Inside the Hive
Issue#4: February 2025
We hope 2025 has got off to a good start for you and your pharmacy. We know things don’t always go smoothly, so if the year hasn’t started well for you, (or it has but you want to ramp things up further), book a session with us below, or get in touch and let us know if we can help in some way.
You can register for our next demonstration webinar (click here):
OR, click below to book:
A platform demo at a more convenient time
An onboarding session
A follow-up/refresher session
A QCPP consultation
And remember, APP is fast approaching - 20 to 22 March 2025. We’d love to see you at Stand F23 just to say hello, or to ask us any questions you might have.
New Support and Knowledge Base
Our new Support and Knowledge Base is now live in the platform. Here you can find how-to guides, and other useful info on using your platform to maximum benefit. You can also submit a support request if you’re having problems.
You can access the Support and Knowledge Base through the question mark top right in your platform, through Quicklinks in your platform, or here: https://pharmacyhive.au/support-page
Your User Guides Have Moved
Your platform User Guides are now part of the Support and Knowledge Base – see above.
QCPP Checklists
We have created two new checklists to help you set up and prepare for your QCPP assessment:
1. QC2020 Pre-Assessment Checklist: Useful resources and a domain-by-domain checklist that guides you through what you need have set up for your in-store QCPP assessment.
In your pharmacy portal, go to QCPP>QCPP Pre-Assessment checklist.pdf
We recommend you work through this checklist as soon as possible to be sure everything you need is in place.
2. QCPP Countdown Checklist: A tick-box checklist starting three months’ out from your assessment date, so you can be sure you’re ready for your assessment without a stressful last-minute dash.
In your pharmacy portal, go to QCPP>countdown-qcpp-assessment.pdf
Starting three months out from your assessment date, work through the checklist schedule section by section to ensure you’ll be ready.
Instead of seeing QCPP as just a ‘tick-the-box’ hoop to jump through, you can bring it alive as part of your day-to-day pharmacy management, saving you time and stress, and allowing you to focus on being a trusted primary health care provider while simultaneously building and maintaining a better, more profitable business.
Your QCPP policies and procedures cover the fundamental aspects of running a pharmacy, so they essentially give you a business system. But it’s pointless if those policies and procedures aren’t properly implemented by the entire pharmacy team, or are only implemented at a bare minimum to pass your QCPP assessment, then forgotten until the next assessment is due.
It may seem a daunting task to put those policies and procedures fully into practice on an ongoing basis, but while it may take some time initially, the effort in doing so will pay huge dividends in the long run because it will free up an unbelievable amount of time, resources, and energy. Fewer daily fires to put out, more time with patients, and more time to build the business!
The Pharmacy Hive platform is designed to make it easy as possible for you to use QCPP to maximum benefit.
Organisation is key: Have clear processes and systems in place so things run more smoothly. The “Hives” section of Pharmacy Hive (available to our Full Platform clients) gives you a well-structured, secure, single ‘source of truth’ for document storage and control instead of having to hunt through multiple files in multiple places. This saves time, helps ensure good governance and appropriate privacy and confidentiality, and boosts productivity for all team members.
Keeping everything up to date regularly: We review and update the QCPP policy and procedure templates annually for you, so all you need to do is ensure your in-store systems flowing out of those documents are also current and fit for purpose, amending them as necessary to reflect how you want ‘things’ to happen. If you do that regularly, you’ll save time and stress down the line because your team will be doing ‘things’ as you want and expect.
Delegation is essential: We’ve specifically addressed this issue in the “Get Your Business Buzzing!” section below. The basic principle is that you can’t do it all yourself and shouldn’t try to. Trust and empower your team to handle appropriate tasks so you can focus on what’s most important for you to be doing. The “Tasks” and “Activities” functions in Pharmacy Hive (available to our Full Platform clients) can help you delegate clearly and keep on top of things without needing to micro-manage.
Communication is critical: Efficient businesses thrive on clear and open communication. It goes beyond just talking to or messaging people—using “Buzz”, “Activities”, and “Tasks” (available to our Full Platform clients) gives you some great tools and systems to keep everyone informed, trained, and in the loop.
