Good Ways to Motivate and Engage Employees: A Pharmacy Student's Perspective

      When you are put in a position of power, whether you properly motivate your employees or not can be the difference between having a business that is successful and one that fails.  Employees are the face of your company and if you work in a retail setting where they are engaging with patients all day, then it is beneficial to have them know that their role is very important.  An employee that isn't appreciated will soon loose the drive to complete good quality work and just try to get through the day.  Setting up a rewards system is a great idea to let employees know that their work is appreciated.  Let's say you work at a retail pharmacy and an old woman gets a lot of items from the front store before purchasing her prescription.  One of your cashiers offers to carry the bags to her car which is above expected customer service.  This type of action needs to be pointed out and rewarded because it will let your employees know that customer service is at the helm of your business and is very important to go above and beyond in this area.

       Another area where rewards should be handed out regularly is when a employee does something out of the norm in a good way for another coworker.  We want to establish a work environment where coworkers respect and appreciate themselves which will increase workflow and efficiency.  An example of rewarding coworkers is the RAPTAR (recognition, appreciation, praise, treat associates with respect) system that Rite Aid implements which allows coworkers to reward other coworkers when they go above and beyond. Another way to motivate employees is to give them additional responsibilities.  Some will appreciate the opportunity to broaden their role at the office.  I know when I am taught to do something new at my place of work, it gives me pride knowing that they selected me for the task and I want to show them that they made the right decision in trusting me with the responsibility.  The last way to motivate employees that I will mention is as simple as listening to them.  Let them voice their opinions about their work-life situations and what their recent stresses are.  Knowing that they can trust their boss to help them through hard times by actively listening will increase employees respect for their manager.



      Properly engaging with employees is also an important realm in leadership that should be discussed.  A key point to make here is that there needs to be a fine line between being friendly and being too friendly with your employees.  Listening to them and carrying on conversations during the job is good up to a point but once it gets in the way of productivity then it needs to be addressed.  Being best friends with employees will lead to complications that are not easily overcome in the work place.  It is essential to have good relations with your employees as you want to maintain a healthy work environment while also having them respect you.

      You should not only engage with an employee when they do something wrong.  Although it is key to give out constructive criticism as it will help them improve, this will result in them feeling like a subordinate compared to you.  This isn't what any employee wants and it will negatively effect their quality of work and view on their position.  When engaging with an employee about a mistake, make sure to handle it in a professional and calm manor as you don't want this to disrupt work flow.  It is crucial to address accomplishments and good deeds by employees because this will show them that their work is appreciated which will improve their quality of work.  All in all, being a good leader involves properly engaging and motivating your employees so seek opportunities to improve these leadership skills in your work place.