The unfortunate truth: every pharmacy staff member is replaceable

This sounds harsh, but it often goes unrecognized so here it is straight: no matter what your pharmacy role is, you are replaceable. While you may not imagine that someone else is capable of taking over your job, there is. If you think your exit from your pharmacy will result in its closing, you are wrong. 

People are undeniably a pharmacy’s most valuable asset. Without a staff of great people surrounding the pharmacist, the operation crumbles. However, there is an unfortunate truth that comes with this way of thinking.

More frequently than we realize, valuable individuals get to a point in their career where they believe, because of their extremely high value, they cannot be replaced. This is where their ego takes them down a dangerous path. It is at this moment where they begin a downward spiral towards either leaving their job or losing it.

Where’s the evidence and why does it happen?

Colleagues begin thinking they are not replaceable when they say things like, “They are lost without me, I do all the work, I’m the only one who can get it done, I do way more than others, this place cannot run without me.”

Somewhere along the growth curve from newbie to veteran, they undergo a change of attitude. Instead of recognizing the work of others, they believe they do more. This sours them and they begin distancing themselves from others. They go from providing solution-based critiques to complaining about people. They fixate on how others make mistakes or about how others do not pull their weight.

They become jaded, upset by the repetitive scenarios in the pharmacy day and do not seem to put in as much extra effort as they once used to. They then aim to make their perceived higher value evident to the leader, thinking they deserve higher compensation and mistakenly believe more money will make them feel better.

They seek preferential treatment and may even behave as though some of the rules do not apply to them. They see themselves as higher than the team although they talk about teamwork and togetherness.

The goal in building culture is to empower people while ensuring they keep their ego in check. Build succession plans so that there are back-ups to the most experienced staff members, with vacation as an excuse. Delegate teaching assignments to those at risk of the mental spiral so they can spread their knowledge and skill instead of hoarding it. Correct any comments of favouritism by openly explaining that everyone on the team is important and capable of progression.

Once they see themselves over the cause, they begin a dangerous mind trap of thinking they are irreplaceable. I have witnessed pharmacy assistants, technicians, pharmacists and managers think their resignation would result in the pharmacy's closing.

Help them before they quit.

Hire Jason for a VIP Day where he evaluates the resignation risk of your staff and works with you to build a plan to prevent (or treat) the downfall. Explore more here.