How Culture Storytelling Builds Trust — Before Anyone's Even Looking - ep 246

Julie South [00:00:00]:
Last week we unpacked the hidden cost of starting from zero. All those invisible weeks, dollars and team energy that disappears every single time you go silent between new hires. This week we're flipping it. We're going to be talking about how to build trust before a vet or a nurse even starts looking for their next role. So. So when they do, you're already on their shortlist. Stay with me to the end because I'm going to give you one simple rhythm. You can start this week to keep your trust quietly compounding in the background.

Julie South [00:00:45]:
Welcome to Veterinary Voices Employer brand conversations that help vet clinics hire great people. I'm Julie south and this is episode 246 6. Veterinary Voices is brought to you by Vet Clinic Jobs, the culture storytelling platform for forward thinking vet clinics. Most great vets and nurses already have a mental shortlist before they ever start job hunting. They've seen certain clinics pop up in their feed, notice names, recognise faces, find formed opinions about who seems good to work for. But here's the problem. If all you're talking to between hires is your clients, pet care tips, vaccination reminders, cute patient photos, then from a job seeker's point of view, the vets and nurses that you want, you've gone dark. You're talking to pet owners, not future teammates.

Julie South [00:01:49]:
Remember back in episode 243 when we talked about how your client facing marketing double up for recruitment? This is why your clients don't care how you handle it when someone's kid gets sick at school. But future vets and nurses? That's exactly what they want to see. When all you're talking to is clients, you're invisible to the people you need to hire. When they start looking, you're not familiar to them. You're a stranger. And strangers have to prove everything from scratch. That's the expensive pattern that we talked about last week. Here's what changes it.

Julie South [00:02:29]:
Recruitment isn't an on off switch. It's not we're hiring or we're not. It's a rhythm of culture storytelling that keeps your story alive between job ads. Not talking to clients, but talking to future teammates. If you want quality vets and nurses to find you faster, you need to be telling your culture story before they start looking. Because trust and recognition, as I'm sure you already know, build over time. Not when you're in the thick of a reactive job ad cycle, hoping like crazy your dream vet or nurse sees your ad and then applies culture. Storytelling isn't extra marketing.

Julie South [00:03:15]:
It's groundwork, quiet credibility. That means that when you do post the job, ad people already believe what you're saying. Real days that prove the point. You can probably relate to this or have your own very similar story. Imagine it's 5:15 on a weeknight. The last consult's wrapping up when the phone rings. A long term client calling to say that he's 10 minutes away with his vomiting. Labby, you've technically closed, but this is a loyal client and everyone knows the dog.

Julie South [00:03:57]:
The lead vet nurse checks with the vet. You okay to see one more? The vet nods, but before she even speaks, another nurse is already setting up fluids. Someone else calls the next morning surgery list to shuffle a slot. Meanwhile, the rest of the team have already shooed Sarah out the door because she she needs to get to daycare pickup on time. And everyone knows it. By 5:45 or so, the dog's stabilized, the client's reassured and the clinic's locked up on time. No one's frazzled, no one's resentful, just quietly proud. That's the kind of moment that says everything about your culture.

Julie South [00:04:42]:
Calm under pressure, no blame. Everyone mucking in and rolling up their sleeves and having each other's backs. That's the sort of story that builds trust before anyone's even looking. It shows future vets and nurses what it actually feels like to work there. They don't need a job ad to believe you're solid. They've already seen proof. Familiarity beats perfection every single time. You don't need studio quality photos or long posts.

Julie South [00:05:23]:
You just need rhythm. Small true glimpses of clinic life. A vet mentoring a new grad. The team laughing over morning tea. That moment someone nails a tricky dental chart. Trust compounds. Ads expire. Advertising says apply now.

Julie South [00:05:45]:
Culture, storytelling says, here's who we are. One builds a transaction, the other builds a relationship. Every story you share becomes a tiny deposit in your clinic's trust bank. By the time you advertise, you've got compound interest working for you. Remember back in episode 244 when we talked about the difference between advertising and marketing? Your action plan was to look back over the last week and ask yourself, would this matter if we weren't hiring? That question matters most here. Everything that keeps building trust between hires is marketing. Everything that disappears when you're fully staffed is advertising. Vets and nurses don't choose based on bullet point benefits.

Julie South [00:06:37]:
They choose where they can imagine themselves feeling safe because you've been showing them it's safe. Every real story sends the same quiet message. This team's got each other's backs. And here it is. Your takeaway. Grab your phone this week and snap one photo of a moment that says this is who we are. Maybe it's Yvette mentoring a new grad, or your receptionist calming a nervous cat owner or Friday lunch on the grass outside. Add one simple line of context.

Julie South [00:07:20]:
No polish, no hashtags. And share it on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. Do it once a week, same day, same time if you can. That's your culture storytelling rhythm. Keep it up for four to six weeks and then watch the engagement build. That's trust quietly compounding in the background. You don't have to figure this out alone. If the vomiting Labby story got you thinking, we've got moments like that.

Julie South [00:07:52]:
Or maybe you're realising we've been talking to clients when we should have been talking teammates, then please get in touch. If you want to start telling your clinic's real culture story now, not the next time you post a job ad, then email me julietclinicjobs.com or message me direct on LinkedIn. I'll put these links in the show notes for you. Let's just quickly recap. Trust builds before anyone's even job hunting, when all you're talking to is clients and you're invisible to the people you need to hire. Culture storytelling keeps your story alive, so when great vets and nurses do start looking, you are already on their shortlist. Your action plan this week is to share one real moment that shows who you are to future teammates, not to your clients. They'll see them, but it's geared for your teammates.

Julie South [00:08:50]:
Your future teammates. And then next week in episode 247, we're going to map out what continuous culture storytelling actually looks like. A simple, sustainable rhythm that keeps your clinic top of mind without taking over your week. This is Julie south signing off and thanking you for getting to the end and also inviting you to go out there and be your most fantabulous self. Because every story you share now makes the next hire easier. Sam.