Reception: the gateway to a good practice

Traditionally, the clinical team – especially the veterinary surgeons – has been the main focus of recruitment. This remains the case to some extent, with a scarcity of veterinary surgeons and qualified veterinary nurses meaning other supporting roles, such as veterinary receptionists, are often overlooked. However, more and more practices are realising that focusing on the recruitment and the development of front-of-house reception teams can lessen, or even prevent, some of the issues arising from a shortage of qualified clinical staff.

On first impressions, the role of reception is straightforward – answer the phones promptly and politely, welcome clients upon arrival at the practice, take payments, print receipts, and smile. However, being an efficient and effective receptionist in today’s veterinary profession requires a much greater breadth and depth of knowledge than ever before.

Veterinary receptionists field a broad spectrum of technical queries across a range of species, while interacting with clients who exhibit a range of personalities, moods and attitudes. And yet, veterinary receptionists receive relatively little formal training in how to respond to these queries, and cope with the various interpersonal situations that arise when interacting with clients and the general public.

Furthermore, receptionists have access to large amounts of sensitive data, including clients’ personal details and financial information. It follows that receptionists need to be aware of, and comply with, the laws and regulations surrounding how it is collected, processed and stored.

These are just a few of the reasons I founded the British Veterinary Receptionists Association and created the Accredited Veterinary Receptionist Award, as well as the status of registered veterinary receptionist, which, when combined, facilitate the development of education alongside professional standards.

The client journey

The clinical-client journey can be conceptualised as preclinical, clinical and postclinical stages. The preclinical stage refers to when clients contact the practice with a query about their pet. The main objective of the preclinical stage is to convert “contact to a consult” with one of the clinical roles within the practice. The postclinical stage refers to taking payment, dispensing any medications and arranging any necessary follow-up appointments.

Clients interact with a range of people as they proceed through this clinical-client journey, not least veterinary receptionists, who they engage with at the beginning and end of their visit. In many ways, an effective and efficient practice acts like a relay-race team, whereby each member of the team makes their own contribution to the clinical and client experience before purposefully passing the baton on to the next stage.

Breakdowns in communication and contact between the preclinical, clinical and postclinical stages within the clinical-client journey are responsible for many of the problems and complaints we have to deal with in veterinary practice – especially those about charges. A well-organised and well-trained team, including development of the veterinary receptionists, prevents and resolves many of these issues.

Receptionists are also crucial helping stop the most common reason veterinary clients leave veterinary practices. Rather than concerns or complaints about money, most clients leave because of a lack of consistent vet-client-patient continuity. While this also relies on the veterinary surgeons, a competent and focused veterinary receptionist team is purposeful in ensuring continuity happens; they will check which vet the client is working with, and book follow-up appointments with that same vet.

Personality and purpose

Veterinary receptionists are often recruited as a result of possessing an engaging, friendly and welcoming personality. These are, of course, essential characteristics for any role involved in customer service, but they are not sufficient. For veterinary receptionists to be both effective and efficient, they need to blend their engaging personalities with a sense of purpose, directing clients into and along the clinical-client journey.

Problems arise when receptionists aren’t explicitly trained how to lead the client through the clinical-client journey. For example, a well-meaning, but inefficient, receptionist can spend 20 minutes on the phone without attempting to register or schedule an appointment for the client. In contrast, a shrewd receptionist will engage in just enough patter to establish a sense of rapport with an existing or prospective client while simultaneously guiding them on to the next stage of the journey.

Not ‘just a receptionist’

The aim of creating the status of registered veterinary receptionist was to help move veterinary receptionists beyond the common view that they are “just a receptionist”. Empowering receptionists with a body of knowledge, coupled with assertiveness training, helps them take control and command of the situations they encounter at reception or on the telephone, all while respecting the boundaries of clinical advice and knowledge.

Learning incredibly simple phrases, such as “it sounds like your dog needs to be seen by a vet”, significantly gives colleagues working in unqualified roles the confidence to convert a query into a consultation effectively. This sort of knowledge and skill has financial implications to the practice too, since the average transaction fee in the average first opinion small animal practice in the UK is approximately £100 plus VAT. This translates into a lifetime value of £3,000 per patient. It is evident, therefore, that receptionists who are purposeful in their role also make significant contributions to the financial success of a veterinary practice.

Systems and processes

In today’s fast-evolving world, digital communications are changing by the day. Progressive veterinary practices are learning how to harness the competitive advantages of integrating automated client-contact with improved interpersonal engagement. As much as some like the idea that technology will replace veterinary receptionists entirely, this is unlikely to be the case in an emotionally sensitive profession such as veterinary care, where some elements of human contact are irreplaceable.

However, digital communications can be used to complement in-person contact throughout the clinical-client journey. For example, the appropriate use of technology at the preclinical contact stage can go a long way to resolving the problem of the telephone that rings incessantly. Evolving payment mechanisms, such as text links that enable clients to pay online, can be a much more efficient means of settling accounts that further de-congests reception at the postclinical stages .

Conclusion

Reception is the gateway into and out of the veterinary clinical-client journey. It follows, therefore, that the gatekeepers of this journey wield enormous influence over the client experience and the financial implications of any advice and recommendations they receive before and after interacting with the clinicians.

A well-trained veterinary receptionist team with the ability to engage with clients in person, or via digital communication technologies – as well as connect and communicate with the clinical team – is an enormously valuable resource within the modern veterinary practice. Failing to invest in it only weakens the veterinary business.