- Optician.
Staff.
Training.
Three words that strike fear
into the hearts of owners, managers, docs,
anyone who is responsible for hiring and managing opticians.
If your own upholstery quickened with stress
at the sound of those three words, keep watching.
I promise, you won't regret it.
(upbeat music)
Hello,
I would like to welcome you
to the Laramy-K OpticianWorks Training Center,
where today we are going to switch gears a little bit.
And instead of talking to opticians, I am going to speak
to those of you that hire and train opticians.
Today, I am going to tell you about a new way
to train your staff that I believe will literally change
optician training forever.
As a licensed optician with nearly 30 years of experience,
a graduate of a Brick and Mortar College opticianry school,
and opticianry school instructor with a master's degree,
I can tell you that an optician trained
with this new approach will be more qualified
and provide more benefit to your business
than the same person having completed any other
certification, licensing,
or degree program that exists today.
Now, that's a rather big claim, isn't it?
Well, the claim gets even bigger
when I tell you that it will cost you either nothing
or next to nothing to have the kind of opticians and staff
that truly know their craft
and will help grow your business.
Look, we know how hard it is to find
and train good opticians.
That's exactly why the OpticianWorks Online,
optician training program was started.
But as convenient as online training is,
it does have its very obvious limitations.
The biggest one being the lack
of a hands on practical application.
Well, here is the solution.
This is the
Laramy-K OpticianWorks Optician Qualification Standard
or OQS.
In the OQS, brings the optician curriculum out of the books
and off of the web pages and into real life.
The OQS is 100% free to download
and it contains everything that an optician should know
and be able to do in order to do his or her job well,
breaking it all down into nice bite size
pieces of knowledge and practical requirements.
The OQS acts as a roadmap, progress monitor,
and a motivational tool, all in one.
As long as you have at least one or two people
in your office who can discuss, verify,
and sign off on the requirements,
you can essentially hand this document to your new hire
or trainee, set a realistic timeline for completion,
and you're on your way.
Let's take a look at what's inside.
Before we jump to the inside of the OQS,
let's talk briefly about the outside of the OQS.
There is a very deliberate reason that this is not an app
or some kind of lame computer-based training.
It is a hard three-ring binder
because it is designed specifically to act
as a physical record of your accomplishments.
Let me tell you a little bit more
about the entire concept of an OQS.
We had been struggling with adding a practical component
to the OpticianWorks Program for almost 13 years.
And we had kicked around a lot of ideas.
I mean, wow, a lot of ideas.
When in fact, the solution
had always been sitting right in front of us.
The qualification standard concept
comes out of the U.S. military,
something F. Keith has experienced.
If you think about a modern aircraft carrier,
one of those things,
get about 6,000 people on board there.
Every single person on that ship, from the deck hands
to the people operating the nuclear power plant,
earned that position by completing a qualification standard.
Look, Keith's a little shy about it.
Keith, the K and Laramy-K,
he actually is capable of running a nuclear power plant
aboard an aircraft carrier.
It shows how he impresses me, and you know how he did it?
A qualification standard.
And look, all we're trying to do
is create some great opticians for you.
I am going to read this and I'm gonna read it verbatim,
and I'm gonna read through it as fast as I can,
and then I'm gonna kinda paraphrase for you.
Starts with an introduction
and it states the purpose of the OQS.
"The purpose of this program
"is to define a qualification standard for the knowledge,
"understanding, and practical skills necessary
"to perform the duties associated with the role of optician.
"In this context, opticians is defined
"as a person who makes, sells, and fits eyeglasses.
"This qualification standard is not intended to meet
"the requirements of contact lens specialist,
"optometric assistant or an ophthalmic tech.
"This standard is also intended to provide means
"and a method of accountability for training
"and building proficiency of optical staff members
"in the presence or absence
"of other licensing and or certification requirements.
"In other words, this is a new
"standalone independent optician training standard.
"while it is highly recommended
"this standard be used in conjunction
"with the OpticianWorks Online Training Program,
"it may also be used with other reference materials
"and or educational programs that provide the trainee
"with sufficient knowledge
"to complete the stated requirements."
