• Hire the Smile: Simple Strategies to Help Your Practice Stand Out to Job Seekers
    Oct 11 2022

    In this episode, Katie and Mike discuss simple strategies to help your practice stand out to job seekers – from how to write an engaging job posting to ways to ensure that your unique culture shines through the entire recruitment process. We also speak to Lee Baker from Veterinary Education Today about the excellent content we can look forward to at the VET Toronto Conference at the end of October. 

    Writing the Perfect Job Ad

    Pay Applicants for Job Interviews

    Ways To Make Your Company Stand Out To Job Seekers

    Attract Talent

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    42 mins
  • Leading Through Fire – How to Engage and Support Your Team Through an Economic Recession
    Sep 27 2022

    In this episode Katie and Mike talk about ways that leaders and managers can use communication, transparency and empathy to help maintain employee engagement and trust during an economic recession. This episode’s listener question asks how to set up and maintain personal boundaries when the boss expects after-hours client and colleague communication.

    Links:

    Managing Employees During Downturn

    Supporting Employees In The Workplace

    Lead Through Tough Times

    3 Ways Leaders Prevent Ab Economic Recession From Becoming A Trust Recession

    3 Steps To Prepare For The Engagement Recession

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    33 mins
  • Hire The Smile - Are Your Staff Quietly Quitting?
    Sep 13 2022

    Katie and Mike define Quiet Quitting and debate whether it’s truly a new phenomenon or not. They go over the factors that seem to contribute to this new form of disengagement and talk about some strategies practices can employ to address it. This week’s Listener Question asks an excellent question about how to make a practice’s Core Values more “live” and relevant to employees’ day-to-day work lives.

    Is Quiet Quitting A Response To Quiet Firing?

    Why Quiet Quitting Is Nothing New 


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    32 mins
  • Hire The Smile: Using Check-in Meetings to Improve the Employee Experience
    Aug 30 2022

    Do you know what your employees are thinking and feeling about how they are doing in their roles? When was the last time you delivered some genuine appreciation or maybe tackled some constructive feedback? Are you finding it challenging to make time for formal performance reviews? What if there was one simple trick to making all your feedback dreams come true?

    In this episode, Mike and Katie talk about the benefits of two-way feedback and delve into the different types of one-on-one check-in meetings. We also answer a listener question related to how practice owners can deal with the challenges and burnout relating to practice ownership. 

    Articles Mentioned:

    Why People Crave Feedback and Why We’re Afraid to Give it

    Want Fewer Employees to Quit? Listen to Them

    Give Feedback Like a Coach

    How to Conduct Stay Interviews

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    36 mins
  • Hire The Smile: Mentorship Matters in Veterinary Practice
    Aug 16 2022

    In this episode, Dr. Mike Pownall and Katie Ardeline discuss mentorship in veterinary practice from defining what a mentor is, the benefits of having one and what qualities make a good mentor.

    Articles Mentioned:

    How Doctors Can Be Better Mentors

    Physician Mentorship: Why It’s Important, and How to Find and Sustain Relationships - NEJM Career Center Resources

    Don’t Let Mentoring Burn You Out

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    39 mins
  • Hire The Smile: Hiring The Right Candidate For Your Veterinary Team with Dr. Rob Kieboom
    Jul 19 2022

    In this episode, Dr. Mike Pownall and Katie Ardeline are joined by Oculus colleague, Dr. Rob Kieboom. Together they discuss the importance of finding the right candidate for your veterinary team and different employment processes.

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    46 mins
  • Hire The Smile: Making Mistakes Count
    Jul 5 2022

    In this episode, Dr. Mike Pownall and Katie Ardeline discuss developing a workplace culture of candour and vulnerability, otherwise known as Psychological Safety. The focus of the discussion is how reducing the fear of making mistakes in a veterinary practice is the gateway to nurturing a practice culture that is a safe place for growth and development for all.

    Articles Mentioned:

    4 Steps to Boost Psychological Safety at Your Workplace

    Celebrating Errors Creates Psychological Safety In The Workplace

    Blame Culture Is Toxic. Here’s How to Stop It.

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    39 mins
  • Hire The Smile: Managing Strengths and Weaknesses of Veterinary Staff
    Jun 21 2022

    In this episode, Dr. Mike Pownall and Katie Ardeline discuss how you can help manage the strengths and weaknesses of veterinary staff.

    To send an anonymous HR-related question to be answered on our podcast, head over to our website at https://www.oculusinsights.net/podcast

    Articles Mentioned

    To Unleash People's Strengths, Help Them Manage Weaknesses

    Why HR has to make staff uncomfortable before they can grow

    Developing Employees’ Strengths Boosts Sales, Profit, and Engagement

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    39 mins