sound. 

authority because they were taught to speak their minds. Given their experiences, Nieman wrote, “It’s no surprise that millennials approach the powerful with skepticism.”

 That can be seen as a real positive that keeps a practice moving forward with integrity. Millennials can be depended on to seek the soundness of policies and protocols. “They are realistic and won’t turn a blind eye,” Nieman wrote. “Their realism and honesty can be an asset.”

Millennials communicate — they just do it differently. 

listening, but they are multitaskers who can show amazing understanding and often communicate in nontraditional ways, especially using technology. Their lack of direct eye contact and near-constant attention to their technology does not mean they aren’t participating. A tablet or smartphone that may be distracting to some may not be a hindrance to others.

Millennials are comfortable with technology. 

generation’s comfort with technology is a major asset to be tapped by veterinary practices. Amanda Donnelly, DVM, MBA, owner of Florida-based ALD Veterinary Consulting, points out that it is often because millennials embrace technology that practices have moved toward texting to send appointment reminders, prescription refill notices, and postsurgical updates and photos.

By considering all aspects of the millennial workforce’s habits and desires, older workers can approach this generation with greater understanding, and practice owners and managers can build inclusive, strong veterinary teams. When interviewing prospective millennial employees, be prepared for questions like these:

Will you encourage me to build my network?

Do you have an open and understanding workplace?

To tap the talents of millennials, consider the following points:

Don’t be turned off by initial appearances. 

your judgment, and look past the flip-flops and nose rings. Appearance is no longer considered a valid measure of employability.

Be as respectful of millennials as you would of any new applicant or team member. 

That means remembering some of this generation’s needs, such as the need to appreciate the rationale behind policies and protocols. Millennials will not accept being told “Do it because I said so.” Respect their need to understand the bigger picture.

Recognize millennials’ commitment to service. 

Appreciate their need to have purpose in their life and work, and tie that to the services your practice offers. Providing quality pet health care should be understood as the primary purpose, of course, but millennials may be looking for more, such as quality client experiences, consideration for clients unable to pay for unforeseen pet expenses, and support for local humane societies or other forms of community outreach.

Alter your management and supervision systems. 

Provide mentoring and direction appropriate to the needs of millennials who appear to lack focus.

Like other employees, millennials need to know how they are doing and what advancement requires. Don’t wait for the traditional annual review — give frequent feedback for accomplishments, both large and small.

Consider more opportunities for promotions. 

Millennials expect to move ahead rapidly in their job and will appreciate your vision of a path for their future. “Instead of a big leap every two years, consider four smaller leaps every six months,” Dr. Twenge suggested.

offer flexibility, vacation time and a variety of work experiences. Millennials value balancing work with other aspects of their life and will appreciate a practice that recognizes that.

Tap millennials’ knowledge of technology. 

to your millennials to move your record-keeping to electronic medical records. Let them lead the way in adopting software to help clients make appointments online or order prescriptions. Those comfortable with computer apps can help you evaluate services that enable your clients to pro-vide feedback and reviews through Yelp or other online services.

Provide opportunities to enhance communication skills. 

engaging with others face-to-face. Lunchtime workshops can help everyone enhance their interpersonal skills. Local, regional and national veterinary conferences also provide great opportunities for learning.

work-study teams in school, millennials usually will welcome opportunities to work with and learn from their teammates.

Whether you acknowledge the dark side or bright side of millennials — or maybe a little of both &mdash; this generation is a major part of the future veterinary profession. Appreciate them and help them contribute to the success of your business and the profession as a whole

Dr. Shadle earned her doctorate in interpersonal and organizational communication at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Dr. Meyer earned his doctorate in communication studies and speech arts at the University of Minnesota. They write and train through Interpersonal Communication Service, Inc. (

have trained veterinary professionals at numerous national and international conferences.

Revised and Updated: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled — and More Miserable Than Ever Before. 

New York, NY: Simon & Schuster/Atria Books; 2014.

iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy — and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood

— and What That Means for the Rest of Us.

 New York, NY: Simon & Schuster/Atria Books; 2017.

Spector N. It’s less work, more playing video games for today’s young men. NBC News website. 

nbcnews.com/business/consumer/it-s-less-work-more-playing-video-games-today-s-n782956

. Published July 14, 2017. Accessed January 18, 2018.

Tulgan B. Bringing out the best in young talent: managing generations Y and Z. Rainmaker Thinking website. 

rainmakerthinking.com/assets/uploads/2013/10/Bringing-Out-the-Best-in-Young-Talent.pdf

Nieman J. The challenge of a changing workforce: Living and working with millennials  — Part 2. Essential Elements website. 

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essentialpetconsulting.com/2013/11/the-challenge-of-a-changing-workforce-part-1/

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. Published September 13, 2012. Accessed January 18, 2018.

The Trophy Kids Grow Up: How the Millennial Generation is Shaking up the Workplace.

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Larkin M. The generation factor: How the rise of the millennial generation could mean changes in the way veterinarians do business. 

We zero in on what this much-discussed generation has to o&#64256;er in the veterinary practice.

February 2018

Putting Meal Delivery Services to the Test

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Shut the Revolving Door - Part 3: Stay and Exit Interviews

The Seven Deadly Sins of Selling

Tapping the Talents of Millennials

Advice Unleashed (February 2018)

How to Create a Winning Social Media Plan

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