My experience matters: Why I made the move to Home Visits Audiology Director

After 10 years of being an audiologist in a high-street store, Hasan knew he was ready for a change. With a shift in the demographic of people coming into stores and an increase in requests for home visits, he made the decision to join Specsavers as an Audiology Director. We’ve been speaking to him about his experience of partnership and why Home Visits was the right move for him.

Satisfaction and balance

“I really enjoy being on the road and testing people’s hearing. Ultimately, I’m helping people to hear who haven’t been able to for a long time. There’s often a real ‘wow’ moment for them when they get their hearing aids. And that’s very satisfying to see.

As a partner, I’m involved with running marketing plans, business development and engaging with local communities. We’re always thinking about how we can raise awareness of home visits and that involves speaking with local GP’s surgeries and care homes.

My days have a different structure in place now, in terms of where I’m going and when. That really helps with balancing my personal life. I’ve got two young boys and I like to be able to spend more time with them. If I start earlier or finish later, it’s not a problem and I can work my day around it.”

Challenges that offer opportunity

“While we have to adapt to different environments, we actually use the same equipment to complete a hearing test and provide hearing aids as an in store appointment. The difference is that we have to plan ahead so that we have all the equipment and stock we need in our car.

We cover a large area and that brings its own challenges. It’s crucial to manage our diaries to make sure we can maximise the number of people we can see. That’s one of the biggest differences to working in store. The number of people we might see in a day can vary depending on where our visits are to ensure we run efficient diaries. While we might get to see varying numbers of people in a day, our patients just see us. So, the service feels very tailored to them.

"For those who can’t physically get to store, home visits are incredibly important. Even for those with better mobility, a store visit could mean a whole day of travel, just for a 30-minute appointment. So, there’s a lot of appreciation when you’re able to offer the service from the comfort of their own home.”

Feeling like a real partnership

“What I’ve really appreciated since joining, is all the support I’ve had from the retail and optical partners for the Optics side of Home Visits. They’ve been operating for over 10 years, so I’ve really been able to lean on them for advice and guidance as we’ve been developing the audiology side of the business. In fact, there’s always been someone I could ask at Specsavers for anything I’ve needed. I’ve never had to just figure things out for myself. People are so ready to assist you, even if they don’t know the answers themselves, which has been a huge help as I’ve come in to start this business.