The combined O=MEGA23 and 4th World Congress of Optometry (O=MEGA23/WCO4) in Melbourne promises the biggest show in town come September. While optometry will be a major focus, organisers have released a program that will also be of value to the wider practice team.
It’s important to reinforce just how big a deal this year’s O=MEGA23 will be for the national optical sector. For the first time, Australia’s biggest eyecare and eyewear fair will combine with the fourth World Congress of Optometry (WCO4), creating the most credentialed and largest optometric clinical conference in the Southern Hemisphere.
The event (8-10 September in Melbourne) presents a rare chance to showcase Australian optometry on the world stage – and while a large portion of the show will be devoted to the profession, it’s also a vital opportunity to upskill front-of-house staff who play an essential role in running optical businesses across the country.
To acknowledge the importance of practice managers and optical dispensers, in particular, this year’s O=MEGA23/WCO4 will feature a Masterclass program, that will for the first time comprise two separate streams for each profession.
Topics such as inventory management, succession planning and building a myopia specialty practice will feature in the practice manager’s stream, among others, while the optical dispensing stream will feature issues like lens and lifestyle needs for presbyopes, the emerging field of repeated low level red light therapy for myopia, and common dispensing myths and misconceptions, plus more. Fan favourites including top tips sessions will also be presented.
Ms Amanda Trotman, CEO of the Optical Distributors and Manufacturers Association (ODMA) which is running the event with Optometry Victoria South Australia (OV/SA), says it’s important to offer an event tailored to all functions within the practice, and not just optometry.
Amanda Trotman, ODMA CEO.
“Planning ahead is crucial, as well as making a personal time planner of what sessions you will attend, which suppliers you should meet and peers you can seek out.”
While in the past non-optometry staff may have attended O=MEGA for the trade show, offering an educational component for practice managers and dispensers ($50 per session) is aimed at improving business performance, particularly in the independent setting.
“In my prior career, the focus was helping small businesses improve their operations and profitability, and build a close-knit, well-oiled team,” she says.
“OV/SA is building a strong clinical program with CPD for optometrists at O=MEGA/WCO4. The clinical and the health side is crucial; it’s where everything stems from in terms of getting people into the practice. But most people purchase products like glasses after their consult, so ODMA is bringing its own educational element to the event that’s all about getting the rest of the team trained and motivated to make the most of that opportunity for the business.”
Trotman says when practices invest in live event attendance for the wider team, it ensures they are up-to-date with the latest offerings. They’re also able to access cutting edge research, hear content specific to their role and understand how their contribution fits into the overall success of the practice.
“This is a valuable outcome that will provide a return on the investment made in both time and money to attend,” she explains.
“Time out of the day-to-day running of the business is not a luxury; it is a necessity to stay competitive in these challenging and fast-changing times. My love of live events is that you never know who you might meet or what you might hear that could open up a whole new world of opportunity.”
Trotman says it is important for attendees to go into the conference with a plan. They must consider their key reasons to leverage the attendance and seek out people and content that fits that objective.
“Planning ahead is crucial, as well as making a personal time planner of what sessions you will attend, which suppliers you should meet and peers you can seek out – which is now easy with the wonderful invention of conference apps,” she explains.
“Reading speaker bios and considering a question or two you would love to ask that speaker and allocating time to seek them out is another great tip. Make a time and place to meet up with likeminded peers at social events and share ideas or even set a discussion topic in advance and hold your own small special interest group. You could brainstorm a challenge that others are no doubt also facing and will all have great input on. You could even request an organiser run certain panel sessions if you feel their agenda is missing some key topics.”
Trotman says the opportunity for practice staff to attend trade events should not be underestimated from a motivational point of view, helping build team comradery and shared experiences.
“All this contributes to employee retention and job satisfaction. Sharing learnings also provides marketing opportunities with your client base post the event and provides another source of engagement and an opportunity to further position your team as leaders in the optical field,” she says.
A sustainable event – on multiple fronts
With an event the size of O=MEGA23/WCO4, it’s rare for an association group to run the entire event in-house, often requiring the services of a professional conference organiser (PCO).
