With funding from Sweden and the European Union under the EU4Business Initiative, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) helped Farma-Star Ltd., a woman-led network of pharmacies in Armenia, introduce a new human resources policy to increase employee performance and sales.
The EBRD supported Farma-Star Ltd., a network of pharmacies in Yerevan and surrounding regions, to develop a new human resources policy. With the help of a local consultant specialised in process management, Farma-Star had a 25% increase in its employee performance within a year.
Established in 2009 by a woman entrepreneur, Farma-Star started as a regional drugstore and soon evolved into the medical sector, importing high quality disposable medical supplies. Today, the company engages in both retail and wholesale of pharmaceuticals and medical disposables, as well as medical aesthetic equipment.
This fast growth brought a number of organisational challenges. The initial organic management style needed to shift to a more systematic approach based on a set of written procedures in the form of a human resources (HR) policy supported by clear job descriptions. There was also a need to streamline and standardise procedures in HR management. The lack of these HR policies and procedures resulted in low employee satisfaction and motivation, which in turn led to a decrease in service and sales.
The EBRD connected Farma-Star with a management consultant, who helped improve their HR management to meet the company’s needs.
The consultant:
- Carried out a complete diagnosis of the enterprise from a human resources perspective and conducted a SWOT analysis to identify organisational problems;
- Created an organisation chart to reflect the activity flow;
- Updated the recruitment process by preparing a detailed job description for each role;
- Delivered sales and service training to employees; and
- Developed corporate HR rules and established a rewards and recognition system, all of which were collected in a human resource management manual.
With the new HR policy, employee satisfaction has significantly increased, resulting in increased business performance and greater customer satisfaction for Farma-Star.
Satisfied with the successful outcomes of this advisory project, the company opted to continue working with the EBRD to grow further, hiring the same consultant as a business coach on a longer-term project under the Women in Business Programme.
In addition, the Director of Farma-Star participated in two Entrepreneurial Skills trainings organised by the EBRD Advice for Small Businesses Team.
Total project value
€14 290
Client contribution
€6 694