Developing our people
Here at Boots we not only encourage people to join us from outside the business and develop great careers with us, but we also invest in developing the talents of all of our colleagues who work for us today.
Caring for our customers and communities
Our main aim in stores is to deliver the very best customer care so that we delight you when you shop with us. We achieve this by having the best people with the right skills on hand to care for you every time you enter one of our stores. We develop all of our store colleagues to be able to:
- Have high levels of skill, knowledge and care
- Provide the very best healthcare advice and support so that you feel informed and confident about any aspect of your health, from sun protection through to treatment for long term conditions such as cancer or diabetes
- Have individually tailored conversations that help you find complete solutions to your health and beauty needs
All of our training is provided by experts and supported with a range of on line materials, with continuing professional development days particularly for our Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians.
One example of community involvement occurs as part of the training year completed by our Pre-registration Pharmacists. They organise and run health promotion events specific to the health needs of their local area, focusing on raising awareness of health issues of particular concern.
Boots Macmillan Information Pharmacists
Our future health strategy also includes developing our people through our ongoing partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support. Together we want everyone in the UK affected by cancer to have access to the very best information and support.
So, we’ve introduced the Boots Macmillan Information Pharmacist role, our aim being to provide the right kind of help in a familiar and trusted environment. These pharmacists are part of the local community and, supported by Macmillan, they can advise and point people in the direction of the right person or support group to help with concerns.
Here is just one story from a Boots Macmillan Information Pharmacist (BMIP) that illustrates why we believe this initiative is so important.
A patient we see regularly at our pharmacy has been living with cancer for some time. As part of the New Medicine Service, my colleague phoned the gentleman to discuss his new medicine and was shaken when the patient asked him how much of his medication he would need to take to end his life. We tried to find out why he felt he couldn’t cope. It was clear that his pain relief wasn’t effective, and he was also worried about his finances. We advised him how best to take the prescribed pain relief, and offered to send him some information about the financial support available for those living with cancer when our local Pharmacy Delivery and Collection driver next called. He also gave permission for us to contact his local doctor, who said he would follow this up with the patient and review the pain relief medications. A week or so later, the gentleman came to see us and seemed much brighter. He thanked us for helping, and said that the pain was now under control thanks to the review of his medication. He also felt more positive about his finances, having followed up on the information we sent. It feels so worthwhile to have made such a difference to someone’s life, as well as supporting a colleague through a life-changing story like this.
Making Boots a great place to work
At Boots we work as part of a team – whether in a store, in a warehouse or in one of our centralised operations and support functions, we know we can only give you the shopping experience and the products you want if we have engaged and motivated teams working together.
We appreciate just how much both you and our people benefit from great training and development, which means that we will continue to create and update our resources to make them best in class. We want to continue to champion your right to feel good and also support our people to be the best they can be, helping them to enjoy developing and progressing their careers with us.
To do this we offer a range of learning opportunities in a blended way that allows our colleagues to learn through both formal learning and on the job activities.
Examples of the learning we offer are:
- Induction training for those new to Boots
- Line Manager Essentials training for those stepping into leadership roles
- Development of knowledge, skills and behaviours through our on line learning portal ICan and a range of e-learning programmes ranging from product knowledge to how best to help and care for our customers
Our learning and development partners
Our partners include:
- Nottingham Trent University for our Management and Leadership Development programmes, offering a Post Graduate Certificate and Diploma as an integral part of the programme
- Nottingham Business School for our Senior Leadership programmes, offering master-classes on a range of key business topics
- Babington College for the Boots Apprenticeship Programme, offering level 4 qualification in Business Administration