Stronger Together EyeQ Optometrists 2023 Conference

Themed ‘Stronger Together’, EyeQ’s 2023 conference attracted a crowd of more than 120 enthusiastic optometrists and practice team members from around the country.

Having survived some of the most difficult economic times that Australia and the world have ever seen, and traversed COVID, the organisation has more recently initiated some significant change. Most notably in the past year, the decision to acquire or release franchises (depending on franchisee wishes) and to not renew the alliance with National Optical Care due to diverging goals and culture.

In addition, over the past 18 months, EyeQ has acquired seven practices that fit its model and has integrated them into the network.

The result is a reinvigorated leadership team that is actively looking for further opportunities to grow.

As non-executive director Rod Young pointed out in his presentation on business growth strategy, “scale is important to justify even better support services and be commercially competitive”.

He said the aim is to own more and better practices through acquisitions, refits, and relocations, to invest in brand and practice marketing, services, new instrumentation and technology, and provide superior services.

“We can’t rely on selling glasses, we need to invest in services… superior service and patient care will result in more referrals” which in turn will result in a “greater share of the wallet and market,” Mr Young said.

The Founder and Chairman of DC Strategy Group, a franchise consulting and legal firm, Mr Young is one of the world’s leading franchise consultants. He was inducted into the Franchising Hall of Fame in 2017.

Acknowledging the efforts of team members and strength of the EyeQ platform, he said while the broad eyewear category is growing, EyeQ practices are “outperforming the market because of the way team members are growing the business”.

“The practice model is excellent…management is really strong, we have a sound and stable platform for growth with enormous security, (and) a system and culture that I think is respected by the industry.”

He said a philosophy that allows team members and practice managers to conduct the business as if it is their own business and feel empowered to make their own decisions “is a rare feature within a network or brand”, which should be cherished.

“There is a vision for the future – we’re not looking behind… We have a real opportunity as a network,” he said.

Striving For Excellence

Lily Wegrzynowski, General Manager Optometry and People, built on Mr Young’s messages with a presentation on human resource management.

Speaking about recruitment, she quoted business management author Tom Peters who wrote, “Hire only nice people – don’t hire the jerks regardless of their expertise”.

The characteristics of “nice people”, Ms Wegrzynowski said, are those traits you’d hope to see in a eulogy as opposed to those written in a resume.

Ms Wegrzynowski spoke about the sensitive subject of performance discussions, encouraging staff to initiate them with their manager if they weren’t having them because “at the end of the day, it’s your career”.

Describing feedback as “the breakfast of champions”, she said performance discussions should not be stressful and they should not be about the past. They should be thinking about the future.

“Setting objectives, reviewing skill competencies and job titles that need changes; it’s a conversation that also requires a lot of listening.”

She recommended staff have quarterly discussions with their manager as well as an annual formal review.

Cheryl Pressley, National Operations Manager, and Suzana Babic, Training Manager, spoke about achieving operational excellence, and encouraged practice managers to use the performance measurement tools developed by EyeQ.

EyeQ’s Phocas platform collects and analyses metrics beyond topline sales of spectacles and contact lenses, providing insights into ancillary and consult sales, chair time, and clinical performance. Data collected enables practice performance to be benchmarked, allowing the success (or failure) of new strategies implemented to be measured and analysed and learnings shared across practices.

As Ms Pressley said, “Just because you measure, you don’t automatically improve, but it is the first step towards improvement.

“Achieving operational excellence goes beyond KPIs, it’s about continual improvement across all aspects of your business. There’s always something to improve: ask quarterly, what can we do better next time? It is the key to realise what to work on and what to focus on.”

High performing practitioners cited thorough handovers from optometrist to dispenser and an explanation of the benefits of progressive lenses as being integral to boosting the average frame and lens price. SMS reminders help generate a regular flow of online contact lens orders, and patients who spend more on ancillary tests tend to spend more on their optical appliances. Of course, ancillary testing provides better patient care as well.