Automation is a game-changer: Using technology to handle repetitive tasks or streamline processes with minimal human intervention, saves time and reduces human error. Pharmacy Hive’s management tools, like online incident reports that automatically update your incident register, allow tasks to be defined and allocated, deadlines set, reminders sent, and progress tracked without someone manually doing all that work. And we’re working on a heap more automations that we’ll be launching in the coming months.
Lead Smarter, Not Harder – Delegation That Delivers
Delegation is a superpower that every good leader and manager needs to master, especially in a busy pharmacy. Whether you’re a pharmacist managing the whole team, or a retail manager overseeing the front-of-shop staff, knowing how to delegate effectively can mean the difference between stress and chaos, or a smooth, well-oiled machine.
But delegation isn’t just about issuing instructions to offload tasks—it’s about improving efficiency and effectiveness, empowering your team, and creating a workplace where everyone thrives, including your patients, so you can truly play a key role in the health of your local community.
Why Delegation Matters
For the Manager
You want things done right—of course you do. And you know what ‘right’ looks like. But trying to do everything yourself, with staff members simply as go-fers, or you spending precious time each day closely supervising the details of what each staff member is doing, is a one-way ticket to burnout.
Pharmacists already have enough on their plate, from checking prescriptions, to dispensing, to counselling patients, to ensuring patient safety, and perhaps overseeing the entire business. Similarly, retail managers are busy enough juggling stock management, customer service, sales promotions, and generally ensuring smooth daily operations in the shop front.
By effectively delegating tasks to capable team members, managers can free up time to focus on their own key roles, plus those higher-level responsibilities like planning and staff development.
What’s often overlooked, is that delegation also improves team morale and is critical to a strong team culture. When employees feel trusted with important tasks, they’re more engaged and motivated. Plus, it helps them develop their skills, creating a more capable and confident workforce.
For the Staff Member
From the employee’s perspective, being given more responsibility can be a real confidence booster. When a pharmacy assistant is trusted to manage stock orders, or a dispense tech is trained and encouraged to assist more with running the dispensary, it helps them grow professionally.
Effective delegation also makes work more meaningful. No one enjoys feeling like a glorified shelf-stacker or simply a dispensing ‘machine’. When staff members are given more important responsibilities, they see how their role contributes to the pharmacy’s success, leading to higher employee engagement, greater job satisfaction, and better career development.
But it has to be done right.
Three Steps to Effective Delegation
1. Choose the right task for the right person
Not every task is suitable for delegation, and not every employee is the right fit for a particular responsibility. Consider each team member’s strengths, skills, experience, and workload. A seasoned pharmacy assistant might be perfect for training a new hire, while a tech-savvy, more creative staff member might excel at handling the pharmacy’s social media updates or website.
2. Provide clear instructions and support
Dumping a task on someone without guidance is a recipe for failure and frustration—on both sides. Set clear expectations about what needs to be done, when it’s due, and what a good job looks like. Check in periodically to offer support but avoid micromanaging—trust your team member to do their job.
You may need to hover when someone’s first learning a task, but tell them why you’re doing that, and back off as soon as possible. It’s about finding a balance to ensure the staff member feels safe asking for guidance if they need it, but isn’t constantly running to you for help with things they already know how to do.
3. Follow up and provide feedback
Depending on the complexity of the task, review the results at critical points in the process, or when it’s completed, and provide constructive feedback. Acknowledge good work and offer suggestions for improvement where necessary without nitpicking. In many situations, the outcome matters more than how it was achieved, so long as, for example, health and safety has been considered. Doing this not only ensures quality control but reinforces learning and development.
The Bottom Line
Delegation isn’t about losing control—it’s about having more control because you’ve got time as the manager to do other important work. And it’s about creating a strong, capable team that works together seamlessly. In a pharmacy setting, where efficiency and accuracy are critical, knowing how to delegate effectively is one of the most fundamental keys to success with less stress.
So, let go of the urge to do it all yourself and start empowering your team. If you’re a serial micro-manager, it may be a learning process for you too, but try letting go of a few little things at first, and you may find it becomes addictive!
Get 20% off our minor ailment brochures until end February
Our health information special offer is still running. Until the end of February, every order for patient information brochures will receive a 20% discount.
If you don't already have our range of minor ailment brochures, sign up by the end of February and get your 20% discount.
