Our eyecare hiring story began in 2002. Dr. Mike Neal and his wife, Dr. Amy Neal, founded Lakeside Vision with the entrepreneurial dreams of building a thriving practice. They soon realized that their hiring decisions crippled their growth. They made the same mistakes year after year.

They’d lose a key staff member at the worst possible time. Drop their vacation plans to cover the gap. And then scramble to round up job candidates for the open position.

One mistake was their tendency to hire candidates based solely on eyecare experience. And their initial pool of applicants was always too small. Within months, the new hire would either be fired or resign for a “better offer.”

And then it was Groundhog Day.  Same day, same problem.

Exasperated, Dr. Mike set out to design a screening process for job candidates for the eyecare practice. He began with the requirements for the job description. And then worked backwards. He asked, “What kind of person will be successful in this position?” Note that his first question wasn’t, “Does this person have experience in the eyecare space?”

Over time, Dr. Mike identified a list of performance factors that predicted long-term employee success. This included speed of learning, mindset, and, among others, strengths and talents. Dr. Mike implemented what he learned. And this is when our eyecare hiring story took an exciting turn.

Soon, the eyecare practice began to flourish. The right people, to use a metaphor from the Jim Collins best-seller “Good to Great,” were not only on the bus, they were in the right seat on the bus.

The eyecare practice began to retain employees for longer stretches. And there was more energy in the practice. Ultimately, the Optometrists were able to move from employee crisis after employee crises to focusing on practice growth and profitability. And that next vacation didn't have to be canceled at the last minute.

And thus, Build My Team was born. Start your eyecare hiring story today!