Peel Back the Layers:

Talentcare works with hundreds of optometry practices across the country and we know what entails a great optician.

We recently published our findings in our Seeing Things Clearly: How to Hire the Best Opticians whitepaper that explains where these candidates are job-seeking, what competencies to look for and how to identify top candidates throughout the interview process. Take a peek at the excerpt below to see what competencies to look for when narrowing down candidates.

Before you dedicate time to interview hundreds of candidates, it’s important to have an understanding of what makes a top performer a top performer. Good news for you! We‘ve learned in our work with optometry offices across North America what exactly it takes. These are things you need to be aware of when you are reviewing candidates and interviewing them. Having a grasp on these criteria will allow you to look for specific skills and personalities that will work with your team.

Communication is Key

This group’s highest cognitive strengths relate to vocabulary and verbal reasoning. This group can analyze information using both concrete and abstract information and exhibits advanced verbal fluency.

• Interestingly, top performing Opticians do not perceive themselves as influential. They are typically more concerned with communication than persuasion.
• They are straightforward and upfront, preferring honesty regardless of their own goals.

It’s in the Details

This group perceives value in orderliness and are likely to spend time keeping their workspace clean and tidy.

• They prefer an environment where attention to detail is critical and will work hard to avoid mistakes.
• Instinctive decision-making, often relying on their “gut”

We’re All in This Together

This group enjoys contributing their skills to the success of the team and following through on the plans and vision of others.

• They prefer to be active participants in decision- making.
• This group prefers to work in a culture where it is the norm to be critical or to question.

Because opticians are the primary salespeople in an optical practice, many believe that searching for someone that is “nice” is the number one quality of a well-fitting optician. Listen, opticians are NOT naturally gentle people. They have a bite. They are competitive and desire group-oriented success. When their coworkers don’t have the same enthusiasm for one another or don’t want to help each other achieve goals, they get really temperamental about it. When unexpected, this type of go-getter personality can cause some issues in the team dynamic and practices end up firing the highest performing opticians.

With this in mind, stay focused on the list of qualities mentioned above vs. focusing on all the “nice” candidates.

Rather than reshaping the profile of an optician – one of your revenue- generating roles – consider reshaping the profile of the team around them to people who are equally as motivated to create mutual success. This will remove the most common tension point between opticians and their coworkers.