Improve internal structures. Employees like structure. Typically, they do better if they know exactly what’s expected and exactly what to do. I find that involving them in the process of why the changes are happening makes things go much, much easier, not just delegating these changes to them.
We also use that same kind of technology whenever we have a change in our work flow. We’ll obviously meet with the employees. We’ll explain to them, ‘This is the change; most importantly, this is why we’re making this change.’ And on top of that, we will put some check in place technologywise to ensure that those changes are actually occurring. Maybe it’s as simple as a reminder just saying, ‘Hey, did you put a customer care survey in this box?’ Or maybe it’s something more serious, along the lines of, ‘We’re not even going to let you print a shipping label for this yet because there’s no proof in the system that you’ve talked to this patient yet today.’
We involve our employees in the process as much as we can in the decision-making process. When they ask questions, give them truthful answers. Don’t just tell them to do this and do that. Take the extra time to explain to them, ‘This is why we’re going to do things this way now. This is what we’re hoping to accomplish. Become part of the team and let’s do it together.’
Limit changes. When we’re planning our growth, we look at not only how our process works today but how it would work if we had twice as much business. So we’re not constantly having to go back and redo policy or work flow over and over and over again with employees.
Going from one physical business to two locations was a huge jump for us, and we made lots of changes to accommodate for a second location. When we made lots of those changes, we didn’t account for ever needing a third location. So we basically had to go back and redo everything we had just done. So when we added that third one then, we made sure that as we added future ones on, the systems were in place so that they wouldn’t have to be redesigned.
Just [take] a couple extra days or a couple extra weeks, a little extra thought before you actually implement something. Look at how it would work if you had twice as much business as you do today or twice as many locations as you do today, and take that into account.
How to reach: Commcare Pharmacy, (954) 332-6170 or www.commcarepharmacy.com