When people decide to work at Specsavers, they’re joining a company with a purpose to change lives through better sight and hearing – hence why more Australians and New Zealanders choose the optometry provider over any other.
As one of the largest employers in the ANZ optometry sector, Insight sits down with an employee each month to hear about their growth trajectory within the company.
Specsavers stats
Name: Acyel Al-Alosi
Current position: Clinical performance consultant NSW/ACT
Location: NSW
Years within the business: 8
Why did you pursue an optometry career?
About eight months into my psychology degree, I was feeling unsatisfied and wondered if I had made the right choice so I decided to attend UNSW’s Open Day to see what other options were available. At the time, I was thinking of steering away from health sciences so it was luck – or fate – that I walked into an optometry information session during that open day in 2013. The speaker was so inspiring about the different career avenues available within optometry, that I was sold and put it as my first preference. I remember the day my acceptance came out – my sister and I played Happy by Pharell Williams and had a dance party.
How did you come to work at Specsavers?
I started in 2016 as part of the casual optical assistants team that helped open Specsavers Sydney Central – our flagship store in Sydney CBD. What attracted me was the opportunities for students including continuous development and optics training. Working in Sydney Central was a turning point in my professional career as I met my life-long mentors, learned more about optometry and how to operate a successful business. As I continued working with Specsavers, the vision of providing affordable and accessible eyecare is what made me decide to pursue a career within the business after university.
What was your first role within the business?
An optical assistant. I was responsible for all parts of the customer journey including pre-screening, helping patients select frames and dispensing.
What growth opportunities have presented themselves?
Working for Specsavers has helped open the door to many opportunities. After working in Sydney CBD, I started my graduate program in Specsavers Shellharbour and Warilla. There, I was mentored by several optometrists who had years of experience and different specialities. Through the support of my store partners, I could pursue further education and development in dry eye, paediatrics and contact lenses. My store partners were supportive in helping me seek opportunities both in and out of work such as running a virtual case study session for Fred Hollows, submitting an article for a trade publication and running Indigenous outreach clinics. Another growth opportunity was the Pathway Program. It’s an internal Specsavers program that supports senior retail and optometry professionals who are aspiring business owners, acting as a stepping stone to future joint-venture-partnership. By completing this, I developed a better understanding of how to be a great leader and business owner.
What are your top career highlights since joining Specsavers?
There are so many I could rattle off. One of my highlights of last year was joining the Clinical Services team and Dr Ben Ashby, the clinical services director for Specsavers ANZ, to present remote care at a Vision 2020 Australia event at Parliament House in Canberra. It was a fantastic opportunity to speak to Australian senators and MPs about the importance of accessible eyecare in Australia. However, my top highlight has to be appearing on WIN News to speak about the importance of paediatric eyecare. It was scary and nerve-wracking, but awesome.
What excites you most about turning up for work each day?
In my role, I support a wide network of optometrists and business owners. It is exciting every day to be able to support the development of these optometrists, the growth of a local business owner and at the same time, ensure patients across NSW/ACT are getting exceptional care.
More reading
Specsavers Stories – Virginia Carlton
Specsavers Stories – Jacqueline Bell
Specsavers Stories – Briana Tsang
