After you have done an interview for candidates for job openings in your pharmacy business and made your hiring decision, the next thing is that the successful candidate resumes work. This new employee is going to work for you and his contribution can make or mar your business and this will depend on how you integrate him into your business. As important as this is, many pharmacy owners treat this aspect with levity.
It is very important that you do a staff orientation for your new staff in order to set a foundation for getting the best out of them. This process is not only for big companies; all businesses which desire to succeed must do this. Below are a few tips for employee orientation.
Make effective use of the first day of resumption. This is very important as the new staff is just coming in and knows just a little about your business. Give your new employee a good welcome. You must be prepared for his arrival. This will further give the employee confidence that the business is a place for him. He will see your business as good place and will convince him to contribute his best to this good place.
Schedule the presentation programme and make the new staff aware of the plan. The teaching must start from the first day. Your staff orientation schedule should be systematic and must cover every part of your business. Your business should have an employee handbook which contains important information about your business; this should be given to the staff on the first day at work.
Share your unique and differentiating factors to your staff. Let him know how your business stands out from your competitors. Explain why your business took those positions of differentiation and demand of him to stand by those positions as long as he is in your service.
Make sure your new employee have a complete understanding of your products and the different departments. Take him round the different shelves and teach him the basics he needs to know about the different things you are showing him.
You should personally introduce the new employee to all the existing workers. Encourage the acceptance of the new staff by the old staff and respect of the old staff by the new staff. Explain the working relationship in your business and let both the new and old staff understand the hierarchy in your business.
Share the vision, mission and culture of your business with your new employees. Get them to imbibe these key parts of your business. This will form the foundation of their loyalty and productivity. This teaching must be done by the pharmacy owner or the manager. You may delegate other activities in the orientation programme but this part must be done by the owner or the most senior in the business.
Give appropriate training to the new staff where necessary. Let them understand their job function and description. Show the new employee how their individual work will contribute to the overall success of the business. Set a minimum standard for the staff and demand that they supersede the expectation.
Explain the dress code and necessary work ethics in your business. If your employees wear uniforms you should give your new employee his and teach him the proper use of the uniform.
The staff orientation programme is an opportunity to put your new employee in tune with your business goals and objectives and get him to buy into your vision. As a pharmacy business owner, you must make effective use of this orientation programme to plant the seed of high performance and productivity. Make sure that for every new employee that comes into your business you must take him through the orientation process.