Mission Valley Veterinary Clinic

The Mission Valley Veterinary Clinic is a successful pr actice in Fremont, CA that has over 2,000 clients and is owned by Dr. Chris Stone. On paper, Dr. Stone had it all; a thriving veterinary practice, an energetic staff of ten and a bevy of clients who were loyal and happy. Unfortunately, things were not so great when you looked more closely. "I tried to do it all myself and it didn't work very well," recalls Dr. Stone. "I was really having trouble being a Doctor, Personnel Clerk and Business Manager all in one. I was so unhappy because my life was consumed with taking care of everything in the clinic and not doing a very good job."

Business and Personal Chaos

A few years ago, Dr. Stone's way of doing business came to a critical juncture when one of her Vets went out on maternity leave and Stone had to quickly leave due to a medical emergency. "All of a sudden, there was no one there to run the practice and the chaos that ensued resulted in the loss of some clients," says Stone. "That's when I knew I needed help running the business, but I was too busy to figure out a way to make it happen." Dr. Stone had been using a business services company to help with some of the practice's paperwork, but she needed someone to run the day-to-day business so she could focus more on her patients. She also had no expertise or resources to rely on when it came to personnel issues. When she described the situation to the owner of the business services company, he recommended Dr. Stone speak to Kristi Royse, CEO of KLR Consulting. "I spoke to Kristi on the phone briefly, we met later that week and KLR started soon after that," recalls Stone. "I wasn't sure what to expect, but Kristi explained how KLR could help with their coaching services and business processes improvements programs. It soon became evident that bringing them in was the right choice."

A Shift in Priorities

KLR started with one-on-one executive coaching with Stone to identify the doctor's challenges and goals. "KLR helped me understand that realizing my personal goals and relieving my high level of stress was as important as my business goals," says Stone. "I can't tell you what a life-changing event it was to have someone help me make that shift in my priorities." Dr. Stone soon came to realize that there was a key position missing; a Practice Manager, so she soon hired Julie Dizon with KLR's help.

Dizon came on as a receptionist, but everyone could see the potential and KLR started training her to take on the Practice Manager role. "To me, Julie's training and incredible growth as a manager was the most valuable piece of our experience with KLR. She had an unbelievable transformation from individual contributor to managing the entire staff and KLR was there to help every step of the way. It has been really fun and amazing to watch Julie become the confident manager she is today."

Dizon has similar thoughts about KLR's training and coaching witha different viewpoint. "Not only was KLR training me to be an effective and more confident manager, they were also coaching Dr.Stone to let go of the daily office work and focus on her role as the leader of the clinic. They helped us understand how to better communicate with each other and the rest of the staff," says Dizon."I can't believe how much they have helped the Doctor with her stress level."

Staff Development for Success

KLR then began staff development programs, which started with assessments with the entire team. Based on the assessments,KLR helped Stone and Dizon adjust the office structure as well as finalize everyone's roles and responsibilities. "When it came to employee related issues, KLR stayed very neutral. It's been invaluable to observe and learn from that," says Stone. "They showed that they were there for the entire team, not just managers and I realize now that this is what made the staff readily accept and embrace the changes."

KLR's engagement with Mission Valley Veterinary Clinic continues today with quarterly retreats and executive coaching. They have also provided other staff development programs like customer service, sales and business etiquette training. "Our exceptional staff is a huge accomplishment and that is due to the guidance we received from KLR Consulting," says Stone. "Today, we don't have any staff turnover and the drama we had before KLR is gone."Dizon notes there have been some dramatic changes in Stone too,"Dr. Stone has a real sense of peace now. She is happy to focus on her patients and leave the day-to-day worries of the office to her reliable and well-trained team."