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.