Page 44 – Eye Care Business Canada

Summer Staffing with OD Students is a Good Thing!

We are finally approaching the well-loved and relaxing season of summer. Life seems a bit easier; you can get out the door with less layers t and you don’t have to worry about snow-induced traffic delays. Summer vacations and trips to the cottage are coming.

Of course, when you are running a small business, summer time can also present challenges, specifically around staffing. Luckily, there are often university students who are currently registered in Optometry School looking for summer work. They are really ideal candidates to hire for the 4 months they are available. They are committed to the industry, they want to learn as much as they can and they are eager to do well.

In our experience, having this additional staff member has more than paid for itself. During the weeks when you are fully staffed, the summer student can tackle jobs that have been on the back burner; organizing the CL trial room, reviewing frame pricing, doing an inventory, price comparisons, the list goes on.

Further, many staff take summer vacations, and with an extra member on your team during this time, you don’t have to go short handed. The reality is, you want your patients who visit in the summer to have the same great experience in your office now as they would in the winter with a full compliment of staff ready to serve and assist.

Another advantage to hiring an OD student for the summer is the potential for grooming an associate for the future. Working in your practice, they will become very knowledgeable about the front end of your business. Understanding the flow from appointment booking to retail sales will make this associate a valuable member of your team very quickly.

It is tempting to consider going short staffed for the weeks different members are off on vacation. This, of course, is not ideal. Not only will the patient experience be compromised but it will likely also have an impact on your Revenue per Patient (RPP) – the two are intimately related. Are patients receiving additional testing to improve their health care outcomes, are they finding glasses that they want to purchase, are they leaving with drops and vitamins for preventative measures? Discussing these solutions takes time and energy. Tracking and reviewing RPP will give you some reassurance that maintaining a full compliment of staff is in the best interests of both your patients and your business.

KELLY HRYCUSKO

is the co-founder and managing partner of Simple Innovative Management Ideas (SIMI) Inc. and expert Practice Management contributor for Optik magazine. She can be reached at info@simiinc.com.

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Top 8 Things Corporate Optometry Needs to Change

Differentiation | Business Strategy, Practice

It’s ironic isn’t it. Many optometry students are absolutely sure that they won’t join a corporate retailer. Their stated preference is to enter private practice. However, most of them will be sending in their CVs to these retailers at graduation time.

If you are about to graduate, the above scenario probably rings true. What you need to know is that corporate optometry can certainly be a lucrative field – but it also has its fair share of shortcomings.

There are major disadvantages of corporate optometry practices that you ought to know beforehand.

Here are 8 important aspects of corporate optometry that need to change for the better.

Improve Working Hours

Many people envy corporate optometrists because these jobs usually begin from 10 am onwards. But that’s only half the story. Late starts simply mean that shifts runs later into the evening.

Many Corporate ODs are required to work till 8 pm (or later) every night and often on weekends as well. This is disruptive to work-life balance and is a major reason why most employees in this field start feeling alienated from family and friends.

Let ODs Control the Schedule

One of the most significant problems in corporate optometry jobs is that managers who are not professionally liable such as a general manager (GM) or a records manager (RM), control the scheduling of patients and dictate daily work practices. While not always the case, it is very common.

People in positions of authority and power may know how to run a business but they do not know the intricacies of eye care or the time and individual attention that each patient requires. Scheduling should be left to ODs and/or associates who directly deal with patients.

Improve Knowledge of Lens Optics

We might have spent years in optometry school, taken several courses and undergone a lot of training, but the fact is that technology is always evolving. Instead of being lured by fancy marketing techniques and buzzwords, doctors need to continuously update themselves with the latest technological advancements.

ODs must develop a better understanding of the working principles of the lenses. Having deeper know-how of lens optics will enable us to make the right recommendations for patients. Corporate retailers should be facilitating this knowledge transfer to corporate ODs.

