The Optical Vision Site

Hiring Optical Employees? – Ten-Step Interview Tips

Thank you to U.S. Vision for sharing this Ten-Step Interview tip adapted from the book: Hiring Smart.

1. Make small talk
2. Go over the job briefly
3. Ask questions in sequence:
   • Education
   • Job history
   • Outside interests
   • Strengths
   • Shortcomings
   • Goals, personal and professional
4. Take notes
5. Probe, probe, probe – always in your areas of optical expertise
6. Announce, “We have about five more minutes.”
7. Tell the candidate what to expect next in the selection process and when
8. Let you potential optical employee ask questions
9. Thank the candidate
10. Compare notes with other interviewers

Top 15 Reasons To Fire Someone

One of the worst things I hate to do is fire someone. I have a timeline as it takes me 3 days to do it, because it is so hard. Day 1, get written documentation in order. Day 2- Gear self up and make notes as to why I am firing and Day 3- Just Do It.

The reality is firing someone is not always bad. In some cases it can be a relief to both parties. Of course no one wants to get fired, but that is only the ego talking. I have actually been thanked for firing a person, as they went on to bigger and better things. If you have a bad apple in the bunch and you are not doing any thing about it, you lose respect from your employees.

On the reverse side, if you are an employee this is how not to get fired!

Of course the best thing is to Fire them up not Fire them, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

The single most important thing to do in business is to ask yourself “Is this an asset or a liability?” So go ahead and ask yourself “Is this employee helping us or costing us more money?” When you think that way making the decision to fire someone becomes easier

So when should you fire someone?

1. Stealing
2. Habitually Late
3. Absenteeism
4. Racism
5. Poor Morale and effecting the morale of other personnel, trouble making, poor attitude
6. Losing good workers due to one poor worker.
7. Not doing their work and not getting results
8. Directly disobeying orders and responsibilities
9. Sexual harassment and wanton sexuality, dressing inappropriately
10. Drug and Alcohol on the job
11. Inability to do the job, making the same mistake over and over, refusal to learn
12. Losing patients, being rude and not customer service oriented.
13. Lying
14. Violation of Protected Material
15. Doing personal projects at work, i.e cell phones, texting, Facebook …

Before firing an employee, a manager should know the state’s rules and regulations and that they can’t fire someone because of race, gender or sexual orientation. Fire an employee legally with tips from an administrative trainer in this free video on business management and leadership skills.

How to Fire an Employee Legally — powered by eHow.com

Eyecare Contests For Optical Professionals-Fun and Motivating

Many eyecare offices don’t like spiffs and contests in their office. I think I have heard every objection in the book from ‘it’s unprofessional’ they are ‘not fair to all employees’, we don’t allow freebies and we don’t want the focus on only one product when we have alot of other products to sell. While I can agree with some of the above, there is nothing like a contest to add a little spice and fun into the office. Coming into summer is one of the hardest time to go to work,  long days, the kids are off, people are vacations to fun places and your stuck in the office doing the same ole thing, staring out windows and day dreaming. Why not consider getting involved in some sort of contest or allow your staff to participate in winning anything from a trip to an iPad.

In answer to some of the objections- first you can make spiffs or contest entries a part of the whole office. Drawing names out of a hat at a staff meeting, a reward for an employee of the month are just a few ways you can reward eyecare staff with some of your contest winnings. For staff just to let you know, depending on state, city and county laws, any winnings on the job might belong to your employer, so it’s best if you get the OK first if you are going to participate, especially when it comes to spiff programs.

That said I thought we would give everyone a quick rundown of contests that are currently available from our sponsors. Do you think it would be tacky for me to enter to win the iPad, I really want one!

Zyloware Promotion for Free iPad Giveaway

Zyloware is offering a free iPad

Extreme Makeover- Visionease and Fashion Optical Display

Vision Ease with Fashion Optical Display offering a Extreme Makeover Promo. By participating in the program, you get an entry in to Fashion Optical’s up to $5,000 free sun makeover.

