10 Years of Training Tips
It’s not just for newbies. Rather than being limited to new hires or the latest products and technologies, staff training needs to be ongoing.
How to sustain a schedule of training to retain staff is such an important issue that it has been addressed in TheVitaminSEE.com since we first introduced the blog in 2015. A lot of the advice shared by your peers as well as outside experts is as pertinent today as it was when we first posted it.
Tip: Lisa Frye, optician and manager at Hoover EyeCare Associates in Alabama, has shared that it’s important to “review ‘example’ interactions…and develop protocol for responding to difficult patients.’”
WHY + HOW
For that reason, we’ve culled through some 500 TheVitaminSEE.com blog posts and here we share one tip from each year’s postings on making training an important and ongoing part of your practice.
• 2015: According to Training magazine, at the time, “54% of retailers say that information-based training is a key tactic to reducing turnover.”
• 2016: Schedule regular staff meetings in which you welcome comments and suggestions, say the bloggers at www.hypercontext.com. “Meet often and ask questions, especially when you’re not sure you’re going to like the answers.”
• 2017: “You can identify ways to connect with patients in any interaction you have. Asking questions and listening from a place of empathy is a great example. The key? Training staff to express that empathy.” As told by Life and Executive Coach Stephanie Zief.
• 2018: Michael Kling, OD, owner of Invision Optometry in San Diego, understands that first impressions are all-important. That means training staff to extend the concept of the greeting. “Almost everything bad occurs or starts at the front desk, says Dr. Kling. “Our solution? We replaced it with a coffee bar and expanded the concept of the greeting.”
• 2019: Lisa Frye, optician and manager at Hoover EyeCare Associates in Alabama, says it’s important to “review ‘example’ interactions in the office and develop protocol for responding to difficult patients. Create protocols and appropriate responses, coach and train your team, and inspect what is expected.”
• 2020: According to bazaarvoice.com, one-third of shoppers expect retailers to increase emphasis on the customer experience. Lisa Veal, OD, in Northridge, CA, did just that and explains, “After an exam room conversation, I let the patient know I am going to transfer care to an optician. I have trained the team so that if the optician is available, we discuss the recommendations together.”
• 2021: Entering competitions can be time consuming, but, according to SEGD.org, there are benefits to involving staff. The point? Training them and having them participate, whether you win or not, “can be a team builder and staff motivator.”
• 2022: The key to training staff to deliver luxury service is experiencing it themselves, says Adam Ramsey, OD, owner of Socialite Vision in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. He has taken his staff to Orlando twice, where they attended trade shows, “stayed at the Ritz-Carlton and the JW Marriott, and went to dinner at Del Frisco’s.”
• 2023: Best-selling author Jonah Berger says that training staff to use certain words makes a difference. “Saying you ‘recommend’ rather than ‘like’ something makes people more likely to take your suggestion,” he explains.
• 2024: When dealing with parents of school-age children, make sure staff is trained to communicate that, according to the American Optometric Association (aoa.org),vision screenings yield less than 4% of “the information and value of a comprehensive exam.”
Tell us what you’re emphasizing during staff training sessions in 2025 and share in the conversation on Facebook here.
