At the time I write this, many owners are doing huge hours. The shortage in pharmacists is putting a lot of pressure on teams, with owners stepping in (once again) to fill the void. I am often having conversations with owners who are doing 70+ hours per week. And the cracks are showing. Stress levels, arguments and mental health issues are popping up more often.
But I want to bring your attention to an issue which I would like owners to consider more. There is an old saying that a business will never run as well as an owner operated pharmacy. It was a commonly held belief which many had experienced in their time. In an interesting observation, in August 2021 I was presenting a session at the WA Pharmacy Forum and was looking at my top 6 performing pharmacies. Of these, 3 were owner operated, 3 were manager operated. So, that old saying doesn’t necessarily ring true when looking at the best performers (granted a small sample size).
What I would like pharmacy owners to think about is, what is an owner’s role? It is not an owner’s role to just be on duty and knock out 200 scripts per day. That is what an employee does. You can hire that (assuming pharmacists are available to hire of course). I do see some owners who spend too much time being an “employee” and not an “employer”. I do understand though, an owner’s presence in the store often brings higher levels of customer service and employee’s compliance with systems and procedures. But at what cost?
What opportunities do owners miss? Being a pharmacist on duty, they are often very busy with scripts, phone calls, customers, vaccinations, managing employee matters, suppliers and on and on. They become so busy doing the things the business does, that they miss the opportunities.
Marketing
Pharmacy owners are traditionally poor with this, often because they are so busy, they don’t give it enough focus. The systems we put in place are easy to follow and get good results, but more importantly do not take much time to do. The growth opportunities the owners are missing out on here are enormous. Whether it be developing websites, social media content, emails to your loyalty program members, it requires attention to be implemented properly and maintained, but the opportunities are huge.
Community Engagement
This is another where the opportunities can be very rewarding, but many owners do not think about this at all. It involves spending time with community organisations, charities, not-for-profits, but most importantly the doctors and health specialists. Relationships often take a lot of work, but you as a business owner has the same needs as everyone else. We all want to be able to help each other and help the communities around us. With that as the basis a lot of opportunities can be created, all with a view to improve the health of the communities around us. Some of the best owners I know spend a good amount of time building relationships in the community and I have seen the financial benefits that have flowed back to the business over time. Community engagement is an important aspect of a pharmacy owners’ role and regular time must be set aside to constantly build these relationships.
The Team
We all know your team is your number one asset, and they need constant reinvestment. A very important part of an owner’s role is team bonding, building culture, reinforcing the values, and constant training and support. This takes time and focus. It is best done when an owner is still very present in the store, but not on duty. This is often the scenario where I see the best teams and the best in-store culture. I have often said, you can feel that culture as soon as you walk into the store. Some stores I have been to you barely set foot into the place and a nice friendly person is saying hello with a beautiful smile and talking with you. Other times I feel like I am just an annoying mosquito.
There are some owners I know that their capability to grow a business is enormous, but to remove them from the day to day busyness of the business is tough. However, when I am able to get them to step away from the dispensary, the business is the one to benefit.
So, what do you need to do if you are a new business owner, spending all your time in the dispensary, and do not know what steps to take?
1. Do an organisational chart showing the key roles in the business. Think of a normal corporate structure
This is a typical organisation chart we have used in our Pharmacy Mastermind program. Note you use roles here, not people. You goal is to eventually find the people who will over time replace you. But it must be planned and budgeted.
2. Think of the opportunities you should be embracing, not the additional wage costs. If you are thinking “oh but my wage costs will go up”, you are missing the point. The key issue here is, where do you need to be spending your time to grow the business. If you are not making more money than what the wage is costing you, then you are probably not using your time effectively. What are the opportunities you should be focussing on, and plan for the implementation.
3. Plan for the transition. It shouldn’t be done too hastily. Budget for the costs but make yourself accountable to get focussed on the most important projects that are going to grow customer numbers and script numbers.
4. Track the numbers. They will tell you the story.
These are some of the key areas we focus on in our Pharmacy Mastermind Program. Make an appointment with me below to talk about how we can help you.