Signet Armorlite- Win A Trip To Hollywood

Signet Armorlite’s Trip to the Kodak Theater in Hollywood ends June 30th.

Rewards

• iCoat- ongoing reward program
• OptiCote- Ongoing reward program
• Tura Rewards- Ongoing

Saving Money by Reducing Optical Employee Turnover

One of the best ways of saving money is by reducing optical employee turnover. Thank you to FirstSight Vision  Services for bringing this interesting and  money saving topic to our attention. Human Resources is an important part of making any optical business successful.

How to Reduce Optical Employee Turnover

Develop a Hiring Strategy - Start off by creating detailed job descriptions. Such descriptions may help optical employers reduce their exposure to lawsuits by setting expectations from the beginning. Once you have a job description, commit to hiring the best candidates rather than the first candidates who meet your minimum requirements. Carefully review the optical employee applicant’s resume for skills, education, and relevant experience. Be sure to always contact references. And finally, will this person get along with his or her prospective optical coworkers? Is he/she a good match with your working environment? This person could affect other employees in your optical business. Having a detailed strategy improves your chances that the new hire experience will be a positive one.

Provide Orientation and Training – The more valued, accepted, and secure new people feel, the greater the chance for longevity with your company. Employees are more likely to remain loyal to businesses committed to staff development and promoting from within. They often need to feel there is opportunity for learning and advancement. You can accomplish this with ongoing education and training that strengthens skills and gives optical employees more confidence in their jobs.

Conduct Performance Appraisals – It’s important that optical employees know how they are performing and how management views their progress. A performance appraisal should demonstrate the expectations placed on employees and how they respond to the tasks given to them.

Source: Paychex Spotlight May 2010

What’s Hot For Summer – Optical Summer Interns

The Great Recession is slowly recovering but unemployment numbers are still at the worst since 1948. It is hard for people without experience to jump into the workplace, especially new graduates. There will be many students needing summer internship positions this summer and this is a low cost opportunity for optical businesses to see if they can find projects for students to work on that will benefit the business. Projects that the regular staff do not have the time or skills to attempt would be ideal.

Some What’s Hot for Summer – Optical Summer Intern project examples:

• Improving on or even creating a data base for customer mailings and follow ups

• Creating a Facebook page and Fan page with photos, images and events, explaining terminology

• Special Marketing events with Strategic partners
• Using Social Media to book appointments etc.

I recently read that ClearVision Optical has been selected as the Dowling College Internship Program “Employer of the Semester” for the Spring 2010 term. Reading this prompted me to write this post as Internship programs are a benefit to both parties and I have personally been a big fan of doing this for a long time. I believe the employer and other optical employees can learn from the intern. ClearVision Optical has been involved in internships for many years and is a great example of giving back to the community by mentoring the younger generation. Over 50 companies were considered for the award upon student nomination. ClearVision was the top contender based on the number and caliber of internship opportunities offered and the commitment made to help Dowling College students complement their education with real life experience.

Internships are appropriate in just about any working environment from a small optical practice to a multinational optical company. We would like to hear about any optical internship programs that you have been involved in or any tips as part of our What’s Hot for Summer topics.

What to Look For in New Optical Hires

A new optical employee is a big investment and knowing when you have found the right candidate is vital and is one of the most important aspect of Human Resource responsibilities. This means more than following your instincts. Supervisors need to know what important criteria to look for in new hires.

The following are red flags to be aware of when recruiting new optical employees:

Energy and Flexibility!

1. Flexibility. For most jobs, you don’t want a rigid person who can only do things one way. You want someone who is capable of blending in and being open to how things operated within the company.

2. Dependability. This may not be the world’s most exciting trait, but it surely is a useful one. This optical employee shows up on time, meets deadlines, performs well and doesn’t make excuses when something goes wrong.

3. Loyalty. You aren’t interested in an employee who is going to move on to another company in six months. Someone who may appear too good to be true or who has been switching jobs for a couple of years may not be a good pick.

4. Energy. It’s a good idea to bring in an optical employee with obvious energy to add to your team. Enthusiasm is contagious and pretty soon you find all your employees, as well as the new staffer, working at enhanced levels of productivity.

