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Choose
the Right Employer
by Ben Gruda, R.Ph
Past President, APhA Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management
After five or six years of school, endless rotations, internships,
and externships it is not surprising that you would like to get paid
well for what you learned in school. Huge student loan balances may
make that headhunter's offer very tempting. You deserve a big
paycheck and it would be really easy to go for the "bucks."
Unfortunately if money were the only answer, the wealthy would not
have any problems. You do need money, so it certainly is one
consideration. What about other needs?
Work environment.
The work environment is equal to, if not more important than, the
salary and benefits package. No matter how good the salary and
benefits are, you can become very discouraged with poor working
conditions. Different employees in the same company will have
conflicting opinions about their work environments. Work
environments, and the corporate policies that govern them, may
change from one region or city to another in a large company. Make
sure you assess the environment in the store or area where you will
be working.
The first piece of the puzzle to examine is your future immediate
supervisor. Does he or she seem sincere? Be sure to ask the
supervisor questions. Carefully observe body language during the
responses to your questions. The responses you receive can usually
give you a clue about what you can expect. Go with your intuition or
feelings. If it does not "feel" right, then it probably isn't.
Observe the support staff in the pharmacy. Do they seem well
trained? Good technicians and clerks can make a big difference in
how you feel at the end of a long day. If you can, check the
employee schedule. Are there enough hours allotted for professional
and support staff to handle the workload? Is there enough time for
you to practice your profession in the manner that you want to? What
duties beyond your profession responsibilities will you be
performing?
Where are the break and lavatory facilities? What is the company's
position on breaks and lunches? If answers to these questions are
vague, then the company probably does not have a good policy in
place.
Work schedule.
The "normal" workweek is about 40 hours. Pharmacists usually work
this or a bit more. It may not seem significant if your new position
would require you to work a 42- or 44-hour week; however, when
comparing the weekly paycheck, a 42-hour week will require you to
work more than 100 hours more per year than a 40-hour week. A simple
calculation will reveal to you diverences when comparing salary and
working time between different employers.
Much has been said about long workdays, and many times prospective
employers say that your work schedule is "flexible." This may be
misleading. If the pharmacy is open seven days a week for a total of
80 hours and there are two pharmacists employed in that location,
you will be forced to work a few long days to get some days off each
week. If there are more than two pharmacists employed or if the
pharmacy is open fewer hours, then the schedule would truly be
flexible. When considering a position, it would be wise to negotiate
for a specific work location and coverage expectations. Finally what
hours, days of the week and holidays is the pharmacy open? Is it
located in a good neighborhood? Is the store convenient to where you
live? Travel time, especially in areas with heavy traffic, may take
up a significant amount of your time.
Another consideration is vacation time. Extra vacation time is a
plus in any job offer. When analyzing a job offer, it may be easier
to compare offers by looking at the cash value of vacation and
personal time. Also, find out what the company's policies are
relating to taking vacations and what happens to unused vacation
time.
Does an employer want you to "float"? Watch out! Floating from store
to store is a lot harder than it sounds. Staying in one location
allows you to become familiar with prescribers, their habits and
handwriting. It also helps you bond with your patients and their
needs. Working at different locations can be very stressful.
Scheduling can be erratic and unpleasant. If you are asked to float
for a time, be sure that you and your supervisor agree to a specific
deadline about when it will end.
Security.
Everyone needs some job security, but those needs vary. You may
choose to emphasize pay and other benefits now and worry about job
security later. But if you have other obligations or are not the
free spirit type, then place security high on your criteria list for
selecting an employer.
Professional enhancement.
Be wary that some professional expenses add up during the year. Does
the employer pay for pharmacy license renewal fees? How about
professional dues and meeting expenses? Most states require
continuing education for license renewal. Does your employer provide
reimbursement for these expenses? Employers may reimburse you for
some of these expenses, but many do not.
For example, if you annually incur about $300 in professional dues
expenses, $200 in continuing education expenses, $100 in license
renewal fees, and $800 in professional meeting attendance expenses;
this comes to $1,400 a year. If your employer reimburses you for
half of this amount, you would receive $700, tax free. This would be
equivalent to well over $1000 in after-tax earnings. Health
insurance.
Your prospective employer may have a good insurance package, but how
much will it cost you? There are wide variations in prices and
coverage. Medical and dental insurance are absolute necessities in
today's world. A serious illness or injury could easily consume
whatever assets you have in a matter of a few weeks. Pay special
attention to insurance deductibles. Is there also a family
deductible? Are there any exclusions (e.g. maternity, mental
illness) to the coverage provided? Are annual health exams covered,
or do you have to be sick or have a specific medical condition to
have your insurance pay your medical bills? Plans may also limit the
amount they will pay on office visits, procedures and lab tests. Are
these limits reasonable for your particular situation?