Reward Top Performers

A primary reason why many ODs will sweat it out in corporate optometry is in hope of eventually getting a sublease. They will work painfully through the hectic and demanding job requirements, serving as much as 7 days a week in order to reach their goals.

Better performers ought to be rewarded with better lease options because they have already proven themselves to be worthy of running one successfully.

Pay Opticians Better

Another disadvantage of corporate optometry is that Licensed Dispensing Opticians are rarely rewarded with better pay. It goes without saying that licensed opticians are far more skilled at what they do and know the tricks of the trade a lot better than the non-licensed staff. Therefore, opticians pay must be more reflective of their higher qualifications.

Training for Everyone

As mentioned above, as extensive as any academic course might be, there’s no denying that practical application requires a lot more than theoretical knowledge.

Every employee in the industry needs to be given practical hands-on training in order to improve the quality of their service.

Advocate the Profession of Optometry

Corporate optometry is far more than performing a ‘glasses and contact lens exam.’ Of course, you would know this if you are a corporate optometrist.

But this is a common misconception that exists amongst the general public. Customers are often bewildered at why a particular exam or service costs beyond what they imagined.

Corporate optometry is a complex practice where every eye exam is customized to the patient’s needs. The public needs to better understand this and Corporate Optometry leadership needs to tell that story.

Pay Fairly

It is said that two things should never be asked: a student’s percentage and an employee’s wage. But not sharing pay information with fellow workers gives the bosses the upper hand.

You may (or may not!) be surprised to know that most ODs have very different salaries, even if they belong to the same corporation in the same city. What’s more unfortunate is that the corporations know of this disparity and apparently use that asymmetrical information to their advantage.

Do you know what your colleague across the street is earning? Try to find out because it is likely that you are leaving money on the table.

Moving forward on any and all of these points will move the entire profession forward, and with it, patient care and customer satisfaction. With the suggested changes, don’t be surprised if corporate optometry job satisfaction improves, OD recruitment is made easier and job retention is enhanced.

MARIA SAMPALIS

is the founder of Corporate Optometry, a peer-to-peer web resource for ODs interested to learn more about opportunities in corporate optometry. Canadian ODs and optometry students can visit www.corporateoptometry.com to learn more.

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Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus

Buying-Selling A Practice, Finance|Wealth, Practice

I must admit that when this book first came out in the early nineties, I never read it. I still have not read the book to this day. The premise of the book was that most common relationship problems between men and women are a result of fundamental psychological differences between the sexes. Of course, there are differences. Men and women approach things completely different which is probably the reason I have never had the inclination to pick it up. Why read about the obvious??

Then I began thinking about practice values. All successful practitioners take the time to calculate the value of their clinic in the market. By determining this value, they know how much this specific asset is worth. Even if one is not ready to sell, having the valuation completed allows an owner to expand, grow and further increase the value of the practice.

Whenever I speak or write about the factors that affect value, I always make reference to the financials, the value of the actual assets in the clinic, whether the associates and staff are on contracts, the lease, and other factors. Whether you are male or female, as an owner these factors are the same and they definitely impact value.

However, when discussing values specifically with female owners it is a different conversation than with male owners. For instance, more women than men are actually surprised with the final value because the practice ends up being valued higher than what they originally thought. As women, I think we tend to underestimate ourselves and as such, the value in the business itself is not seen for what it really is.

Practice values for women will definitely be affected by age and stage. For example, if a valuation is being done during or after a maternity leave, financials are going to be affected. When we calculate value, we use a three-year weighted average. During this specific stage of life, because a woman will have worked less this means revenue is less yet expenses like rent or staff must still be paid, which means less profit or cash flow. What about when children are young and as a practice owner, practice hours must be juggled? I remember when my daughter was first born until about age 5 my time and earning capacity for my career was reduced because of the stage of life we were in. Remember, cashflow is a huge factor that affects value. Not to generalize but the birth of a child has less affect on the practice’s value when the owner is male. Another stage that potentially affects the value of a female owner is someone who is in her mid to late 50’s and is trying to manage aging parents? Again, these personal situations can affect the performance of the clinic for obvious reasons. I do wish to note that I am not saying managing elderly parents is exclusive to women, men deal with this as well. I am simply making a generalization.

