Episodes

Someone resigns. You advertise. Months pass with no suitable applicants. You spend thousands across multiple platforms. Eventually you fill the position, turn everything off, and breathe a sigh of relief.
Then 18 months later, someone else resigns and you're back at square one, starting the entire exhausting cycle from scratch.
If this pattern sounds familiar, you're stuck in a cycle that most vet clinics don't realise they can actually break.

In this episode, Julie South walks through:

the th...

VetsOne: 34 Years of Evolution - Amanda What does 34 years of loyalty to one veterinary clinic tell you? When Amanda started at VetsOne in 1990 as the last on-the-job trained veterinary nurse, she couldn't have imagined she'd still be there today—now as operations manager, leading a team through floods, growth, and transformation. In this episode, Amanda shares what generosity of thought and generosity of time actually look like in daily practice. You'll hear the real story of what happened d...

What does it look like when a veterinarian who knew at age five what she wanted to be deliberately steps back from clinical work to build something bigger?
Dr Sharon Marshall, one of VetsOne's three directors, has spent 25 years in Hawke's Bay building not just a veterinary practice, but a culture designed to outlast her.

In this first of two conversations, she reveals how she reconciles the tension between being a vet and being a business owner (spoiler: they're the same goal approached differ...

This is the final episode in the VetsOne Employer of Choice series where Dr Sharon Marshall brings it all together—the philosophy, the practical support, and the vision for where this 80-year-old practice is heading.
In Part 2, Dr Sharon gets into the specifics of what stepping into leadership at VetsOne actually looks like day-to-day.

In this episode, you'll hear:
How VetsOne supports first-time leaders (3-month induction, monthly leadership meetings, direct support from someone who's been in ...

What's the difference between clinics that fill positions in weeks and those that post the same job ad month after month with zero applications? After 16 episodes of job ad strategies, you might discover the answer isn't about what you know - it's about what you've actually implemented. In Episode 241, Julie South delivers a reality check for the final episode of the comprehensive job advertisement series. If you've been following along since episode 225, you should be seeing resu...

Meet Dr Mike Newell, one of VetsOne's three working director-owners and a large animal veterinarian who's spent over 25 years building relationships with Hawke's Bay farming clients. In this conversation, you'll hear: What it's like being both a practice owner and a working veterinarianWhy the three directors can make decisions without corporate clunkinessHow attitude matters far more than skills when building the right teamWhy Dr Mike describes himself as "the one that breaks himself t...

Dr Jason Clark is one of VetsOne's three directors and a working farm vet who came to veterinary medicine as a mature student. In this episode, he walks through what collaborative protocol development actually looks like when a clinic genuinely involves staff in decision-making. In this episode, you'll hear: How VetsOne's team developed their euthanasia protocols—including why they light a candle by the front door—and what changed from previous practicesWhat happened during the 2023 Cyclone G...

What if the problem with filling after hours emergency shifts isn't that people don't want to do them, but that you haven't made them worth doing? You might discover that if your current team can't honestly endorse what you're offering, your job ads will struggle regardless of how well they're written. In Episode 240, Julie South reveals why many vet clinics approach emergency rosters with a "be on the roster or find another job" attitude, then wonder why they only attract desperate applicant...

What if your part-time job ads aren't failing because of the words you're writing, but because of something happening inside your clinic before you even post the job? You might discover that the real challenge isn't your recruitment strategy - it could be internal attitudes about part-time work that jobseekers sense. Julie South shares why some clinics nearly lose talented staff they desperately want to keep, simply because they struggle to think outside existing roster systems. S...

Have you ever wondered why some clinics never seem to lose good staff to headhunting competitors or recruiters, while other clinics are constantly battling to keep their best people from being poached? These immune clinics have built something so compelling that external job offers feel like a step backwards, not forwards.
Here's what's really happening out there: recruitment agencies are double dipping. They headhunt someone from your clinic, then turn around and present another headhunted pers...

What if the perfect veterinary professional for your clinic is happily working somewhere else right now? They're not desperately job hunting or scrolling through job boards every night—they're genuinely content where they are. Yet even these happily employed veterinary professionals can sit up and take notice of your vacancy.
Here's the harsh reality most clinics face: if you're only attracting jobseekers who are desperately looking to leave their current role, you're missing out on some of the ...

Why Your Job Ads Aren't Getting Applications (And What Actually Works) - Veterinary Voices ep.236 Your job ad has been up for months and you still see zero suitable applications. Here's the harsh reality: we're in a global veterinary professional shortage with more jobs than jobseekers. Some clinics are getting great applications while others get crickets. Most clinics are still advertising like it's 2010—writing job ads that focus entirely on what they need from employees, not w...

