Veterinary Voices
Most vet clinics are proud of their culture. They know it's special — it's what makes them tick. What they don't know is how to share those stories in ways that mean something to other vets and nurses.
That's culture storytelling. And Julie South — founder of VetClinicJobs — shows vet clinics how to do it.
You'll hear real vets and nurses talking about what it's actually like to work at their clinics. Not the polished corporate version — the real moments that show how teams handle pressure, support each other, and why someone would actually want to work there. That's the kind of proof that builds trust before anyone's even looking.
You'll also learn which stories to share and when, how to stay visible to great people even when you're fully staffed, and why the quiet months between hires are actually your biggest opportunity. Each episode gives you something specific to do that week — a story to share, a shift to make, a pattern to break.
If you're tired of starting from scratch every time someone resigns, this podcast shows you how to become the clinic people are already watching.
Veterinary Voices
How To Bring Your Team Into Culture Storytelling Without Making It Weird - ep.248
You're posting about your team. Nothing's happening.
That's because you're copying clinics who haven't figured it out either.
This episode shows you what you're actually looking at when you see those bland team posts - and why the water cooler conversation you keep having is the actual problem.
I'm Julie South. I run VetClinicJobs and help vet clinics across Australia, New Zealand and beyond build Culture Centres through Culture Storytelling - so vets and nurses think "They're My Kind of People."
I've heard "we should really show what it's like here" hundreds of times. Most clinics never start. This episode is why.
You think your only options are post bland content or do nothing. There's a third option most clinics haven't seen: Culture Stories that sound like real humans, not meeting memos.
This episode shows you what those actually sound like, why the Emperor has no clothes, and how to start without making it weird for your team.
If you've been having the "we should do this" conversation for months and nothing's happened yet - hit play.
LINKS MENTIONED:
julie@vetclinicjobs.com
Struggling to get results from your job advertisements?
If so, then shining online as a good employer is essential to attracting the types of veterinary professionals who're a perfect cultural fit for your clinic.
The VetClinicJobs job board is the place to post your next job vacancy - to find out more get in touch with Lizzie at VetClinicJobs
Julie South [00:00:04]: Welcome to Veterinary Voices: Culture storytelling conversations that help vet clinics hire great people. I'm Julie South and this is Episode 248.
Veterinary Voices is brought to you by VetClinicJobs, the culture storytelling platform for forward-thinking vet clinics.
Julie South [00:00:24]: Last week we talked about the simple weekly routine that keeps you seen, visible to future teammates. And while the boring, blurred, ordinary moments you're dismissing are exactly what builds trust.
This week: what does that actually look like? And why haven't you started it yet?
Stay to the end and you'll see why the water cooler conversations you've been having are costing you hires right now.
Julie South [00:01:00]: Right now, somewhere in your city or on the other side of the world, even a vet or a nurse who could be your kind of people is googling your clinic.
They find bios written for clients, social posts about puppies and vaccination reminders. Nothing showing what it's actually like to work there.
So they move on to the next clinic.
Julie South [00:01:24]: While you're still having the same water cooler conversation. Something along the lines of, "Yeah, we really should start showing people what it's like here."
Does that sound familiar?
That vet who could have been on your shortlist next month? Well, they're now looking at someone else's clinic. Someone who didn't stay dark. Someone who was out there telling Culture Stories.
Julie South [00:02:00]: Maybe you have started. Maybe you saw other clinics posting about their teams and thought "that's what we should do."
"Team attended mental health workshop today. Key takeaways included stress management techniques."
"Celebrated Veterinary Nurse Day with morning tea. Morale remains high."
And you think "that must be what a Culture Story is."
Julie South [00:02:30]: Actually, it's not.
That reads like a meeting memo type post. That clinic is struggling too. The one you're trying to follow, to imitate - that clinic's struggling too. But at least they're doing something to tick the box.
So you either copy them and sound equally corporate and boring, or you maintain the status quo and do nothing because you haven't got an award-winning photo to go with it.
We talked about the problem of award-winning photos last week in Episode 247.
