When practice owners think about improving customer service, their first instinct is often to look at reception scripts, communication training, or patient feedback surveys.
While these initiatives certainly have their place, exceptional customer experiences are rarely created by customer service training alone. In reality, customer focus begins much earlier: during recruitment, onboarding, leadership development, performance management, and workplace culture.
The most successful optometry and ophthalmology practices understand that patient experience is fundamentally a people issue. When staff feel supported, engaged, and aligned with the practice’s values, they are significantly more likely to deliver the type of service that encourages patients to return, refer friends and family, and remain loyal to the practice for years.
The question becomes: how can human resources (HR) strategies help create a genuinely customer-focused practice?
Many hiring decisions focus heavily on experience. While experience is important, it does not always translate into excellent patient care.
Start by Hiring for Service Mindset
Technical skills can often be taught. Attitude is much harder to develop.
Whether recruiting an optical dispenser, receptionist, practice manager, technician, or clinician, practices should place equal importance on customer service capability and technical competence.
Many hiring decisions focus heavily on experience. While experience is important, it does not always translate into excellent patient care.
Instead, consider incorporating behavioural interview questions that explore how candidates have handled real customer situations, such as:
- Tell me about a time you dealt with an upset customer.
- Describe a situation where you went above and beyond for a patient.
- How do you balance efficiency with providing personalised service?
- What does excellent customer service mean to you?
The responses often reveal far more about future performance than a resume alone.
Practices should also consider involving multiple team members in the recruitment process. Different perspectives can help identify candidates who not only possess the required skills but are also likely to fit the culture of the practice.
Build Customer Focus into Onboarding
Many onboarding programs focus primarily on systems, compliance requirements, and administrative processes. While these are essential, they should not overshadow the patient experience.
New employees should understand from day one:
- What the practice stands for,
- What exceptional service looks like,
- How patients should feel when interacting with the team, and
- The behaviours that support a positive patient experience.
Consider introducing new employees to patient journey mapping during onboarding. Walk them through the entire patient experience, from booking an appointment through to consultation, dispensing, treatment, follow-up, and recalls.
Helping employees understand how their role impacts the overall patient journey creates a stronger sense of ownership and accountability.
When service standards are clearly defined, employees are far more likely to deliver them consistently.
Define What Great Service Looks Like
One of the most common challenges I observe when consulting with practices is that expectations around customer service are often assumed rather than clearly defined.
Practice owners may know exactly what great service looks like, but employees cannot consistently deliver expectations that have never been articulated. So, it’s important to create clear behavioural expectations for all staff. Examples might include:
- Greeting patients promptly,
- Maintaining eye contact and positive body language,
- Taking ownership of patient concerns,
- Following through on commitments,
- Communicating proactively when delays occur, and
- Supporting colleagues during busy periods.
These expectations should be documented, discussed regularly, and incorporated into performance conversations.
When service standards are clearly defined, employees are far more likely to deliver them consistently.
Develop Leaders Who Model Customer Focus
Culture flows from leadership. Employees watch what leaders do far more closely than they listen to what leaders say.
If managers are impatient with patients, dismissive of staff concerns, or inconsistent in their approach, those behaviours quickly spread throughout the organisation. Conversely, leaders who demonstrate empathy, professionalism, accountability, and respect establish a standard that others naturally follow. Practice managers and senior clinicians play a particularly important role because they influence both patient interactions and team dynamics. Investing in leadership development can have a direct impact on customer experience.
Managers should be equipped to:
- Provide constructive feedback,
- Address behavioural issues promptly,
- Coach employees effectively,
- Manage difficult conversations,
- Recognise positive performance, and
- Create psychological safety within teams.
When leaders support their teams effectively, employees are generally more engaged and better equipped to support patients.
Measure More Than Financial Performance
Most practices closely monitor revenue, appointment utilisation, and sales performance. Fewer consistently measure customer service behaviours.
