Did you know that comparison can be the thief of joy? Whether in our personal lives or
professional lives, we can get hung up on looking at our neighbors or other facilities and spend a lot of time trying to copy the mold. However, we have to keep in mind that aiming to be someone else or to recreate their very facility, can be very daunting. It is also an impossible task. Rather than try to copy it, try to gather inspiration to collect ideas and desire to strive toward your facility’s best case scenario.
What factors do we look at when it comes to comparing our facilities?
Size / Setup
Every facility differs in their size and layout. Things like square footage, walls or rooms, inside space, outdoor space, etc. have a great impact on facilities and how they operate. When it comes to purchasing or renting facility space it is important to look at your space and aim toward maximizing the space you have. This might mean getting creative with your set up such as creating movable walls and barriers or adjusting your services to find a balance between delivering to your clients and getting the most out of your space.
Capacity
Services are going to greatly vary depending on capacity limits, which directly relates to size and setup. Laws vary by location and are ever-changing. Capacity can affect what services are best fit for your location and facility. It is going to be important to get familiar with your capacity limits and looking at your numbers on a regular basis. When we keep an eye on capacity and strive to make the most out of it, we create a better measure of success.
Overhead
Each facility is going to differ on their overhead costs. Some facilities have rent to make, others have loans to pay off, while others don’t have those costs to factor in anymore. Overhead costs have a great impact on how your facility operates, looks and functions. Having those numbers accessible and going over them on a regular basis is going to allow for a more effectively run operation. We have to know what money is needed, where it is going and where money is expendable at different times.
Turnover / Attrition Rate
Turnover rates are naturally high in this industry, with some facilities having higher turnover rates due to location, seasonal work, etc. While aiming for a low turnover rate is ideal, we have to look at what factors within the business affect that. Facilities are going to differ in the balance of size of staff and the frequency of hiring. Another factor we have to consider is the resources that are needed to onboard new staff and the time it takes to train employees for needed positions.
Aside from the factors on the business side, there are many factors on the dog side of things that are easy to compare.
Pass / Fail Rate
Every facility needs dog attendance. When it comes to evaluating dogs, factors that affect the rate in which we are passing / failing dogs may include demographic, facility size and capacity limits, staff turnover and experience, seasonal peaks, current group dynamics, planned frequency of visits, etc. When expanding clientele and evaluating new dogs for the facility, it is going to be important to look beyond the new client walking through the door. There are several factors that can and should influence our intake decisions. Wise practice includes making decisions based on what we want the facility dynamic to look like.
Level of Noise
Every dog facility is going to experience noise. How much noise is “normal” or acceptable can vary greatly. Factors that can influence noise perception include facility location and layout, acoustics and building materials, group sizes and energy levels, dog demographics and ages, number of dogs and capacity, number of employees, etc. It should be a common goal to minimize nuisance noise and improve facility conditions for both dogs and staff. However, we have to have an understanding of our facility’s unique factors and how they should influence our actions toward noise management.
Arousal in Group
How much do we let go in our groups? How active is too active? When we are working with groups of dogs interacting with one another, our first priority has to be safety. When finding our facility’s best case scenario with play and arousal in group, we need to look beyond letting dogs be dogs. Factors that influence safety within arousal in groups can include: number of groups, space and setup, dog to handler ratios (laws or not), number of employees, attrition rates, dog demographic, personalities and play styles, staff training, etc. It is going to be important to build expectations for both the dogs and handlers in the group. How our groups interact and how much stimulation is encouraged should also be influenced by those variables after we measure them.
It is important to consider all of the variables, both in and out of your control. When looking toward growth or making changes, we have to do so with our facility’s specific potential in mind.
How exactly do we look at and understand those variables?
Having eyes on your business from an outside perspective can be very helpful. When working on our own facilities, sometimes we end up with tunnel vision when it comes to ideas and best practices. It is common to become ‘kennel blind’, where stepping out of your space to observe others, or inviting others into your space to observe, can help refresh and move the needle in the right direction. Comparison can be a powerful tool when kept in check, and looked at through the right scope.