How to make sure your company is prepared for Generation Z
For veterinary practices, the next generation of employees is already part of the team. Younger veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses and support colleagues are building their careers, developing their skills and deciding what they want from an employer.
The opportunity for practice owners is to create an environment where those colleagues can contribute, develop confidence and see a future.
Generational labels have limits. Age alone will not tell you whether someone wants flexible hours, a leadership role, advanced clinical training or a predictable working pattern. A newly qualified vet and an experienced RVN of the same age may need very different support.
A better starting point is to look at the experience your practice offers: how you recruit, how you support new colleagues and whether the promises in your job advert match everyday working life.
Here are six practical areas to focus on.
1. Use technology to make everyday work easier
A modern working environment is about whether your systems help people do their jobs well.
Look at the tasks that cause repeated frustration. Are rotas difficult to access? Do staff enter the same information in several places? Are important protocols scattered across emails, folders and messages? Can new employees find the information they need without repeatedly interrupting a colleague?
Useful improvements might include:
- A clearly maintained digital rota with an agreed process for changes.
- Accessible clinical protocols and induction materials.
- Straightforward ways to request leave and record CPD.
- Templates that reduce repetitive administration.
- Clear channels for routine updates and urgent communication.
Provide training rather than assuming younger employees will automatically understand every system. Being comfortable with a smartphone does not mean someone already knows your practice management software.
Set boundaries around digital communication, too. Explain which channels staff should check during working hours and how urgent issues are handled. Being able to contact someone at any time should not create a general expectation that they are always available.
Ask new starters which processes are hardest to navigate. Their questions can reveal practical improvements that established employees have stopped noticing.
2. Offer realistic flexibility and a working pattern people can understand
Clinical veterinary work requires reliable on-site cover. That still leaves room to consider how rotas are designed and how much predictability employees have.
Flexibility might mean a choice of working patterns, part-time opportunities, a job share, an agreed shift-swap process or sufficient notice of weekend commitments. For some people, knowing when they will finish is more useful than a broad promise of flexible working.
Be specific during recruitment. Explain:
- Contracted hours and typical start and finish times.
- Weekend frequency and any out-of-hours responsibilities.
- How breaks and administrative time are planned.
- What happens when a clinical emergency extends the working day.
- Whether the advertised pattern can be adjusted.
- How changes are agreed and communicated.
Avoid promising flexibility that depends on colleagues repeatedly covering gaps without support.
Where persistent overruns are a problem, review the workload behind them. Appointment lengths, staffing levels, operating lists and time for records or client calls may all need attention.
There will be unpredictable days in veterinary practice. What matters is whether the practice plans sensibly, communicates honestly and responds when exceptional pressure becomes routine.
Discuss individual preferences and assess arrangements fairly across the team. Flexibility should be a considered part of workforce planning.
3. Show how your values influence daily decisions
Veterinary work has a clear purpose: caring for animals and supporting the people responsible for them. However, a meaningful profession does not automatically create a supportive workplace.
Candidates can learn more from concrete examples than from phrases such as “we are passionate about care” or “we are like a family”.
Explain what your values look like in practice. How do colleagues ask for help with a difficult case? How are concerns raised? What support is available after a challenging client interaction?
How are different professional opinions discussed?
Commercial expectations should also be clear. Explain how the practice operates as a sustainable business while supporting appropriate care and professional judgement.
For a new colleague, understanding why decisions are made can be as important as understanding the decisions themselves.
Invite employees to contribute to practical improvements, whether that involves client communication, inpatient routines or a more efficient handover. Make it clear which decisions they can influence and explain the outcome of their suggestions.
Purpose becomes more credible when employees can see how their work contributes and how the practice responds when its values are tested.
4. Create a team where people can ask questions and be heard
An inclusive workplace is shaped by everyday interactions.
Consider whether a newly qualified colleague can admit uncertainty without being embarrassed, whether nursing views are taken seriously and whether everyone knows how to raise a concern.
Practical steps include:
- Giving every new starter a clear induction and a named person to approach.
- Explaining responsibilities across the clinical and support team.
- Inviting input from quieter colleagues as well as confident speakers.
- Addressing dismissive behaviour and inappropriate comments.
- Making development opportunities and decisions about additional responsibilities transparent.
- Asking individuals what support would help them work effectively.
Avoid assumptions about ambition, technical ability or resilience based on age. Equally, do not assume that an older colleague needs less support or that a younger colleague has no useful experience to share.
Social activities can help people build relationships, but belonging should not depend on attending evening events or drinking with colleagues.
The aim is an environment where everyone can contribute, receive constructive challenge and seek help when they need it. That benefits patient care and the wider team.
5. Turn development promises into a workable plan
A CPD allowance is useful, but it is only one part of professional development.
For someone early in their career, the more immediate questions may be: Who will support me? When can I ask for help? How will we decide that I am ready for greater responsibility?
During recruitment, describe the support you can actually provide. Be clear about supervision, sole-charge expectations, access to experienced colleagues and how duties will develop.
An initial development plan could include:
| Stage | Practical focus |
|---|---|
| First few weeks | Systems, protocols, introductions, responsibilities and routes for asking for help |
| First three months | Regular check-ins, supported case discussions and identification of development needs |
| Following months | Agreed learning goals, suitable CPD and a review of responsibilities as confidence and competence develop |
Adapt the plan to the person. Generation Z includes experienced professionals as well as new entrants, and career changers or returning colleagues may also benefit from structured support.
Give mentors time to do the job. Naming a senior vet or nurse as a mentor will have limited value if their diary leaves no room for teaching or discussion.
Development does not have to mean promotion into management. It might involve a clinical interest, nursing responsibilities, mentoring, quality improvement or greater confidence within an existing role.
Agree achievable next steps and revisit them. Avoid promising certificates, protected time or promotion unless the practice can support the commitment.
6. Communicate clearly, give useful feedback and be honest about pay
Employees should know what is expected of them, how they are progressing and where to raise a concern.
Use regular conversations to address questions while they are still manageable. Feedback is most useful when it refers to a specific situation, explains its impact and identifies what to continue or change.
Make the conversation two-way. Ask what is helping the employee work well, where support is missing and whether the role matches the expectations set during recruitment.
Be transparent about pay and progression. Explain the salary range when recruiting, how reviews work and what factors influence decisions. A positive culture and development opportunities do not remove the need for a clear employment package.
During interviews, replace assumptions about a generation with direct questions:
- What support would help you settle into this role?
- Which aspects of your work would you like to develop?
- What working pattern are you looking for?
- How do you prefer to receive feedback?
- What would help you see a long-term future in a practice?
Once someone joins, follow through on the answers. If circumstances change, explain the change and discuss what remains possible.
Trust depends on the relationship between what an employer says and what employees experience.
Start with the experience your practice already provides
Preparing your practice for Generation Z does not require a separate set of standards for younger employees. It requires a clear understanding of individual needs and a workplace that can support people at different stages of their careers.
Start by reviewing your job adverts, induction, rotas and development arrangements. Ask recent starters what matched their expectations and what surprised them. Use that feedback to identify a few improvements you can deliver consistently.
A practice that communicates honestly, supports learning and organises work thoughtfully gives candidates something concrete to evaluate—and employees stronger reasons to stay.
Recruit4vets helps veterinary practices recruit veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses for permanent and locum roles. Speak to our team about your recruitment needs and how to present the opportunities your practice can offer.