by Janet Singleton
Originally published in the Jan/Feb 2009 issue of Trends magazine.

Practice operators and managers put their heads together to solve problems, share knowledge and skills create tools -- and overcome isolation.

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Say your practice has a high turnover rate; freshly hired veterinary technicians barely stay long enough for a lunch break. You want to ask someone what it takes to attract and keep good employees. Who do you turn to for advice?

Peer Groups
To your peers, says Paul Glouton, DVM, owner of the Lilburn Animal Center in Georgia. This is what he has been doing—Glouton is the former vice president of Veterinary Study Groups, Inc (VSG), a band of associations created to support practice managers. It is just one of many management organizations, formal and informal, that operate across the U.S.

Among them are Veterinary Hospital Management Association (VHMA), Veterinary Medical & Surgical Group (VMSG), Veterinary Specialty Practice Alliance (VSPA), and Southern Arizona Veterinary Managers Group (SAVMG).

While the groups vary in focus and logistics, all share one vision: to improve the health of veterinary practices by helping leaders help one another. The concept is not unique to the veterinary field—for example, the SAVMG was launched in 2004 by Shirley Davis, hospital administrator at Animal Care Center of Green Valley in Arizona. She had worked in human health care, and it surprised her to learn that fewer collegial advocacy groups existed in veterinary medicine.

Range of Approaches
Some groups, such as VSG and VSPA, have stringent membership requirements, with members tending to be owners, partners, or practitioners. According to organization rules, anyone who represents a competitor of a current member is prohibited from joining. Participants must sign a confidentiality agreement because owners and managers open their books to one another and share trade secrets. The agreement prevents violation of federal antitrust laws and unfair advantage in business initiatives such as mergers and acquisitions.

The VSG takes a rigorous approach to discussion of practice issues and members are not afraid to challenge one another. Glouton says, “Someone may want more personal time but be in the process of buying 5 other businesses. We ask, ‘How are you going to do that?’”

Some organizations take a more low-key approach, comparing notes over glasses of Chardonnay. The VMSG Roundtable meets quarterly at various restaurants around Ventura, California. It brings together managers and hospital owners from the community. “These meetings serve as an opportunity for hospital management to see what other hospitals are doing and brainstorm about ideas,” says Leah Basinais, hospital administrator at VMSG.

In addition to these organizations are a number of small, local groups that meet regularly and informally to compare notes and insights.

Shared Support
Regardless of size or scope, all organizations seek results. Although no report scores the efficacy of the management groups, there is enthusiastic testimony from members.

“Isolation is the issue mentioned most by practice owners and/or managers, whether they practice solo or in groups,” says Pam Cole, owner and director of Irvine Veterinary Services and an American Animal Hospital Association board member.

“Most practice owners or those with management experience and responsibilities need to connect and collaborate with colleagues,” she continues. “The great advantage to belonging to a management group is the opportunity to share and express frustrations and problems. Group members coach one another and provide support. There are no negatives!”

Beyond advice and insights, some groups produce tangible results. For example, the California VMSG Roundtable published a client brochure on emergency preparedness, which was adapted from a brochure developed by a member hospital. Sharing resources in this way prevented the need for each hospital to reinvent the brochure.

Individuals’ career goals also receive attention, says Jan Woods, hospital administrator at Veterinary Specialty Center of Tucson in Arizona. Mentoring is just one career development tool offered to VSPA members. Woods meets in oneon- one sessions with novice managers each month. “I want them to know how to handle things that are going to appear on their plate,” she says.

Join a Group or Start Your Own
If you’d like to become involved in a management group, first decide what type of group you would like to join. Investigate the Web sites of existing organizations to learn about their scope, membership, activities, and approach to group support.

If you cannot find a good fit among existing groups, consider starting your own informal “practice managers circle.” This requires planning and a parade of calls to colleagues.

Strive to form a balanced group of like individuals who can operate as an alliance of noncompeting owners and operators. If you are concerned about competition, be sure to seek members with similar philosophies in different markets.

Be prepared to follow up invitations with one-on- one discussions—and, in some cases, persuasion. Not everyone will immediately recognize how a management group can improve an individual practice.

Be prepared to explain the group’s goals and how they are relevant to a variety of practices. Some owners and managers believe that their businesses do not have significant management challenges in common with practices of different sizes and circumstances, says Janis Shinkawa, DVM, coowner of the Buena Animal Hospital in Ventura, California.

Her response: “Management is management.”

After you have amassed a list of potential members, host a planning meeting to discuss common goals and methods for achieving them. Then plan your meetings around the goals and methods: organized discussions, guest speakers, mentoring, reviews and comparisons of balance sheets, and the like.

Reap the Benefits
Participating in a practice management group can help to improve the performance of individual practices—and beyond. By providing a forum to trade experiences and insights, learn what other hospitals are doing, brainstorm solutions— and by holding members accountable for their stated goals—management support organizations go a long way to improving the overall health and performance of the profession as a whole.