The practice is a significant asset and also another child. What is key for female owners is that women must ask and know the value of their businesses. There will come a time when the decision to sell will be made. Hopefully, it will be part of the overall investment and retirement strategy. Unfortunately, there are many statistics confirming that women do not invest as much as men do.

When female owners do decide to have a practice value completed, please remember one thing. If any of these stages I have referenced required your attention, please do not be apologetic for where your value ends up. If you did take time off to raise a family or manage a personal situation, do not regret having a business that “could” be producing more. An appraisal will definitely cause any owner to reflect on their management and success to date. However, success is not only defined as the number of patients you saw or the level of revenue you achieved. Success is not one dimensional. The definition of success differs from one person to another. Taking care of one’s family, making money and maintaining your own sanity throughout are also clear signs of overall success.

The last point I wish to make, regardless of whether you are a man or woman is that you must be in charge of your finances and future. A huge step to accomplishing this is knowing the value of your practice.

JACKIE JOACHIM

Jackie has 30 years of experience in the industry as a former banker and now the Chief Operating Officer of ROI Corporation. Please contact her at Jackie.joachim@roicorp.com or 1-844-764-2020.

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Finding Opportunity in a Simplified Supply Chain

Marketing, Merchandising, Resources

We have been working on some interesting projects lately that have afforded us the opportunity to meet with a number of suppliers. These meetings reminded me of how important it is to understand the complete Supply Chain and further, the Value Chain.

To start, a supply chain is the process of all parties involved in fulfilling a customer request while a value chain is a set of interrelated activities a company uses to create a competitive advantage. As small business owners, ECPs want to understand both of these in order to identify opportunities themselves.

Let’s take the assembly of a pair of glasses as an example. The supply chain is familiar to all of us in the industry. We have the frame and lens manufacturers, the frame and lens distributors, the labs and then the opticals. There have been some fairly significant changes in recent history that have changed the supply change.

I would argue that the most significant change was in the lens industry with the introduction of Free Form equipment. It has allowed more customization in lens manufacturing. What does this mean for the optometrist? There is an opportunity here to differentiate by offering the latest in manufacturing technology. If your strategy is to offer the best technology, than this could be a key product to help you define your offering.

Frame manufacturing is also set to see a major change. Up until now, the vast majority of frames have been manufactured outside of the country. With the introduction of 3D printing, we are seeing the possibility of mass production of frames in our own country instead. Environmentally, there is an advantage to this type of manufacturing as it has the potential to reduce waste significantly. For a practice that is strategically set up to cater to Millennials, this could be quite appealing to their target audience.

These are changes to the Supply Chain – the way in which the goods in the industry are made available to optometrists and opticians. Some owners are using Freeform lenses and 3D printing as a competitive advantage. Early adopters of this technology will certainly attract the more progressive consumers in the marketplace.

The Value Chain is a little bit different. To set themselves apart, these same companies may focus on offering better price, service or product in their category. Take a lab that offers overnight production of a lens product. Their value proposition to the marketplace is speed of service. This, however, does a cost a little bit more in both man power (imagine overtime hours, a second shift of workers and/or same day delivery costs). However, for a practice that wants to differentiate itself through fast service, paying a little bit more for this type of service from their lab makes sense.

The same holds true for frame manufacturers. One might offer frames at a lower price point but the trade off is the quality of the product. If your practice’s strategy is to sell at a high volume, this frame manufacturer would be a good fit.

It’s an exciting time to be in the Optical Industry as offerings in both the Supply and Value Chains in the optical industry are creating many opportunities for ECPs to differentiate themselves and be supported. With an eye on your strategy, by ever aware of the changes and mindful of the opportunities.