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The Profit Vault July 2023
The Best Bonuses Should Cost You Nothing
Every Pharmacy Can Benefit From a Bonus Program
If you haven’t hopped on the employee bonus train yet, you may not realize how profitable this program can be for your team and pharmacy. An employee performance bonus program can be precisely what you need to sweeten the deal for new and existing employees. A successful pharmacy needs a fantastic team; a bonus program can help you have just that.
Not only will this enable you to make more competitive offers on what matters most to a candidate but it also creates diversity amongst your employees so they aren’t just comparing who makes more.
Employee Bonus Program Benefits
A great way to add more compensation to current employees (and a secret weapon to retain employees) is through an employee bonus program. Indiscriminate salary increases often create employees who are rewarded only for their tenure rather than their performance or impact on the pharmacy.
Employee Bonus and Benefit Levers
1. The employee directly controls the metrics they are responsible for. Don’t give an employee a goal they cannot control because of their title, position, or schedule. 2. The metric must be easily measurable. If your metrics need complicated calculations or hard-to- get reports, you and your employees won’t have clarity and transparency into the numbers. Ideally, your employees should be able to track their progress to the goal at any time. 3. Achieving the goals should bring additional profit. While there are always outliers in everything, you should be bonusing on tasks and goals that generate additional tangible results for the pharmacy. 4. Don’t bonus for basic performance. Showing up for work on time or not
Retaining critical key employees is a secret weapon of uber-successful pharmacy owners. One of the best ways to keep your employees happy, and therefore your patients happy, is to adjust the employee benefit levers to fit your employees’ needs. Here are the areas you control when it comes to providing complete benefits to your employees:
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Salary
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Insurance
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Commissions
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Schedule
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Bonus
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Perks
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Paid Time Off
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Title/Position
Customize the Levers
My Guidelines for an Employee Bonus Program
The best time to adjust these levers is during the hiring process. You can ask questions to find out what benefits are most important to the candidate. You don’t have to offer all employees the same mix of benefits.
Whatever performance metrics or tasks you ask employees to achieve in order to receive a bonus, I recommend they follow these guidelines:
calling in for two weeks straight is not something you should be bonusing employees for. Those
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4 Rules You Need to Keep in Mind SET YOUR BONUS
PROGRAM UP FOR SUCCESS
2. Partner With Employees Let employees know you WANT to pay them more. Make it exciting that their paychecks could soon be fatter! Be open about where you want your pharmacy to head and how important they are to reach that goal. Talk with each of them to discover their ideas and passions. They are initially invested when they have a hand in creating the program. 3. It’s Not Set in Stone Warning — you won’t get your bonus program perfect the first time! That’s okay. You can change it up every month. Let employees know you are figuring this out with them and you probably won’t get it right the first time. Ask for their input and feedback and be willing to make changes. You might start with team goals and realize that didn’t work. Or you think a task is important for a goal only to find out it’s not. Needing to change your bonus program isn’t a failure. That is just the normal path when creating something new. 4. Start Off Easy There’s a reason transformation programs such as weight loss or exercising start off with quick wins. Winning motivates people to continue the hard work of change. Use this psychology in your bonus program. Make the first 2-3 months easy. Get your employees accustomed to winning and bigger paychecks! Then slowly raise the bar to make bonuses require more effort. Focus can be a magic tool. Don’t overwhelm employees with too many bonus tasks. I recommend starting with 2-3 at the most. You can add more complexity and tasks once you and your employees are seasoned pros.
It can be intimidating to create a program from scratch. That’s why DiversifyRx is here with resources and coaching to help you build a bonus program that works for your pharmacy. Here are four tips to keep in mind when on an employee bonus creation journey. 1. Know Your Goals Spend some time thinking about why you want a bonus program. Is it to attract new employees? Keep your current employees? Build more profits? Knowing your “why” will help frame your entire program and will make task selection easier. What are your overall goals for the pharmacy? Ensure that what you have your employees focusing on is in alignment with your pharmacy business goals.
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Showing Appreciation in the Workplace Through Encouragement and Consideration
you understand and use your employees’ preferred language of appreciation, your workplace culture will significantly improve.
Words of Affirmation
Have you ever heard of “The 5 Love Languages” by Gary Chapman? It’s an incredibly popular book that identifies different ways individuals prefer to give and receive love. You can communicate more effectively with your partners, friends, and family by considering their personal needs and using the language that speaks to them best.
