If everything in your pharmacy isn’t going smoothly, you might want to reflect on your relationships with your staff and their relationships with one another. Bad working relationships could be holding your pharmacy back.
Agreeable and cooperative working relationships in your pharmacy are essential to business success. The more your employees respect you, the more they’re willing to go the extra mile to help you, whether by sharing their social media expertise or covering an extra shift when someone else is sick.
Positive relationships mean more trust, higher efficiency and a friendlier atmosphere in your pharmacy. Here are four steps to help you build better working relationships.
1. Be interested
Your employees have lives outside of your pharmacy, too. Show interest in them by asking about their families, hobbies, or likes and dislikes. Get to know them, and let them get to know you. Doing so will create better morale.
2. Be positive
For example, if you have trouble with an employee’s behavior, the best way to handle these types of situations is to focus on the positive results that will come when they change, instead of criticizing or scolding them. Be honest about the situation at hand, but never mean or judgmental.
3. Step into someone else’s shoes
A “difficult” employee might just be someone having a bad day. Try to see his or her point of view and to understand that something else might be causing the issue. Take a minute or two to imagine how you would feel and behave if you were in his or her position, and use that insight to deal with the situation.
4. Encourage teamwork and a sense of community
Build your relationships with employees through fun events. Take your pharmacy staff on outings, like a day of volunteering or a night of bowling, to make everyone feel like part of the team.
When you take the steps to build better working relationships, you’re taking steps to improve your business.
