Frustrated youre not getting a raise?

You work long, hard hours in the veterinary hospital, busting your butt for every patient every day, right? You deserve a raise for all that work. But annual-or sometimes-annual or sometimes-whenever-reviews come and go and (insert sad trumpet noise here) no raise.

If visits are down or revenue is flat or down and the money's not there, what you might not have considered are other benefits your practice owner provides or could provide. Below are the percentage of practice owners who offer these noncash benefits, courtesy of Benchmarks 2015: A Study of Well-Managed Practices (Veterinary Economics and Wutchiett Tumblin and Associates):

If you want to be one of the best, there's no need to dream it up yourself.

You spend all kinds of time and energy healing animals and keeping clients happy. But you know you need to focus on those other feel-good things ... like increased revenue, better leadership and a practice that runs smoothly.

And you think you have to figure that out all by yourself.

Guess what, dear reader? You don't. You get your hands on Benchmarks 2016: A Study of Well-Managed Practices. And you let those all-star practices-the ones that provide top-notch animal care while making serious bank-show you the way.

Benchmarks 2016 has action steps to ...

> increase profits (and client and patient benefits through communication)

> fuse leadership and management (for a team-based culture with empowered employees)

> take advantage of technology (developing your goals and mapping out a strategy)

> get ready for transition (by prepping yourself, your practice and your buyer to ensure your practice's legacy)

Here's where to get it.

Employees at Well-Managed Practices responding to the same survey ranked competitive wages way higher than competitive benefits. But sometimes practices aren't in a position to offer wage increases: 55 percent of practice owners said they offer noncash benefits instead of a pay increase.

Are you satisfied-would you be satisfied-as an associate or veterinary team member with creative, noncash compensation?

You can read more about associate and team compensation and job satisfaction in Benchmarks 2015: A Study of Well-Managed Practices.