Tackling turnover August 1, 2008 By: Rachael Whitcomb

Lakewood, Colo. — Associate veterinarians are jumping jobs faster than the average American worker, according to a new study, and salaries that don't keep pace with inflation could be partly to blame.

Three strikes you're out! July 2, 2008 By: Mark Opperman, CVPM

No one likes to fire people. But if you don't get rid of that problem employee, you're putting the good ones at risk. Take this approach to make this necessary evil as painless as possible.

Communicate first, discipline second November 1, 2007 By: James Wilson

As various associations adopt guidelines or standards of care for the practice of veterinary medicine, a concern exists that they will be interpreted as current standards of practice by state regulatory boards and the attorneys general who represent them before they have been accepted by the masses.

Employee warning notice October 1, 2006

Use this form to document verbal warnings when you're disciplining employees.

Avoiding an age-discrimination suit June 1, 2006 By: Karl Salzsieder, DVM, JD

A longtime staff member who's in her late 50s is having trouble learning our new computerized billing system. We don't want to fire her, but we need to replace her with someone who can handle our new technology. If we asked her to retire, would we risk an age-discrimination suit?

Take action with a warning notice January 1, 2006

Take these steps to document poor performance.

Stop complaining about negative team members, and show them the door! March 1, 2005 By: Roger Cummings, CVPM

Let's solve your morale problem by just firing all the unhappy people. Think that sounds rash? The truth is you have nothing to gain from keeping them around. You can't change them. Yes, you can require certain behaviors, such as being on time, doing their jobs, or developing proficient skills or knowledge. But a lot of people simply have a rotten, negative attitude, and there isn't much you or anyone else can do to change that.

Several years ago I attended a seminar entitled "Employee Discipline and Performance Mistakes." Afterwards, I wrote up a simple, step-by-step plan for dealing with common employee discipline problems, like tardiness, not following the dress code or standards of conduct, failing to compete tasks or checklists.