Look, OpticianWorks is $99 a year, okay?
Not exactly expensive by anyone's standards.
"The OQS will work best when paired
"with the OpticianWorks Program,
"but you certainly don't have to use it."
And you know what?
We'll even throw a free membership in for your qualifiers.
How do we complete an OQS?
"The qualification standard is divided into three sections:
"100, that's our knowledge standards.
"Knowledge, theories, and understanding required
"to perform the practical aspects of the role of optician.
"This is the theory, the big picture stuff.
"The qualifier trainee sign-off
"will be more of a discussion."
Draw me, explain.
You'll be hearing that kind of language.
The 200 section.
This is our practical application standards.
Skill areas requiring a practical proficiency
necessary to perform the role of optician.
This is the hands-on practical application,
or the Show Me stuff.
Show me that you can actually do what you say you can.
In the 300 section, the final board of review.
A leadership and senior staff review of the trainee
and the program effectiveness.
This is your opportunity to evaluate
and review both the progress of your trainee
and the effectiveness of this program.
It's also a time where you can improve
your own implementation of the program
and provide us with feedback on how to make it better.
So how does this actually work?
Well, we spent the better part of the year
cataloging every single practical and theoretical skill
that a competent optician needs to have.
Then we assembled that list
into the individual qualifications.
Wherever possible, we also include a reference point,
from either the OpticianWorks website,
and or the YouTube videos where that skill can be learned.
The trainee works through the
complete qualification standard
or roughly in order and gains a sign-off
or a qualifier signature for each entry mastered.
We have a note here for the trainee.
"To work through the standard,
"select a requirement to complete
"and study the topic on your own
"or in conjunction with a training program
"until you know the material
"and or meet the intent of the requirement.
"Afterwards, arrange a meeting with a qualifier,
"designated or approved by your employer or supervisor.
"The qualifier will engage any discussion
"or ask you to demonstrate a thorough understanding
"or completion of that requirement.
"If the qualifier is satisfied,
"you meet the intent of the requirement,
"he or she will sign and date signifying its completion.
"If not, you have more work to do,
"repeat for each requirement
"until the qualification standard is complete."
Pretty straightforward, really study, practice,
master the skill, get it signed off,
complete that roughly 200 times, and you're done.
"The trainee is highly encouraged, and in some cases
"required to seek a variety
"of individual qualifiers to sign off.
"This includes qualifiers from other stores, labs,
"and outside of the trainee's place of employment.
"Unless otherwise stated,
"no qualification requirements should be removed
"or altered or skipped.
"Even if the trainee's place of employment
"does not perform certain functions,
"finishing, contact lenses,
"the understanding of the requirements
"are still considered important enough
"that they must still be performed off-site."
Super, super important here, right?
If you don't do contact lenses where you work
or you don't do in-house finishing, we don't care.
A competent optician still needs to understand
contact lenses and a competent optician knows how
to make a pair of glasses.
So you still need to do those things
even if you don't do them in part of your daily work.
And of course, you're also free to add other stuff.
Feedback.
We're really open to feedback, and we genuinely mean that,
we embrace constructive criticism and change.
We made a bunch of changes when we first sent this out
for better testing and our email addresses are right there.
Before you begin,
this is a little note to the trainee and trainers,
you are at the beginning of a journey,
and this is actually true.
As such, there are some items you will want to gather
to help if you along the way.
Let me show you how I have my own OQS assembled here,
and they'll talk about the other stuff
you might wanna collect.
My own binder is a three-ring heavy duty
inch and a half binder.
Put my little cover sheet in there.
The first page is a business card holder.
Now, I know business cards
are starting to go a little bit out of style.
We tend to do more context, phone thing,
but again, this acts as a physical record of the people
that your trainee has come in contact with.
Very important piece.
I have a file folder just for people to collect things.
I've got an article on face shields here.
I was at a trade show, I was looking at the Optikam.
So I've got a brochure,
that a place to keep that kind of stuff.
