Transforming Veterinary Clinic Culture through the Power of Forgiveness

Welcome to the Vet Staff podcast, the place where veterinary professionals can join me, julie South, in discovering how we can all get our heads screwed on straight, get excited about going to work on Monday mornings and lead less stressful and more fulfilling lives at home and at work. Today is episode 151, and it marks the sixth installment of our ongoing series where we're delving into forgiveness at work in the vet clinic. This is the second in the two part series on how forgiveness, or lack thereof, impacts a vet clinic's culture. Last week, we looked at different types of forgiveness inside a clinic and how they impact culture. Today, we're looking at the Vet Clinic Forgiveness Matrix, which is a 2x2 quadrant I designed, where forgiveness sits on one axis and risk factors, risc relationships, impact severity and complexity sit on the other. Before we dive into the culture of forgiveness in the workplace, though, let's have a quick word from the Vet Staff podcast's partner, vetclinicjobscom. Then we'll look at culture and clemency in the Vet Clinic today. Stay tuned, because having a culture of forgiveness can truly impact your clinic's ability to recruit and retain staff. The Vet Staff podcast is proudly powered by vetclinicjobscom, the new and innovative global job board reimagining veterinary recruitment, vet and veterinary professionals with clinics that shine online. Vetclinicjobscom is your go to resource for finding the perfect career opportunities and helping vet clinics power up their employer branding game. Visit vetclinicjobscom today to find vet clinics that shine online, so veterinary professionals can find them. Vetclinicjobscom. To help you visualize what forgiveness in a vet clinic could look like, I formulated the Vet Clinic Forgiveness Matrix. It's a two by two grid of risk, risc times. Forgiveness. Risk stands for relationship, impact, severity and complexity, and these are on the x-axis, increasing from severity from left to right. This runs up the y-axis and the top left quadrant. We have low risk high forgiveness. Across to the top right. We have high risk high forgiveness. Bottom left is low risk low forgiveness. And bottom right is high risk low forgiveness. Now, because this is a matrix, it is a generalization and because of this, it means that some people may move from quadrant to quadrant or some clinics may move, also move around between quadrant to quadrant or teams even within a clinic. Overall, what we're aiming for is for forgiveness to be a value at your clinic. So your team sits on the high forgiveness quadrant, regardless of the risk factors. It's more than likely that you won't have forgiveness as a value using the word forgiveness per se, but the underlying essence is what's important. We'll look at some values or attributes that are more likely to be forgiveness supportive later. For ease of identification, though, rather than me keep saying the x and the y-axis, I'm going to simply refer to each quadrant as this We've got the quick to forgive, the willing to forgive conditional and garage holding. So it's left to right, top to bottom. Left is quick to forgive, right, top right is willing to forgive, bottom left is conditional and the bottom right is garage holding. Let's have a look at the different scenarios in different quadrants and how they might play out as a response, so you can get an idea of what each quadrant looks like. Let's start off with those who are quick to forgive. So we're looking top left, and these are where minor mistakes are quickly forgiven. A scenario could be where a vet or a nurse accidentally spills a small amount of medication or drops some meds in the med prep area. The response will be that the team quickly forgives the vet or the nurse. Everyone understands that accidents sometimes happen in a fast paced clinic environment. Everyone cleans up the spill together and moves on without dwelling on the mistakes. So minor mistakes are quickly forgiven. Then we have in the top right, so next to that, where there is a willingness to forgive, and the scenario here could be where a vet prescribes the wrong medication. So what we're looking at here is situations, scenarios, where forgiveness will be required. So a vet prescribes the wrong medication, which leads to a serious adverse reaction which requires then extensive follow up treatment. Now the response from a team who is willing to forgive could be possible, but it could take time, or is possible, but it will take time as trust needs to be rebuilt because it's a reasonably serious. It's a pretty serious transgression. The clinic will focus on addressing the patient's health issues, discussing the incident during staff meetings and implements new protocols to prevent similar errors or similar scenarios happening. In the bottom left, where we have conditional forgiveness, conditional forgiveness is where it's dependent on the type of transgression. So a scenario here could be where a receptionist forgets to schedule an appointment for a routine checkup, inconveniencing a client. So it's not a major, it's not a major transgression. The response is the clinic will forgive the receptionist for the minor oversight, recognizing that it was a simple mistake and to avoid repeat occurrences, the clinic may implement additional appointment scheduling, checks and protocols. Then, bottom right, in the grudge holding team situation, and this is where there are unresolved grudges and conflicts persist. A scenario here could be where a lead vet so we're