By Grace Dickson, PCCA Director of Human Relations

Whether we realize it or not, every organization has a culture. Culture is created by the enhanced exposure to an organization’s mission, vision and values. If potential employees can see your values and behaviors as a business, this helps set the expectations and provide a positive experience for both current and future employees.

Why a Positive Culture Is Important for Pharmacies

Company culture is important, too. Indeed, a hiring platform and advertising website, highlights this in a recent article, “What Is Company Culture?” The article referenced one of their surveys, stating, “46% of job seekers who considered a job but did not apply to it said they ultimately chose not to apply because they didn’t feel it would be a good culture fit.”1 This reveals that culture is more than salary, benefits and training — it is an experience.

Some of you may read this and roll your eyes. You might think, what happened to the days when people simply came in to do a job and get paid for it? This thought process is not gone; however, it has evolved because people have realized they spend more time working than they do with their friends and families. They therefore want to be a part of a positive experience, and the companies listed as top places to work are the ones who provide that.

In other words, positive culture can make or break someone’s work experience, and it is essential for attracting and retaining the team members that pharmacies need to provide great service to their customers. From the first interview to hiring, training and development, an organization’s culture is a constant presence. In fact, it is present from the very beginning of a company’s story, and it starts with you as a leader.

If you’ve made the decision to be intentional about or to articulate the culture in your pharmacy, it is important to identify what has been laid as the foundation first. This is a way to see where your pharmacy’s culture is at now. The good news is that if your culture is not where you want it to be, you always have the opportunity to change it. Even if your culture is already moving in the right direction, some strategic investments in its future can help to make a strong and positive experience even better for your employees.

3 Elements of a Positive Pharmacy Culture

Though positive cultures consist of many elements, three come to mind as being most important: continuously identifying areas of improvement through open communication, promoting innovation among all teams and self-accountability. Let’s take a closer look at these ways to help you think about the culture in your pharmacy.

Continuously Identifying Areas of Improvement

This begins with listening to your teams and receiving feedback. You can do this by scheduling individual or team sessions as often as once a month or once a quarter. Asking questions such as, “What are the best aspects of your job?” or “If we could change something about what we did as a pharmacy, what would that be?” are essential for gaining candid feedback from your teams. You may be surprised by how much information you will gather during these sessions. Your teams will not only appreciate that you are asking their opinion, but it also shows that you value them.

Promoting Innovation among All Your Teams

When listening for areas of improvement, some of the ideas you hear will promote innovation in some form, whether it be an improvement to a standard operating procedure or holding team-building events to grow together as an organization. You may have quick-win items you could implement right away and some that you will want to wait until later to discuss further. Either way, this is a great opportunity to show your employees that you are listening and that they are making a difference in your organization. Ultimately, this process of not just taking in feedback, but also acting on it and communicating those actions will further encourage your employees to share their ideas for innovations in the pharmacy.

Self-Accountability

You can also move your pharmacy’s culture in a positive direction if you continue to promote and expect self-accountability. This element is sometimes the most challenging because you can always look at someone else for the reason why a process or procedure is not working well. Instead, challenge yourself and your teams to look inward to identify how you all can become better. Cy Wakeman, a bestselling author and leadership consultant, speaks about reality-based leadership and self-accountability. She recommends taking ownership in each situation and asking ourselves, “What do you know for sure?” and “What could you do next to add value?” These two questions eliminate the potential of placing blame on others and encourage self-reflection. If I see how I can be better, then I can mirror that and show others how to be great as well.

Employees need to know they are a part of something bigger than themselves, and when you share the story of your company, your culture is an integral piece of that story. Ensuring that your pharmacy has these three elements will go a long way in developing or reinforcing a positive culture, which in turn can help you attract and retain excellent employees.

Also on The PCCA Blog: How to Build a Strong Culture in Your Pharmacy

Grace Dickson is a graduate of Samford University with a BA in journalism and mass communication and a minor in communication studies. Grace has always had a passion for connecting people with opportunity. With roots in sales, she is skilled in aligning the perfect solution to a person’s goals — and she brings that mentality to corporate recruiting. Grace has a decade of recruiting experience that has grown her into an expert evaluator of skill sets and professional drive. This expertise has benefited PCCA for years as she has sourced the perfect candidates for their jobs. Today, as the Director of Human Relations, she uses an international lens to develop strategy for her U.S., Canadian and Australian teams. She guides their plans for talent acquisition and development, career coaching, refinement of processes and procedures, change and performance management, and much more.

Reference

1. Indeed. (n.d.). What is company culture? https://www.indeed.com/hire/c/info/business-in-culture