Achieving Employee Buy In on New Pharmacy Technology

A couple of weeks ago I shared an infographic that gave you 12 simple steps for selecting a new pharmacy point-of-sale provider.  Hopefully that’s a tool that can help you make the right decision as you work to improve your pharmacy business.  But once you select your new system, you may still have a major hurtle to clear. Getting buy in from your pharmacy employees is essential, but it’s easier said than done.

During the purchase process, you may have involved your store manager, or bookkeeper to make sure that the pharmacy POS system you bought met their needs.  But you likely didn’t ask every clerk or pharmacy technician for their opinion on the matter.  Nor should you have really.  Your store management staff should have an idea of the difficulties that staff face every day and be able to communicate that to you and your prospective vendors to find a solution.  Too many differing opinions can really only cause trouble in the evaluation and purchasing process.

However, when it comes to implementing and using your new POS system, your employees can put a major damper on your plans to streamline processes and increase efficiency if they don’t buy in to the changes you are making.  That’s why even though you didn’t involve all of your staff in the decision to purchase a new POS system (or any new pharmacy technology) it’s imperative that you get them on board before you go too much further.  Here are some ways to help your employees, and by extension your pharmacy, get the most out of any new systems you implement.

• Help employees understand your motivation: Sharing your goals with your pharmacy staff is a great place to start. Most people don’t respond well to change for the sake of change but if you let them know why you feel it’s necessary they’ll be much more willing to keep an open mind.   Let them see what you’re trying to achieve.  If your employees can see and empathize with problems caused by the status quo, they’ll be much more likely to accept the change.
• Let them know you kept their needs in mind: At some point before you purchased a new POS system, it’s likely that some, if not all of your staff members came to you with some concern or issue with current processes and procedures.  It could have been a big motivator in your actual purchase decision, even if they don’t know that.  Get specific with which concerns you’re trying to address with the change and provide examples of what tasks will become easier with the new system.
• Provide adequate training: This is the big one. If your pharmacy employees don’t understand how the system functions and the best way to use it, they will never become comfortable.  They’ll never experience success with the new processes.  A lack of understanding will lead to frustration which will lead to resentment.  All of which will impact your customers and your bottom line negatively.  So don’t try to skimp on the training.  It’s important because it allows both you and your employees to learn how the system works first hand from an expert.   In addition to your initial setup and training, you should plan for ongoing training in the future to keep up on new features and to help acclimate new employees.

You have to be able to depend on your employees.  But your employees have to be able to depend on the technology you provide for them.  Give them the best chance to succeed by not compromising when it comes to choosing your Pharmacy POS. invest the time to make sure they know where you’re coming from when you make major changes in the pharmacy.   It’s worth the investment.11111