Organisational background

When we sit, late at night and the question is asked, “how did it all start”, we are hesitant to share our story. Why? Because looking back, it sounds all a little absurd. The following is mostly true. Except for the bit about cheese.

Vets 1 launched in May 2013 in a dining room, in the small village of Barton Bendish in West Norfolk. The decision to open the business was made exactly 21 days beforehand by Katharine and Simon Power and our kit list on day one consisted of a stethoscope, a half box of sharpies and a block of cheese.

Things are different now. In some ways. Our client base at launch was 100% LA. Since 2017 it has been 100% SA. Our kit list has expanded dramatically (2 stethoscopes, full box of sharpies).

We no longer work out of a dining room but instead, operate out of a beautiful 200 year old barn conversion (RVCS Tier 3 Hospital) and a beautiful converted old Bank (opened August 2020) in Kings Lynn.

Despite our sizeable work locations, each we find still has a soul. Weaved into the bricks and beams is a friendly, warm, family vibe that runs through the team and out into our community. Each location looks nothing like what you would expect but each houses what is required.

Our headcount at launch was 2. Today it is 62 and by default, we have become the largest independent practice in Norfolk. This makes us smile. Material things have changed but the most important things haven’t. Our commitment to protecting and nurturing a team of all job titles is paramount, and our ability to deliver on any development project within 21 days is legendary.

Watch back our Interview the Team

Organisation aims & mission

At some point, in primary school we are all asked in a group session, “what do you want to be when you grow up?”

• Jimmy wanted to be a spaceman.
• Sarah wanted to drive a tractor.
• Sophie wanted to be a Veterinary Surgeon.
• John wanted to be a Veterinary Nurse.

Jimmy and Sarah ended up on a different path but Sophie and John achieved their goals and now work under our blanket. Our organisation’s mission is to simply ensure that the big person that the little person dreamt of being, comes to life.

We adopted a ‘Think Small’ attitude to everything back in 2013 and continue today with putting big effort into the little things for both team and community.

Simple examples include:

• All consults are booked for a minimum 20 minutes. Working up three patients an hour as opposed to 5 or 6 improves client communication and subsequent compliance, time to consult with wider team on plans (or to help build a plan) time to write notes, time to sit with the nervous or aggressive and build relationship (patient and client).
• We have never charged a registered client a euthanasia fee. We don’t need to. We don’t want to. Doesn’t sit comfortably with who we are as people.
• Green is important to us. Our main hospital we believe is the only fully green powered veterinary practice in the UK. Heat and hot water is BioMass generated from waste wood product and all electricity is solar which stores into battery packs for use overnight.
• Money looks after itself. None of our Vets are aware of how much they bill each month. It’s irrelevant. Just turn up. Be a Vet. The best you can. Weirdly when you concentrate on doing the job well, the money looks after itself.
• We don’t sell pet shop products in reception. We don’t run a healthy pet club. We let vets (out of theatre) wear jeans and baseball boots as they consult. We eat a lot of pizza.

For some people, Diversity is simply a dance troupe famous for winning Britains Got Talent way back in 2009. At Vets 1, Diversity is an engrained culture trait that runs top to bottom and left to right. We worked out in the early years of Vets 1 that strength could be found by sitting next to each other, with people from cultures and skill sets that historically would cause sparks and woe.

We created a framework that ensures all voices are equal, all skill sets have equal value and all job titles within our business are equally viewed. As a consequence we still get sparks, but great, creative sparks. Woe is rare, it happens, but infrequently. In abundance we get a sense of collective ownership of all that is good (on these days we eat pizza) and all that is bad (on bad days we still eat pizza – but we do it together).

Nurse. Vet. Admin. Diverse but very much equal.

Watch back our previous Interview the Boss sessions:

Interview the Team: No Nurse, no Practice:

Interview the Boss with Katharine & Simon Power:

John visits every month and has done so for the last 3 years. John is our internal counsellor. The mental health issues within our profession are well documented. John is neutral. He is someone to vent at, share problems, someone to listen and help – either personally or as a gateway to further external support.

Every team member spends a session with John at induction and he is then in support for the duration of your career when or if needed.

We now close down for 1 hour over lunch to give ALL a break.

In addition:

• We have great equipment. It’s new and abundant. We have an average age in the business of 28, which means the management team can still remember life as a new grad and support accordingly. We all chip in when needed. We all clean.
• We all back each other. We have our own social media site called HiBob that tracks goals, appraisals, holidays, successes, hobbies and links like-minded team members.
• We spend on average £5K per team member per year on CPD. We also love books.

Want to see how we support new and recent graduates? Watch our panel!