A thank-you note or shout-out from a colleague is quite powerful, but it’s even more effective when it’s specific to an act or moment because it shows you are paying attention to what matters. For your message to be clear, consider describing the situation you’re referring to, discussing the behavior you are looking to celebrate, and highlighting the impact of the behavior on you, the team, and the organization.
But did you know you can apply these same principles to show appreciation and encouragement at work? When
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TAKE A BREAK
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LIGHTEN YOUR LOAD AND UPLIFT YOUR EMPLOYEES
As an independent pharmacy owner, you’re busy. Like, insanely busy. That’s why delegating whatever you can to your employees can become a lifesaver both for your schedule and for team empowerment. How? Well, think about every task you have throughout the day and which ones you don’t necessarily need to do yourself. When you pass these tasks on to your employees, you can free up your schedule to work on more critical concerns while they can expand their skill set and knowledge. Empowering your employees will always be a win-win situation, as not only will they help make operations more efficient, but they will also improve your patients’ experience. When you give your team more autonomy, they’ll be motivated to accomplish their goals and be part of a collaborative effort toward the pharmacy’s objectives. Granting decision-making authority to your employees shows just how much you value their opinions and ideas. Skilled and satisfied employees make for better business and happy customers!
they apply to them. As your employees accomplish these tasks, you can better understand which jobs best apply to every team member.
Always be open to questions and feedback.
Now, the last thing you want is for your employees to feel left in the dark with a new list of unknown jobs. To effectively delegate, you need to ensure each employee is adequately trained to do the task at hand. It should go without saying that you should never assign a task to an employee who isn’t certified to do it! These assigned responsibilities should be reasonable (and legal) for their position level, and you must be an available resource if they have more questions. Finally, be open to feedback! Meetings and regular check-ins should allow your team to share any concerns or ideas for improvement. Without allowing criticism or feedback, then you have just shrugged off your chores. When you allow your employees to be free to share their opinions, you create a collaborative work environment open to improvement. We have tools to help you delegate that also make it easy for your staff to stay on task inside the membership. Lisa’s favorite tool is the controlling calendar. Please schedule a call with Mike or Lisa Baker, and we can help you create an effective delegation program.
Assess your team’s talents.
Not everyone can be held responsible for the same level of duties. After you decide what tasks can be successfully delegated, ask for any volunteers. This will remove any hard feelings of being forced to do extra work, and you can see who will make the extra effort to learn more. You can also see what particular duties they decide to do and what skills
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Staff Meetings That Don’t Suck The Key Is to Make It a Team Effort
In our final piece on the team development pillar, it’s crucial we discuss the importance of staff meetings. While team meetings are a requirement, they don’t have to be boring and, consequently, unproductive. If everyone is mentally clocked out, then is anyone listening? It may seem like an impossible feat, but elevating your meetings is vital to team development and ensuring everyone is up to date on all new processes, company news, and regulations. These meetings should also be a place where every team member can voice their opinions and issues. If you’re wondering how to amp up these meetings, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and start from scratch. Make staff meetings a safe space. No one will want to voice their thoughts if they fear ridicule or criticism. That’s why it’s important to make these meetings safe spaces where everyone should refrain from judgment and always be respectful to their fellow team members.
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Parking lot attendant: This role requires the employee to include any ideas or concerns that need to be addressed later but don’t strictly relate to the meeting’s agenda.
include who, what, when, where, and why.
Set roles for your team to stay involved.
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KPIs: Share all KPIs to update the team on the pharmacy’s progress.
If you want to ensure everyone stays awake, assign different roles to keep employees involved! When everyone has a role in making this meeting happen, they are much more likely to be engaged throughout it. Some examples of different roles include:
Create a thorough meeting agenda.
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Open Floor: A time for open discussion where employees can share any recent concerns, thoughts, complaints, and so on. Shoutout: End on a positive note where team members can recognize their coworkers who have been excelling!
The meeting agenda should map out everything that needs to be announced or discussed. If you’re looking for an agenda example, it might look like this:
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Meeting president: This employee will be the moderator who ensures the meeting is on schedule and all agenda items are discussed.
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Old business: Report anything needing to be shared after the last meeting’s events. Were specific goals set during that meeting met? What changes discussed in that meeting were useful? New Business: The core reason for this meeting includes updates, new events, upcoming changes, etc. To keep communication clear, always
Your team needs to be adequately informed and heard to be the best they can be, and these team meetings are critical for getting them there. Follow these tips and watch your staff meetings transform into a collaborative workplace staple!
