As the quest for work life balance continues, flexible working has become a hot topic. This is not unique to the veterinary, but across all industries. Covid 19 sparked a flexible working pandemic, disrupting our normal working habits and forcing many to work remotely.  Whilst the physical side of veterinary medicine cannot be carried out remotely, pandemic working has proven that we can be more flexible than we previously thought, in certain aspects of our jobs. 

If you’re flex-curious, but don’t have much time to research flexible working? Don’t worry, we have done the legwork for you. 

 

Industry Specific

RCVS

A preliminary report created for the RCVS workforce summit, updated in May 2022 – Read here.

 

BVA 

A useful webinar with BVA Senior Vice president Daniella Dos Santos and Carolyne Crowe of VDS training exploring workload and flexibility in the workplace – Read here.

 

General guidance

 

Gov.uk

Government guidance on types of flexible working and how to apply to work flexibly – Read here.

 

Citizens Advise Bureau 

Information to help guide you through the process of a flexible working application – Read here.

 

Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service

Guidance for handling flexible working requests – Read here.

 

Chartered Institute of Personal Development. 

A human resources guidance – Read here.

 

House of Commons

The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill 2022-2023: Progress of the Bill. Outlines the changes that are going to take place imminently in the application process for flexible working – Read here.

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9648/

 

4 day week

The results of a world wide pilot study into a four day week – Read here.

 

It’s understandable that employers and managers may be hesitant to engage with the topic of flexible working. Rightly so, they are often concerned about how an individual’s flexible working arrangement may impact the business and the team. And it may feel even more counterintuitive in today’s workforce shortage times. However, the BVA’s good veterinary workforce report clearly shows that a vet’s day-to-day experiences at work have the greatest impact on whether they stay or leave their clinical job. Why? Because it’s the day-to-day things that influence one’s perception of the workplace and impacts on their satisfaction at work. Flexible working is one way to improve satisfaction and is therefore an important way to improve retention. 

 

Various pieces of research show the benefit of flexible working in retaining staff. A CIPD report found that:

• Staff working flexibly experience higher level of engagement, which can reduce staff turnover by 87% 
• For entry-level employee, flexible working improves retention and commitment by reducing job-life spillover
• For senior employees and managerial staff, flexible working enables work continuation, particularly as they become parents 

 

In our Flexee report in 2020, 61% of respondents (vets and vet nurses) said that flexible working helps attract and retain staff. This was perceived as the number one benefit of flexible working in the veterinary profession. 

 

So how can flexible working help us retain happy staff in clinical vet practice? There are many aspects to making flexible working work. These include an effective application of the teamwide give-and-take model, autonomy and high-trust culture, successful utilisation of technology, and effective trialling and managing of alternative working patterns. To reflect on where your practice needs to focus and find out where you fall short, we have created the Flexee Health Score – a free tool composed of 11 reflective questions. Respondents take on average 3 minutes to complete it.

The veterinary industry is currently experiencing a recruitment and retention crisis. Despite the number of veterinary graduates gradually increasing, the net number of vets joining the practising veterinary surgeons category of the industry has fallen sharply since 2019. (RCVS, 2022)

The decline has been attributed to multiple factors. An increase in demand due to the pressures of the pandemic, a surge in pet ownership and a reduction in the number of EU vets registering to practise in the UK, due to Brexit. This, combined with a gradual rise in the number of practising vets and nurses leaving clinical practice has left a large gap in the skilled workforce within the industry. 

The most common reason given by those leaving the profession was work life balance (RCVS, 2021) with 44% of vets stating that they would like to work more flexibly (BVA, 2021). However many practices are concerned about how they can ensure adequate staffing levels and maintain out of hours cover, whilst embracing flexible working. 

A recent global trial of a 4 day week (a type of flexible working) found that employees had greater satisfaction, improved productivity and improved health. 63% of businesses found it easier to attract and retain talent by implementing a 4 day week. 90% of firms trialling it have adopted it permanently. 71% of employees reported less burnout. More fathers took on child care responsibilities. 78% of employees with 4 day weeks are happier and less stressed. (The 4 Day Week Pilot Program, 2021)

With recruiting and onboarding a new member of staff costs an estimated at a whopping £15,000 per staff member, attracting and retaining talent makes a lot of financial sense. 

So how can flexible working help retain staff in clinical practice?