With sustainability being a hot topic in the optical industry now and well into the future, it made sense for ODMA, OV/SA and the World Council of Optometry to partner with Arinex, a Melbourne- and Sydney-based full-service event management company that is Australia’s first PCO to obtain carbon neutral certification, achieving this in 2022.
Another major part of the puzzle is hosting the event at an environmentally- conscious venue, in the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC). The facility itself has committed to sustainability targets like eliminating single-use plastics and diverting 90% of waste from landfill by 2025, being 100% powered by renewable electricity by 2028 and reducing its net carbon emissions to zero by 2030.
To date, MCEC has:
• Between 2015 and 2019, reduced its carbon emissions by 22% per m²
• Installed 36 permanent ‘food cubes’, growing herbs, citrus and flowers to supply its menus
• Diverted 62% of all waste from landfill using 17 waste streams in 2018-19
• Installed an Energy Management System, resulting in 30% reduction in energy use since 2016
• In 2019, harvested over 3,100 kilolitres of rainwater and consumed 445 litres of water per m².
Trotman acknowledges events can generate a lot of waste and power consumption, so anything to minimise its environmental footprint is worthwhile, while bringing the issue to the attention of the industry.
The way Arinex runs its events means that all emissions from its activities as an event management company are offset. For O=MEGA23/WCO4, the company will also liaise with exhibitors and sponsors to provide ideas on how they can make small changes that assist the environment. This includes the materials used for signage through to the use of technology to substitute for printed materials, as well as using bags and giveaways made from recycled materials.
Trotman says the event has also made small changes like electronic submissions for abstracts, an app for the show program, and the use of lunch boxes with minimal packaging for delegates.
“The more we do, the better – and the more we bring it to people’s attention. From a sustainability point of view, we’ve focused on the suppliers and the venue we chose, but this year we are taking it a step further by building a new category into the Awards of Excellence program for exhibitors,” Trotman says.
The categories she’s referring to are the Sustainable Optical Products / Accessories or Business Processes. It’s designed as a broad category for businesses offering sustainable manufactured goods, and businesses that may have introduced environmentally initiatives that reduce things like packaging and freight.
“We’re encouraging all business that have done something in the sustainability space to make a submission – many are already doing great things, but often the industry doesn’t know and it’s worth highlighting that and celebrating all the great things our industry is doing,” Trotman says.
“At O=MEGA, we always have an award for the best custom booth and smallto medium booth, and this year we’ve added an award for the best “green booth” for exhibitors to think about how they can use more sustainable materials in their displays, focusing on reducing waste, recycling and reusing materials.”
Masterclasses line-up
Practice Management Stream • Personalities in practice – Emma Gillies, Purple Consulting
• AI and the future of lenses – Grant Hannaford, Hannaford Eyewear, UNSW
• 7 tips for practice management– Belinda Musitano, Eyes@Optometry
• Succession planning – Mark Corduff, ProVision
• Building a myopia specialty practice within a practice/Myopia management for children – Matt Oerding, Treehouse Eyes USA and Emma Gillies, Purple Consulting
• Inventory management to maximise profits – Kate Hall, ProVision
• Skills for trust based selling – Emma Gillies, Purple Consulting
Optical Dispensing Stream • Practical lens dispensing – 5 skills you can’t do without – Steve Daras, TAFE NSW
• Final checking – The last word on spectacle quality control – James Gibbins, ACOD
• Accurate measurements for dispensing (includes biomechanics) – Steve Daras, TAFE NSW
• Myopia management for the optical dispenser – Grant Hannaford, Hannaford Eyewear, UNSW
• A dispensers guide to understanding lens and lifestyle needs for patients with presbyopia – April Petrusma, ODA
• 5 common myths or misconceptions to avoid when dispensing – Steve Daras, TAFE NSW
• Myopia control – repeated low level red light therapy – Jim Papas, Eyerising International
• Clinical lens applications for paediatrics – Grant Hannaford, Hannaford Eyewear, UNSW
• Top 10 tips for quality dispensing – Steve Daras, TAFE NSW
