Some practices would not apply for the same award three years running and even fewer would do so if they actually won the award on the first outing. This is not the case for Glass and Glass Optometrists in Loughborough. Winners of the Optical Assistant Team of the Year Award in 2017, the practice has continued to apply in order to motivate the team to improve further.
‘Entering for a second time meant staff weren’t sitting on their laurels,’ says co-director Natalie Glass. ‘Going for it again meant we were always striving to be better.’
While the first award win ‘underpinned the culture’ of the practice, it was hoped the second would demonstrate the ‘really supportive environment that we try to provide’, says Glass. ‘Winning it for the second time showed that we were still moving forward – we’re always wanting to know how we can improve and grow.’
Since 2017, Glass and Glass’s optical assistants, receptionists and administrators have all been enrolled on optical assistant training courses and are supported by a practice culture that sees regular training days and one-on-one meetings with management to improve their, and the practice’s, performance. The resulting personalised service is often commented on by patients.
Glass, who has worked in the practice for 22 years, says she and her co-director and husband, Douglas, spend a lot of time and thought on who to hire. ‘You often go to conferences or events and frequently hear people, business owners, complaining about their team and how it’s difficult to get good people to work for them,’ says Glass. ‘And I feel you often get the people you deserve. A couple of years back, Douglas and I really set about making sure that it was not just the patients who were our priority but also our team.
‘If you get the team bit right then that’s actually the most important thing, because the patient bit comes with that.’
And they were not wrong. This year, passers-by were almost a quarter of new patients, enticed and retained by attentive and adroit staff. The team routinely goes above and beyond for patients, driving them home in special cases, working in and with the community, and being proactive in getting exposure in the media.
‘Our main goal is to be the best optometrists in the East Midlands and we will reference back to that in any business decision that we make,’ says Glass. ‘We will quite often ask, “will that align with our practice goal?”’
She says including others in decisions and the absence of a hierarchical structure also helps her improve as a manager. ‘If you allow people to have that input, then they always give more. It might not be something you want to hear but it is important to hear it for the business.’
Team training days are conducted under this philosophy, with different members presenting on their specialism or on a facet of practice life that they feel requires improvement, explains Glass. ‘It’s not just me standing in front of everyone lecturing them.’
Asked how the award win went down with the team, she says: ‘It was such an incredible night. To see them enjoying themselves was so rewarding. They support each other in so many ways, whether it be in professional or personal roles, and just to see how those people all gelled together was amazing.
‘They know that we are an extended family and we were just so very proud of all of the people working with us.’
The practice’s penchant for entering the Optician Awards shows no sign of letting up either, with Glass enthusiastic about applying again next year. ‘We were also shortlisted for Independent Practice of the Year, so we’ll definitely apply for that one again,’ she says.