Source: US Vision - Supervisor Support and Smart Supervision

What did it take for Transitions to win Gallup Great Workplace Award?

Transitions Optical, Inc. will receive the Gallup Great Workplace Award this week. Gallup has announced that Transitions Optical, Inc. will receive the Gallup Great Workplace Award because its employee engagement results demonstrate one of the most productive and engaged workforces in the world.

This is quite an achievement and we congratulate Transitions on winning. We also realize that it was difficult and asked ourselves the question “What did it take  for Transitions to win Gallup Workplace Award? “

The Gallup Great Workplace Award is based on the most rigorous workplace research ever conducted.  Companies are judged on multiple criteria, including response rates, overall engagement levels, and evidence of engagement impact on performance.  Applicants’ results are compared across Gallup’s renowned workplace research database composed of millions of work teams in more than 150 countries.  A panel of workplace experts evaluated the award-winning organizations.

We thought it would be interesting to see the list of winners and some of the criteria as it would be a good way to learn how to become better employers.

The criteria  included a best practices portfolio that includes:

• a one-page description that explains how the organization has linked engagement to business outcomes
• a strategic plan that highlights building engagement within the organization
• two or three organization-wide best practice initiatives
• 20 workgroup-level best practice action plans
• one example of a tool, program, or process that has been created or used to increase or promote employee engagement within the organization

Other 2010 Gallup Workplace Award winners are:

• ABC Supply Co., Inc (four-time winner)
• Alexian Brothers Hospital Network (two-time winner)
• ASB Bank (three-time winner)
• Atlantica Hotels International (two-time winner)
• Bharti Airtel Limited (three-time winner)
• Bon Secours Richmond Health System
• B&Q (four-time winner)
• Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.
• Cable & Wireless Panama (two-time winner)
• Campbell Soup Company (four-time winner)
• Eisenhower Medical Center
• HealthEast Care System
• Hendrick Health System (four-time winner)
• Indian Hotels Company Limited
• Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation
• Novo Nordisk, Product Supply A/S
• Parrish Medical Center
• PNC Bank (two-time winner)
• Self Regional Healthcare (three-time winner)
• Sisters of Mercy Health Systems
• Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong three-time winner; Kenya, Thailand, and Korea)
• Stryker (four-time winner)
• Vanguard Health Systems
• Winegardner & Hammons, Inc. (four-time winner)

Congratulations Transitions!

Dealing With Disruptive Co-workers

Some people need quiet to concentrate while others embrace noise or talking as part of the creative process. Everyone is different. What do you do if an employee is disruptive and upsetting co-workers. The first step is to figure out whether the employee’s behavior is just annoying or if it really does interfere with co-workers ability to to their job. Some people may be more sensitive or intolerant if they are unhappy in their jobs, under a lot of stress or dealing with personal issues. They may be more prone to find something wrong with a co-workers behavior.

Talking too loud on the phone is a common annoyance and can be disruptive to everyone around including your optical customers.  Often colleagues don’t realize they are creating problems and are willing to make changes. Explain to the employee that his or her behavior is interfering with others’ ability to do their job. The talk does not have to be uncomfortable. Make it about work, not personal issues, and frame comments by using “I” instead of “you” to avoid criticizing or offending . Dealing with disruptive co-workers quickly keeps everybody happy and can let you know about problems you may have been unaware of.

Non-disruptive OWA event attendees except for the one in the middle!

Speaking of being disruptive, at the OWA event on Friday in New York, people were talking and having a good time while the presentations were going on and it was almost impossible to hear what was being said. I was quite impressed when one of the presenters asked very firmly for the group to quiet down and they did, only for about 60 seconds but they were not offended and they did try to be less disruptive! You just have to ask nicely and ask more than once!

From left to right:

• Sherrie Rogerson – DoctorsVision Center
• Cathy Ciccolella – Jobson
• Cathy Ives – The Optical Vision Site
• Ann Englert and Grady Culbreth