01 May 2026
Agilio Veterinary on why good HR isn’t a back-office function, and the tool that’s changing how practices think about it…
For many independent veterinary practices, HR has become one of the most complex and overlooked parts of running a business. Practice managers juggle rotas, contracts, staff records and absences across spreadsheets, inboxes and shared drives – one overloaded inbox at a time, with no single system to hold it in place.
These pressures sit alongside well-documented workforce challenges in the profession. Research has highlighted high levels of burnout among veterinary professionals1, with one recent study finding nearly one in five (19.8%) veterinarians reporting a diagnosis of anxiety or depression2 – a figure that speaks to a profession feeling the strain.
The daily reality for many practice managers is fragmented systems and a constant stream of administrative tasks, with a nagging anxiety about whether training records, contracts and staff information are actually up to date. The cognitive load alone of knowing what needs doing and remembering when something hasn’t been done, all while trying to run a clinic, is its own form of burnout that rarely gets named as such.
The RCVS Practice Standards Scheme (PSS) – adopted by around 69% of practices3 – can bring those operational gaps into sharper focus during assessment periods, but it isn’t the root cause. The challenge sits in the day‑to‑day reality of managing people and records across fragmented systems.
“There’s a tendency to view HR as background admin,” says Emma Barnes, managing director of emerging markets at Agilio Veterinary. “The reality is that HR is key to the foundations of any business. Organised processes with staff members at the heart really can make or break a practice.
“When managers have visibility of contracts and records, and staff feel supported through clear onboarding and transparent policies, the whole practice runs more smoothly.”
Platforms such as iTeam, built specifically for veterinary practices rather than retrofitted from a generic HR tool, are beginning to make that shift more achievable. “We kept coming back to the same question,” explains Emma. “How do we give practice owners and managers confidence and control, without asking them to become HR experts?
“Culture and leadership matter just as much as the software. But the right tools mean the admin stops getting in the way of both.”
In practice, that means bringing HR records, training documentation and absence management into a single system. The live absence calendar gives an instant view of who’s in, who’s off and where the gaps are – sortable by role, so a head nurse, for example, can see the nursing rota at a glance. Absence limits can also be set per role, giving practice managers a straightforward way to manage leave fairly and consistently across the team.
The need for visibility is crucial for practice managers. “Managers know what they’re supposed to have in place,” says Emma. “They just don’t always have a reliable way of knowing whether they do. When you’re also trying to run a business, that lingering doubt is exhausting.”
Having policies, standard operating procedures (SOPs) and staff documents stored and tracked in one place gives managers the day-to-day confidence of knowing everything is in order. A self-service option also allows staff to complete their own HR checks, without everything falling to the practice manager.
The same logic applies to CPD. The integration of iLearn Vet into iTeam provides an at-a-glance view of where each team member stands with training and certification, with automatic reminders before anything lapses. Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks and HR compliance tasks work the same way. It won’t eliminate every complexity, but it means the basics aren’t what catches you out.
One of the less obvious drains on a practice manager’s time is the volume of small requests that land on their desk. “A locum checking their contract details, or someone asking for a rota change or how much leave they have left – it all adds up,” says Emma.
She explains that iTeam’s self-service portal helps with all those niggling administrative tasks – team members can access their own information directly, reducing the back-and-forth and freeing managers up for the things that actually need their attention.
For more complex people matters, such as a difficult disciplinary or a tricky absence situation, iTeam includes optional access to dedicated HR advisors, so practices don’t need to hire an HR director on top of everything else.
For Emma, the conversation doesn’t stop at HR. “The admin pressure doesn’t just come from one place, so we’ve always thought about iTeam as part of something bigger.”
That next step is iRota, Agilio Veterinary’s just launched rota management tool, giving practices clearer visibility of shifts, cover and capacity – integrating directly with iTeam so absence data and staffing decisions sit side by side.
“If a better system means a practice manager has an hour back in their week – an hour that goes towards caring for animals or their team – that in itself is worth it,” says Emma.
Practices interested in learning more about how integrated HR platforms can support veterinary teams can scan the QR code to explore Agilio Veterinary’s iTeam.
Today’s practice leaders face enormous pressure to support teams with solid, reliable HR. This administrative burden is only growing, with DBS checks to complete, staff training and documentation to keep on top of, and practice policies to update.
But most HR systems aren’t built for veterinary practices, which usually means there’s one overwhelmed practice manager piecing HR information together across a maze of email chains and spreadsheets.
For practices looking for a tailormade HR solution, iTeam can help. Developed by Agilio Veterinary, iTeam brings staff records, absence management, policies and standard operating procedures into a single system. Policies can also be assigned by role, so on any given day, for example, a vet nurse and a receptionist can each see what’s relevant to them.
Day to day, that means less chasing and fewer gaps. Absence is managed through a live calendar that can be filtered by job role, with limits on how many people can be off at once, so a vet surgeon can see quickly whether there’s enough staff to cover a busy surgery morning. Compliance reminders run automatically in the background. And with iLearn Vet integration, CPD certificates and HR checks are tracked and flagged before they lapse.
For more complex people matters, such as a disciplinary, sensitive absence or a tricky contract, practices have optional access to dedicated HR advisors. That means you’re not alone with difficult situations, and there’s no need for a costly in-house HR function.
Agilio Veterinary’s rota management tool, iTeam Rota, will integrate directly with iTeam to give practices full visibility of shifts, cover and capacity.
Both systems connect to form an efficient people management and working planning platform, built around how vet practices operate.
Ready to lighten the load? Book a demo here