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Meeting secretary: Your go-to note taker for the meeting.
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• Meeting treasurer: This employee is responsible for reporting all the necessary KPIs.
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6. They should be realistic. Don’t make an impossible goal. If you want to increase OTCs sales, don’t make a 50% increase goal the first month. You will discourage your employees. 7. Let employees overachieve. I love percentage-driven metrics rather than binary (yes or no) for bonusing employees. 8. You can’t get it all done at once. Employees will have a thousand things to do each month. However, only 2-4 should be items eligible for a bonus. 9. Make it fun! Play games, give away prizes, or have contests! No reason work has to be boring.
are basic performance metrics to just keep their job. You should be looking for performance that is above and beyond.
No pharmacy owner should think, “I don’t have enough money for a bonus program,” because when done correctly, it should make you more revenue, which you can use to pay the bonuses! Scan the QR code to schedule a call with Mike or Lisa B. who can help you craft your own successful bonus program!
5. Ensure employee bonus tasks
are aligned with your goals. If all employees accomplish their goals, then you should achieve your goals for the pharmacy. Everyone should be moving together in the same direction in order to produce dramatic results. COVID TEST
An effective bonus program should never cost you money.
Scan here to schedule a call to create your own bonus program.
HAVE A LAUGH
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Acknowledge Your Team’s Diverse Skills Create a Bonus Program That’s Actually Possible
Compounding Technician
As we continue our deep dive into developing a bonus program, one reminder keeps popping up, which is making the designated goals realistically plausible for every team member. Not every employee interacts with patients, and they certainly don’t all share the same daily duties and responsibilities. When you build your bonus program, it’s vital to reassess every employee’s responsibilities and their realistically achievable goals. The program’s purpose is to enhance team performance, so focus on the tasks you want them to excel in. While not every pharmacy is identical, here are some sample roles and their matching metrics to evaluate an employee’s bonus potential.
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All active formulas updated
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Follow-up calls completed
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Average compounds per day
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Total margin dollars from compounds
Operations Manager
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Net profit dollars
Pharmacist
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Net profit percentage
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Clinical appointment performed
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Total expenses
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Employee overtime usage
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Dollars per transaction
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Number of mistakes caught
Marketer
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Vaccinations given
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Number of new prescribers per month
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Prescriptions left unfilled
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Number of new patients per month
Technician
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Doctor visits completed
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Inventory turns
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Workers’ compensation prescriptions
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Number of input mistakes
Anyone/Team
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Number of sync patients
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Thank-you cards each day
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Number of follow-up calls completed
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Patient referral program
Cashier
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Non-PBM revenue percentage
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OTC dollars per hour
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Number of supplement recommendations
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Inventory value returned
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Customer service score
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Quantity of “item of the month” sold
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CBD sales
Delivery Driver
Of course, these are only examples to help lead you
• Deliveries per day
in the right direction when brainstorming your bonus program. The only way to get the most out of a bonus program and elevate your team is by creating goals specific to your team members and pharmacy that will drive your business forward.
• OTC dollars sold
• Birthday surprises given
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1 How to Encourage Excellence in Your Team 2 Essential Guidelines for Every Bonus Program 3 The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace 4 Delegate Your Way to Peak Productivity 5 Team Meetings Don’t Need to Be a Snoozefest 7 Achievable Goals for Every Role INSIDE THIS ISSUE
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Quality Time
Acts of Service
This language is all about receiving complete and focused attention. This means taking the time for mentorships, checking in meaningfully, and creating moments for teams to connect. For employees who value quality time, having dedicated time to connect and learn from their
Simply picking up an extra coffee for a team member, or alleviating a work task off someone’s plate, shows you care about their overall well-being and brings them joy.
Tangible Gifts
A nice, personalized gift can be a display that you acknowledge your employee’s or coworker’s passions and preferences. The more you converse with them and learn about their personal lives, the easier it’ll be to choose a more meaningful gift and bring a smile to their face.
employers and coworkers can be significantly impactful as they feel seen and heard.
Appropriate Physical Touch
This language can be tricky, but it’s about respecting boundaries. A high-five, fist bump, pat on the shoulder, or a handshake is generally acceptable, but it is best not to assume. Everyone’s level of comfort differs, so always ask before initiating any type of appropriate physical touch. If you take the time to understand your employees’ preferred languages of appreciation, you can communicate more meaningfully and positively.
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