The winner of this year’s retail skills award, Harjit Kaur Aietan, proved she can pretty much turn her hand to anything, with particular success in OTC sales in her own branch as well as further afield

Harjit Kaur Aietan – known as Harj – was unsure about returning to a career in childcare after having her own children, so instead started to work on a voluntary basis at her local LloydsPharmacy. A contract soon followed, first for a few hours, then a few more, and so on. Now five years on, Harj is almost full time and leading on the provision of professional services such as medicines use reviews (MURs) and the new medicine service at the company’s branch in Allestree, Derby.

Determination and motivation were among the characteristics shown by Harj that led to her being named winner of the Retail Skills Award, sponsored by Puressentiel.

After qualifying as a dispensing assistant in order to help with an increase in the number of care homes being serviced by her pharmacy, Harj took her role beyond that of simple supply by forming good relationships with the managers of the homes. Not only was the branch able to cope with a rise in prescription volume and ensure that all patients received their medication on time, but Harj had also laid the groundwork to enable any queries to be resolved quickly and easily, and worked with care home staff to establish and maintain safe practices. She also showed great teamwork and adaptability by providing dispensary cover for nearby LloydsPharmacy branches when they were short-staffed due to sickness and annual leave, something she continues to do to this day.

As good as Harj’s dispensary work is, it is on the shop floor where she really shines. As a branch supervisor in the early days of her career, she spotted an opportunity a strategy that saw staff regularly smash their daily targets. This led to her role as area OTC lead – though she continued to provide dispensary support as and when needed – during which time performances in the 17 stores she was looking after improved through better merchandising and stock control.

When Harj started her current role in January, the store was well behind on its MUR target, but it managed to do over 200 more before the end of the financial year, and now averages 44 per month as opposed to the 24 it was carrying out before. Harj is determined in her mission to do the best for all of her patients, and that includes identifying those who are becoming confused about their medication regimens and could benefi t from monitored dosage systems. It also means helping patients who don’t speak English or who have hearing problems, arranging emergency prescriptions and sometimes delivering medicines after her shift ends so that people in need don’t go without.

Opportunities abound for Harj, and although she is keen to progress and develop as a professional, she makes sure she balances this ambition with her young family. She was nominated for the Retail Skills Award by Celesio UK area manager Nicola Goodberry for her dedication, team engagement, organisation and leadership skills. The judges agreed, with last year’s Spotlight Award winner Harry Mahmood heralding Harj’s commitment to learning so many aspects of the business as well as her “great implementation of skills”.