Mike Hale: What is your background in optics?
Emma Walker: I was completing my English degree when I took a weekend job as an optical assistant at my local Specsavers. It wasn’t an industry that I had any particular interest in having a career in prior to that point and the degree I was doing did not in any way push me down a science-based route. It was just simply that I needed a job and I happened to get one at an optical practice.
MH: What was your role and what did it consist of?
EW: I was an optical assistant, so I would greet patients, complete the relevant pre-screen tests for the optometrists, dispense glasses and complete collections. I also learned how to carry out contact lens teaches too.
MH: What were your plans at that point?
EW: Once I had completed my degree, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so I went full-time at the store and was considering going on a course to become a dispensing optician. I had really enjoyed my time working in optics up to that point and thought that continuing my career with Specsavers would be a good thing to do.
MH: How did you come to consider a career in audiology instead of optics?
EW: It was a bit by accident to be honest. While I was waiting for my dispensing optician course to begin, my then store director suggested that I consider doing the hearing aid audiology foundation degree instead. The store was looking to train a new audiologist, and it was something I had just never considered before. I had a look into the course and what was involved and it really piqued my interest, so I decided to swap courses and train to become a hearing aid audiologist.
MH: What did training as an audiologist involve?
EW: I undertook a distance learning foundation degree course with the Anglia Ruskin University. It involved assignments and coursework, which were completed at home, and residentials where I would physically attend university for lectures and sit my practical and theory exams. The majority of the practical learning was done in store alongside my supervisor, who was a registered hearing aid audiologist, observing her in clinic and learning how to conduct all the relevant procedures. The whole course took two years to complete and I was able to work full-time throughout. I found the course was a challenge but definitely an enjoyable one and I liked the mix of self-study and residential blocks.
MH: When did you become interested in becoming an audiology partner?
EW: Once I started my training, I knew that I wanted to have my own Specsavers business. I had seen what being a store director was like during my time working for the optics team. Going on the audiology course exposed me to Specsavers colleagues from other stores around the UK who shared a similar goal, and talking to them made me even more sure that it was something I wanted to aspire to. Once I qualified, I moved stores and worked as a registered hearing aid audiologist for another Specsavers who needed a new audiology partner. The directors there put me on Pathway, the internal course run by Specsavers for prospective new partners.
MH: What was the Specsavers Pathway course like?
EW: The Pathway course is designed to give you the core skills required to be able to become a business owner with Specsavers. It not only ensures that the role is right for you, but that you are also right for the role. There are a series of assessments that need to be passed in order to be considered ‘Pathway approved’, which means you are deemed to be skilled enough and knowledgeable enough to be successful in owning your own Specsavers business. You learn how to manage people, how to read financial reports and documents, how to have difficult conversations, how to strategise; so many key skills that set you up perfectly for stepping out on your own. I would recommend the course to anyone who has the relevant background and qualifications, and who wants to take that step from clinician or retailer to business owner.
MH: Can you describe your career since undertaking the Pathway course?
EW: Once I completed Pathway, I became the audiology director at my current store. I found that I learned so much while actually doing the job. The longer I did it for and the more I learned, the more I was thankful for the choice I had made. The thing I really love about being a director at Specsavers is the opportunity to be part of various forums that allow you to work alongside the board and other leadership teams within the support office to shape the direction the company as a whole is moving in. I became the divisional audiology vice chair for my area initially and in 2020 I was elected divisional chair. The role allows me to support fellow directors in my division, and I also have the privilege of attending meetings with the most senior members of the Specsavers audiology team to give my input on a range of different companywide strategies. I am able to do this alongside running my own business, which I have now done for almost 10 years.
MH: What is life like as a business owner in audiology?
EW: It is fast-paced, diverse, challenging, and never dull. It is a really special feeling to know that my name is above the door, so to speak, and that I am running a business that helps so many people in the local community. I enjoy being able to set my own working week, and also the opportunity to develop and train the next generation of Specsavers partners by giving them the same opportunities that I was fortunate enough to be given. There are so many chances for self-development too, and I have gained several other qualifications since becoming a partner, which have really helped me improve my own leadership abilities.
MH: What advice do you have for anyone reading this article who is considering a career in audiology?
EW: I would say do some research into the industry and the careers available to you. If possible, try and talk to some practising audiologists about their experience of working in the sector. Look at all of the courses available and what they entail. Then, if you still feel like it would be a good move to make, go for it. I certainly haven’t regretted it for a moment.