Growth is an indicator of business success. When your community pharmacy begins to grow, hiring extra personnel is important. Hiring the right pharmacy staff will eventually save you valuable time and resources and will also yield positive improvements in your business. Having the best team in place will boost staff morale and increase the acquisition of patients. It is never an easy task to hire the right personnel because before offering someone a place on the team, every pharmacy owner will want to be sure that the candidate is a right fit for the position.
It can be a strenuous task to find qualified candidates as you probably already have a busy schedule. Hiring the wrong staff can take a toll on your pharmacy, leading to unsatisfied employees, revenue losses, and staff turnover. In order to hire the right pharmacy staff, you must sift through resumes, dedicate time to interviews, and consult with fellow professionals about your potential employees. The future success or failure of your pharmacy is tied to the hiring process and it is important that you make the right decision.
Network
The most favourable time to search for new pharmacy staff is when you’re really not in need of any. Always be on the lookout for potential hire as this could help you develop connections without having your judgment beclouded by urgency. Build a network of pharmacists whom you get to meet at seminars and training. Proactively discuss the possibility of joining your pharmacy with them at present or in the future. Positions may pop up unexpectedly and getting referrals from employees, pharmacy associations or schools, and even pharmacy owners will help you fill any open positions more easily with qualified persons.
Spell out the job requirements
Whenever positions are open at your pharmacy, clearly defining what is required of potential employees is very important. In order to avoid wasting valuable amounts of time sifting through unqualified applicants, clearly spell out the licenses, abilities or certifications required for the vacant position. This will help ensure that only qualified candidates submit an application.
Develop a process
Your hiring procedure must be streamlined into a standard. Determine the time frame within which applications will be accepted, the specified number of applicants to be interviewed and so on. When you know the exact steps to be taken, you save a lot of precious time. Endeavour to contact references and conduct phone interviews before setting up a face-to-face meeting with the candidate. It is also important to note that asking the wrong questions while conducting phone interviews will eventually lead to you inviting the wrong candidate. Ask questions that help you determine what a candidates career goal are, where they see themselves in future, why they want to work for you, what challenges they expect, and what their strong qualities and weak sides are.
Prepare adequately for the interview
Just as the applicants, you also need to prepare for the interview. Before an interview, carefully review all applications and then come up with a list of questions for the candidates. When you prepare adequately for interviews, it will enhance your organization and enable applicants to recognize your pharmacy as a professional leader.
Adequate preparation will also equip you with knowledge of the details of the potential employee’s resume. Face-to-face interviews assist you in ascertaining if the candidate is the right fit for your pharmacy’s culture and if they will have a good rapport with the pharmacy staff. Meditate on the questions you will throw at the candidate and how such questions will reveal lots about the candidate. Some questions that could reveal the personality of a candidate include: What do your friends think about you? What significant project have you completed? Would you like to ask me anything?
Engage your existing pharmacy staff in the process
The entire hiring procedure may be prolonged and stressful and staff members may provide much-needed assistance. When you engage your team in the process, it will help to relieve you of some tasks that must be carried out in the search for the right candidate. They will also feel appreciated that you considered them important enough to get them involved. So, you could do things like asking some members of staff to join in interviewing a candidate or in reviewing resumes.
Lookup Social Media Profiles
Profiles on social media can reveal so much about a potential candidate to you. A simple Google search or even a glance at what they are doing on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can tell you so much about their attitudes and behaviour in real life and how this will match your team’s values.
Follow up
After the interview, ensure that candidates are followed up. This can be done by sending them an e-mail or giving them a phone call. Most employers neglect to do this and it could speak badly of your professionalism. Whether the candidate will be hired or not, follow them up.
Also, ensure that the hiring procedure is not too prolonged. A delayed process may make a candidate who is qualified to find work elsewhere especially if they are not followed up.
Training of Pharmacy Staff
One of the best assets of any business that aims at providing the best service is its staff. Recruiting qualified personnel is always a continuous process. Set realistic targets, expectations, and the right standards because when employers do not know what the expectations are, they can’t meet them. It is important to monitor your pharmacy team regularly so as to ensure that you have the best persons doing the job.
Pharmacies that are successful today endeavour to envelop strong teams with the right people doing the right job. Developing a strategy for recruitment will enable you to match the right employees with the right jobs which will increase their productivity and commitment.
If you wish to see a free demonstration of our innovative training software, kindly book an appointment with the CEO, Paul Lowndes by clicking the link below:
https://calendly.com/paul-lowndes
This article was written on behalf of Mediapharm by Saam Ali from Pharmacy Mentor.