WE TAKE REQUESTS
➤ Is there a formula for how many staff hours you need based on sales volume? What are the legal requirements for providing benefits? When does it make sense to do your own payroll vs. hiring a service? Nikki Griffin, EyeStyles Optical and Boutique, Oakdale, MN
➤I’d love to hear about independent companies providing optical design products (displays, lighting, etc.), and a feature on “green offices” to hear how practices build environmentally friendly offices Dr. Blake Hutto, Family Vision Care, Alma, GA
➤ Can you give us some tips on how to best look for optical employees? Many of my colleagues try listing in a newspaper or Craigslist, but the candidates aren’t always what we need. Dr. Angie Patteson, Sunset Eye Care, Johnson City, TN
BUILD A BRIDGE
➤ There needs to be a way to bridge the valley between online sales and our brick-and-mortar optical. Maybe it’s presenting more packages to the millennials for single vision (clear or sun). Maybe creating a bond with places like Warby Parker, where we work together so the consumer can purchase “care” packages where the optical gets paid to adjust the frames, provide repairs and cleanings. Jon DuCote, Vision Source Insight Eyecare, Atlanta, GA
This article originally appeared in the February 2016 edition of INVISION.