IN INVISION’S FIRST annual Big Survey, we asked more than 500 ECPs that very question (among many, many others). The overall results confirm what we’re sure you already know; this is an industry about taking care of people. But some interesting stuff emerged from the details.
What takes up most of your time?
| Patient/customer interactions (incl. pre-testing, CL fittings, exams) |
| 32% |
Working on the sales floor
|
| 17% |
| MVP/insurance/EHR/billing/paperwork/general admin. |
| 14% |
Managing staff
|
| 12% |
Strategizing, marketing and planning
|
| 9% |
Active patient/customer development
|
| 7% |
| Managing boards/inventory/buying |
| 5% |
Everything: No individual task stands out
|
| 2% |
Lab work
|
| 1% |
Obviously eyecare is a diverse field, and the type of business our respondents run affected the way they answered the above question. Digging into the findings, it seems the medical side of the industry is the most demanding in terms of staff management; optometric practices were three times more likely to report it as their top time burner than opticals with no OD. Intriguingly, owners of non-OD boutiques were far more likely to spend their time strategizing, marketing and planning; a nod to the ever-shifting shape of today’s retail world?
The 2019 Big Survey was conducted from August to October and attracted responses from more than 500 American ECPs. Look out for the full results in the November/December issue of INVISION.