How do you recognize employees’ hard work and boost morale at your pharmacy?
When employees don’t feel appreciated, they’re more likely to be dissatisfied and leave their jobs. But when they do feel appreciated, employees are more likely to be engaged and motivated at work.
Improve morale and encourage employees to do their best work with an Employee of the Month program.
Follow these steps to implement a successful Employee of the Month program at your independent community pharmacy, adapted from this list of tips from Small Business Trends.
Step 1: Set goals for the program
What do you hope to accomplish by implementing an Employee of the Month program?
For example, maybe you want to improve the customer service in your pharmacy. Or, maybe you’re looking for a way to re-energize your pharmacy team.
Set goals for the program so you can clearly communicate its purpose to your employees and gain insight into how to incentivize them to participate.
Step 2: Establish rules for the program
Set ground rules to ensure the program is fair and so all employees know what to expect.
For example, are all employees eligible (including managers, part-time employees and new hires) to win Employee of the Month? And, can the same employee win Employee of the Month more than once?
You may want to consult with the members of your team to make sure everyone agrees the rules are fair.
Step 3: Decide what the rewards will be
How will you reward the Employee of the Month? Consider switching up the reward to keep employees interested. You can build up excitement for the program each month by announcing what the new reward will be.
Possible incentives include:
- Cash
- Gift cards
- An extra vacation day
- Free lunch from the restaurant of the winner’s choice
Step 4: Determine the criteria for winning
Decide how you’ll choose the winner each month.
And, communicate the criteria to your employees, so they’ll understand what they need to do to become Employee of the Month.
For example, will the award go to the employee who has provided the best customer service or who has had the most positive attitude? Or, will employees be allowed to nominate a coworker based on a specific action or achievement?
Step 5: Decide how you’ll recognize the winner
Once you’ve chosen the Employee of the Month, it’s important to publicize it. The winner needs to be heavily promoted to make the program more effective.
Announce the winner in a blog post, on your social media accounts or in your pharmacy’s monthly e-newsletter to employees.
You can also highlight the winner by adding his or her name to an ‘Employee of the Month’ plaque or wall display in your pharmacy. Take it a step further and create an end cap of over-the-counter products the winning employee recommends each month.
Rewarding your best employee each month will boost morale and motivate your pharmacy team to work harder.
Get more pharmacy tips and advice delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for our e-newsletter.
