If you're having difficulty filling all of your open pharmacy technician roles, you're not alone. Labor-insights provider Burning Glass shows there have been more than 105,000 job postings for pharmacy techs in the past 12 months, and it takes an average of 37 days to hire for the role. So how can you attract the best pharmacy technicians to your healthcare organization in a way that's both speedy and painless?
Here's an easy-to-follow checklist you can put to use when looking for a great pharmacy technician:
So what should you do to put this checklist into action? Read on for simple approaches you can add to your recruitment strategy today.
1. speed up your hiring process
Many healthcare facilities are feeling the burden of longer and longer hiring timelines — and when you need to move quickly, you can't afford to prolong the hiring cycle. Take a look at this diagram to figure out where you can be more efficient in your process.
2. develop a competitive compensation package
If you're unsure how competitive your current salary and compensation package is, Randstad's salary guide is a strong resource for knowing where your organization stands in the national landscape.
And since compensation for pharmacy techs can differ greatly from one market to the next, be sure to use Randstad's salary calculator to see the latest data on pay rates for pharmacy techs and other in-demand roles in your markets.
3. identify the top skills for pharmacy technicians
Next, you'll need to define the skills, training and experience that are vital to a successful candidate. Reach out to the hiring manager and other leaders to come to a consensus on these points, which will be useful once you begin crafting the job description.
Break down these qualifications into two categories: the "must-haves" — relevant certifications like CPT or PTCB — and the "nice-to-haves." To set you off on the right path, here are the skills most often required of pharmacy techs:
customer service
retail industry knowledge
pharmacist assistance
prescription filling
customer contact
legal compliance
transcription
4. write an eye-catching job description
While writing an engaging job description can be difficult, here are three easy things you can do to ensure you're attracting the best candidates.
don't write like a robot
Too many organizations in the healthcare industry write job descriptions like a list of chores. Make your posts interesting by anchoring the job description around the most positive parts of the role (like opportunities for internal advancement or professional development), and then explain the most marketable aspects of the job in accessible, human terms that show the value pharmacy techs bring to the organization — especially when it comes to knowledge of the latest pharmaceutical research.
show how this job is meaningful
The job seekers of today — especially millennial and Gen Z candidates — want their work to be meaningful, so focus on the collegial aspects of the facility. What will the coworkers be like? What's your workplace culture like? And what are the job's greatest rewards? For example, given how much patient interaction a pharm tech has, you can emphasize how they will ease patient anxiety by answering questions about their specific medications with a warm smile and an empathetic tone of voice.
make it easy to skim
Using short paragraphs and bullet points make the text easier to read and more visually engaging. Candidates should be able to understand what the job entails within the first 10 seconds of reading the post, so think of your bullet points like engaging pitches. So instead of saying:
Must handle high volume of customer interactions and complaints.
Rewrite that as:
Actively look for ways to help patients, taking the time to notice and understand their reactions to offer the most friendly, appropriate response.
Once you've put these tips to use to make your job descriptions more exciting, you should see a consistent stream of resumes coming through your employment portal in no time. For more in-depth assistance with the writing process, our guide to writing highly effective job descriptions is just a click away.
5. brush up on the latest industry trends
The healthcare industry and the role of pharmacy technicians are undergoing seismic changes thanks to a host of various factors — and in order to keep your recruitment process as strong as it can be, you'll need to be quite familiar with them.
Here are the hiring trends you'll want to keep top of mind:
- Demand for pharmacy techs is largely driven by two factors: the aging population driving demand for more prescription drugs, and advancements in pharmaceutical research bringing new drugs to market.
- California, Texas and Florida employ the highest concentration of pharmacy techs (between 30,000 and 38,000 per state), so employers in these locations will need to make sure their compensation and benefits programs are fiercely competitive.
6. choose your channels to find candidates
To find the pharmacy technicians who are the best fit for your organization, consider working with a staffing firm with expertise in the healthcare industry. The need for qualified pharmacy techs is only going to increase over the coming years, so gaining access to a nationwide network of top talent — screened, vetted and available on demand — can make all the difference.
Get in touch with the healthcare experts at Randstad today to get one step closer to finding your next great pharmacy technician. Or head on over to our Find Employees portal and get to know our large pool of prescreened and vetted pharmacy techs right away.
