Ask almost any veterinary practice owner or manager about their biggest challenge and recruitment will be near the top of the list. Workforce pressure is real. Roles remain open for months, applications can be scarce, and promising candidates may disappear before a meaningful conversation begins. In that environment, “there’s no one out there” can feel like the only reasonable conclusion. Yet the shortage is only part of the story, because while many practices continue to struggle, others attract, engage and recruit strong candidates consistently, including veterinary professionals who were not actively planning a move.

These practices are rarely relying on luck or geography. They take a whole-of-practice approach that begins long before a vacancy appears and continues well beyond the contract being signed. They build a visible reputation, tell an honest and compelling story, stay present across the channels veterinary professionals already use, and create an experience that confirms the promise once someone joins. Great hires seldom begin with a single job advertisement. They grow from consistent actions, credible moments and a practice that remains quietly ready to meet its next team member. Here is what that looks like before, during and after recruitment…

Elise noticed the announcement while waiting for a set of results.

It appeared halfway down her phone screen between a message from the laboratory and the practice group chat. A clinic she had quietly admired for years was welcoming a new senior veterinarian. The photograph showed someone about her age standing beside the practice owner, both smiling in front of a bright treatment area Elise recognised from the clinic’s occasional posts.

The role was a genuine promotion. It likely came with a meaningful salary increase that would have taken some pressure off the student loan balance still sitting stubbornly in the background of Elise’s life. It offered protected time to develop the hospital’s dentistry and oral health service, alongside responsibility for mentoring newer veterinarians and helping shape how cases moved through the practice.

It was not management at the expense of medicine, or a title added to an already full clinical week. It looked thoughtful. Balanced. Close to the kind of position Elise had once imagined might suit her when the time was right, and perhaps even a pathway to ownership one day.

She read the announcement twice, then put her phone away as the lab results appeared.

By the end of the day, the appointment had become one more piece of information carried home beneath everything else. Elise was pleased for the person who had secured it. She was not desperate to leave her own practice, where she worked with people she trusted, had clients who asked for her by name, and had gradually taken on more responsibility without needing a new title every time something changed.

Still, the announcement had disturbed something that had been quiet for a while…

Things are going well. Demand is steady, your team has built real momentum, and the practice is earning the trust of more clients. Adding a new service, bringing in another team member, expanding the premises, or opening a second location can feel like the natural next step. The opportunity is there, the timing appears promising, and growth seems like the right response to what you have already built.

Before you commit, however, it is worth testing whether your practice is ready for this particular move. Strong performance creates opportunity, but it does not automatically mean that every form of growth will improve the business, the client experience, or the working day for your team. These three questions will help you decide whether now is the right time to move forward, or whether a period of preparation will give your plans a stronger foundation…