talking a leadership position a lead vet makes a critical error in surgery and it causes severe harm. The team members hold deep resentment and mistrust towards that veterinarian. The clinic response will be overall will be grudges may persist which in turn lead to a toxic work environment. People may take jabs at the lead vet from time to time just to make sure that that lead vet knows that no one's forgotten what the transgression was. The clinic may endeavour to resolve through conflict resolution meetings, but no one's really behind the effort. What type of phrases or statements might you hear in each quadrant? Let's have a look and a quick two forgives. That team will say something like let's forgive and forget. It's okay, we all make mistakes, we can work together to fix this. No worries, accidents happen. So these are the empathetic and the flexible people. They are quick to forgive. Then the willingness, those in the top right the willingness to forgive. These are people who positively address consequences as a high priority. They may say things like this is serious, which needs to be addressed. We'll need some time to rebuild trust. Let's see how we can stop this happening again in the future. And mistakes happen. Let's see how we can all learn from this. Those are statements of people who are willing to forgive. Then we have the conditionals, and this is where forgiveness is dependent on the nature of the transgression and in teams. Here people will say something like I'm willing to forgive if we can put measures in place to prevent this happening in the future, or let's work on improving our processes to avoid these errors. They might also say something like I understand it was a mistake, but it can't happen again, or I'll forgive it this time, but we need to be more careful going forward. So that's bottom left, now bottom right. These are where unresolved grudges and conflicts persist and they might say something like I can't believe you just did that, or I'll never forget what you did, or I don't trust you anymore, or you can't be trusted. And then they might also say this is totally unacceptable and I'll never forgive you. Now, what sort of strategies would each quadrant be best to implement to have a more harmonious clinic culture? Let's have a look, starting top left, the quick to forgives, the empathetics and the flexibles. For them, the strategy could be to look at open communication and this way they'll foster a culture of open and honest communication. They'll encourage team members to express concerns and address issues promptly and appropriately. They'll use regular team meetings to discuss and resolve any misunderstandings or conflicts. Moving across to the top right the willings the willingness to forgive, where they positively address the consequences as a high priority. So the strategy for them will be structured resolution. They'll implement a structured process for addressing and resolving major issues or mistakes. They'll create a clear path for assessing the impact and causes of the transgression or the error and they'll develop action steps to prevent similar errors in the future. Bottom left the conditionals, where the forgiveness is dependent on the nature of the transgression. The strategy they will implement is to set of preventive, preventive measures. They will focus on preventing errors and transgressions by enhancing processes and protocols. They'll conduct regular training and education to improve skills and to reduce mistakes, and they'll establish quality control measures to catch errors before they lead to significant problems. Bottom right the unresolved grudges and conflicts the grudge holders. The strategy for them is mediation and conflict resolution. It would be better for them to use a mediator or an HR professional to facilitate discussions. They'll hopefully encourage expression of grievances and concerns in a controlled and a respectful manner, and they'll develop a conflict resolution process to address deep-seated issues and promote reconciliation. By now you've probably gathered that the bottom right quadrant those that are high on risk and low on forgiveness the culture in a clinic sitting there or a team sitting there is pretty hardgoing, it's pretty negative, it's pretty toxic, not one that I would certainly want to be working in. Okay, so maybe you can identify with your team or your clinic in one of these quadrants. It's important to instill and promote certain core values that align with the unique dynamics of each quadrant. That will ultimately bring each quadrant towards a more holistic value of forgiveness. Let's still look at some three, three types of value attributes that each quadrant would ideally work towards. So, and the forgive the quick to forgives we have them working towards empathy. So it's a willingness to empathize with individuals who make minor mistakes or experience minor conflicts. And the willingness the willings to forgive we have reconciliation, because they have a strong belief in the possibility of reconciliation and rebuilding trust, even in serious situations. So reconciliation is strong for them. They believe in second chances and they have a commitment to providing individuals with the opportunity for redemption and personal growth, and then also learning and improvement. They have an attitude that focuses on learning from high impact situations and using these as opportunities for improvement, both individually and as a team. Then we have the conditionals. What's good for them is to have a value of understanding, an attribute, a team