EMPLOYEE TURNOVER

Keeping an office working is tough enough without constantly training new people. This OLA-sponsored guide focuses on smart hiring methods

By Alex Yoho, ABOM

Turnover is one of the biggest challenges faced in optical today. To help your business hire smarter, the Optical Laboratories Association presents this collection of tips from industry experts.

Q IS HIRING SOMEONE WITH NO EXPERIENCE A GOOD MOVE?

Danielle Robinette Stewart, office manager, University Eyecare, Sarasota, Fla.: Sometimes, yes! When you hire someone with experience, they come in doing things that they did in another office that may not fit in here. Old habits are hard to break.

Jim Ostermann, manager, Optical Services, Sharp Rees Stealy Medical Group, San Diego, Calif.: An "optician apprentice" might be someone fresh out of trade school and willing to work for less money, but will also have less responsibility.

The apprentice could be trained to check in glasses (with an autolensmeter), bill insurances, do minor repairs, adjustments, etc., all under the watchful eye of your experienced optician. The apprentice gets trained by the best while freeing up your money maker to spend more time with patients.

Doreen Solomon Moss, optician, Oviedo Vision Center, Oviedo, Fla.: To bring in an individual who has never been in the business can be a great thing. If the person wants to learn and works with care, they can be a great fit. That is a great tribute to your office.

Q WHO WORKS BEST—SOMEONE WITH OPTICAL KNOWLEDGE OR RETAIL SALES SAVVY?

Stewart: Definitely someone with a great personality and/or someone who is retail savvy. We can always teach them the skills they need.

We can't teach someone how to have a great personality or how to be retail savvy; those traits usually come naturally to a person.

Ostermann: Nothing, and I mean nothing, is a substitute for a positive attitude. I tell potential hires I have only two rules in the office:

1. Love what you do.
2. Get along with the people you work with.

As for putting the pizzazz into your dispensary, you can't leave that completely up to your new hire. You as the office manager have to be willing to guide your new hire in the right direction.

Often a new hire becomes the perfect opportunity to ask, 'What did WE do wrong to make our last optician leave us, and how can we make the office better and more profitable?'

Gary Osias, OD, FAAO, owner, Primary EyeCare Optometrics, San Lorenzo and Castro Valley, Calif.: I tend to lean towards selecting the applicant with the intelligence and personality which best match the practice profile, then provide the necessary training to create that dream employee.

Moss: When you lose an employee, it is a time of regrouping and change. Look for someone who will fit in and be able to raise the standards and everyone's morale.

Q WHAT CREDENTIALS DO YOU LOOK FOR?

Ostermann: Nothing beats an optician with New York State credentials. I have two of them on staff. I won't let them go for anything. And this compliment comes from a Californian!

Osias: I encourage all of our technical staff to become ABO certified. The ABO and NCLE certification programs are also good ones. By encourage I mean that I pay for the education materials, provide the opportunities for course attendance, pay for the exam, and acknowledge the certification with a pay raise.

Currently, five out of seven of our techs are ABO certified, and the other two are studying. Technicians who achieve ABO certification demonstrate a higher level of commitment to their profession and job as well as feeling more personally fulfilled.

Moss: A license is nice to have, and it's always worth more money for the individual. In the end, I would say ABO looks best.

Q HOW DO YOU AVOID LENS REDOS AND FRAME BREAKAGE BY INEXPERIENCED NEW HIRES?

Stewart: The only way to avoid problems like that is with time. Someone with little or no experience has to be taught, and we have to be patient while they are learning.

Osias: We use a buddy system where the new employee begins work by shadowing one of our seasoned employees who functions as their mentor. The mentors assess the new employee's knowledge and skill, and also teaches to his or her weaknesses.

Over time, the mentor transitions to the shadow, and the new employee demonstrates his or her skills.

Moss: With high fashion frames that need a little finesse to adjust and repair, you have a teaching area that needs a lot of interaction between you and the individual you are teaching. When working with drillmount frames or hard-to-handle semi-rimless, the lenses [you work with] can make a large difference.

Q WHAT HELP DO YOU SEEK FROM YOUR LAB TO INCREASE EMPLOYEE KNOWLEDGE?

Stewart: We start with the basics and work our way up. The first thing we do is focus on our patients and their needs. Obtaining knowledge from the lab is crucial because technology is always changing.

Ostermann: Any assistance our labs and frame vendors are willing to provide is welcomed with open arms.

OLA labs are the best. They realize the importance of training at the retail level and provide every bit as professional training as you would pay for at trade show classes; and they do it frequently.

Osias: Our lab believes one of their primary responsibilities is keeping us informed of what is happening in the world of ophthalmic lenses. This valuable input enables us to utilize the latest state-of-the-art lenses for our patients and to know what lenses work best for what Rxs and what the turnaround time will be.

This is accomplished most often by a lab rep making a presentation at one of our regularly scheduled staff lunch meetings.

Moss: The OLA has a lot to offer with information, new technology, and updates in our industry. Our trade magazines and labs give us a lot of information. The industry is advancing at a very fast pace. It is our job to keep up with the new technology that is available. EB

If you would like to know more about what your OLA lab can do for your business, give them a call or visit www.ola-labs.org.