Coping with Pharmacy Staffing Shortages

These days, nearly all businesses are facing staffing challenges, and pharmacies are no exception. A term that most have heard by now “the great resignation” refers to people that have quit their job since the spring of 2021. The pandemic has aided in people and employees re-evaluating the life that they want and how they want to work. Relief work can be a great way to fill schedules and maintain flexibility. Read these creative tips below to help you prepare and cope with any staffing challenges you may experience.

• Organize (and prioritize) your workload
  Take a few minutes at the start of your shift to look at the priorities for the day. Properly focusing on one thing is better than ineffectively dividing your attention between many things. Doing this will also help you to establish where you can delegate and where you will need to fill staffing gaps.

• Communicate (and listen) effectively
  Communicate clearly so that your staff knows the plan for surviving a staffing shortage. Support each other and show empathy to team members while navigating a stressful situation. Listen to your staff if they make suggestions or push for additional resources to improve customer experience. Using a platform like Relief Buddy is quick, easy, and efficient. In just a few seconds, you can post a shift to find someone that will alleviate tasks from overwhelmed staff.

• Fill staffing gaps with relief workers
  It can be difficult to keep up with staffing shortages. Leveraging resources and relief workers through Relief Buddy can help fill gaps and relieve stress. We have recently made enhancements to the platform that include giving pharmacies the option to accept applicants at a rate the relief worker requests. We believe that this new feature will allow pharmacies to fill gaps faster when faced with a staff shortage in this competitive environment.

There is no doubt that facing a staffing shortage is stressful. It can be tough to take additional time to set your pharmacy up for success; Relief Buddy can help. By leveraging these tips and tools you will find it easier to overcome these temporary obstacles in your pharmacy.

Source: Canadian Healthcare Network