guavaVet recruitment app helps practices and vet professionals connect with the pick of the crop

An app which launched just last year, called guavaVet, is opening up new ways to job search and recruit for veterinary professionals and practices. It allows both parties to enter their details and be matched with suitable applicants or positions. This month, the app has been updated so that veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses, practice managers and receptionists can all access the app through one portal, making it even easier to use.

According to research commissioned by guavaVet, 70 per cent of practices spend over £500 per role when recruiting vets and 42 per cent spend over £500 when recruiting a RVN.* The results also suggest that a significant number of practices may not advertise at all.

There’s also evidence that two thirds of practices recently looking to recruit took more than three months to ­fill their vacancies for veterinary surgeons and 7 per cent were forced to withdraw the role because of a lack of suitable candidates, rising to 19 per cent when looking at small animal practices.**

Vet, neuroscientist and founder of guavaVet, Aubrey Kumm says he identified that recruitment was becoming increasingly challenging in the veterinary world, both in the UK and across the globe and that methods had scarcely changed in decades, “While we saw a shift into online advertising for jobs, the actual mechanics of the process had remained the same. I wanted the veterinary profession to benefit from the same kind of revolutionary thinking that’s changed so much of what we do in the consulting room and operating theatre and apply some of that to recruitment. The app reduces the need to interview unsuitable candidates or for job seekers to travel to be interviewed at practices that don’t meet their needs. When people and practices match on guavaVet it’s clear that they already tick a lot of mutual boxes and are highly compatible.”

Aubrey believes that this new approach to recruitment and jobs searches saves everyone time and money. Veterinary professionals can enter all their details and when they are notified of a job match, just tap their screen to apply. At that point employers are given the applicants contact details so they can connect directly. The app has similarities with other platforms, such as Tinder and Uber which find a real-time ‘best match’. As it is now in active use in South Africa, the UK and Australia, guavaVet is the perfect fit for increasingly mobile professionals and the ‘gig’ economy.

As well as permanent posts, locum posts and student opportunities can be posted and searched for on guavaVet. It’s free for applicants to use and practices can subscribe for a competitive cost with no additional ‘agency’ fees to pay. Aubrey is also currently working with veterinary associations around the world to deliver the benefits of guavaVet to their members. Anyone interested in finding out more can go to www.guavavet.com or can download the app from Google Play or the App Store.

*Qualitative search carried out by Onswitch and commissioned by guavaVet, Jan 2017, capturing 283 online responses from veterinary professionals.

**BVA Voice of the Veterinary Profession survey, 2015