Audiology Partnership

"The Employee ‘Hat’
Our audiology partners are audiologists and audiometrists plus business owners, earning a guaranteed market-rate salary and superannuation package for the lifetime of their partnership agreement paid through their business.
The Shareholder ‘Hat’
But this salary package is just one component of the true value of their partnership. Specsavers partners also own profit-earning shares in their business, rewarding their hard work and efforts as business owners. So, the potential value of a Specsavers Audiology joint venture partnership is divided between:

Annual salary + super package (paid fortnightly)
Annual profit (paid quarterly once the business is making profits)
The future value of the shares in the business (paid when the partner retires from the business)

The Director ‘Hat’
As Directors of their audiology business, our audiology partners are in charge of the day-to-day running of the business; that’s when being their own boss comes to life. Our audiology partners operate their businesses with the back-end support Specsavers is known for, while setting their own business plans into action to grow their business and take care of their customers.

The Franchisee ‘Hat’
And finally, our audiology partners are franchisees. As franchisees our partners have freedoms under their Director’s hat within a framework, which allows us to provide a consistent customer experience, no matter the Specsavers store. In simple terms, there’s no rebranding your Specsavers Audiology business to Eddie’s Ears or hiking up the retail price of your products and services."

When our audiology partners start in their business, they walk into a sound treated room equipped with a booth and everything that they need at their fingertips to deliver exceptional quality hearing care to their customers.

Customer experience is at the heart of our room design and every little detail has been considered. Sound treating the rooms is a key element to ensure that customers have a professional audiology experience from the moment that they enter.

The design is all about making our partner’s life easier. Wires are discreetly hidden and equipment such as the video otoscope and tympanometer are placed accessibly next to the monitor, both connecting directly to the PC. The audiometer and compact REM equipment are discreetly placed out of sight but easily accessible, as is the dedicated kit of consumables.

We aim to take the pressure off our partners by carefully designing every aspect of the audiology environment, financing the test room fit out, technology and equipment, and managing the end-to-end process as well as the payback of loans. This places the focus on customer-service from the outset and ensures our partners don’t have to go to the bank seeking finance.

Specsavers store teams are renowned for delivering exceptional customer service in both audiology and optometry, welcoming customers for clinical service based on their needs.

They are naturally adept at:
Greeting and receiving customers to manage clinical appointments.
Providing basic ‘hearing aid triage’ to audiology customers, changing batteries, domes and tubing.
Demonstrating everyday Specsavers behaviours of openness and transparency, providing audiology customers with a clear price guide covering all audiology products and services.
Referring any product and price-related questions to the audiology partner or audiology professional for detailed answers.
Facilitating a no-cost hearing screener service to all optical customers aged 50 and over, as part of the standard pre-test for optical appointments; and where the screener indicates a potential hearing loss, the customer is offered a free 15-minute check with the audiology professional.

Becoming an audiology partner with Specsavers is simple. We take care of all the back-office work, while you focus on what you love – focusing on the hearing needs of your customers.

We have a collective support team of over 500 talented people who support our partners with an array of services, from recruitment, local area marketing and store design, retail consulting, training and development, back-office accounting – the list goes on.

We manage each business’s accounts payable and quarterly BAS; produce easy to read monthly P&L accounts and end of year financial statements which detail how each individual business is tracking. We manage the payment of all taxes and paydown of any business loans; and we also make a regular distribution of profits to all partners – while making sure there is a sensible buffer of cash left in the business to cover next month’s expenditure.

In short, we provide a wide range of support services, in exchange for a service fee. Our support structure works because it’s designed to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to driving each business and the partnership as a whole – forward.

The breakdown of support service fees includes:
Management fee; 8% of gross monthly revenue
IT & Software Support Fee: 1.5% of gross monthly revenue
Accounting Fee: 1.5% of gross monthly revenue
Training Fee: 1% of gross monthly revenue

Specsavers audiology partners can leverage the existing optical database in their location, with TV Ads and consumer marketing outlining the growing audiology element of the Specsavers business, the focus on customer care, exceptional clinical service and extraordinary value.

With new Specsavers audiology businesses opening every month in existing Specsavers optical premises, customer numbers grow and the take up from clients is already hinting at the multi-million-dollar potential of Specsavers’ six-million strong client database and the scale of the market opportunity.

Each business contributes 7% of sales revenue to the Specsavers Audiology marketing fund.

Our range of hearing products are designed and built by leading manufacturers Sonova, Demant and WS Audiology and includes a basic digital hearing aid to the most sophisticated technology currently available. They are also suitable for all types of hearing loss.

Our products ARE the best value products in the industry as we have the huge buying power of a global brand, so that savings are passed on to the customer. Plus, were transparent in our pricing structure and provide our pricing upfront before our customers have even begun their hearing journey.

We also stock branded products which our customers are free to choose, but most select the Advance range as its suitable for most types of hearing loss, available in five technology levels – which vary to suit their hearing needs, lifestyle and budget.

Once you commence as a partner, you will be supported every step of the way. From the moment you start working with Specsavers, you’ll undertake a comprehensive three-week induction program, equipping you with all the tools and support to help you start building and developing your business. Our Audiology Relationship Managers will work closely with you in your day to day operations, and you’ll be connected with your audiology peers at regular partner meetings and conferences.