Forming an award-winning team of optical assistants hinges not just on competencies but also identifying a core ethos.
An extremely busy practice, Specsavers Chelmsley Wood is managed by a number of clinic each day, with 30 optical assistants on the payroll, and 15 working at any given moment.
Emergency appointments and people dropping in with conditions covered by enhanced optical services also have to be managed into the diary.
Specsavers Chelmsley Wood retail director Paul Cooper says: ‘It’s a constant requirement to serve the customers that have an appointment but also look after people who have got quite nasty conditions on some occasions.’
However, while organising the appointment book is a continual challenge, it was the character and personality of this optical assistant team that really stood out to judges of this year’s Optician Awards.
When recruiting for new optical assistants, management has a prototype of the type of personality needed.
Cooper says: ‘We look for people with great interpersonal skills and who display those customer service skills too. We do large group interviews and find it’s a brilliant way to see a lot of people efficiently. We can see 25 people in an hour and a half, and five people will always shine.’
During the process candidates are asked to frame style each other and interact as a group.
Optical assistant and manager Paige Furlong says: ‘If you’ve got customer service skills that’s all you need in my eyes. We can teach you everything else.’
The same vibrancy is required for new products as well as patients, with the team completing a ‘flight impact plan’ and specific training for each new launch. Of particular note was the practice’s decision to invite a real pony, pictured, along to mark the launch of My Little Pony eyewear earlier in the year.
In total, 12 members of the Chelmsley Wood team attended the Optician Awards ceremony, held a stone’s throw away at the Birmingham Metropole hotel in April.
Cooper says: ‘You understand why each ticket is as expensive as it is and if we went back we’d have taken everyone, because you can guarantee what that night is going to look like.’
The awards ceremony turned into a double celebration when Furlong secured her own personal accolade, being named Leader of the Future (Optician 27.07.18).
Being sociable and enjoying moments together is a central part of the team’s ethos.
Cooper says: ‘What we are here is more than just testing eyes and working, you have to be prepared to become part of the culture too. That will include fitting in with the team and coming on nights out. It’s not to say you can’t come and work for us and not do that but it just becomes hard because it’s ingrained in what we do – everything is about the team.’
A WhatsApp group helps colleagues keep tabs on the latest monthly social event, paid for by the store ‘nine times out of 10’, lately including a visit to Birmingham’s new Ghetto Golf experience.
Furlong adds: ‘It’s just normal to us to have lunch together. No one sits out and has lunch on their own somewhere – even something as trivial as that makes you realise this is a lovely place to work really.’