attribute of understanding, and this is where the team members are expected to understand that minor mistakes or issues happen. It just does, because we're all human, like I mentioned a few episodes back, but there's no need for extensive Forgiveness discussions. You know it's like, yes, that happened, let's move on. We forgive you, let's move on. They also have a tolerance, high tolerance, for minor errors, and they're able to recognize that perfection isn't always achievable. They also have a minimal attention, and this is where situations may not receive significant attention. There's an emphasis on moving forward. So minimal attention is a good thing. You know they don't dwell or they don't sweat the small things. They move on and then finally, we've got the grudge, the resentment, and this is where consequences follow for for those that err or transgress. Here, an attribute for this team will be one of accountability. So there's a strong emphasis, high emphasis, on holding individuals accountable for their actions and their high impact situations. It's almost accountability bordering on retribution. Then there's they believe in serious consequences, and this is recognition that significant negative consequences may occur and everyone should be prepared to face those consequences. And then there's little opportunity for redemption. It's less likely that redemption will take place because they could still be on a path towards making amends, but it's going to require a lot of effort. Remember these these guys are low on forgiveness. And finally, let's look at the total forgiveness team attributes makeup. Remember I said it was unlikely that there was a single word or a value or an attribute of forgiveness. The actual word forgiveness would be identified or used. Now, what I'm going to do here is go through some top level attributes that your clinic might identify with instead. So let's look at empathy and understanding, and this is where empathy is valued. Empathy towards your colleagues and team members and clients is valued. Everybody understands that everyone else is human and can make mistakes. Open communication is a high priority. They want open and honest communication at all levels of the clinic and they encourage team members to express concerns and address conflicts directly. Accountability is where personal and collective accountability for actions and decisions has emphasis. Individuals are encouraged to take responsibility for their mistakes, Learning and growth. We have a culture of continuous learning and improvement. We're one that recognizes that mistakes are opportunities for growth and development. How about patience and resilience? I don't like that word resilience You've heard me say that before Patience and grit, but resilience is probably the word that will be used. This is where patience is involved, because you need to address issues and conflicts and you need to understand that forgiveness and reconciliation may take time. Then you have conflict resolution, and this is where people are developed, that everybody has. Conflict is upskilled and conflict resolution skills. Hopefully, the team provides ongoing training or the clinic provides ongoing training and the resources for effective conflict resolution. This is a regular thing. It's not just a once and forget. If you arrived after conflict resolution training was done, then that's it. You're out of luck. There's no more. So conflict resolution will actually be something that happens regularly. Conflict resolution, training regularly. Trust and transparency this is where people work on rebuilding trust through transparency, honesty and consistency, and it's where actions taken to address mistakes and prevent occurrences or recurrences are transparent and everybody knows what's going on, provided there's no breach of privacy, of course. Teemo can support this. Is where People and clinics work together and stress and they realise it's important to work together as a team, team, t-e-a-m. Together everyone achieves more. They provide the client, provides support to team members who are dealing with the aftermath of mistakes or conflict. So that's teamwork and support. Then a clinic realises that forgiveness is healing and it shifts the perception of forgiveness from being a weakness to a form of healing strength and they understand that forgiving is a way to move forward positively. And then the last one is reconciliation and the building of positive relationships, and this is where people focus on the importance of rebuilding and reconciling so that positive relationships do continue and are able to continue going forward. They recognise that strong, positive relationships contribute to a healthy and a positive and productive work environment. Music. Now let's explore some practical steps that cultivate a culture of forgiveness within your clinic. There are lots, so I'm just going to mention the top three here. The top three that I believe are important and that is number one is to lead by example. One of the most powerful ways to establish a forgiving culture is through the leadership. Clinic leaders. That means the owners, the head vet, the head nurse, the principals, the directors everybody must model forgiveness in everything they do, in their actions and their decisions, because when leaders demonstrate forgiveness, it sets the tone for the entire clinic, and I mentioned this before conflict resolution training. Check out Meg Irvine at VetLife Skills. Dr Meg was a guest on this podcast, on episodes 140 and 141. So go listen to her and listen to