Occasionally a candidate will apply for a job at your kennel or dog day care and, despite a stellar interview, you may have a hesitation about hiring him or her because of appearance, dress style, age or education, or a certain “look” that makes you uncomfortable. Alternatively, you may get a hire that you suspect is just trying to work for you because he or she wants to suck you for information.
As a general rule, there’s quite a lot of turnover in the kennel industry. That means a regular stream of new kennel workers throughout the year. So what’s the most efficient model for training new employees, without feeling that you’re giving the same song-and-dance time after time?
As the owner of a boarding kennel, dog day care or dog grooming salon, of course you won’t need pet insurance to protect the animals in your care. Your general liability policy does that. But as a pet service business owner, there are still two good reasons why you should know about pet insurance.
Giving raises based on performance can often help employees by giving them an incentive to perform better. Regular, scheduled employee reviews are critical to this type of program so that employees know when they will be assessed.
Working the front desk at a dog day care or kennel requires a very special skill set. The reality of running a profitable kennel often means hiring employees at minimum wage (or thereabout). Can any employee run the front desk? Does it have to be a full-time position? What are all of the requirements of the job? We examine these topics and emphasize how utterly crucial well-trained front desk personnel are to the first impressions your business communicates.
Let’s face it. You’re never going to be paying your employees enough to compensate for the hard work of cleaning up crates, disinfecting play areas, meticulously attending to every bizarre client request, or the myriad other thankless tasks that go into a daily kennel routine. But you need them – you really, really need them to shine. So how best to motivate and reward them?
The day you hire them, fresh from an impressive interview that went very well, the last thing on your mind is that this new employee may one day steal from the business. Or be chronically tardy, or just plain not show up half the time. But it happens. Good employees do go bad, and when the care of pets is involved, it can be a particularly thorny situation.
Which makes more sense for dog day care and kennel workers? Contract workers or full-time employees?
Here is a list of important pet industry terms and definitions specific to dog kennels, dog day care, grooming salons and related pet boarding facilities. Before you begin a new business, it’s important to be well versed in all of the important terminology. As you begin to hire and train new employees, be sure that they are equally as familiar with these kennel terms. Remember: the occasional quiz never hurts. Flashcards anyone?
The more professional your pet boarding facility or dog day care looks, the better your reputation. Kennel staff who look sharp create high expectations for your clients. This is an industry that operates on trust. Owners entrusting their dogs to your care is serious business – and something as simple as a dress code can do wonders to reassure your clients.
Your boarding kennel or dog day care should always be on the lookout for new media opportunities that may give the business positive exposure in the community. Pets are a hot topic for local television news, community magazines, and even national reporting from time to time. Make sure your front desk employees know just what to do when you’re lucky enough to have the media contact you.