I'm lucky though. My absence showed me the capabilities of my amazing staff. Everyone chipped in. People requested additional responsibilities. Managers took on extra roles. Staff continued working their hardest and attempted to handle situations that arose so they wouldn't "bother me". I worked from a hospital bed for months behind the scenes while they continued to shine at the office.
Managers, Cassey and Brittany, continued hiring processes set in place to grow our team. I am super excited to get back to the office and meet our newest team members! They handled employee concerns and ran Monday staff meetings each week. They placed orders and ran errands and kept things running smoothly. They did so much more, but it would be impossible to detail here.
Reception staff (Aaron, Adrienne, Cara, Cassey, Fallon, Jenny, & Meleah) continued helping clients. They rarely left messages for me about situations they needed help with because they took on handling payment plans, VetSource orders, restocking of retail shelves, and made sure that people were happy. They emailed me ideas of things they thought would be helpful to them and allow them to provide better service. They rocked the client service aspect and continue to do so daily.
Nursing staff (Brittany, Dorothy, Jacqueline, Laura, Logan, Matt, Mary, Memory & Zak) continued helping patients. They posted pictures of surgery pets, they scheduled surgeries and monitored patients. They cleaned and organized and kept their area sterilized. They learned our digital radiology equipment and continued following AAHA guidelines, even without me standing over their shoulder.
Kennel staff (Ana, Jacquelyn, Kaylee, Kerri & Lizbeth) continued caring for boarders. They texted pictures to anxious moms and dads while they traveled. They bathed dogs and helped create new standard operating procedures to keep our pet hotel running smoothly. They let management know when washers and dryers needed repair and when food needed to be ordered. Kerri continued beautiful grooms and worked to take extra dogs/cats when the busy summer rush came around.
You may have heard of "act as if". What is the as-if principle? This principle says that we can create outer circumstances by acting "as if" they are already real; for example, we can be happy by acting as if we are happy.
I can say our whole staff acted "as if" the entire time I was gone. They acted as if their manager was standing over their shoulder, watching and assessing. They didn't slack on tasks, knowing nobody was there to notice. The office ran smoothly because of how awesome each of my co-workers are. It ran smoothly because they are all passionate about what they do for a living. It ran smoothly because they worked as a team towards a common goal. It ran smoothly because of awesome clients who want the best care for their pets. It ran smoothly because my team acted "as if".
This experience taught me that whether I am there or not, the show goes on...and they deserve a standing ovation! The show continued beautifully, like a well oiled machine, and I couldn't be more proud of each and every employee of Animal Hospifal of Rowlett.
I'm sad to leave my new baby, but I'm trilled to go back to work with such an amazing group of individuals. See everyone Monday the 19th!
-Christen Lynch, Practice Manager
(Mommy, Liam and Bo)
