The key to growth isn’t hiring, it’s retention

Finding staff to work is an issue that has plagued pharmacies for years. From my personal experience, newer grads are more particular about what they want from their work and will reject a job offer if the working hours are not aligned with their ability to live a balanced life. On the other hand, more tenured pharmacists may be resistant to changes required because of technological updates, or increasing expectations from a new employer. Factor in a decrease in the number of qualified candidates, and these problems have become more prevalent.The downstream impact of staffing shortages includes customer dissatisfaction through longer wait times, and pharmacy managers and owners taking on increased workloads while also needing to take on the new responsibilities required as a byproduct of expanding their services. The combination of these factors, while also balancing the needs of their staff, customers and corporate expectations, creates increasing pressure that contributes to the high rates of burnout we see among managers in our profession. As we have spoken about previously, burnout is a combination of physical exhaustion, mental disengagement from work and a resultant decrease in professional efficacy. If you are a pharmacy manager or owner, you may have had to deal with disengaged staff. The roots of disengagement can vary, but often include poor management practices, lack of meaningful recognition and unclear career advancement paths. Ensuring engagement is not about making employees work harder, but about creating an environment in which your team members want to grow. This cultural shift has many benefits including;decreased turnover, saving you time and moneystaff taking on expanded roles, thereby lessening your workloada renewed sense of positive energy in your team, translating into improved customer serviceincreased profitability. Addressing disengagement requires a proactive approach. A useful tool for doing this is to conduct “stay interviews.” These interactions help managers and owners identify both the reasons why employees remain at your pharmacy and what might cause them to leave. Moving away from top-down communication helps build a culture that encourages honest and transparent two-way communication. It also shows employees that as a leader, you are willing to listen to what matters to them and are committed to taking action based n their feedback.Examples of questions to ask during a ‘stay interview:’What excites you most about your work each day? By bringing their motivation to the forefront of the conversation you can uncover their interests which can improve their engagementHow do you feel we do at celebrating and recognizing your accomplishments? One of the most important characteristics of an engaged worker is that they feel respected and valued by their employer. Be open to listening to ideas employees have about being recognized. As with love languages, employees have different ways of feeling appreciated. For some employees, words of affirmation in front of your team or a personalized card may be more meaningful than a gift card to Starbucks which you may currently be offering and vice versa.How well do we support work-life balance? A recent study from FlexJobs showed that 73% of the workforce identified work-life balance as one of the most critical factors they consider when evaluating a new job opportunityWhat professional growth opportunities have you participated in? A recent LinkedIn learning report found that 94% of employees would remain in their current role longer if their company had invested in their professional developmentHow can we make your work more meaningful? As managers, sometimes we think we know our employees but this question often yields surprising responses including feedback on management styles. (The power of meaning in life is best illustrated by Viktor Frankl’s book, A Man’s Search for Meaning.) What keeps you up at night, as it relates to your job? This question is kept towards the end because an employee needs to start sharing before they may be forthright with what is their biggest pain point. Sometimes they will give you some common complaints, but going deeper with this question and addressing it can turn an underperforming employee into one of your champions. What skills or qualities do you have that we have not fully leveraged? This helps managers align future projects with untapped skills that employees already have. These may not require further training and can save your team time and money.Going deeper on the work-life balance piece, here are some practical, easy-to-implement ideas to show your team you care.Instead of buying sugary cakes and cupcakes when it’s someone’s birthday, buy them a book to help them growOrganize a team-building activity like volunteering at your local food bank or youth shelter. This brings your team together for a common purposeCreate a suggestion box that you actively read and ensure that ideas that have originated from your staff are put into actionEncourage micro-breaks with your pharmacists. This can consist of 2-3 five-minute breaks throughout the day that provide welcome physical and mental relief without significantly disrupting workflow.Explain how team members can implement the 20/20/20 rule. This decreases eye strain from staring at the computer. Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.Teach your team members how to do easy-to-use breathing exercises like box breathing (4-second inhale, 4-second hold, 4-second exhale, 4-second hold) to reset themselves after challenging conversations or situationsManjit Hansra is the founder of Rx for Renewal (www.rx-renewal.ca). Through keynote speaking, 1:1 coaching, corporate wellness programs and curated retreats, he shares evidence-based and practical tools to help pharmacy organizations and pharmacists prevent and manage burnout. Subscribe to his weekly newsletter HERE.

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