Thank you for this post. One of biggest challenges during COVID was realizing how bad the staff I had at that time were. I know it sounds weird but when operations changed it showed how much they did not care. During this pandemic I was promoted to Clinic Director and was able to take over hiring and I was able to change the whole team. Another challenge was figuring out a way to make sure clients trusted us and felt that their animals were in good hands because we were only offering curbside service and owners could not be with their pets. I was also able to establish a new company culture.
Covid also showed me how much our low cost full service clinic is needed and has kept us busier than we could have ever anticipated. The pandemic taught me how to be a better leader. After I was promoted I completely took over hiring so I made it my personal mission to " BUILD A TEAM" and not just hire people. This approach showed me how to hire people based off many factors and not just experience. I became a better leader because I was able to completely rebuild my team and build a rapport with my team and establish an open door policy.
Covid also taught showed me how " outdated" some of our processes are. An example of this would be we were still using paper forms for everything instead of electronic forms. We were operating strictly via phone and email and we have now added a service where clients can text, request medication refills and retrieve their pets records through the pet desk app.
I was also able to sit down and really see how many clients we were serving and missing out on and it caused me to schedule differently and change some of our operations so that we can better serve our clients and build a better environment for our team.
I faced a lot of staffing struggles and I worried a lot, however it put me right where I needed to be and showed me what needed to change. It was also awful not being able to have volunteers as often as we did. That was very hurtful because we appreciate our volunteers but the decision had to be made in order to keep everyone safe.
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Marissa Reid
Clinic Director
LifeLine Animal Project
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Access To Care Specialist
Clinic Management Specialist
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-16-2022 06:04 AM
From: ERIN ELLIS
Subject: Lessons Learned During COVID
Hi Everyone,
I think it'd be interesting and helpful to share what one of your biggest hurdles has been/or was during COVID and how you creativity overcame or problem solved that challenge.
#AccesstoCare
#AdmissionsandIntake(includingIntake-to-placement)
#AdoptionsandAdoptionPrograms
#Behavior,TrainingandEnrichment
#CommunityPartnerships*
#Conferences,WorkshopsandWebcasts
#DataandTechnology
#Diversity,Equity,InclusionandJustice
#EducationandTraining
#FieldServicesandPublicSafety*
#FosterPrograms
#FundraisingandDevelopment
#MarketingandSocialMedia
#OrganizationalManagement
#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)
#PetSupportServices*
#Rehoming
#RemoteCustomerService*
#ReturntoHome(LostPetReunification)
#TransfersandTransport
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Erin Ellis
Community Engagement Director
Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe
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Foster Program & Volunteer Management Specialist
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