A Business Report to improve the delivery of HR Processes at Amber Dale Veterinary Group (ADV)You are appointed to advise the six directors of Amber Dale Veterinary Group(ADV) 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:• Reducing staff absence and alleviating work pressures• Recruiting new team members• Reducing staff turnover• Improving ADV's record in the field of diversity and inclusionJustify your answer with reference to published research and your wider reading Case StudyAmber Dale Veterinary Group (ADV)Amber Dale Veterinary Group (ADV) is an independent,veterinary practice, based at six locations in and arounda large town and its county in the English midlands. It iscomprised of six long-established practices, which werepreviously run as separate, competing surgeries, butwhich have, over recent years, joined together to form asingle organisation [ADV], which enabled some sharingof resources, facilities, administrative systems andexpertise.ADV is a doing well as a business. It is financially soundand the aim is to diversify its activities and expandfurther in the future. The management team consists ofsix men, who are qualified practicing vets. All six areDirectors. While each takes day-to-day responsibility forthe management of one of the surgeries, five also carryfurther, specific practice-wide responsibilities. DickDavies is the Managing Director, Omar Le-Mark focuseson marketing issues, Abdul Miha looks after thefinances, Ben Fogul is responsible for the developmentof the team's small animal practice, while FreddieMalone leads the team that cares for farm animals. Thesix Directors are, currently, supported by a team ofeighteen additional veterinary surgeons, who have avariety of specialisms, thirty-six qualified veterinarynurses, nine receptionists, four kennel assistants, afinancial controller, a Tuberculosis (TB) tester and twoadministrators. More than half of the team work on apart-time basis. Women make up over 85% of the staffwho are employed. The average annual salary for full-time vets at ADV is £55,000. For the practice's nursingteam it is £25,000.In the last two years, DV, like most veterinarypractices, has encountered very significant operationaldifficulties. The COVID-19 pandemic saw a fifty percentincrease in the number of households purchasing newpets - mostly cats and dogs, which has led to sharpincreases in demand for pet health checks, inoculations,microchipping and neutering operations, as well asgeneral medical care. New post-Brexit rules on theexport of live animals and animal products to theEuropean Union have led to a fifty-fold increase ininspection and certification work in the country's farmsand abattoirs. This is time-consuming, due to theamount of paperwork vets have to complete beforesigning off the export forms. Not only have the number of appointments in ADV'ssurgeries increased very significantly, but there has alsobeen a significant increase in off-site visits, including,emergency call-outs overnight and at weekends.Staff at ADV have struggled to cope. Absence due tostress has been a major problem, as have the numberof people being required to self-isolate, having takenpositive COVID-19 tests or having had contact withinfected people. This has increased the burdens onother team members hugely. The Directors too are allnow mentally and physically exhausted, due to workinglong hours and not taking sufficient holidays.At times, the six practices have had to refuse to take onnew patients and have been unable to see animals thatdo not require emergency treatment for several days.Routine surgical procedures have also been postponed,and customers have frequently been asked to travel todifferent practices, as it has been unable to open all sixof them each and every day. COVID-related proceduresand protocols have also required pet-owners to leavetheir animals at the surgery door, rather than toaccompany them inside consulting rooms. Theseprocedures, along with rising prices for veterinary careand prescription medicines, have led to some angry petowners, which has, sometimes, resulted in them usingabusive language towards staff. Many pet owners havebeen distressed and have required emotional supportduring the period of pandemic restrictions.Staff retention has also been a major problem. Thereare, currently, seven vacancies for qualified vets and tenfor veterinary nurses which ADV is struggling to fill.Veterinary surgeons are on the government's shortageoccupation list, meaning that overseas recruitment isperfectly possible. But the Royal College of VeterinarySurgeons (RCVS) will only register vets to practice inthe UK if they have a high standard of English, and thepandemic has made it impossible for language tests tobe carried out at approved centres in the normal way. Ithas also been very difficult for the directors to traveloverseas to recruit new people.The time available for training and continuingprofessional development has been restricted by theincreased workload and it has also been necessary tosuspend the regular all-staff monthly meetings that usedto be held to discuss improving services and futurestrategic plans. Morale is low and several long-standingmembers of the team are known to be actively seekingalternative employment.END

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The six directors of Amber Dale Veterinary Group (ADV) are given comprehensive advice in the…