What you need to know about being an Optometrist Store Manager

What you need to know about being an Optometrist Store Manager
Becomingan Optometrist Store Manager is always a great step forward and a majormilestone. It’s your chance to put your stamp on the store and create anenvironment where your team can thrive and win together. We care about ourcolleagues and customers, so we want our Optometrist Store Managers to have allthe tools they need to be successful. But wherever your talents lie, we pavethe way for
exceptional opportunities.
You’llbe able to
pursue your vision
, bring ourbrand to life and help make your Vision Express store the best that it can be.The role also means allowing your colleagues to have their say on how to makecustomers feel as welcome as possible.
Ifyou’re keen to learn about what it’s like to work as an Optometrist StoreManager, then you’re in luck because we’ve spoken to one of our colleagues, Hasnain.He shared his story and experiences of life as an Optometrist Store Manager atVision Express. Training comes first Wealways value training and getting as much experience as you can. It’s the bestway to help you learn the trade and build your confidence before taking theleap into one of our stores. Firstly, Hasnain explained how he came to work forVision Express:
“Istarted in my store in February, so very recently. Before that, I was trainingfor two months in another store in Chisholm. I have managed teams before, as an optical manager, so I know what it takesto be a good leader.
Butthat was mainly Optom teams which is a bit different in an OSM role becauseyou’re dealing with the retail side of things in this role as well. It’s not acompletely different ball game – however, it’s very different to what I wasused to but the skills are transferable.” Life as an Optometrist Store Manager Asan Optometrist Store Manager, you’ll need lots of energy, great ideas and theability to solve problems. It’s a varied role and there are differentchallenges depending on the store, but it can be a great experience for theright person.
“Firstoff, it's a small store, so I've got three members of staff and we're stillrecruiting. My first patient starts at 9:00, so I’m testing straightaway. But,in between patients there are always things to do. For example, making surethat the appointments for the next day are being called, and catching up onyour emails from the regional manager and your team.”
“Doingall of that in-between get very busy, so I've set aside some admin time of twohalf-days a week. That gives me enough time to just take a step back and lookat what needs to be done in-store and focus on that.”
“I'mnew to Vision Express, so I’ve had to learn all the processes and theoperational stuff as I go along. So, if you have staff that already know how todo that and just need your guidance in what to do, it makes it really helpful.” How do Optometrist Store Managers differ from traditionalOptometrist roles? OptometristStore Manager jobs do differ from the traditional Optometrist role. You’ll befar more concerned with the bigger picture and what’s happening around thestore. So, rather than just being in control of the test room, you will berunning the whole store and making sure our colleagues are striving to deliverthe best customer experience.
“It’sbasically like running your own practice. You have that freedom. You can changethings around how you want to, but the support is always there.”
“Youlook at the store as a whole. You manage its finances, you look at your KPIsevery day see where you can improve as a store. As an Optometrist, you’re justtesting and you’re in control of just the test room, but as an OptometristStore Manager you’re in control of the whole place. Anything that goes on outthere, even though I’m in here [the test room], I’m still responsible, so Ijust make sure that I’m on top of it every single day.”
“Onething I've really liked about Vision Express as an Optometrist Store Manager isthe support you get from the Central Operations team. You send an email toanyone and it gets actioned straight away.
“Thesupport you get to run the store itself is really good. You shadow anothermanager for two months and that gives you a real insight into what it's likeand you learn a lot of the processes as well. I've never seen a company paysomeone their full wage whilst shadowing someone for two months. I can seepeople doing that for a couple of weeks, but I was really surprised by that,actually. That was really good.” What skills do you need? “Themain thing is interpersonal skills with your staff. As a new manager, you needto understand them. You need to know how to relate to people and communicatewith people who have different personalities.
“Youneed to respect your existing team, and not make too many changes straight away.Just assess things and observe things, see how they work. Then slowly, slowlymake changes like we've done here, keeping the staff involved with it.”
Overall,you’ll gain a breadth of knowledge as an Optometrist Store Manager and be ableto build yourself up as a leader. You’ll get the chance to build relationshipswith various people, mentor your colleagues and continue to move your store ina positive direction. Are you looking for a new role as an Optometrist Store Manager? We’recommitted to helping you thrive in your role as an Optometrist Store Manager.Our team cares about your career and we want to help you move forward andcreate joy through your work. If you’re interested in finding out more aboutbecoming an Optometrist Store Manager,
apply to one of our jobs
and get intouch with our friendly team for further information. Store Support Centre, Ruddington, NottinghamStore Support Centre, Ruddington, NottinghamEveryone has an important part to play in our continuing success – whatever their role, their experience or their area of expertise. We’ve chosen some colleagues to give you a brief insight into what life’s like at Vision Express.
#J-18808-Ljbffr