Optical Profitability and Open Book Management

Written by Cathy on March 19, 2009 – 7:21 am -

The first time I ever was involved in Open Book Management was about 20 years ago in Dr. Dave Geffen’s Office. At the start of the Staff meeting- he relayed the optical numbers to his staff- how many frames sold, how many second pairs, sunglasses, add ons and multiple pairs. When multiple pair sales were not reaching goal, the staff came up with ideas on how to increase sales. I was impressed. Since that time, I have been in other staff meetings where monthly optical numbers were the first order of business. In one office, they posted daily and weekly stats on a whiteboard. The stats also included optical errors, which was a good thing- it holds people accountable and optical errors cost money and patients. In another office, the stats were read and upon completing goals, staff were rewarded by days off, trips to Vision Expo, parking spaces and more. 

So What is Open Book Management? According to Wikipedia- open book management is a program designed to give all employees appropriate financial information about the company to order for them to make informed decisions.The basic rules for Open-Book Management are as follows:

  • Give employees training to understand the financial information
  • Give employees all relevant financial information
  • Give employees responsibility for the numbers under their control.
  • Give employees a financial stake in how the company performs.

Personally speaking, I can’t tell you how many optical offices I have been in, where the staff couldn’t tell you how many frames a day they sell, how many eye exams are given, the average sale and how many contact lens they dispense. Every single one of these items are crucial to the profitability of your office. 

Perhaps you don’t want to share everything right away- but you might start with the following criteria: 

  1. Number of Frames Sold per Month
  2. Number of Plano Sunglasses Sold per Month
  3. Number of 2nd Pair Sold per Month
  4. Number of Contacts Sold per Month
  5. Number of Accessories Sold per Month 
  6. Number of Lens Packages Sold per Month (UV, AR, Scratch Coat) 
  7. Number of Eye Exams Booked 

Now you will have all optical staff involved in the success of the office, in addition each staff member will know what they need to do to make goal. They feel more involved and in control. Plus it builds teamwork between staff members, with everybody being on the same page. 

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One Response to “Optical Profitability and Open Book Management”

  1. By Keshia on Mar 23, 2009 | Reply

    Hi! My name is Keshia, and I actually work for the father of Open-Book Management, Jack Stack’s company that teaches our practice of Open-Book Management to other organizations, The Great Game of Business. I just wanted to say that I enjoyed your post and thank you for sharing the benefits of OBM in optical practices on your blog. I believe that OBM is a philosophy that will become even more valuable with the uncertainty of the economy in the next few months, and it is so important for entrepreneurs to communicate with their employees on such critical issues. Have a great day and thanks for sharing!

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