People know why they are there, and where the organisation is headed. 

• Time and resources are committed to collaboratively developing a clear organisational vision, mission and strategic objectives that are well aligned with the contemporary and future needs of the public and animals, owners and shareholders, the veterinary labour market and the profession.
• The organisation’s “big picture” is regularly communicated with the entire team and public to focus effort, inspire initiative and innovation, and clarify the business’s value proposition. 
• The business’s progress towards specific and valued objectives is regularly monitored and openly communicated to the whole team, for example using a “balanced scorecard”-type approach to identify and measure workplace benefits to
  
  • shareholder/ owners/ managers (e.g. meaningful vision and mission, return on investment, profit, risk management)
  • customers (e.g. service quality value, cost, innovation, timeliness, communication, trust) 
  • all team members (e.g. meaning, motivation, connection, performance, development, health, reward, balance)
  • process improvement (e.g. efficiency, cost, resource requirements, consistency, safety) 
• The business model is appropriate to assist the team in sustainably achieving the workplace objectives and strategy. For example, there are appropriate service offerings, pricing and profit structures, remuneration models, organisational structure and succession activities.  
• Employees consider how (and if) their personal purpose is consistent with the organisation’s objectives when choosing roles that will facilitate sustained engagement.  
• All team members seek to understand their own, and others,’ work motivators.  
• The organisation invests time and resources to periodically review its environment and business strengths, weakness, threats and opportunities and identify priority areas for strategy development and business evolution.  
• Early communication of any organisational changes and their reasons occurs. Team member discussion and questions are encouraged. Any transitions, such as staff numbers, responsibilities or required skills and knowledge, are proactively supported and enacted in accordance with employment law.  

People feel confident to make decisions and behave in ways that support the team’s culture. 

• Time and resources are committed to collaborating with all team members to develop clear and meaningful organisational values. 
• Values are not just “words on a wall” but are regularly considered and referenced personally, professionally and as an organisation to guide “how we do things round here”. 
• Leaders and managers lead by example, demonstrating behaviours and management decisions that are consistent with the organisations’ values and which set the tone for workplace culture.  
• Every team member recognises that their own behaviours and decisions contribute to an empowering and supportive work culture. Individuals hold themselves and others to account in acting in alignment with workplace values.  
• Everyone is encouraged to identify and suggest improvements to any policies, processes and ways of working that are inconsistent with workplace values. Employers and managers regularly seek specific feedback about workplace culture from team members at all levels, and act on issues identified. 

Everyone is supported to understand and confidently communicate their own, and their team’s, professional value and costs. 

• Training, communication resources and processes ensure that all team members understand, and can communicate to the public, the value of performing various work.  
• The value of all team members’ and the veterinary professions’ work is clearly and regularly communicated to the public, for example through practice social media and newsletters and other marketing and communications strategies and resources. 
• All team members are guided to understand the costs involved in the provision of their veterinary services, so that fees and prices are charged and communicated to the public with confidence. This includes an appreciation that staffing levels and pay are influenced by total business income.  
• The organisation supports individuals’ discussions with clients by proactively communicating the business’s services, including after-hours options, and costs upon enquiry.  
• Consistent billing is facilitated by clear and specific schedules of costs, including the use of bundled procedure pricing that can be refined for each patient. 
• Service pricing sufficiently encompasses all aspects of associated costs, including non-billable work such as record keeping, some communications, management tasks including policy and protocol development, and teaching and learning. The high professional value of those work aspects is appropriately recognised within the profit structure. 
• Team members can clearly see, through HR processes, feedback mechanisms and organisational data and reporting, how their efforts are contributing value to their organisation, customers and patients and broader community. 

Effective technology use and continued process improvements reduce unnecessary or low- value work.  

• Technologies and systems are effectively used to reduce low value, repetitive, unattractive work and to increase efficiency, accuracy and time spent on meaningful high value work.  
• A culture of continuous workplace improvement is encouraged, where process improvements and technologies are explored and implemented to enhance team, client and/or animal experience including efficiency and productivity. 
• Appropriate quantitative and/or qualitative measurement and monitoring occurs to identify opportunities for process improvements, and the results of improvements.  
• Leaders are responsive to team members’ suggestions and experiences, and are consultative, accessible and informative in effecting systems change.