Veterinary technology company, Vet-AI, has increased its staff team by 54% in the last 12 months in response to the rising demand for its services.
The vet-tech firm is behind Joii Pet Care, which allows pet owners to access digital veterinary consultations and a free symptom checker via its app. Vet-AI is also leading the way with its AI technology and has a team of experts continually developing innovations to predict and solve pet health issues.
38 new team members have been recruited to the team in the last year, half of which are RCVS-registered vets and vet nurses. Alongside clinical recruitment, the business has also welcomed several tech experts and bolstered its senior team with the creation of new roles including Chief Operating Officer and People Director.
Vet-AI’s mission is to provide accessible, affordable and preventative veterinary care alongside easing pressure on veterinary professionals. 24/7 vet app Joii Pet Care, which gives pet owners the chance to access veterinary care at home, now has 282,000 pets registered and its daily consultation numbers have more than doubled over the last couple of years.
The business is scaling-up to meet the demands of the rise in pet ownership across the UK and to offer the very best, innovative technology. Earlier this year, Hill’s Pet Nutrition and Correlation One Holdings invested in Vet-AI to continue to open up access to preventive vet care.
Vet-AI now employs more than 110 people worldwide and has adopted a skills-first approach to recruitment, helping to attract and retain top talent. This has been especially effective for tech and vet roles, while also giving employees flexibility in order to support their mental health and wellbeing. It allows the vet team to work remotely with a ‘follow the sun’ approach to shifts – reducing the need for night shifts in the UK while offering a 24/7 service for customers.
In recent months, Vet-AI has spent time surveying and speaking with the whole team to understand what support they need in both their work and personal lives to fulfil their roles. The business has created a number of innovative policies including supporting staff through the menopause, offering equal parenting leave, supporting the trans community, bereavement, and much more.
Laura Stocker, People Director at Vet-AI, said: “Vet-AI is committed to improving the wellbeing of animals and it’s critical we look after our fantastic staff teams to do this. With startling high suicide rates showing that vets are four times more likely to take their own lives than other industries, and many leaving the profession due to stress, we’re committing to the welfare of everyone who works for the company.
“We’ve seen tremendous growth in the last year to support the growing demand for services. We are planning to make further clinical and non-clinical hires in the coming year and will continue to recruit to more roles in future years. Core to this will be our excellent packages of support for team members who can enjoy working for a forward-thinking value-driven business absolutely aligned to making sure humans and animals are well supported.”
Vet-AI was founded in 2017 by entrepreneur Paul Hallett in partnership with veterinary surgeons Dr Robert Dawson and Dr Sarah Warren. The trio set out to improve engagement and access to veterinary care and since launching its revolutionary app Joii Pet Care.
Paul Hallett, co-founder, said: “It’s been a good year in which we’ve welcomed so many fantastic people to the business who are helping to make a difference to pet owners by delivering expert vet care alongside innovative technology. We look forward to continuing to invest in our people and giving them opportunities to have extremely rewarding, fulfilling careers.”
