A motivated workforce leads to enhanced productivity and positive results for any business. And employees are motivated not only by personal gain, but also by feeling part of the pharmacy and contributing to its goals.

Many employers just try to ‘engage’ their staff. Many see it as an abstract management term and irrelevant to daily business. But can you afford not to engage your team?

How engaged are you?

You will find it hard to motivate your team if you are not engaged yourself. A good leader works by example. If you are demotivated, you cannot expect to inspire others. Who wants to follow an employer who persistently talks about their problems and how bad business is?

Employees will understand the current challenges, but there has to be some light at the end of the tunnel. So let’s assume you’re engaged, but you have decided that there is work to do to re-engage members of your team. There are a number of areas you can focus on to enhance motivation within your team.

Individuals make a team

The employees in a pharmacy will all differ in their skills, attitudes, personalities and behaviours. Some just like to work 9am to 5pm, but are hard-working and diligent. Others aspire to a career path.

Appreciating the differences between staff members will allow you to tailor workloads, training and development, communication pathways and performance assessments. Not recognising these differences is a recipe for failure.