Avoiding common pitfalls in hiring pharmacy technicians

Avoiding common pitfalls in pharmacy technician hiring and recruitment process
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Recruiting an experienced pharmacy technician can be challenging due to staffing shortages. It is also accompanied by other factors such as rising demand and workforce turnover.

Hospital managers should be aware of the growing demand for pharmacy technicians. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects around 44,900 pharmacy technician job openings each year from 2022 to 2032.

Added factors such as an aging population, increasing staff burnout, and retirements continue to affect pharmacy technician recruitment.

In this blog, as a recruiter, you will learn about the common pitfalls to avoid when you are planning to hire pharmacy technicians for your pharmacy.

Why avoid pharmacy technicians staffing mistakes?

Avoiding recruiting pitfalls can help pharmacies build a skilled, engaged, and adaptable pharmacy technician workforce. A well-planned recruitment strategy can also improve your talent acquisition process.

A well-planned recruitment strategy can help pharmacies hire skilled pharmacy technicians on time. Reducing common staffing mistakes can also minimize hiring delays and help maintain adequate staffing levels. 

A consistent recruitment process can further improve the overall hiring experience for both candidates and employers

Considering the importance of cultural fit and diversity in pharmacy technician recruitment

While recruiting a professional, you must see if they have technical expertise and soft skills.

Considering these skills will help you hire pharmacy technicians who can handle situations better. 

Along with this, check about the cultural fit is also, it is essential in pharmacy technician staffing.

It helps you understand whether the candidate is a good fit for your pharmacy.

As a recruiter, you might know that a good cultural fit can also help reduce employee stress. It also helps you understand the reasons behind burnout.

Knowing these reasons will help you improve employee retention.

Ensuring that the pharmacy technician is a good cultural fit can improve team dynamics.  

Cultural fit can be assessed during an interview. Behavioral assessments and feedback from existing employees.

To establish diversity and inclusion in pharmacy technician hiring, the initial step is to draft a diversity and inclusion policy.

This policy should include the following points.

  • Ensuring equity in career advancement is also crucial.
  • This can be achieved by promoting fair progression opportunities and equitable pay.

Following these measures can help you as a guide to hire certified pharmacy technicians and enhance the quality of the workplace. 

Leveraging technology for pharmacy technician recruitment and onboarding

The use of modern technology is rapidly evolving in healthcare recruiting. With increased automation, most of the administrative tasks related to the recruitment of pharmacy technicians are no longer a stress. 

To enhance your pharmacy staffing, you can use the “Application Tracking System” which is also known as ATS, software to streamline every stage of the recruitment process. 

Using this software can track all the information related to the recruitment of pharmacy technicians.

Along with ATS, you can also prepare a detailed plan related to applicant onboarding.

You can create a plan by combining your existing and senior staff to manage onboarding of the hired pharmacy technicians.

When newly recruited pharmacy technicians feel informed about their role and facility, they are more likely to stay active with your hospital. 

An infographic highlighting the essential onboarding elements is included. It will help make your onboarding process more structured and effective.

Steps to create a better onboarding experience

Pharmacy technician staffing MedSquirrels

Balancing experience and potential when hiring pharmacy technicians

While addressing staffing shortages, most recruiters follow hybrid recruiting strategies. This staffing method is popular because of cost reduction.

As a recruiter, you can consider this for both fresher candidates and experienced professionals in the pharmacy technician recruitment process.

To maintain the right balance, consider the following:

  • Check if the experienced candidates have the skills and knowledge.
  • It is also essential to see if entry-level pharmacy technicians offer fresh perspectives and growth potential.

Having the right balance between these two factors can help you build a dynamic team. It can also help you meet both current needs and future goals.

Make sure every idea is valued, and expectations are clearly communicated while you plan to hire pharmacy technicians to improve patient care.

Offer competitive compensation packages  

As a recruiter, when you are recruiting for an in-demand role like a pharmacy technician, it is important to offer comprehensive compensation. 

While recruiting, you must understand that job seekers will compare your offered salary. So, you need to make sure you are offering a market-standard salary by understanding recent trends.

Conducting a market study to understand current salary trends and pay ranges for pharmacy technicians will allow you to hire skilled professionals on time. 

An infographic is provided to keep you informed about salary numbers across the states.

Top-paying states for pharmacy technicians

Name of the state

Hourly pay

Annual pay

California

$ 26.79

$ 55,710

Washington

$ 26.63

$ 55,390

District of Columbia

$ 25.98

$ 54,030

Oregon

$ 24.25

$ 50,440

Alaska

$ 23.95

$ 49,810

 Source: BLS

While you hire an experienced pharmacy technician, you must understand compensation package should include the following:

  • Medical insurance, paid time off, and a retirement plan to ensure employee satisfaction.
  • Opportunities for professional development by upskilling, cross-training, and promoting continuing education.

Along with this providing performance-based incentives should be implemented for staff. Following these factors and strategies will improve your brand also.

Partner with MedSquirrels to simplify your pharmacy technician staffing  

To streamline all the complex processes of pharmacy technician hiring, you need to follow proven strategies mentioned in the blog.

To hire a pharmacy technician within your staffing budget and on time along with these strategies, you need to choose a modern staffing partner.

In this process, one more strategy to follow is avoiding traditional agencies.

These agencies come with multiple challenges, such as no transparency in salary numbers and minimal support for credentialing.

To overcome these challenges can partner with staffing platforms such as MedSquirrels. It is a modern staffing platform with AI technology that helps you with credentialing and background checks to ensure compliance.

MedSquirrels operates differently from traditional agencies through its SaaS platform. It charges only a flat fee along with the payroll cost of the hired providers. 

This way, you do not have to pay huge markups charged by staffing agencies. As a recruiter you can schedule a, request free a demo to know more about staffing. Pharmacy job seekers can visit the open jobs page and apply to open jobs to begin successful registered nursing careers.

FAQs

What should recruiters look for when hiring pharmacy technicians?

As a recruiter, you must check both technical and soft skills. Experience, communication, teamwork, and adaptability are also important. This helps employers find pharmacy technicians who can perform well and work effectively with the team.

What should recruiters consider when choosing a staffing partner?

Recruiters should review pricing, credentialing support, background checks, and technology. They should also check how transparent the staffing process is. Choosing a partner that supports these areas can make pharmacy technician hiring easier to manage.

How can technology improve pharmacy technician hiring?

Recruiters can use an applicant tracking system (ATS) to manage candidates. An ATS can organize applications and track each hiring stage. This can reduce administrative work and make the recruitment process more efficient.

Can MedSquirrels help hire pharmacy technicians faster?

Yes. MedSquirrels uses a pool of pre-screened pharmacy technicians. Facilities can review qualified profiles and start the staffing process faster.

Are pharmacy technicians on MedSquirrels pre-screened?

Yes. MedSquirrels provides pre-screened pharmacy technician profiles. Candidates are also checked for required credentials and compliance needs.

Jani Basha is a Content Specialist with a background in healthcare content development, recruitment, and workforce management. His work focuses on the challenges healthcare facilities face in attracting, staffing, and managing clinical and non-clinical professionals. He develops content on healthcare recruitment, workforce trends, and staffing strategies. His work translates complex workforce topics into practical insights for healthcare recruiters. His work aligns with MedSquirrels’ mission to make healthcare staffing more efficient and cost-effective through technology-driven workforce solutions.

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