Ballarat Veterinary Practice group first in Australia to achieve Employer of Choice Accreditation

_{Image: Dr Brian Anderson from Ballarat Veterinary Practice accepts an EOC Accreditation plaque from most recent AVA past President Dr Warwick Vale.}

The AVA’s Employer of Choice (EOC) Accreditation program is an intensive, rigorous auditing process that recognises employers with exceptionally high standards of staff recruitment, engagement and retention. Not only did the Ballarat Veterinary Practice (BVP) group achieve EOC Accreditation status, they were also the first practice in Australia to do so.

BVP’s four core values are Teamwork, Respect, Compassion and Professionalism. These values underpin their approach—the team live and embody these values every single day. Embarking on the EOC accreditation journey was a natural progression of their consistent drive towards excellence in people management, employee engagement and culture.

Their reasons for pursuing EOC Accreditation status were multifactorial. The process helped them to optimise their already sound HR strategies and provided endorsement of the HR team’s hard work in the support and retention of their current staff. EOC accreditation has also helped to attract prospective employees by providing industry wide recognition as an employer that provides a supportive, motivating, and rewarding work environment. Claire McAteer, BVP’s Human Resources Manager says they “have already been approached by a young veterinarian who was motivated to seek employment in our clinics because of our EOC status… This was the best endorsement we could have hoped for, and validated the value and benefit of the process.”

One of the ways that BVP promotes staff wellbeing is by prioritising work/life balance. They recently restructured their rosters to offer greater work/life balance as well as increase opportunities for flexibility. Other drawcards include their wide and varied caseload, modern, refurbished facilities, and an enviable depth of expertise including specialists in equine practice as well as veterinarians with special interests spanning orthopaedic and soft tissue surgery, advanced diagnostic imaging, oncology, medicine, ultrasonography, acupuncture, behaviour, avian medicine and exotics.

BVP has been servicing the Ballarat and surrounding districts for over 75 years and employ approximately 150 staff across six practices. All six practices – Ballarat Veterinary Practice, Ballarat Veterinary Practice Equine Clinic, Eureka Veterinary Hospital, Lucas Veterinary Clinic, Mount Clear Veterinary Clinic and Wendouree Veterinary Clinic – are now EOC Accredited, a status that will last for four years.

^{Image: Eureka Veterinary Hospital celebrates being EOC Accredited}

Staff regularly hold cross-site meetings including veterinarian ‘journal clubs’, mentoring sessions and regular team engagement meetings. Additionally, as part of their accreditation, BVP implemented a new website detailing their journey through the EOC Accreditation process and exemplifying what makes them an AVA Employer of Choice.

The BVP team have received numerous messages of congratulations, not just internally but also from the broader veterinary community. While they have already enjoyed the pride they have from their huge achievement, they look forward to celebrating properly at their end of year Christmas party!

McAteer would “strongly encourage other practices to take on the accreditation process,” but also reminds prospective candidates that “it is a rigorous journey and it will not be easy.” She says that Ballarat Veterinary Practice “absolutely endorse the accreditation process and encourage others to venture along the EOC journey… to come out of the EOC process being recognised as an industry leader… made it incredibly rewarding. It was a real shift in mindset that everything starts with us being a great employer.”

See below for a video BVP made documenting their EOC Accreditation journey: