Specsavers recently celebrated more recognition for being considered a great place to work in both Australia and New Zealand. In light of this ongoing success, Insight asked ANZ clinical services director Dr Ben Ashby on his thoughts about what is driving this.
When I reflect on what makes Specsavers a truly great place to work, I’m reminded of our purpose: to change lives through better sight and hearing. It’s more than a slogan – it’s the foundation of a culture that empowers every team member, from our store partners and store team members to our lab, warehouse and support office, to make a real difference every day.
This year, Specsavers was named the second Best Place to Work in New Zealand and the fourth Best Place to Work in Australia by Great Place to Work – a recognition that speaks volumes about our people-first approach and the values that drive us.
Being a great place to work starts with listening to our people and acting on what they tell us. Every year, every team member anonymously completes the Great Place to Work survey which asks them all about their day-to-day experiences working at Specsavers and their thoughts on our wider strategy. It’s more than a box-ticking exercise; it’s a catalyst for real change and helps to drive our company decisions.
As Mr Paul Bott, our managing director ANZ, puts it: “Being recognised as a Best Place to Work is a testament to the culture we’ve nurtured at Specsavers. It reflects the everyday commitment of our people to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and empowered. The impact has been felt across every corner of the business.”
Great Place to Work is the largest workplace culture assessment in Australia and New Zealand across all sectors and organisation sizes, with 158,749 employees surveyed this year in Australia alone. Each employee gives feedback to inform the list of the top 100 organisations that set the standard for workplace culture.
Ms Rebecca Moulynox, general manager of Great Place to Work ANZ, explains: “The Best Workplaces list celebrates organisations that understand culture is their greatest strategic asset. These companies have proven that when you build a workplace founded on trust, pride and camaraderie, you create the conditions for both employee flourishing and exceptional business performance.”
Achieving these accolades in the nations we provide care for is something that has come about thanks to the everyday passion and dedication of thousands of people. It’s a testament to our people and their passion and dedication to make a difference every day.
It might change depending on who you ask at Specsavers, but for me, the secrets to success are simple and boil down to five key points:
1. A partnership model that empowers
Our unique joint venture partnership model gives optometrists and retail professionals the opportunity to co-own and manage businesses in their local communities, supported by a dedicated support office team. This model fosters ownership, accountability, community-mindedness and a sense of pride that’s hard to replicate. It gives our optometrists clinical autonomy and the whole team cares for the community by providing crucial services that change lives through better sight and hearing. It means our partners are personally invested in delivering excellence, and our support teams are there to help them focus on what matters most: patient care.
2. Clinical excellence and professional growth
Specsavers is committed to supporting our team members at every stage of their career. With a multitude of opportunities and pathways developed for different individuals and professions, optometrists’ opportunities begin before they graduate.
Firstly, unlike many others, we offer funding for optometrists experiencing clinical placements in regional practices to support them with travel and accommodation.
Our Graduate Program and Early Career Optometrist (ECO) Program provide structured pathways for development, while our annual Specsavers Clinical Conference connects experts from across ANZ to share best practice and expand skill sets. For those who wish to become store partners, we have the Pathway Program which gives experienced optometrists and store managers training in leadership, commercial acumen and Specsavers-specific operations to own a successful store.
We also invest in technology and training to ensure our clinicians are always engaged in professional development opportunities that also lead to enhanced patient health outcomes – like our systematic use of OCT imaging, our rollout of advanced dry eye therapies and our structured referral pathways – which have doubled glaucoma detection rates and helped us register over one million appointments for diabetic eye checks with KeepSight.
3. Patient health outcomes come first
Specsavers believes that the best quality care and products should be accessible to everyone. That no one should have to experience vision loss that could have been prevented or hearing loss that could have been helped.
Truly patient-centred care puts the needs, preferences and values of the patient at the heart of every interaction. Our clinical pathways, investment in technology, optical and audiology products and ongoing professional development are all designed to ensure the highest standards of care are accessible for all.
By focusing on early detection, prevention, and evidence-based practice, we empower our clinicians to deliver the best possible outcomes for every patient, every time. This unapologetic and unwavering commitment to patient health is something that we are really proud of.
4. Recognition and celebration
We believe in recognising and celebrating our people at all levels and from everywhere in the business. This culture of recognition helps foster pride and motivation across the business, which leads to more patients receiving excellent care and improved health outcomes. For optometrists, this includes formal awards like the Dame Mary Perkins Award for Outstanding Patient Care, the Doug Perkins Medal for clinical excellence and the CX Awards that recognises and celebrates individuals who provide outstanding customer service; but it also includes smaller moments like our company-wide thank you card system where anyone can send a card to a team member to acknowledge everyday acts of kindness and teamwork.
5. Continuous improvement and employee voice
At Specsavers, we know that the best ideas often come from those closest to the work. That’s why we have a relentless focus on listening to our people and empowering them to shape our culture and business.
We have a large field team who are in constant contact with team members in stores and have regular meetings with managers and store partners where we foster a culture of feedback and innovation. We have a Great Place to Work Advisory Group whose core focus is to listen and develop ideas to improve Specsavers from an employee perspective.
Our adoption of the InMoment platform has enabled us to gather real-time, actionable feedback from customers and team members, helping us continuously improve both our service and our workplace culture.
We collect anonymous feedback through our regular ACE (Annual Colleague Engagement) and Great Place to Work surveys. Initiatives like our Innovation Fund encourage team members to pitch new ideas, while our self-audit gap analysis and advisory forums ensure that improvements are driven by those who know the business best.
As a result, Specsavers continues to evolve, staying ahead of industry trends and ensuring that our workplace is one where everyone can thrive and contribute to our shared success.
A workplace for everyone
What makes Specsavers unique is that our culture of care extends to every team member – whether you’re in the support office, lab, warehouse, a store partner, optometrist, retail team member, or student. We ensure that everyone, regardless of their role, background, or career stage, has access to development opportunities, wellbeing support, and a sense of belonging.
We’re continuously listening because we know we’ve just scratched the surface and there are so many more opportunities to be an even better place to work.
Our people-first approach is embedded in every part of the business, from wellbeing initiatives like the WeCare program (offering confidential counselling and support for team members and their families) to our PRISM network for LGBTTQIA+ inclusion and cultural experiences with The Fred Hollows Foundation. We support working parents with our ParentHood network and have enhanced leave policies developed for inclusion. We celebrate diversity and ensure all team members feel valued and included.
As one colleague shared in our Great Place to Work survey:
“Specsavers is a great place to work because of its strong team culture, career development opportunities, and commitment to excellent customer care.”
As I look to the future, I’m proud to be part of a team that’s not just delivering world-class eye and hearing care but also setting the standard for what it means to be a truly great place to work.