You should also find out the lifetime maximum healthcare expenses
covered by the plan, especially if you have a chronic illness. If
you do have an illness or otherwise chronic condition, find out if a
plan will cover your preexisting conditions. If preexisting
conditions are covered, inquire as to any type of waiting period
that may be in effect before the insurance will cover your
condition. When examining any portion of insurance premiums that you
must pay yourself, find out how much coverage for dependents will
add - even if you don't have any dependants at this time. The bottom
line: Study this part of your benefits package very, very carefully.
Disability insurance.
You may be the picture of health as you read this, but an illness or
accident could leave you permanently disabled, radically changing
your lifestyle in an instant. Disability insurance is an absolute
necessity, and another item that your prospective employer may or
may not pay for.
Life insurance.
Most major employers will offer life insurance to employees at
little or no cost, but the availability of additional life insurance
for employees and dependents might be worth investigating. Of course
the cost of this will also factor into your final salary
calculation.
Retirement.
Thoughts of retirement may be the furthest thing from your mind, but
look over any retirement package carefully. Is it company funded, or
do you have to pay a portion? 401K plans and other before tax
deferral programs continue to be very popular. Find out if the
employer will match your contributions. You may not be able to
transfer a tax-free plan directly into your next employer's plan,
but you can still roll it over into another tax-free account.
Remember that contributions to these plans are before taxes,
so they are worth considerably more than any money saved after
taxes have been withheld.
Pay (beyond salary).
Base salary, of course, is one of the most important considerations
to a job offer. However, there are other items that can add or
subtract to create a "total compensation" figure. Some companies
offer financial incentives such as profit sharing and stock purchase
plans. Others offer a bonus, which may be based on prescription
volume, performance appraisals, sales, or other factors. While these
figures may be uncertain, you can still assign an approximate value
to them. If you have to spend extra time at work each week to earn
the bonus, then this also figures into your calculations.
Many pharmacy practices are open on holidays. Find out the company's
policy on holiday pay. Some may pay a premium for working a holiday,
whereas, some employers do not offer any holiday perks or
incentives.
Negotiate extras.
Depending upon the needs of the company, you may be able to
negotiate some extras to an employment package, such as vacation
time, professional expenses, and a sign-on bonus. In addition, some
companies may offer unique perks such as a leased automobile to
employees. Analyze these benefits carefully. Check to see if these
extras are before or after tax benefits, and be sure to give them a
monetary value so that you can make a logical comparison.
Intangibles.
Many factors can be statistically analyzed, but there are other,
less concrete elements that you should consider as well.
Does the employer encourage innovation? Just about all employers
will tell you that they welcome new ideas, but will they support you
with the time, help and dollars needed? It is easy for recruiters to
tell you that the employer will support you. Ask for specific
examples and get the names of pharmacists who were successful in
implementing innovative new projects or programs.
What are the pharmacy manager's priorities? If the latest
record-breaking prescription count is hanging on the wall or if talk
strays to how many prescription orders are filled per hour, you can
get an inkling of what you are in for. If added services for
patients or innovative programs enter into the conversation, that
can be a positive indicator.
If the corporation has several locations, is the district manager a
pharmacist? Does he or she practice or have an appreciation for
modern pharmacy practice? If the district manager is not a
pharmacist, does he or she understand the profession. Ask a few
employees in different locations.
What is the overall reputation of the company? Does it have a good
track record or is it viewed negatively by your colleagues?
How are errors handled? Does the company simply document them and
discipline those involved? Is a program in place to find out why
errors are made? This can say a lot about a company.
Interpret your research.
Once you have gotten the answers to all of your questions, try to
quantify them as much as possible. Many variables, including pay,
work hours, insurance, and most other benefits can be converted to
real dollars. Other variables can be ranked, for example, on a scale
from 1 to 5, with 1 meaning least favorable and 5 meaning least
favorable. Finally, you'll have to decide how to "weigh" each
variable - which factors are most important to you?
If you are down to two nearly equal offers, pick the one that offers
a better work environment. You can always make more money by working
extra, but it may be difficult, if not impossible to improve a
practice environment.
All of this may seem time consuming and a lot of work, but it may be
one of the most important investments you make as you progress
through your pharmacy career. Thorough research doesn't guarantee
that you will be happy in your new position, but it does increase
the odds in your favor.
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