Reflection And Connection

The conference was bookended by presentations from two highly engaging motivational speakers, Christian Boucousis and Dr Louise Mahler.

Mr Boucousis, a former fighter pilot and now a human behaviour and deep performance specialist, challenged delegates to take time for a strategic reset. This, he said, requires us to reflect on what we wanted to achieve from an action and what we did achieve.

He said for many, a barrier to this is the act of reflecting; we simply don’t like taking time to think back on what we’ve done, what went well and what didn’t.

One study found that “65% of men and 25% of women would rather have a severe electric shock than sit with their thoughts for six minutes,” he claimed. “(The shock) feels better than the thoughts. We are driven by our feelings. When we do something new, we feel good. When we stick with the old, we feel bad; we give up on roughly 95% of the things we started,” he said.

By adopting a “debrief culture”, one that empowers us to stop, reflect, think about feelings, thoughts, and actions, we give ourselves the time to “make purposeful decisions”. He observed that “a debrief culture isn’t about what we did wrong, it’s about what we can do differently tomorrow”.

He suggested delegates identify one result of an action that wasn’t great, find just one reason why it didn’t work, and then identify one way to change their approach. If the change decided on doesn’t work, repeat the process.

Mr Boucousis also explained his four-step ‘Feel–Think–Do–Loop’ method that aims to keep people connected to their purpose and the purpose of their customers.

“Where you sit right now is the sum total of every decision you’ve made in life, and we let that happen, by and large, by accident.

“We need to deliberately connect the way we feel with what we do – and that will result in us influencing the way others make decisions,” he said.

The final presentation of the day was delivered by Dr Mahler who completed an award-winning PhD on the mind–body–voice connection she named Vocal Intelligence. In her gold sequinned suit, this high energy Adjunct Professor was not about to let anyone submit to a late afternoon stupor.

During an hour-long interactive presentation that had delegates standing, sitting, questioning colleagues, and even singing, she demonstrated how we can use our eyes, body, and voice to connect with people, build their trust, and drive business.

“Systems are fine, but systems don’t sell –people sell. We need to get back to human connections,” Dr Mahler explained. “When people come into your store, it’s your body they watch, followed by your voice, followed by what you say.”

Positive first impressions are created by making eye contact and smiling, powering your stand by using your lower body, and using open arms to gain trust.

Active listening can be implied by nodding, smiling, blinking at regular intervals and making small sounds of acknowledgement with your breath.

Dr Mahler spoke about proxemics, or the psychology of personal space, how to take a neutral stance when listening to customers, and about strategies for responding to emotional or angry customer questions.

“I understand” are “illegal words” she said, because “it’s not about you, it’s about them”.

For questions with emotion, she suggested responding with:
– It’s /That’s (interesting)
– Thank you (for letting me know how you feel)
– I’m sorry (you feel that way)

For questions with anger, reflect on what the person said: the content and the emotion – this acknowledges what they’ve said, that they’ve been heard, and it buys time. Then answer, she said.

Day Two saw the room divided into two with optometrist and retail streams.

The optometrists were taken through an interactive presentation on clinical records and strategic listening by Mark Koszek, EyeQ Professional Education Officer. The retail room was engaged in workshops on practice improvement, lens designs, and dealing with patient complaints.

Sponsor Presentations

The EyeQ conference was sponsored by EyeQ preferred suppliers with Marchon, Hoya, and Alcon invited to present across the first day of the conference. A small trade fair enabled delegates to explore the offerings of these suppliers among others including Marcolin,Optique Line, Safilo, Maui Jim, De Rigo, and Eyes Right Optical.

Party Party

A gala dinner on the first evening of the conference had all delegates dressed in black and white, or as either superheroes, or another ‘character’. It’s rare to see people on the dance floor early, however there was no stopping the EyeQ team. With an 80s band on the stage and a mass of excitement after a five-year hiatus, almost all tables were emptied straight after the entrée, with revellers only returning to their seats when the main course was served.

The partying continued into the night.