have you ever had problems recruiting staff?

[Jammydodger]

I seem to find it very difficult to find god staff
I quite often think it is a reflection on my self and my management style
I find it very upsetting when I find that I am forced to discipline someone I have worked shoulder to shoulder with on a daily basis.
I find it very difficult as there has to be tremendous trust when working with colleagues for the best outcome for the patient.
I recently took on someone who had been a care worker for several months who applied for the position of trainee dispenser.
I did not employ her but decided to take her from a recruitment business, so they could be responsible for the paye and holiday pay and also for her termination if she did not come up to scratch.
Her communication skills were very good and she struck me as very convincing,
Last thing on friday night she announced that she used to work for estee lauder,
and still had staff discount and could get all their perfumes really cheap, and that she quite often sold them on ebay.
I said that I did not like their perfumes, but was quite taken aback as it struck me that the goods may have been stolen as I could not understand an ex employee being given discount for expensive perfumes.
I looked at her cv and there was no mention of her havin worked for estee lauder
She had managed to accrue 11 different jobs all over the UK in 13 years
I was also quite alarmed that she demanded an overall on her second day,
I told her she did not have to wear one as all that was required was smart attire.
I looked at her appearance and realised she really did not look very smart with her eye brow
piercing and very short peroxide blond hair together with a scruffy cardigan.
I told her to choose her own and I would order her one straight away,
I could not help being a bit taken aback when she insisted the overall had pockets.
During the week she has been with me told her not to handle the cash as I do all the cashing up. She ignored this request .She promptly did a z read and emptied the till I did not tell her to do this and it was peculiar it was the only thingshe had done without being told to do all week!
I am going to tell the recruitment business to=morrow she is unsuitable, I do not want to explain my reasons incase she sues me for defamation
She has been in my pharmacy for 5 days I am dreading working with her to-morrow as i
strongly believe she is a liar and was indirectly trying to find an outlet for her discounted estee lauder merchandise.
Pleas give me your opinions
Bye the way I shall have no staff when I remove her, so I am relying on the agency to supply another temp.
Funnily enough even with 3.5 million unemployed they can not seem to find anyone suitable
Help I need somebody , my colleague who is normally with me is on holiday
love peace and harmony to you all
Jammy the dodger
ps Many of you may think why did you take this character on in the first place,
She was the best the agency could send me, like the government I think the agency does not realise the very high stanadars required for staffing a pharmacy.

[PinkGlitter]

I had a lot of trouble trying to get a decent dispenser. Until I got one I had locum dispensers and most of them were truly shocking. I'm sure they could not have had proper qualifications. The majority were international pharmacists who were due to start conversion courses. They would make CONSTANT errors and no matter how many times they were told, the same old errors kept cropping up. Wrong strengths selected, wrong drug (amiloride instead of amlodipine!), turning up late or not at all (the old car broken down routine), claiming for excess mileage whilst staying in a cheap b&b round the corner...

So my advice is, don't use agency locum dispensers! It's easier to cope alone!l

[Fleegle]

welcome to the european union

[jaymags]

Some of the problems are with education standards. Depending on the age group you are looking to employ. Some of the youngsters (college) students I have worked with appear not to know their alphabet. Some can't give out the correct change without the till working it out for them. I failed my maths 'O' level only managing Unclassified but I can still count properly, without using a calculator.

[SolomonQ]

wouldn't it be easier trying to get a new "apprentice" and offering them (most likely to be a "her") the chance to train to an ACT, instead of advertising in say the window or the local job centre, try approaching the local colleges, and make sure you provide a full description of the job, especially highlighting it's future potential. there are always people in college who prefer to work and earn a bit of money while at the same time earning useful qualifications rather than things like health and social care etc...

[jaymags]

It doesn't matter how you dress up the job description everyone thinks working in a pharmacy, be it a counter assistant or dispenser, is easy. Many do not come back after day one because there is so much really important stuff to get your head round. I find my job demanding yet rewarding and some days quite exhausting even though I only do three to four hours a day. No I'm not a whimp I have a home and family to look after too.
How some pharmacist work the hours they work is beyond me.
That's why there are forums like this so we can let off steam I suppose.

[SolomonQ]

...everyone thinks working in a pharmacy, be it a counter assistant or dispenser, is easy. Many do not come back after day one because there is so much really important stuff to get your head round...

what world are you living in, ALL the people working in pharmacies had a first day at work, abviously if they all walked out they wouldnt be there, or are you suggesting pharmacies had to go through hiring 3-4 people before they found someone who stayed, 'cos that is just not true i'm sure alot of people know enough pharmacy staff who have been there for literally decades.

Also with people thinking the Job would be easy, is also your misconception. The people being hired are told what to expect at their interview, so they know they will be expcted to learn new things and processes, just like they would have to learn, even if it was a normal shop.

I can bet that alot of staff who initially join without knowing much about pharmacy think that somehow they can work their way up to becoming a pharmacist, and then they probably get pissed off when they find out it's not that simple, it involves going to uni etc....

[Jeff]

Not a problem recruiting - levels of education are often better than mine - unregistered doctor trying to pass his English exam, people with degrees in anything from fine arts to pharmaceutical chemistry. Nurses who want a change from nursing homes - like time off.

Or you can wait and see what the agency sends you.

One pharmacist plus just one other member of staff is hard work - in particular motivation is harder - one more member of staff and you can more easily motivate each other.

Jeff

[jaymags]

[QUOTE=SolomonQ;18952]what world are you living in, ALL the people working in pharmacies had a first day at work, abviously if they all walked out they wouldnt be there, or are you suggesting pharmacies had to go through hiring 3-4 people before they found someone who stayed, 'cos that is just not true i'm sure alot of people know enough pharmacy staff who have been there for literally decades.
I live in the real world and yes, where I work, we have literally had to go through 3 people people to get the right one. She is now doing her NVQ2. This is not the first time, in my decade of working at the same place, that this scenario occurred. If you knew the area I live and work in you would not say that. Maybe my boss needs to update his interview techniques if that's the case but if people elaborate on their abilities,CV wise, and former employers (I am led to believe) aren't allowed to give bad accounts of people then getting the right person can be a nightmare.

[johnep]

I have come across several youngsters and parents who think that just working in a pharmacy will eventually qualify them to become pharmacists.

They still have the view that pharmacists do a sort of apprenticeship and can qualify 'on the job'.

johnep