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Networking Could Benefit Front Office Team

Katherine Dobbs, RVT, CVPM, PHR

We all work incredibly difficult positions within veterinary medicine, and it helps to network with others who understand our professional lives. Veterinarians have had professional associations for a long time. Technicians now have a national organization, and most states have local technician associations. Now we have certification for veterinary assistants, so they are recognized as a group.

But what about receptionists, front office team members, client service representatives or whatever position title these hard workers hold in your practice? It often occurs to me that this one group in particular has no professional association and no way to combine voices, enhance training and gain recognition for the difficult work done every day.

What does it take to create such an organization? For one thing, it takes a devoted person to start the movement, gather interested people and begin to organize.

When I started the Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Practice Association (VESPA), a group focusing on the management needs in these types of practices, I began with a call to find others interested in networking. I hit as many online communities as I knew and just asked who would like to join me. In my opinion, the same communities could be resources for front office team members: VSPN, VetMedTeam, VHMA, etc. The most enthusiastic and devoted people were gathered as the first board members and officers.

The most daunting process was organizing ourselves in the eyes of “the law.” We established a 501c6, which his defined as a professional association. This is different than the typical charitable organization, a 501c3, which has an altruistic mission for society in general and offers tax-deductible contributions.

Once we became organized, we could start accepting sponsorship money. Plenty of companies realize that the front office team affects every aspect of the practice, from client satisfaction to marketing products that the practice sells. The front office is not only the first thing the client sees, but it often is the last point of contact when the financial transaction occurs. Companies that provide financing for our profession would be great potential sponsors for an association dedicated to those on the front lines.

The next step is to decide what resources are needed by those working this position and figuring out how the association can meet those needs. Whether it’s a website that functions as a central location for information and news for the front office, to the development of educational materials, to providing networking opportunities for front office team members to chat with “their own people,” there are many essential resources that can be created to assist those on the front lines.

I’d love to see it happen. Even though creating VESPA has been challenging at times, it’s still worthwhile in the long run for those in referral medicine to work together to provide networking and education to others in our situations. As I often say, even if we don’t know the answers for each other, at least there is comfort in commiserating with each other.

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Networking Could Benefit Front Office Team

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