The first 90 days are a hiring test.
I thought opening a pharmacy would test my clinical planning. It tested my hiring, onboarding, and delegation first.
The operating story
Before opening, I thought the first few months would be mostly about prescriptions, services, and systems. That was only partly true. The real test was hiring — and I failed the first version of it.
I hired for coverage. I needed hours filled, so I filled them. What I didn’t do was ask whether each person would reduce the load or add to it. Those are different questions, and only one of them shows up on a schedule.
A person who fills a shift but needs constant direction hasn’t reduced your load. They’ve moved it. Instead of doing the task, you’re now supervising the task — which, in a store that’s still finding its footing, is often more expensive than doing it yourself.
By week six I was still in the dispensary for most of every day, not because the volume demanded it, but because I hadn’t built anyone who could hold a piece of it without me. That’s not a staffing problem. That’s an owner problem, and I owned it.
The practical framework
Five better questions to ask before the next hire — in order:
- Will this person reduce load or create load? Be honest about the first ninety days, not the eventual state.
- What, specifically, will they own? If you can’t name the thing, you’re hiring for hours, not for a role.
- Who trains them, and when? Training is a real cost. If it isn’t on someone’s calendar, it isn’t going to happen.
- What does “working” look like at week four? Write it down before they start. You’ll be kinder and clearer for it.
- If this doesn’t work, when will I know? Decide the date now, while you’re still unemotional about it.
None of this is clever. All of it is the thing I skipped.
One useful link
Nothing this week — the framework above is the work. Next Sunday I’ll point you at one thing worth your time, and only one.
Talk next Sunday,
Osama Elbarawy, B.Sc.Phm, R.Ph, CDEOntario pharmacy owner and writer of Owner’s Counter