Each year, the first Friday of March is recognized as National Employee Appreciation Day across all business industries and organizations.

This coming Friday, March 5th, is a chance for pharmacy owners to show appreciation for all of the hard work their teams have been doing.

Especially throughout the pandemic, independent pharmacies have been working in overdrive to protect their communities and continue providing essential services.

Now, we are in the midst of a rush to vaccinate the public, and everyone is relying on pharmacies to help expedite this process.

Whether you’re already vaccinating for COVID-19, planning on vaccinating soon, or maintaining your usual services during this hectic time – all pharmacy employees deserve to be appreciated this Friday (and every day of the year).

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Employee Appreciation Day

Employee Appreciation Day is the perfect opportunity to provide some much-needed relief and show your team that you are thankful for all of their ongoing efforts.

Your employees are one of your pharmacy’s greatest assets. They are the backbone of your business and each individual person brings their own qualities to the table that make your pharmacy thrive.

Employee recognition is proven to be a strong motivational factor and a way to boost morale, job satisfaction, and retention rates.

You know your staff better than anyone else, so you probably have a good idea of what kind of rewards and recognition they would enjoy most. If not, you can always ask them what options are their favorite.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Support local businesses and build your pharmacy’s relationship with them by:
• Providing catered breakfast/lunch from local restaurants
• Providing coupons/gift certificates for local businesses
• Take everyone’s coffee order and go to a local coffee shop
• Get an assortment of desserts from a local bakery
• Decorate the office and make it feel festive
• Have a casual dress day or pajama day
• Create fun ‘treat’ bags with an assortment of gifts
• Have an awards ceremony with superlatives – ask everyone to submit their nominations and votes, then print out the awards and read them out loud (ex: Hardest Worker, Most Likely to Make You Laugh, Best Attitude, etc…)
• Measure the impact your team has made on the community and share with everyone for a feel-good moment (ex: number of Covid-19 vaccines administered so far, positive online ratings and customer reviews, etc…)
• Write a handwritten thank you – this goes a long way because it is heartfelt and personal. Write a card or even a personalized sticky note on each person’s desk with a shoutout of why you appreciate them

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Get Inspired

Get inspired by Bianca Bradshaw, owner of Elmore Pharmacy. She’s always finding the lighter side of things and thinking of ways to relieve pressure and keep her staff smiling.

Use a combination of these ideas or just get inspiration for your own unique ideas – at the end of the day, it’s the thought that counts!

Put yourself in your employees’ shoes, and you’ll know what they would appreciate most. The main point is to make this day all about them. They’re always putting their patients and community first, so it’s time for them to be taken care of.

This is also a great opportunity for a social media post to brag on your amazing, passionate, hard-working team! Take pictures and post them on your pharmacy’s social media accounts with the hashtag #EmployeeAppreciationDay.

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Show Your Appreciation

Part of successfully managing a pharmacy team is showing appreciation throughout the entire year. It’s important to create a culture of positivity, encouragement, and teamwork.

Always take the opportunity to recognize employees for their achievements and highlight people who go above and beyond to reach a special goal.

By instilling this recognition and encouragement as part of your team dynamic, employees will feel motivated and satisfied in their work and it will inspire them to be more encouraging amongst each other as well.

Having a strong team as the base of your pharmacy will set you up for success in all aspects of your business.