Community involvement: the key to a business' success?

Drug Store News, Oct 14, 1991 by Ted Gladson

I have never met an employer who required employees to become involved in community service, as part of the job. Likewise, I have never encountered an employer who believed employee involvement in community activities was not beneficial to the business as well as to the employee.

This means that employers are often more than willing to facilitate employees' involvement in community service. In this article we explore the benefits to employers of active engagement in community service organizations.

Customer good will

The most common benefit: the good will that flows to the business as a result of the employee's activities. Community activities can range from involvement in health-related organizations, to community service groups, to religious organizations, to associations serving youths or the elderly.

Of course, the more visibility created by the outside activity, the greater the goodwill benefit to the business. For the drug store, that good will can translate into higher customer loyalty and increased sales.

Employee good will

Everyone likes to be appreciated. When employees feel good about themselves, that general feeling has a beneficial effect on performance. If the manager personally acknowledges the employee's contribution to the community and recognizes its value by helping it along, the effect is enhanced.

At a time when job benefits are difficult to provide, personal recognition is an easy and inexpensive way for management to show appreciation for employee contributions. A positive and supportive attitude will be reciprocated by employees in their attitude toward their employer. Helping people makes everyone feel good. Thus, even those employees not directly engaged in service organizations can derive psychological benefits when the drug store becomes involved.

Business opportunities

Most service organizations need a way to reach people in their community, whether to raise funds or to find individuals who need their services. Community drug stores are an ideal point of communication because of their convenient locations, hours of operation and positive image with the public.

The possibilities are endless, but examples include using the drug store as a distribution point for printed information; designating a place where contributions of money, food and durable goods are collected; using a sales outlet for tickets; or setting up a place where organizations can offer services. For example, vision screening or testing for hypertension.

These activities bring customers into your drug store and create the opportunity for purchases as well as further cementing consumer goodwill. A good example of this: an employee becomes involved in a fund-raising event such as a "walk for cancer" sponsored by a local hospital or a bike-a-thon seeking to raise funds to fight multiple sclerosis.

Through this employee, the drug store sponsors a team for the event in which the walkers or bikers recruit sponsors who donate to the cause. The drug store is highly visible as a place to make contributions and by fielding a team for the event. The manager can provide T-shirts identifying the drug store and personally participate in the event. The benefits from this included customer and employee goodwill as well as identification of the drug store as an organization that supports the community. If the beneficiary happens to be the local hospital, the drug store may also notice an increase in calls for items needed by the hospital pharmacy.

Advertising opportunities

Involvement in community activities presents almost endless opportunities for inexpensive advertising. Unlike paid advertisements in the mass media, "advertisements" with community service organizations are warmly received and appreciated by those that receive them. As an example, a drug store cooperates with a local organization for the elderly to provide pharmacists as speakers for the group's meetings. The pharmacist speaks on a topic of interest to the group and conducts individual medication counseling sessions. Members of this organization come to respect and trust this pharmacist and many become regular customers at the drug store.

An involved pharmacist can make this happen, but not without a cooperative manager to make the time available and resolve scheduling problems when they occur.

A second example illustrates another approach in which the drug store is directly advertised. An employee of a drug store belongs to a group that sponsors an annual softball tournament. Because of the employee's involvement, his employer annually provides each registrant with a packet of discount coupons to encourage shopping the drug store. This is an opportunity made possible by the employee's involvement and desire to promote his employer.

Busy people gets things done. It is a cliche (but a true one) that if you want something done, call a busy person. There is a tendency to think that we don't have enough time to get involved in community service, but some people always find the time, even though they often are the most busy. Managers should be supportive of these individuals for all the reasons noted above.