Attending the recent inaugural Pharmacy Owners Congress in Byron Bay, a common theme amongst Pharmacy owners was how do we attract and retain the right employees for our business?
Talented and high performing employees are instrumental to business success - and with more management focus than ever before on retaining great employees, many pharmacy employers are left wondering: Why are our retention rates and loyalty so low? Why is it so difficult to find the right employees?
Mindset
To begin with, it is vital that you actually believe that there is an abundance of good employees for your pharmacy. The chances are what you believe and think, is often what you will attract. So, if you don’t have faith that there are talented employees for your organisation, it’s likely that will prove true.
What is your employment brand?
Employment brand you ask - what does this mean? Employment brand is the employment experience offered to employees and it all begins with existing employees and then extends to prospective employees. The first step is to build up your employment brand with your existing employees and understand what makes your talented employees satisfied and how to nurture them. The second step is honesty and delivering on promises. There is no point making a promise if you can’t deliver on it. Your employees may feel misled or lose faith in you and your organisation; ultimately it may be difficult to retain them long term.
Do you have active listening skills?
To build a great employment brand, a key step is spending time listening to your employees and their ideas. By actively listening to your employees it fosters a culture of appreciation, respect, positivity and effective communication. You will also be able to gauge what is important to each individual employee and therefore manage them on a more personalised level.
Involving your employees
You have listened to your employees, now by incorporating some of your employees’ ideas, they will see your commitment to their suggestions and will further enhance team spirit. It is team spirit that is attractive to employees, causing them to want to stay and be part of your pharmacy - the flip side is that it also helps you to attract good employees when you are seeking to hire.
Strong leadership
A big impact to the retention of your high performing employees is quite often the calibre of leadership in your organisation. Many research studies show that one of the main reasons why employees leave an organisation is due to poor management or leadership. Generally, organisations that strongly perform are those which constantly measure, reward and challenge their employees.
Reward where reward is due
It is vital that you are prepared to reward high performing and dedicated employees. This includes verbal recognition, acknowledging achievement in your organisation, and remuneration packages that reward performance. Keep in mind that some employees are not always looking for monetary reward but rather career progression, secondment opportunities, training and skill development, or subsidising further study.
Success breeds success
Nothing draws high performing employees more than the opportunity to be part of a successful team. Clearly explain to your employees the goals of your team and how each team member must contribute and perform at their best to be part of this team.
Conclusion
If retention and loyalty are high on your agenda, consider these simple tips as they may make all the difference to your pharmacy in the mid-long term and your bottom line.
By Heidi Dariz, General Manager at Raven’s Recruitment.
At Raven's Recruitment, we’ve been specialising in Pharmacist recruitment for a long time, so we have expert knowledge in the space. If you’re looking for an exciting opportunity to work as a locum pharmacist or want a permanent job, then look no further - get in touch with our Recruitment Consultants now.