What gets measured tends to get attention. Consider tracking indicators such as:
- Patient satisfaction scores,
- Online reviews,
- Patient retention rates,
- Referral rates,
- Complaints and compliments,
- Recall effectiveness, and
- Mystery shopping outcomes.
Importantly, the goal is not to create a culture of surveillance. Instead, measurement should be used to identify strengths, celebrate success, and uncover opportunities for improvement.
Sharing positive feedback from patients can be particularly powerful. Many employees rarely hear the positive impact they have on patients’ lives. Highlighting these moments reinforces desired behaviours and strengthens engagement.
Recognise and Reward Customer-Focused Behaviour
Employees naturally pay attention to what is recognised. If the only achievements celebrated are sales figures or productivity targets, staff may conclude that service quality is less important.
Recognition does not need to be expensive. Simple initiatives can have a significant impact:
- Sharing positive patient feedback at team meetings,
- Peer recognition programs,
- Employee appreciation awards,
- Public acknowledgement of exceptional service, and
- Small rewards for demonstrating practice values.
The key is consistency. When customer-focused behaviours are regularly recognised, they become embedded within the culture.
Address Service Issues Early
Even strong employees occasionally develop habits that negatively affect patient experience. Perhaps communication becomes rushed, empathy declines during busy periods, or teamwork begins to deteriorate.
The longer these issues remain unaddressed, the more likely they are to become normalised. Managers should provide timely feedback when service standards are not being met.
Effective feedback is:
- Specific,
- Behaviour-focused,
- Respectful,
- Timely, and
- Solution-oriented.
Rather than criticising personality traits, focus on observable behaviours and the impact those behaviours have on patients, colleagues, and the business. Early intervention often prevents larger performance issues from developing later.
Create a Culture of Continuous Improvement
Customer expectations continue to evolve. What impressed patients five years ago may now be considered standard service. High-performing practices actively seek feedback and use it to drive improvement.
Consider asking:
- What do patients consistently praise?
- What frustrations appear repeatedly?
- What barriers prevent staff from delivering great service?
- Which processes create unnecessary friction?
Employees are often closest to the problems and solutions. Encouraging staff to contribute ideas for improving patient experience not only generates valuable insights but also increases engagement and ownership.
When employees feel their voices are heard, they become more invested in the success of the practice.
The Experience Link
Perhaps the most important lesson for practice owners is this: Patient experience and employee experience are closely connected.
It is difficult for employees to consistently provide exceptional care when they feel unsupported, overwhelmed, unclear about expectations, or disconnected from the organisation.
Conversely, teams that experience strong leadership, clear communication, appropriate training, recognition, and a positive workplace culture are far more likely to deliver exceptional service.
The organisations that achieve long-term success recognise that customer focus is not simply a front-desk initiative or a training workshop. It is the outcome of deliberate ‘people practices’ implemented throughout the employee lifecycle.
Final Thoughts
Improving customer focus is often viewed as an operational challenge, but the most sustainable improvements usually come from effective HR practices.
Recruiting the right people, onboarding them effectively, defining expectations, developing leaders, recognising positive behaviours, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement all contribute to a better patient experience.
In an increasingly competitive healthcare environment, practices that invest in their people are often the same practices that earn patient loyalty, strengthen their reputation, and achieve long-term growth.
After all, exceptional patient experiences are delivered by exceptional teams.
Kasia Groves is the founder of KG2 Consulting (kg2consulting.com.au), providing HR consulting, leadership coaching, and people strategy services to small and medium-sized businesses across Australia. A certified member of the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI), Ms Groves has over a decade of experience partnering with organisations across a range of sectors, including optometry, manufacturing, logistics, technology, and financial services.
She has developed particular expertise within the optical profession, supporting organisations such as Eyecare Kids and 1001 Optometry, along with other independent optometry and ophthalmology practices, to build high-performing, values-aligned teams and strengthen workplace culture.
Ms Groves was a finalist in the 2025 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards (Business Services category) and a finalist in the 2026 Australian Small Business Champion Awards (HR category).
