Senior vet and Tableland Veterinary Service director Dr Tamara Olley says the structure of the business allows her to balance being a mother and a career woman. Photo: Supplied.
In a profession shaped by long hours, tough conditions and harrowing turnover rates, a regional Queensland veterinary practice with clinics in Weipa and Cooktown is proving that workplaces can evolve to better support women.
Tableland Veterinary Service (TVS) has been named one of Australia’s 30 Best Workplaces for Women by Great Place to Work Australia, putting the business on the list as one of only three regional employers recognised for their commitment to supporting, empowering and retaining women in the field.
Five years ago, TVS challenged the traditional rigid rostering and after-hour demands of the industry, which often disproportionately affected women, and instead opted for a four-day work week and flexible scheduling.
“We recognised that we were losing a lot of staff, and a lot of that was because women were leaving the industry itself, not because they were moving to another workplace and still being a vet,” director and vet Dr Stephanie Williams said.
“Women were just saying, I can’t juggle this level of work and run a household, and that’s been a problem across the board in veterinary practices.
“We consciously changed the way our full-time vets had to work, so everyone dropped to a four-day week and stayed on the same salary, and we’ve got a lot of part-time and some casual staff now.
“That’s allowed us to keep people on, even when they have started a family or have other things in their life they need to fit in as well.”
Dr Williams said the change had also been great in maintaining consistency for clients, with a balanced work schedule significantly lowering turnover rates.
“The retention rate is so much better; we used to be always desperately recruiting vets, to the point that we would hear of somebody that might be moving to the area and you’d be trying to contact them just to poach them,” she said.
“In some clinics, we’ve probably been over-staffed, while others in the industry are screaming for vets.
“It’s great having a familiar face and having staff that the clients can get to know, rather than it being locums or people that are a temporary solution.”
Senior vet and TVS director Dr Tamara Olley, who regularly travels to the Cooktown clinic, said the “family feel” and flexibility had kept her at TVS for almost two decades – her entire career as a vet.
“I think because we have that family feel, it’s okay to say no and have boundaries around your work,” she said.
“For example, today, I’ve picked my children up [from school] at three and finished early, so there’s that flexibility we try to offer all our staff in all positions.
“It’s also the support, and the confidence in the staff; if I’ve got a sick child or something, and I’m working away from the clinic, I know the other people in the clinic can help me out in those kinds of situations, and I can do the same for others when they need it.”
