Our development opportunities

Be the best you can be

Since the start in 1984, our founders Doug and Mary have strongly believed in giving people the possibility to grow and develop. And we’re still convinced that our company can only grow if our people grow. That’s why if you join us, we promise you that we’ll always encourage you to keep on learning and offer you the tools to do so. And you know what’s the best thing about it? It’s one of the reasons why most of our talents choose to stay with us for years.

You’re never too old to learn

Learning is part of what we do every day: not only when we attend a classroom course or webinar, but even more so in our day-to-day work. We like to explain the way we learn by the so-called 70-20-10 model. This sounds more complicated than it is, so let’s explain.

An old Chinese saying actually says it all: “Tell me and I forget; teach me and I remember; involve me and I learn”. Research shows us that only 10% of what we learn can be taught. This is formal learning and happens – for example – in a (virtual) classroom, by reading a book or by watching a webinar. The next part, another 20% of how we learn, is a more informal way and happens when we discuss our learnings with our managers and peers. That leaves us with 70%, which is the time we spend on putting our learnings into practice: being part of the team, helping a customer, delivering a project, solving a problem or trying something new.

One-stop-shop for training

This 70-20-10 approach comes with a great deal of responsibility and freedom. You get the power to grow in your role, climb the career ladder and get better at what you do. But of course, not without the tools to do so. That’s why our country talent development teams focus every day on making these tools available through our unique training app, GreenPoint. This app makes it easy for you to learn something new whenever, wherever and however you like. Read an article, follow a learning module, watch a video, talk to your colleagues on our social wall – all at hand on your smartphone or tablet.

Next to digital learning, the talent development team organises (virtual) classroom training, webinars, and other gatherings. The focus of these get-togethers is to talk about what you and your peers have learned on GreenPoint, share experiences, and discuss how you can put your learnings into practice.

Carve your own path

Career paths are as different as people. Whether you just started working for us or have been with us for a while: you’ll always be encouraged to stay curious and learn something new – even if that means specialising in a different field or running your own store one day. We’ll make sure to support you along the way. Every store has an in-store trainer who trains the team and coaches all team members throughout their careers.

Browse through the stages below to see what’s on offer for store teams, partners and employees in our support office.

Whether you’ve worked in optics for a while or are new to the industry, starting a new job is always exciting. A few weeks before you start, you get access to the GreenPoint app to learn about our company and culture. On the day you start, the in-store trainer will take care of your induction. Again, it’s the app that gets you started: you’ll learn about our customer journey, products and services, equipment, clinical guidelines, the systems we work with – and so on.

The next step on the proverbial ladder doesn’t always have to go upwards. You can also get better at what you do and broaden your horizons. The in-store trainer helps you with your development plan and supports you in your goals. Next to your job, you can become a functional specialist and get some extra responsibility in for example merchandising, contact lenses, optics, team training, etc. Also, the GreenPoint app has hundreds of training modules that you can do when you’d like to learn more.

We have plenty of examples of colleagues who started as Saturday employees and are now studying to become an optician or are running their own store as a partner. Or colleagues who gained lots of experience in–store and now use that knowledge in their job at the support office. If you want to take the leap, we’re here to catch you.

Maybe you have always dreamt of running your own store, or you have become curious while working for Specsavers? Whatever it is: if we believe in you, we’ll support you to fulfil your ambition. We have a special ‘Partner in Development’ programme to learn everything about leading your own store: personal development, commercial, coaching and leadership skills, finance, customer loyalty, and so on. You finalise the programme with an assessment, in which you’ll show the skills and knowledge you have learned.

As a store owner, you sometimes need extra tools to ensure your store performs well, and your team members and customers stay happy. We have an array of learning modules in the GreenPoint app that focus on communication skills, managing a team, leading a commercial business, improving customer loyalty – and more. And if you have ambition outside your store, you can even have a say in the support organisation by joining the leadership team, the partner forum or by supporting new store partners as a mentor.

If you’re joining a role in one of our support offices, rest assured that we have a training offer for you too. We offer plenty of (virtual) courses to learn something new or brush up your skills through our digital learning hub. What about a course on personal branding, emotional intelligence, giving feedback, dealing with change, effective communication, or managing teams? These are just a few examples of the options – but there’s also a training budget that can be used for external training when needed.

Learning for all

Our journey towards making better eye care accessible to the many isn’t one we can take on our own. Instead, better eye care starts with collaborating with other eye and healthcare experts and making sure that all eye care professionals can stay on top of their game. We believe that advancing the knowledge of the entire industry is equally important as developing our own people.

That’s why we have initiated Viewpoint, an online learning platform for all eye care professionals. Viewpoint offers free access to practical handbooks on all sorts of eye care topics, interviews and videos with industry experts, e-learning modules to get your CET points, and much more – all created in collaboration with industry experts. For all optometrists, students and other eye care professionals to use in your daily work: to build your knowledge and to become even better at what you do.

Our yearly eye care event

Viewpoint organises one of the leading eye care events: the yearly Clinical Conference, which is also open to people who don’t work at Specsavers. We’re proud to see how the event has become the place to be for opticians, optometrists, optical students and other eye care professionals – who all join forces to make better eye care accessible to all.

In the Netherlands, we offer hearing care as part of our service in stores. That’s why Clinical Conference is also open to audiologists, students and other hearing care professionals, who can join a separate programme. Just like our ambition for better eye care, we can only deliver the best hearing care if we work together with all hearing care professionals, hearing aid manufacturers, and other healthcare providers.

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