Chipping Stoneford Vets (CSV) is an independent, mixed veterinary practice, based at five locations in and around a large town and its county in the English midlands. It is comprised of five long-established practices, which used to be run as separate, competing surgeries, but which have, over recent years, joined together to form a single organisation, allowing some sharing of facilities, administrative systems and expertise. CSV is a thriving business. It is successful financially and would like to diversify its activities and expand further in the future. The management team consists of five men, who are practising vets and also act as Directors. While each takes day-to-day responsibility for the management of one of the surgeries, they also carry further, specific practice-wide responsibilities. Paul Cheviot is the Managing Director, Mark Chartreux focuses on marketing issues, David Chinchilla looks after the finances, James Shepherd is responsible for the development of the teams small animal practice, while Frank Malopolski leads the team that cares for farm animals. The five Directors are, currently, supported by a team of nineteen additional veterinary surgeons, who have a variety of specialisms, thirty-five qualified veterinary nurses, nine receptionists, four kennel assistants, a financial controller, a Tuberculosis (TB) tester and two administrators. Over half of the team work on a part-time basis. Women make up over 85% of the staff who are employed. The average annual salary for full-time vets at CSV is 45,000. For the practices nursing team it is 25,000. In the last two years, CSV, like most veterinary practices, has encountered very significant operational difficulties. The COVID-19 pandemic saw a fifty percent increase in the number of households purchasing new pets - mostly cats and dogs - leading to major increases in demand for health checks, inoculations, microchipping and neutering operations, as well as general medical care. New post-Brexit rules on the export of live animals and animal products to the European Union have led to a fifty-fold increase in inspection and certification work in the countrys farms and abattoirs. This is time-consuming, due to the amount of paperwork vets have to complete before signing off the export forms.

Not only have the number of appointments in CSVs surgeries increased very significantly, but there has also been a commensurate increase in off-site visits, including, emergency call-outs overnight and at weekends.

Staff at CSV have struggled to cope. Absence due to stress has been a major problem, as have the number of people being required to self-isolate, having taken positive COVID-19 tests or having had contact with infected people. This has increased the burdens on other team members hugely, particularly, the Directors, who are all now exhausted, due to working long hours and taking insufficient holidays.

At times, the practices have had to refuse to take on new patients and have been unable to see animals that do not require emergency treatment for several days. Routine surgical procedures have been postponed, and customers have frequently been asked to travel to different practices, as it has been unable to open all five of them every day. COVID-related protocols have also required pet-owners to leave their animals at the surgery door, rather than to accompany them inside consulting rooms. These procedures, along with rising prices for veterinary care and prescription medicines, have led to some anger, which has, sometimes, resulted in the use of abusive language towards staff. Many pet owners have been distressed and have required emotional support during the period of pandemic restrictions.

Staff retention has also been a major problem. There are, currently, seven vacancies for qualified vets and ten for veterinary nurses which CSV is struggling to fill. Vetinary surgeons are on the governments shortage occupation list, meaning that overseas recruitment is perfectly possible. But the Royal College of Vetinary Surgeons (RCVS) will only register vets to practice in the UK if they have a high standard of English, and the pandemic has made it impossible for language tests to be carried out at approved centres in the normal way. It has also made it very difficult for the directors to travel overseas to recruit new people.

The time available for training and continuing professional development has been restricted by the increased workload, while it has been necessary to suspend the regular all-staff monthly meetings that used to be held to discuss improving services and future strategic plans. Morale is low and several long-standing members of the team are known to be actively looking for alternative employment.

You are appointed to advise the five directors of Chipping Stoneford Vets about action they can take in the field of human resource management that will alleviate the pressures they are working under. They are asking for advice both in respect of short-term and longer-term plans.

What advice would you give in the following areas:

Absence management and flexible working

Employee recruitment and retention

Employee engagement

Line management

You are asked to provide a comprehensive report detailing courses of action which will be affordable in a very competitive and resource-constrained industry and maintain the efficiency with which the operation currently runs. You are also asked to draw on your understanding of relevant theory and published research findings when justifying your recommendations.