The Customer In Focus

Staffing-Savvy ECPS divulge a few of their Secrets to Success

Patti Thomas, Northeastern Eye Institute
Director of retail Operations

This large eyecare practice boasts 19 locations in northeastern Pennsylvania. With over 275 employees on staff, human resources management has to be a well-oiled machine here. Thomas, who has 12 employees reporting directly to her, explains their corporate philosophy.

We have been pretty successful running ads online on Monster.com, Craigslist.org, and in our local newspaper's online classified listings. It can make the process go so much quicker because you can look at the r�sum�s online and pick and choose from there. Finding good people is always challenging, so sometimes when I meet someone, whether they are working at the cosmetics counter in a department store or as a server in a restaurant, I give them my card with a note on the back for 20 percent off their next purchase. I say, "If you are ever looking for work we'd love to speak with you."

We believe good communication skills are the number one priority. You can have a lot of technical skills but if you can't communicate well with patients they won't come back. We have found that we have the least amount of remakes, redos, and refunds from the staff members who have the best communication skills. Our patients have the expectation that we are the best around but we are only as good as our newest hire or our weakest link.

Kim Zimmer, Isthmus Eye Care
Business Manager

With 17 employees and two locations in Middleton and Madison, Wis., this optometric practice steers clear of micromanagement and empowers employees with autonomy.

Generally we will go for the personality. Most anyone can be trained, but not everyone has the right attitude. But we also love to get candidates with experience. We have had good luck getting people with both experience and a great attitude.

We try to empower our employees overall to do what they need to do to help the offices run efficiently. We let our opticians select the eyewear products they want to bring in. We set the level where the inventory should stay, but they can bring in new companies and the products they believe will sell the best.

We have weekly staff meetings at each location where we go over the stats and goals for the month. We also usually offer some type of education, such as training on new procedures in different areas of the office. We also have offsite retreats where we get everyone out of the office and do things like personality testing, one-on-one communications, and training on office procedures.

Elizabeth Ann Davey, Inland Eye Center
Office Manager

This eyecare provider, which has both an optometrist and ophthalmologist on staff, has two locations in Spokane and Colfax, Wash. The staff, which consists of five full-time people and 20 part-timers, is managed by five supervisors.

Mainly through word of mouth because I know most everyone in the optical business in Spokane. Reps and labs are a great resource; you can find the best people there sometimes. My husband is an optician who has his own private lab, so that is also a great resource. We have also found it helpful to go through hiring agencies that do a lot of the busy work—we've used those for the last couple of years.

We strive to hire for their personality and then teach them what we need them to know. We're not a mass merchant; people come here because they like us and they like our service. We have to have a person who meets and greets and is good with older people. That is very important.