Behaviour Change in Veterinary Teams (and Beyond)

In the world of animal health and welfare, one common factor is that there’s no such thing as a “straight-line” career for most veterinary professionals. And so as I'm sat having a coffee and catch up with Human Behaviour Change for Life (HBCL) cofounders Jo White and Suzanne Rogers it's wonderful to hear how they have blended the world of human and animal behaviour to strip back their teaching into the most digestible forms.

For Jo White and Suzanne Rogers, co-founders of Human Behaviour Change for Life, their journeys have been—by their own admission—“wiggly.” But those winding paths have led them to a shared mission: understanding how human behaviour shapes outcomes for animals, teams, and organisations.

And that’s where things get interesting.

🐾 From Animal Welfare to Human Behaviour

Like many in the veterinary and animal health space, Jo and Suz didn’t start with human psychology as their primary focus. Their backgrounds span:

• Equine and animal welfare
• Multi-species work
• Charity, policy, and academic environments

But over time, a key realisation emerged:To improve outcomes for animals, you have to understand humans too! Because whether it’s a pet owner, a vet, or a policymaker, every decision passes through human bias first.

🔄 Why Behaviour Change Is So Hard (Even When We Want It)

We often assume change is simple:

“If people know what to do, they’ll do it.”

But that’s not how humans work.

According to Jo, *"40–45% of our behaviours are habitual These habits are shaped by:

• Evolution
• Life experiences
• Identity and beliefs
• Social norms

So even when motivation is high, change can still feel impossible.

Think about something simple—like going for a run. You know it’s good for you. You might even want to do it. But still… you don’t always just go. That’s because behaviour isn’t just about motivation, it’s about context, capability, and support."*

🚫 The Biggest Myth About Motivation

One of the most common misconceptions?

“People just aren’t motivated enough.”

In reality: Motivation requires both energy and effort. And people are simply too often already over stretched. Competing priorities drain capacity and more importantly, knowledge alone doesn’t change behaviour.

• So, instead, we need to start asking:
• Do people have the skills?
• Do they have the time and resources?
• Do they have the support system?

Without these, motivation alone won’t get results.

🏥 What This Means for Veterinary Teams

Veterinary environments are uniquely complex:

• High emotional load (clients + animals)
• Time pressure and emergencies
• Business pressures alongside care

From the outside, this can sometimes look like “resistance to change.” But Jo urges team leaders to challenge that idea:

“Is it really resistance? Or is there another story behind it?”

Often, what looks like resistance is actually:

• Stress
• Cognitive overload
• Lack of support
• Not understanding the “why”

🧩 The Power of the Whole System

One of the most powerful insights comes from behavioural science research:

Every part of the client journey matters.

In one study:

Patients who received a more thoughtful waiting room experience had better outcomes—regardless of what happened in the consultation.

That means:

• Reception experience matters
• Team interactions matter
• Environment matters

Change is not achieved in one, single moment, it’s grown through collaboration of the whole system and with small consistent shifts.

📩 Want to Learn More?

If you’re in the veterinary space (or any human-facing role) and interested in behaviour change We've recorded a full one hour session with Jo and Suz (coming soon to our podcast series), to have the episode emailed to you directly simply email: naomi@petsapp.com and request: PetsApp Podcast with HBCL. Your can find more episodes from the PetsApp podcast series over on our Podcast page or head over to our Youtube channel, just don't forget to subscribe!