By Christine Scarborough, RVT, CVPM

Hiring a Consultant is a good thing! The question is…why should you hire a consultant? Maybe you’ve seen Office Space one too many times and you’ve conjured up images of your Swingline stapler being replaced or that cover letter you forgot with your TPS report. Putting your doubts aside, let’s take a look at some of the reasons consultants add value to your business and all without someone wanting to set the building on fire.

4 Good Reasons to Hire a Consultant

1. Gain fresh perspective – It’s easy for everyone to get stuck in a routine and not see things beyond their walls, but this mentality can make it challenging to address and overcome many of the daily issues facing a business. You may think your problem is unique, but I can almost guarantee that most other businesses have dealt with the same issues that are troubling you. Consultants bring with them, through their personal experience, what has or hasn’t worked for other clients. While it might take your entire team a week to come up with a solution, a consultant is likely able to resolve the issue in much less time. This benefits the business because you can save money and move on to other pressing issues.

2. Identify areas of opportunity – Is your passion to practice medicine or to run a business? I’m going to guess for a lot of business owners, your passion is medicine and not actually the business aspect of your practice. That doesn’t mean you don’t need to be aware of what’s going on with your business. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, but how do you know what you don’t know? Depending on the consultant’s area of expertise, she can be an invaluable resource by identifying and resolving potential legal risks, by uncovering possibilities for additional revenue, or even by coaching your team on how to develop a positive and successful culture. Wouldn’t it make more sense to bring in an expert to help so you can focus on your passion?

3. Additional manpower – With too much on your plate and deadlines quickly approaching, your stress level may be reaching a boiling point. Add to that the fact that you’re short-staffed; now
you feel like you’re about to explode. Sure, some chocolate and a nice bottle of wine would help, but it’s still frowned upon to drink in the workplace. The next best thing is to bring in a
consultant to help with some of your projects. Believe it or not, this can actually save you money since you don’t have to worry about hiring full time employees or paying for benefits and other employee-related expenses.

4. Set you up for success – Don’t get me wrong, I’m not implying you aren’t successful already. What I do believe though is that there’s always room for improvement within all of us, and there’s no shame in wanting to be more successful than we are now. With their guidance and expertise, consultants can leave you in a better position to reach goals you once thought were impossible. Between developing more efficient work flow processes, creating protocols, or providing you with easy-to-use forms to implement, a good consultant wants to help you succeed. She wants to not only coach you on ways to empower yourself, but for your team to be empowered as well. A good consultant can add value to your life and hopefully become a trusted partner for success.

 

Christine Scarborough has been involved in the veterinary field for over 20 years. She became a registered veterinary technician after earning her A.S. in 1997 from St. Petersburg College.

Following graduation, Christine worked around the country with companion animals in day-practice and emergency-practice settings. In 2002, she became the program director and an instructor for a new veterinary technology program in Utah. Christine and her team were responsible for developing the curriculum and adhering to both AVMA and USDA guidelines in order to become AVMA accredited. After moving to Georgia in 2006, Christine entered the field of hospital management and earned her CVPM in 2012. Deciding to venture out on her own, she left private practice and started Scarborough Veterinary Consulting in 2015.

Christine enjoys identifying and addressing opportunities, training team members so they have the confidence and knowledge to perform well and provide excellent care and service, coaching veterinary professionals towards success, and enhancing the overall veterinary experience for business owners, team members, patients, and pet owners. She places a strong emphasis on culture and leadership, communication, and protocols and efficiency. She is an active member of the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association and the Georgia Veterinary Managers Association.

Christine lives in Georgia with her husband, Barry, and their happy brood of dogs and cats. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, gardening, and riding roller coasters and motorcycles. For more information on Christine you can visit her website at: http://www.scarboroughvetconsulting.com/