LAST WORD
by Erinn Morgan
MAKE ME A MATCH
What qualities are most important when hiring dispensary staffers? The qualities of fashion savvy, retail experience, optical experience, and people skills are all contributing factors. If you have a story to share, or would like to see a subject covered, please E-mail us at editor@eyecarebusiness.com or fax 215-643-1705.
We hire more for attitude and train skills. You can train skills, but you can't change a person's attitude. If they are cheerful, eager, and ready to learn, that makes my job easier. If they have experience, great, but I don't usually shop for that.
Appearance and dress is also important, and I look at their resume and see if there are misspellings or errors. If they make mistakes on a resume, how are they going to be day-to-day in your practice? You have so little time to make an impression on a patient.
— Ron Hawkins, OD, Optiks, Bloomington, Ind.
I look for people skills—can they learn to listen and to speak correctly and distinctly? Most errors are made because they are not listening.
We only hire licensed opticians, so I am assuming they have the technical skills they need. If they have the people skills, I can give up a little experience. I am really looking more for a personality that clicks.
Even though we provide medical services, we are still salespeople. Fashion sense is also a plus—that quality is next in line.
— Bernice Olivetti, Leonard Opticians, New York, N.Y.
I look for an outgoing personality and someone who has good people skills because optics can always be taught—it's just a matter of physics.
People skills and customer service skills are so important. The bonus is if you have someone who is willing to learn the science. You want someone motivated to learn—then you have a well-rounded optical salesperson.
—Cheryl Charbonneau, licensed optician, Reno, Nev.
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getting the best |
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Written by Martin Yate, the book "Hiring the
Best: A Manager's Guide to Effective Interviewing" [Adams Media, Fourth Edition]
says that the interview is a "measured and ritualistic mating dance—and you
have the choice of partners. It should have all the appearances of a relaxed conversation
and produce as much information as an FBI dossier." To help managers, this book provides three questions designed to target good hires. 1. Are they able to do the job? Many managers focus specifically on the employee's ability to do the job in question. In the optical field, we may ask, "Do they have an optical background?" "Have they worked as an optician or eyewear technician before?" While skills and knowledge are important, "Hiring the Best" suggests that this is merely the first step in ensuring that you make consistently successful hires. 2. Are they willing to do the job? "Hiring the Best" proposes that there can be a distinct gap between ability and willingness to do the job. The book says: "Take salespeople as an example....Many are hired because they appear to have the ability to do the job; all too frequently this can mean only a glib tongue." Dig deeper to determine if they really have what it takes to persevere at their job. 3. Will they be manageable once on the job? This is the third level of candidate evaluation—and "Hiring the Best" points out it is of paramount importance: "A person willing and able, but nonetheless unmanageable, is not for you." |
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