the skills and the amazing contribution that she can make towards getting forgiveness happening in your team. When you equip team members with skills that allow them to address conflict constructively, it makes such a difference. Provide training and conflict resolution techniques and, as I said, this isn't just a once only thing, it's an annual thing perhaps where you empower people to navigate disagreements in a healthy way. This training is invaluable in stopping the escalation of conflict. So you nip things in the bud, but everybody has to know, and the more people that are skilled in conflict resolution training, the better your clinic will be. And then the third one, I believe, is to have a positive growth mindset. When you've got a growth mindset among your staff, it emphasizes that mistakes are, or allows people to see that mistakes are opportunities for learning and improvement, rather than failures. This mindset shift reduces the fear, hopefully, of making errors and allows everyone to have to be more open and to be more innovative, which has to be good for your business. We've covered a lot this week and last week, so I just want to do a quick recap. When you've got a culture of forgiveness at your clinic, it's an investment in the well-being of everyone. It aids the quality of patient care and the overall success of your practice. It supports an environment of trust, growth and job satisfaction. By implementing some of the strategies that we've talked about today to have forgiveness as a happening thing in your clinic, you can end up having a supportive and a thriving, positive workplace where everyone is empowered to learn from their mistakes, to grow professionally and provide the best possible care for your four-legged patients, because that's why you're at work. This culture not only benefits staff morale, but it will also enhance your clinic's reputation and client satisfaction, and that's a good thing, because it's all about long-term success. To find out whether your clinic embodies a culture of forgiveness or lacks it it means or doesn't have it You've got to assess different types of communication, different aspects of a communication. You have to look at conflict resolution, leadership, turnover, morale and reputation. When you have a culture of forgiveness, you'll have a team that works in an environment of trust, growth and job satisfaction If resentment and retribution are part of your culture. Instead, you'll end up with fear, blame, high turnover and a negative, toxic work atmosphere. I hope you found this helpful. If you'd like to see the Matrix visually, then visit vetstaffconz podcast page, where the quadrants are there as images broken down by each of the different topics that I've talked about today. If you did find this podcast helpful, I would also really appreciate you helping to spread the word by telling your friends, please, about this podcast, by writing a comment or a review where you're listening to it right now. The reason for this is that the algorithms look for those when helping people find podcasts. So comments and reviews. Thank you, I appreciate that. I'll tune in next week where we're going to look at the ethics of forgiveness. We'll look at the dilemma of justice versus accountability versus forgiveness. Is forgiveness of yourself and others part of your clinic's ethos? Is it just the way you all do things? If you do have a culture of forgiveness and your clinic is currently advertising for staff, you can make your advertisements get stronger legs and attract the type of job applicant you want by shouting about this from the rooftops using your free vet clinic business directory listing at vetclinicjobscom, the place where good employers shine online and can be found by vets and nurses looking for jobs with good employers. If you want to shine brighter than other clinics, then set yourself up with a premium listing. I promise it won't break the bank, because then you can include this aspect the values aspect of your clinic's culture as part of your clinic's business profile, because clinic values is a special searchable field that job seekers can use to check out a vet clinic's culture when they're applying for jobs. Visit vetsclinicjobscom and find it out for yourself. Check it out for yourself. As I said, you can start advertising your jobs for free as soon as you've set up your clinic's profile, which is also free. We've barely scratched the surface of forgiveness with these podcasts in this series. Today, we peeled off another layer of the onion. As I said last week, I think of forgiveness as being like a cloak that's woven from diverse threads of psychology, philosophy and human experience, a cloak that, when you wrap it around you, has the power to heal wounds, to mend relationships and to set you on a path towards growth. Until next week, remember that forgiveness is a journey, one that begins within and radiates outward. It touches lives and it transforms hearts. This is Julie South signing off and inviting you to go out there and be the most fantabulous, forgiving version of you you can be. The Vet Staff podcast is proudly powered by vetsclinicjobscom, the new and innovative global job board reimagining veterinary recruitment, vet and veterinary professionals with clinics that shine online. Vetclinicjobscom is your go-to resource for finding the perfect career opportunities and helping vet clinics power up their employer branding game. Visit vetclinicjobscom today to find vet clinics that shine online, so veterinary professionals can find them. Visit vetclinicjobscom.