I've got just typical eight and a half by 11
clear protective sheets.
I've got my result in prism chart in here,
I've got an old standard alignment chart,
I've got the ANSI Quick Guide,
and I stuck in some lines notebook paper for making notes,
and of course I can always add more there.
Now, in addition to that,
what we're going to want to do is collect lenses.
Now, most stores have scratched lenses
laying around of different kinds.
These are whole because we're from the lab.
You can use cut ones as well,
but you're gonna want as many as possible,
different materials, styles, shapes.
And I like things with high sill
because you can get that touch feel, shallow curve,
deep curve, thick edge, thin edge,
highest power, lowest power,
all good things to have to get that tactile feedback.
And you're gonna want frames.
You're going to want frames
in every possible style of mounting,
every possible material.
You're gonna be bending them, mounting lenses.
So the more frames, the better.
Let us take a look at an actual 100
and an actual 200 qualifier.
Let's look at one 11.13, if you've printed this out,
if not, it says, "Draw or use actual lenses to discuss
"and explain the relationship between lens curves,
"lens power, and lens thickness,
"for a given material in minus lenses."
I think I had a minus lens, oh, yeah.
So, what that would sound like
when someone, trainee came to the qualifier and said,
hey, I'm ready to talk about this.
They were talking about the material
and they would talk about what I just said.
They talk about shallow curve, thick curve,
thick edge, thin edge, highest power, lowest power,
cylinder value, material.
That's the kind of language.
That's what you be hearing, looking for, to say, yes,
this person has mastered that qualification.
Now, let's flip over to our 200, our practical requirements,
and see how that sounds a little bit different.
If we look at two 20.1, it says,
"Perform the steps for standard alignment
"on a series of three metal frames
"that have been sat or stepped on.
"Reference: OpticianWorks Course three,
"Section Two, All of The Lessons."
And this will begin be a Show Me, a practical.
You're not taking someone's word for it.
You are setting that trainee down.
You were taking three metal frames
that have been stepped on or sat on,
and they are putting them back in standard alignment.
The 300 series are about reflection
of the experience or looking back,
and just as important, looking forward.
The motto of Laramy-K OpticianWorks is Never Stop Learning.
So the 300 final board meeting is a great time
to plan for what's next.
As I mentioned,
the qualification standard has a proven track record
of success and its design has some additional benefits.
I mentioned that the OQS is deliberately designed
as an old fashioned hard copy binder.
Each signature acts as a reward or a little endorphin tickle
that makes the trainee want more.
You'll also find that by giving the trainee
the opportunity to learn a topic on his or her own,
before engaging in conversation
and the personalized coaching,
the method results in deeper learning and better retention.
But then the OQS goes further to reinforce concepts
by actually having the trainee put them into practice.
This level of learning cannot happen by reading a book,
listening to a lecture, or even in a classroom,
because it all takes place in an actual working environment.
Next, if you think about how the discussions take place
after every requirement,
each provides a unique opportunity for review and growth
for anyone involved in the conversation
or even those within earshot,
particularly when the discussions take place
on topics that may not be too common in your own store.
The net effect here is that it raises the knowledge
and the competence of your entire team,
and helps to get everyone on the same page.
As you look through the requirements,
you'll notice that many of them go beyond
the simple study, get signature format.
Some require interaction with coworkers, sales reps,
local labs, and yes, even people from other stores.
The idea here is to include different perspectives
and to encourage your trainee to keep an open mind,
learn in different ways,
and ultimately, to think for themselves.
That's something you can't get
from any one trainer or one teacher.
Finally, we created the program to encourage learning
beyond the requirements.
There is so much more to opticianry
than passing an exam or even just checking off boxes.
We want trainees to be curious about the field,
and to understand more about the business
and the craft of opticianry.
And most importantly, the customers that they serve,
bringing true value to the position.
These are the things that will ultimately
set your store apart and bring success to your business.
For your own copy of the
Laramy-K OpticianWorks Optician Qualification Standard,
just head on over to the OpticianWorks website,
OpticianWorks.com/OQS.