Navigating Parental Leave for Your Vet Med Staff

Parental leave is a crucial aspect of fostering a supportive and inclusive workplace. This is particularly true in the veterinary medicine field, where the demands are high, and the work can be emotionally and physically taxing. Effectively navigating parental leave for your vet med staff ensures that your team feels supported and the practice as a whole continues to function smoothly. 

VetBadger is a software company that places personal relationships at its core. We built this platform to allow vet med teams to support their well-being. With the Vetbadger workflows and full-spectrum practice management, your practice can confidently navigate parental leave. Connect with us today to schedule your free live demo to see VetBadger in action.

The Importance of Parental Leave for Your Vet Med Staff

Parental leave has evolved in recent years to be an essential workplace benefit. While there is not currently a federal mandate requiring paid parental leave, many states have adopted some version of a family leave act.

Regardless of the legal requirements, businesses and industries that are struggling to fill all their roles need to pay attention to this crucial perk. Offering paid family leave can help you attract and retain high-quality employees.

Knowing that family leave is important is one thing, but navigating the logistics of parental leave for your vet med staff is another thing entirely. Here are three key ways to ensure a smooth process when a doctor or other team member is out on parental leave.

1. Preemptively develop parental leave policies.

It’s never a good idea to make policies and procedures on the fly. So when it comes to parental leave, it’s critical to have a plan in place before anyone needs it. 

With clear policies that you can communicate well before they are needed, you will set up your staff and your practice for success. Start by learning about any legal requirements in your state and then build a protocol that works for your clinic’s needs. 

Be sure to include the following items in your policies:

• Eligibility - Does the leave apply to only full-time employees? Do employees need to be on staff for a certain amount of time before being eligible?
• Duration - How long will the employee have for their parental leave? Maternity leave is often 12-16 weeks long. Paternity leave tends to be shorter, often 1-4 weeks. Adoption leave generally mirrors those numbers.
• Compensation - Will the employee’s leave be unpaid? Partial pay? Full pay?

2. Choose a practice management platform that supports your people.

When you build excellent systems and workflows, your team can absorb someone’s absence much more easily. Make sure to choose a practice management software that simplifies routine communication , gives your staff autonomy in their tasks, and helps you stay on top of your non-client work such as bookkeeping.

Using an all-inclusive platform like VetBadger helps ensure that nothing falls through the cracks when you or a staff member go on parental leave. Those who are still working can easily see the “missing” teammate’s tasks to keep everything moving smoothly.

With a robust practice management system, you also can communicate with clients quickly and repeatedly to alert them of a doctor’s upcoming absence. Avoiding surprises and confusion for your clients is half the battle, and your software should make that process simple.

3. Give everyone grace and patience.

It can be a lot of hard work to fill in for a coworker who’s on leave. It’s also really emotionally difficult for many parents when it’s time for them to come back to work. Allow you and your team plenty of grace and patience during these transition times. 

Again, clear and consistent communication with clients and your staff will do wonders for keeping things running well without burning out yourself or your team.

VetBadger Is Here To Support Your Whole Team

With a clear parental leave policy in place, your practice can survive and thrive even when someone is out for an extended time. VetBadger helps you run your clinic with ease and joy, empowering staff members to do their tasks well as they provide excellent patient care. Our platform puts your client and staff relationships front and center so that your practice runs well. Reach out today to enjoy a live demo of VetBadger in action.