Just one thing: Align team members’ tasks, interests and strengths

Your team has spent years developing their skills through formal and continuing education, combined with on-the-job training. It makes sense to make sure you’re optimizing their skillsets.

One way to do this is by aligning tasks to the preferences of team members—a move that can increase job satisfaction, decrease burnout, and help improve workflow. 

Here’s a quick way to start

By asking team members if there are tasks they would like to take on, or skills they would like to learn, you can get a snapshot to show any misalignment of team members’ skills and responsibilities.

You can tackle this problem in 15 minutes or less by asking each team member these three questions in a survey sent using whatever is your preferred method of private communication (email, Slack, text message, etc.):

1. Which responsibility in the practice/workplace is your favorite to do?
2. What skill would you like to do more or learn more about?
3. Do you feel that your team members trust you to perform your job well?

From the responses to these questions, you can create continuing education (CE) plans for all team members, including technicians and other non-veterinarian staff. According to the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA), over 60% of technicians receive an annual financial reimbursement for CE. It’s a popular benefit that can improve retention and job satisfaction, particularly when paired with CE that is engaging and aligned with the individual’s goals.