Julie South [00:03:00]: Everyone's fumbling around trying to do Culture Storytelling, but no one's told the Emperor he has no clothes.
Most of it sounds lifeless, corporate, boring. It doesn't do anything to make a future vet or a nurse think, "Those are My Kind of People. That is My Kind of Clinic."
But it's not anyone's fault because no one has a model of what a good Culture Story actually looks or sounds like.
Julie South [00:03:34]: Here's what good Culture Storytelling does sound like. And it's the difference between a meeting memo type post and a Culture Story.
A meeting memo type post will read something like or sound something like: "Team attended CPD on dental procedures today. Key learnings included advanced extraction techniques. Professional development remains a priority."
Boring.
Julie South [00:04:00]: A Culture Story, on the other hand, will read something like this: "Jake came back from his dental course today buzzing. Spent lunch showing everyone the new technique. Sarah's already volunteered her dog as the first patient."
One sounds like an agenda item and the other sounds like real human beings who actually like working together.
You can see the difference. It's personality. Not case notes, not corporate speak, just how you'd tell a friend about your day.
That's what makes someone think "I could work there because they are My Kind of People."
Julie South [00:04:51]: But because you've spent your career writing clinical notes and client communications, writing with personality possibly feels maybe a little unprofessional. Or it feels wrong, like you're breaking some kind of code.
You literally don't know how to write this because no one's shown you.
Julie South [00:05:11]: Your team already knows that you should do this. Remember the water cooler conversation? "We really should show people what it's like to work here."
They've said that. Not you. Or maybe you as well. Them. All of you. You've said it before, you've heard it before.
Your team knows your culture is worth talking about. They know the moments that happen every day that make your clinic different.
And now it's time to take the lead and just do it.
Julie South [00:05:42]: Tell your team what you're going to start doing. Remind them about all the times you've talked about showing people what it's actually like to work here.
So you can say something like, "We're going to start doing it. Yes, it's going to feel weird at first. Bear with me."
Then start noticing. When Sarah covers a shift without being asked. When Jake mentors a nervous new grad. When the team rallies for a closing time emergency, notice it out loud. "That's worth sharing."
Julie South [00:06:09]: Pick whichever starting point feels least awkward. Monday morning tea, Friday wind down reflection. Or designate one person as the "noticer" for the first month.
But just start.
At first, they'll look at you a bit funny. And then by week three, someone hopefully will start mentioning a moment unprompted. By week four, it just becomes normal.
Julie South [00:06:45]: But you still can't do this alone. Even when you start capturing moments, you still don't know how to write them without sounding like a meeting memo type post.
And you still don't have anywhere permanent to put them. You can post on social and watch them disappear into the void where no one looking can find them six months from now.
Or you can work with someone - ta da! - who knows what good Culture Storytelling looks like, how to write it so that it sounds like you, and then where to put it so that it's actually there when vets and nurses go looking.
Julie South [00:07:20]: And if you're thinking "yes, that's us, we've been talking about this for ages and haven't done anything yet because we don't know where to start," then please get in touch.
Email me julie@vetclinicjobs.com or message me on LinkedIn. Links will be in the show notes for you.
Because while you are having the conversation, vets or nurses who are Your Kind of People have no idea you exist.
Julie South [00:07:51]: Let's have a quick recap.
While you are having those water cooler conversations, vets and nurses who could be Your Kind of People have no idea you exist.
The bland team posts you've seen from other clinics aren't Culture Stories, they're meeting memos.
Good Culture Storytelling sounds like real humans.
Your team already wants to do this, but you can't do it alone because you don't know how to write with personality or where to put your stories permanently.
Julie South [00:08:20]: Next week in Episode 249, we'll talk about when your team becomes your best recruiters, your best advocates, and how to create Culture Stories they're proud enough to share on their own profiles.
This is Julie South signing off and inviting you to go out there and be your most fantabulous self. Because you're no longer copying bland meeting memo posts. You know what authentic and genuine Culture Storytelling sounds like and you're ready to show vets and nurses who Your Kind of People really are.
