3 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Sending Your Team to a Pharmacy Training

As an independent pharmacy owner, you’re constantly monitoring your bottom line. So when it comes to budgeting for employee training, it may be difficult for you to view it as anything other than another significant expense. But we urge you to reconsider.

Thriving business owners believe two fundamental philosophies:

1. They can’t do it all themselves – they do what they do best and delegate the rest to a capable team
2. Training is an investment – continuously sharpening their team’s skills by investing in team training will add, not detract from the bottom line

However, before you register your employees for a lifetime supply of pharmacy training, the following are three questions to ask yourself. Afterall, not all trainings are created equal and could potentially cause you to waste time, money and efforts.

Question #1: Is the training or workshop relevant to your goals?

In other words, is it aligned with your company’s vision?

As the owner, your first step in building a superstar team is crafting a clear vision that outlines the short and long-term goals for the business and sharing it throughout your organization. Once everyone has bought in on working toward the common goal and its impact, you can determine which steps are required to move toward that vision, which areas may need more support than others.

There are hundreds of trainings available in the market, but knowing which will move the needle on your specific goal is key. After all, you can do anything, but not everything. Overloading on training can have an adverse effect if you’re trying to implement too much at once.

For instance, if your wildly important goal is to set up a bedside delivery service, it’d be key to focus your investment dollars and energy on a training that will show you exactly how to do it, from the in-store operations to agreement, instead of a compounding course

Think about it: Is it better to implement one game-changing strategy full-force and start seeing results or halfway complete two to three projects over 90 days?

Question #2 – Is the training specific to your industry?

You’ve identified that your business will benefit from training, but now you need to choose a training provider. It’s important to remember that not all trainings are created equal. Not only do you want a teacher who is an expert in adult learning and the subject, but also understands your specific industry.

For example, would you rather send your newly promoted manager to a leadership training taught by someone who has never stepped into a pharmacy and the room is filled with customer service reps from tire shops and lawyer firms, or one that is taught by independent pharmacy experts and is filled with other pharmacy professionals? Which setting will foster idea sharing that’s directly applicable to your business and its intricacies?

Question #3 – Is this employee someone you want to invest in?

This one can be tricky. Our business coaches often asked, “What if I invest in this employee and they leave?” While it is a risk, we challenge the sentiment by asking “What if you don’t invest in training this particular employee and they stay?”

As a business owner, the decision of which staff you choose to invest is yours, but if your staff is demonstrating any of the following red flags, it’s likely due to lack of engagement, and it will be toxic to the rest of your team. Investing in training is proven to boost engagement and could turn their behavior around.

Seven ‘Red Flags’ of poor employee engagement:

1. Tardiness
2. Gossip
3. Toxicity
4. Doing a task without understanding why
5. Multiple Mistakes
6. Lack of Respect (for team, customer, business)
7. Employee Theft

What is mediocrity costing you?
When organizations successfully engage their employees, 240% boost in results. [Gallup study] In fact, through the power of PDS Pharmacy Trainings, owners are adding $85,000 in annual profits through Bedside Delivery, $20,000 average annual profit by syncronizing just 100 patients, $175,000 in annual revenue by performing Annual Wellness Visits, and an average of $18,000 in front-end profitability by selling high-end supplements.

Review all of the PDS Training programs and register your team at www.PharmacyOwners.com/TrainingOr, if you’re still not convinced in the impact pharmacy trainings can have on your pharmacy’s bottom line and culture, download our new eBook: Pharmacy Training – A Practical Guide to Creating a Superstar Team.

In this FREE eBook, you’ll learn about…

• Employee engagement and the impact it can have on your business
• Identifying key characteristics to build a superstar team
• Disengaged employees, the key indicators, and the negative impact on your business performance, profit and the connection between the two
• Leveraging professional training programs
• Training courses, workshops, and webinars exclusively available to the pharmacy industry