As the practice owner I realised about 15 years ago that I was probably becoming the bottleneck in Melina Joy Opticians, I was the one who was working the hardest yet I was the one who was choking the growth of my company!
It was time to pause, reflect and start working through others – start building a team! Now I can start talking about “The Team at Melina Joy Opticians”. The team has grown: –
Our members have joined, left (that’s OK because they have all left their own special contribution), retired, upskilled and raised to Directorship. We have sub teams: –
A Reception Team – A Dispensing Team – An Optometry Team – An Administration and Accounts Team, and the whole team focuses equally and collectively on Melina Joy Opticians – there is no hierarchy, I won’t allow it.
Everybody is following a system but importantly our system ensures that professional freedom, talent and individuality are allowed to flourish.
We have staff meetings and retreat days. No dressing gowns and slippers here I can tell you! These are times of discussion, prioritising and decision making, where each group takes responsibility for doing a great job to deliver the best customer experience for every client.
I know they are doing a good job – clients are impressed, they regularly tell me and the team. Clients remark on the way I trust my team to make decisions while I am away, usually in Ireland. I smiled the other day when a new client at reception asked whether there is a “Melina Joy”.
BUT the work is ongoing and there is no place for complacency at MJO – we are constantly working on the fundamentals. Mastering the fundamentals is the biggest source of our success and the team knows there is NO place for “We already do that” or “We already know that” instead the mantra is “How well do we know it?” and what are we doing to improve it?
How do I think the team is doing?
Well, I haven’t made an appointment for many years and I no longer answer the phone, I do what I was trained to do – I practice Optometry. The business continues to grow in their charge – “success is not a solitary activity” is definitely true!
The adage – “If you want something done properly, do it yourself” is rubbish – get your team to do it!
I am proud of what we’ve built – thank you team members!
This blog is designed as a regular update, so you can get to know us as a company and we can show you that we are not a faceless company.
Feedback is invaluable – our perception of us may not be yours, so please tell us what you think. Even our regular clients may only visit once a year or once every two years for an eye examination and a lot can happen in that time.
May 2018