by Stacy Pursell, CPC, CERS
The VET Recruiter®
As an Animal Health executive recruiter and Veterinary recruiter for more than 20 years, I have worked with many Animal Health companies as well as Veterinary practices. As you might imagine, some of these organizations were very successful, while others were less so.
Consequently, during my time interacting with various companies, I’ve noticed what the successful ones do to become successful and stay that way. I’ve also noticed what those that are less successful have difficulty doing, and it’s their difficulty in certain areas that prevents them from reaching their goals.
The good news is that I’ve identified two main things that the most successful organizations in the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession do. The bad news is that even though there are only two keys and they appear to be relatively simple, they are NOT simple. If they were simple, then every Animal Health company and Veterinary practice would be wildly successful all the time. Obviously, that is not the case.
Dual keys to organizational success
First, I would like to identify these two keys. Then I would like to discuss them and expand upon their intricacies and how they contribute to the success of organizations. The two keys are as follows:
- Talent acquisition
- Employer branding
I’ve touched upon these topics before in newsletter articles, blog posts, and podcast episodes. However, this is the first time that I’ve addressed them together in the same article. That is because when you put them together, they represent the two most important areas of focus for Animal Health companies and Veterinary practices.
Talent acquisition
The best companies and organizations in the marketplace are good at acquiring talent. Why is that important? Because talent represents the #1 key to success for employers. If they have the right talent and the right people working for them, then they can reach the goals they set for themselves. In fact, they will more than likely consistently exceed their goals. That’s how important talent acquisition is.
However, there is another side to the coin. That is talent retention. After all, what is the point of hiring the best candidates in the marketplace if you can’t hold onto them for very long? There is no point, or at the very least, there is hardly a point. Effective retention is just as important as effective hiring, from the standpoint of talent and what that talent can do for your organization.
The best organizations know how important top talent is. They seek this talent out; they don’t wait for the talent to come to them. They use every avenue at their disposal to find the talent they need, and if that talent is working for their competition, all the better. If you’re going to compete with other companies and organizations when it comes to selling products and services, then you’re going to compete with them for the very best professionals, as well.
The best organizations know that the companies with the best talent wins. Period.
Employer branding
This is our second important key to success, but it is closely related to our first one. That’s because effective employer branding will both help an organization hire top talent and also retain its best employees. And doing both of those things is instrumental to achieving and maintaining long-term success.
The bottom line is that people want to work for companies that they can be proud of. Twenty or thirty years ago, that wasn’t the case as much as it is today. The emergence of the Millennial Generation and Generation Z has had something to do with this, as the members of these generations value different things than the generations before them.
Remember that employer branding encompasses every experience that a job candidate has with your organization during the recruiting and hiring process. This includes every interaction—every phone call, every email, every text, etc. And in terms of retention, it includes every experience that a candidate has while they are working for your organization. Needless to say, all of these experiences have to be as positive as possible, or you run the risk of not hiring the talent you want to hire and also not retaining the employees you want to retain.
Animal Health and Veterinary employers and their people
People are the most important aspect of any business, company, or organization. Sure, the right resources, machinery, and tools are also important. But it’s people who ultimately are the ones who use those things in an effort to help their employer be successful. And the organization who has the best, brightest, and most talented employees is the one that will be the most successful in the long run.
How much does your Animal Health company or Veterinary practice focus on talent acquisition? Or retention? How about employer branding? How much do you talk about these things when setting your goals for production and profitability? These are things that you must discuss and for which you must plan.
The most successful organizations in the employment marketplace do. That’s been the case for decades, and it figures to be the case far into the future.
You can click here to find out more about our services for employers. Click here to learn more about our recruiting process.
We help support careers in one of two ways: 1. By helping Animal Health and Veterinary professionals to find the right opportunity when the time is right, and 2. By helping to recruit top talent for the critical needs of Animal Health and Veterinary organizations. If this is something that you would like to explore further, please send an email to stacy@thevetrecruiter.com.
Copyright © 2020 The VET Recruiter
The VET Recruiter is The Animal Health Executive Search Firm and The Veterinary Recruiting Firm
Stacy Pursell is an Animal Health Executive Recruiter and Veterinary Recruiter and Workplace/Workforce expert for the Animal Health Industry and Veterinary Profession.