This post is sappy. I just wanted to write about our staff: No one works harder. No one deals with more emotional exhaustion. No one handles these situations with better grace, compassion or delicate care. We hired the BEST. PERIOD.
The challenges of being an inexperienced new business owner have been very taxing. The same inexperience I believe has also be a blessing: It helped us make this place what WE want, rather than some cookie-cutter textbook business. We can treat people the way WE would want to be treated. In 2017, CBTS was just an idea Avery and I had because of our exorbitant student debt. Asbury Park seemed like the best place to open because of the pets! We hired a few key people and the rest is history. We finally paid off those pesky student loans and now we are currently planning our NEW veterinary clinic: something bigger, so that we can stay open later, hire more staff and take care of more pets!
In 2018, we asked our staff of 5 how they modeled their ideals: Who is the perfect employee? What did they like best about them? What made them want to be like them? The list we compiled resulted in what stands today as our Core Values. They are posted throughout the hospital and they lead our decisions: We hire by them. We fire by them. We remind ourselves why they are important. I am sharing them for the first time here.
- Safety – for the staff, the clients, the pets.
- Education – educate ourselves, each other, our clients – carve out time to learn more so we can pass it on to our clients, but also share it with each other.
- Respect – staff, clients, pets but also the workplace, our space – meaning keep it clean, well-stocked, and prepared.
- Efficiency – Sometimes a life depends on the few seconds/minutes it takes to be prepared – sometimes it’s an unexpected emergency – it requires focus, communication, and organization.
- Trust – Our clients, their pets and each other require it – if we practice the above – we will show our true value and worth, and any doubts will be minimized.
Everyone is held to these standards – including our clients! It’s the only way to create a work environment of positivity and progression.
Four years later, we now have 21 employees. Everyone has fully paid health care, fully paid educational goals including vet tech, reception and management certification; fully paid continuing education, personal time off well above the average standard of care; and fair and reasonable accommodations for life balance and self-care.
The veterinary field can be a series of ups and downs, often all in the same day. It’s puppies and kittens, yes, and “good dogs” and “sweet cats” – for sure these pets help keep us going. It’s also old pets, some injured or abused pets, some terrified and some very sick. The weight can get heavy! Do we leave it at the door before walking into our homes? It’s often very challenging, maybe impossible. So why do it at all? Well… we don’t do it for the angry pet owners (although we know they aren’t REALLY angry at us) and we sure as hell don’t do it for the money (although those same pet owners may think so). We do it, because we have been in your shoes. We have rolled around on the floor with our own pets, walked miles on the beach with them, and held their paws and rubbed their chins while we sobbed. We know how that feels! These creatures improve our lives and make us better.
We know how important the bond is with your pet and we will always fight for that. Everyone at CBTS gets that. We do it for the pets.
Thanks for all the support and Happy New Year!
– Dr. Tom