How we commit to #bhere for our associates, pets and clients.

The human-animal bond is an impactful connection and we are all so fortunate that the love a pet gives is immeasurable. Through the best of times, and the most trying of times, pets need our care to help them stay happy and healthy. Now, more than ever, we must continue to #bhere for pets and the people who love them. At Banfield Pet Hospital, this means empowering our hospital teams with the information and support they need to do what they do best: deliver essential, high-quality care to the pets that rely on us.

With a dispersed workforce of more than 19,000 associates across the U.S., we continue to focus on coming together and working collaboratively in service of our purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS. Our associates are truly the heart of our practice; their leadership, skills and empathy make our purpose possible. During these challenging times, maintaining a two-way dialogue that enables their voices to not only be heard, but acted on, has been critical. As a result, we are providing our associates with the ability to offer real-time feedback so, together, we can continue safely caring for one another, pets and clients.

Being informed and staying connected has been critical to empowering our people. I strongly believe that maintaining our culture through this crisis has positively impacted each area of our organization. It’s why we’ve implemented daily check-ins across all of our regions, markets and hospitals as well as monthly town hall-style video calls by market. Two-way dialogue not only provides information and direction, but it receives feedback on what our associates and clients need. Yes, it’s important to improve communication and direction during a crisis, but it’s critical to prioritize dialogue with our associates. 

We also are continuing to “visit” hospitals virtually and provide daily practice-wide updates with the latest information and guidance.

I prioritize leveraging virtual meetings and social media to engage with associates in meaningful ways. Not only because it’s never been more critical to meet people where they are, but because it’s so important to acknowledge their hard work, answer questions, and reinforce how grateful we are for their compassion, creativity and commitment. 

I love the continued connection with our associates and how these platforms have created a new sense of community.

As we face this global pandemic; open, honest and consistent communication with our teams is paramount for an essential business to thrive. From the beginning I’ve said that we will be stronger together than ever before. Each and every day I remain committed to being here for associates in innovative ways so, together, we can #bhere for each other and our clients, pets and communities.