The efforts of our employees, Associate-owners and their respective teams are the foundation of our success and continued growth as Canada’s leading retail drug store chain. Shoppers Drug Mart / Pharmaprix is committed to creating a culture and environment based on our core values of ownership and accountability; a passion for results; customer-driven innovation; and people and community.  As one of Canada’s 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures™, we provide our employees with competitive wages and benefits, safe and equitable working conditions, training and development programs, and opportunities to grow within our organization.
  
Employee Engagement

Attracting and retaining talent is critical to the success of our operations and business strategy, and Shoppers Drug Mart is committed to being a great place to work. To achieve this goal, we regularly monitor the pulse of employees to better understand their perceptions and satisfaction with their work environment, and their role within the Company. We believe that encouraging the free flow of ideas and embracing change can help transform a good workplace into a great one.

Participation in our second annual employee engagement survey improved by over 17% to 82%, helping us to gain a better understanding of employee sentiments and satisfaction with their work environment and their engagement with the Company.  This year’s results indicate that employees are proud of Shoppers Drug Mart / Pharmaprix and believe that we operate ethically and with integrity. Additionally, the vast number of employees report that their relationships with their co-workers and managers, and their perceptions of their day-to-day work, are very positive. In 2009, the overall employee engagement score increased by 15%, which demonstrates that programs put in place to address employee feedback have favourably impacted our rating. Specifically, improvements were made in our learning and development offerings and performance management. The survey also identified key areas where opportunities for improvement exist.  In 2010, we will focus on these areas to help push our employee engagement scorers even higher.

Taking the Lead

One of our most successful and rewarding programs within recruitment is the Shoppers Drug Mart Pharmacists of Tomorrow summer program for students. This past summer, over 390 pharmacy students from universities across Canada participated in this program. Students work closely with in-store pharmacy teams, giving them valuable experience and a true sense of what it is like to serve patients in a Shoppers Drug Mart / Pharmaprix environment.

Quote: “They let me get involved with patients and it was rewarding to be able to make a difference. I could see how spending time with patients strengthens their belief in a pharmacist playing an important role in healthcare.” Todd Prochnau, Pharmacy Student, Alberta.

Making a Difference

Shoppers Drug Mart / Pharmaprix believes that recognizing our employees is essential to ensuring their continued engagement. We currently administer two recognition programs above and beyond our annual compensation and benefits: Beyond the Call, our corporate, peer-nominated recognition program, and the Extra Mile program, rewarding exemplary behaviour and service at the store level.  
Career Development and Training

We have a tremendous pool of talent within Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix and remain committed to hiring from within whenever possible. In 2009, we substantially improved our rate of hiring internal candidates at the vice-president level while the number of internal candidates hired at the director level was on par with our 2008 numbers. Continuous education is essential to our efforts to promote from within. To that end, we have recently launched Shoppers Drug Mart University. Comprised of three academies, Pharmacy, Retail and Corporate, Shoppers Drug Mart University integrates employee learning and development with business priorities and strategic objectives and provides employees with a centralized resource for their learning and development needs.

Our Leadership Excellence and Development (LEAD) program for future Associates, Store Managers and Cosmetic Managers will continue to be a key component of our learning and education program, helping to develop of employee leaders within the organization.  In 2009, there were 552 LEAD program graduates who completed a combined total of nearly 40,000 hours of training.  In 2009, we continued to expand our Pharmacy Technician training program with the introduction of Platinum Plus, aimed at sharing best practices within this role. The program was piloted in Ontario and implemented in Nova Scotia and Quebec with over 300 participants. In 2010, this program will be rolled out across the country.

The multi-tiered program of bronze, silver, gold and platinum level certification provides more than 50,000 hours of training annually.

Learning and education is becoming increasingly more important as our business continues to grow and evolve.  It is essential that we provide our employees with targeted learning opportunities that best reflect their roles and learning styles. In 2010, we will introduce a new learning management system, which will allow corporate and store-level employees to access web-based training and development programs which are relevant to them, anytime, anywhere. The system will also allow us to design, develop, track and evaluate learning content to meet the demands of our fast-paced retail environment.

Diversity

We embrace diversity as an essential part of how we conduct business. Our diverse workforce, along with that of our Associate-owners, includes men and women who vary in age, race, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, and educational background. We value and respect the different ideas, opinions and communication styles of all employees who work within the store network and in our corporate and regional offices. Together, the characteristics and experiences of these individuals are an important asset that helps position our Company as an employer of choice.

Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix is an equal opportunity employer, committed to providing opportunities for employment and advancement to all people. It is Company policy to seek the most qualified person available for each job opportunity. Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix expects each of our employees to honour equal employment opportunity policies and to treat each other with respect and in a non-discriminatory manner.  
 
Currently, women comprise 29% of our Senior Management Committee and 36% of our Board of Directors. In 2009, our diversity representation within our employee base at the director level and above remained consistent with the previous year.  

This past year, Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix launched new diversity initiatives to support our inclusive environment. Specifically, we raised awareness through communication of important events relevant to our diverse communities, in keeping with our social responsibility. We also launched our first diversity survey, designed to support our employment equity commitments, to all corporate and regional employees and Associate-owners. The feedback from this survey will allow us to target our initiatives to achieve the greatest impact and meet employee needs. Data from the survey will also be used to track employee demographics and develop appropriate action plans.