We have often said that your team is your greatest asset. The more you invest in them the greater the return. What is most valuable for the interns and young pharmacists is the guidance and mentorship that the owners can provide. The impact they have on careers at this early stage can be immense. Owners have a key role in the development of their team. Invest in them, train them, develop them and set them up for a rewarding career.
A former mentor of mine once gave me some great advice. It is unrealistic to think an employee will stay with you forever. Employees come and go. What is most important though is everyone in your team leaves in a better position than when they started with you. Whilst we need to have a keen focus on the current team and their development, what we can say for certain is over time things change. People come and go, owners included. We need to have an eye on the issue of Succession.
Replaceability
No business is ever accountable to any individual employee. Certainly, some employees have very important roles. Some employees even try to make themselves indispensable. One thing is certain though, at some stage team members leave and move on. Which is quite okay. So owners need to have a focus on each key employee and train someone else who can fill in if that person leaves, goes on annual leave or needs extended sick leave. I certainly like the concept of bringing in and training up interns as an ongoing policy.
Find the Talent
I know some good owners who have a very keen eye for talent, and they are very good at identifying and fostering that talent too. Which Pharmacy Assistant is your next Retail Manager? Which Pharmacist is your next Dispensary Manager?
You need to know your team, spend time with your team, see them perform in action and see what they are made of. Over time identify who can potentially fill the ranks of a manager and lead a team.
The Next Generation of Owners
Amongst the managers and senior pharmacists you have, there will be the next bright spark who you need to identify as the one who you can bring into your pharmacy as an owner and help you drive it further. In my opinion, every current pharmacy owner needs to be identifying this talent. There is an element of humbleness here. Face it, we are not good at everything and we can’t and shouldn’t be doing everything. Particularly as your pharmacy grows, and as the community pharmacy industry grows and evolves, we need to find someone who can take the pressure off. Someone who can help grasp opportunities, or help run the pharmacy so you can hunt and chase opportunities. At some stage, someone gave you an opportunity and put their trust and faith in you. That has led to you enjoying what you currently have.
At Peak, we are often asked by owners for pharmacists wanting partnership interests.
Ownership Succession
Even us owners come to the end of our time and we must hand the batten onto the next generation. So not only should you be identifying partners, but also identify our successors. Sure, we can always sell on the open market. But we can also have a staged succession plan, where we plan the timing and methodology by which a junior partner can buy you out over a period of time. This can work out very well for all parties. The current owner gets certainty regarding her/his exit strategy, and the junior partner knows they are not going to be stuck on some minor interest forever and a day.
Empire Building
This is often where owners unexpectedly get caught short. Sometimes an opportunity presents itself and we need to jump quickly. But they can’t because they haven’t spent time grooming the next generation of pharmacy owners. Owning 1 pharmacy is difficult, but manageable. Owning 2 pharmacies can be quite tough on your own. If your goal is to build an empire of several pharmacies, then you will be far better off to guide and mentor 2, 3, 4 partners, then 2, 3, 4 groups of staff members. Identify and foster the talent and identify where the next generation of owners are coming from. You never know when an opportunity may present itself and you need to pounce quickly.
At Peak we are also focused on the next generation of pharmacy owners.In 2022 we will be putting together a database of pharmacists who may be interested in partnership opportunities in the future. We have a whole bundle of content on our website, blogs, webinars as well as podcasts, that you will find useful in your journey. To be the first to know when the pharmacist database is going live please register here.