Ever caught yourself about to hire someone who won't do weekend rosters, even though everyone else on your team has to? You're not alone - and you're about to create serious team resentment. When veterinary practices get desperate to fill positions, they start compromising on core requirements that affect the whole team. Suddenly you're willing to hire someone who skips after-hours responsibilities, or you're rushing background checks just to get bodies through the door. The result? The wrong...

You've just finished writing what you think is a brilliant job advert. But have you done this: taken your generic clinic template, swapped out "veterinarian" for "veterinary nurse," hit publish, and wondered why you're not getting quality applications? Here's the likely reality: what attracts veterinarians doesn't necessarily attract veterinary nurses, and what motivates veterinary nurses might not resonate with your support team. Yet most vet clinics use the exact same generic template with ...

Why do these veterinary professionals actually want to return to their former workplace - when most people see going back as a backward step?
In this episode, Julie South chats with three High Street Vets team members whose stories corroborate everything we've heard in episodes 1001-1005, revealing the workplace culture that's creating extraordinary loyalty:

Megan's "coming home" story - Why she genuinely wanted to return after leaving for family reasons, defying the usual reluctance to go back...

What happens when a clinic gives you 30-minute consults, supports your specialisation interests, and has technology that surprises 5y Veterinary Students?
In this special High Street Vet Series episode - showcasing Employers of Choice - Julie South sits down with Dr. Virginia Grice to discover what it's really like working at this Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia clinic.

Dr Virginia's got three decades under her belt across three different States, but what she found at High Street Vet Surgery...

11 years at the same practice - with a 90-minute commute each way. Every single day. While most veterinary practices struggle with either recruitment or retention, Jamee Robertson at High Street Vet Surgery in Rockhampton (Queensland, Australia) has a different story. She tried to resign once but never actually left. She's grown through multiple roles, from unqualified newcomer to practice manager to her current admin position, and she still can't imagine working anywhere else. You'll discove...

You've decided to include salary information in your job adverts. But now you're staring at a blank screen wondering: do I just write "$120,000" and call it done? How do I handle different experience levels? What if current employees see this? Here's the likely reality: knowing you should include salary is one thing—knowing how to do it effectively without creating problems is entirely another. Most practices either go too vague ("competitive salary") or too rigid (single figure with no conte...

What does it look like when a clinic's first rule is "the intent is good" and they actually mean it? Dr Jocelyn Birch Baker reveals the five values and team culture that make High Street Vet Surgery work - from morning gratitude sessions to their "no blame policy" and why communication is everything. Dr Jocelyn talks about: The five values built by the entire team: team, professional, empathy, integrity, relationships"No blame policy" - when things go wrong, focus on why and how to prevent it...

What would it feel like to work somewhere with endoscopes, dental X-rays, and EasyVet templates that eliminate emergency panic?
Dr Jocelyn Birch Baker reveals how High Street Vet Surgery's comprehensive technology setup changes everything - and why her team begged her not to go back to shorter appointments after experiencing 30-minute consults implemented during the Covid Pandemic.

Dr Jocelyn talks about:
The financial shift from "front of clinic" quick turnover to "back of clinic" deeper worku...

As a Veterinary Professional, have you ever dreamed and wondered what it would be like to work somewhere with 30 minute consults... where you weren't constantly chasing your tail every day... where you could genuinely connect with clients and provide the best care possible...?
Listen in as Julie South catches up with Dr Jocelyn Birch Baker - owner of High Street Vet Surgery in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia.

Dr Jocelyn talks about:
How Cubex systems eliminate S8 paperwork stress and invento...

You know you should include salary ranges in your job adverts. You've probably read the articles, heard the advice, maybe even started typing a figure... then deleted it again. There's something about putting that number out there that gives vet clinic practice owners the absolute heebie-jeebies. But what if I told you that this fear is costing you 80% of your potential applicants? Here's what's actually happening: while you're worried about revealing "commercially sensitive information" to c...

You can have the perfect job advert, but if your application process creates black holes and frustration, you'll lose great people and damage your reputation.
Join host Julie South as she exposes the uncomfortable truth about how veterinary clinics are unknowingly sabotaging their hiring success through terrible application experiences. Because in a small industry like veterinary medicine, every ignored application becomes word-of-mouth damage control.

You'll discover:
Why the "black hole" appl...

Most veterinary clinics don't offer extensive benefits packages—and today, you'll discover why that doesn't have to stop you from attracting great veterinary professionals. Join host Julie South as she reveals why trying to compete with "benefits" is the wrong strategy and how to showcase the genuine value your clinic offers that money can't buy. Because veterinary professionals aren't just chasing benefits—they're looking for workplaces where they can thrive. You'll discover: Why independent...