Survey shows vet leaders lack staff motivation skills

Veterinary leaders lack the man-management skills needed to improve staff motivation and retention, according to a new survey conducted by the profession’s two largest vet management groups.

The findings from a joint VMG and SPVS survey demonstrated that veterinary leaders attach a low priority to creating development plans for their teams, evaluating performance and giving feedback.

Leaders also indicated they felt less confident performing in these areas.

The findings mirror responses from respondents in non-management roles, who rated their line managers as less effective in creating development plans and giving feedback than in other areas.

Urgent focus

As a result of the findings, the VMG and SPVS have called for an urgent focus on leadership and management skills training.

The survey presented veterinary leaders/managers and those in non-management roles with a list of management and leadership skills.

Leaders were asked to rate their confidence in applying them, while non-managers were asked to rate the effectiveness of their line manager in all of them.

Both sets of respondents were also asked to place the skills in priority order.

The results show consistency from both groups of respondents as to the importance of the various skills, with management skills being perceived as more important overall than leadership skills.

Commenting on the findings, VMG vice-president Richard Casey said: “The survey has helped us to identify priorities for learning and development, both at our 2020 congress and during our joint CPD programme next year.

“It is striking that the very skills required to motivate colleagues to remain in veterinary medicine and to support them in doing so are the ones [where] so many veterinary leaders admit they lack confidence.”

More than 330 veterinary professionals responded to the survey, which was conducted online during July and August 2019.

• Read the full story in the 21 January issue of Veterinary Times.