“Pathway has given me the tools to strengthen my relationship with my DJVP Partner by improving our communication and an increased self-awareness. This enables us to improve our business planning and allows us to constantly evaluate our interactions with our customers to deliver excellence every time.”

Deborah HartOptometrist | DJVP

• Gain invaluable skills that will enable you to take the next step in your career

• Prepare to join our network of 1,600 JVPs across the UK and Ireland and enjoy the mutual benefits our partnership approach offers

• Network with colleagues, JVPs and business leaders

• Enjoy real ownership and growing your own business as a JVP

• The programme has been successfully trialled and has already identified future JVPs.

Joint Venture PartnersTypically in our partnerships 50% of the business is owned by Specsavers and 50% is shared

between a Retailer and an Optometrist. Within Hearcare 50% of the business is owned by

Specsavers and 50% between the Optical Partners and the Hearcare JVP and within Domiciliary

50% of the business is owned by Specsavers and 50% is shared between the two Domiciliary

JVPs. People invest a minimum of £40k within Optics and Retail, £10k within Hearcare and

£4-6k within Domiciliary which they are usually able to pay back after three years. Specsavers

will always provide you with wide-ranging support covering everything from cutting-edge IT

and award winning marketing to recruitment, accounting and business development.

Why join Pathway?

“Pathway has enabled me to meet some fantastic people and achieve my goal of being a Hearcare Director whilst having fantastic support alongside. I would recommend it to any young professional wanting to develop their career”

– Laura Mangan, Hearcare JVP, Congleton

Front

YOUR JOURNEY TO PARTNERSHIP

YOUR JOURNEY TO PARTNERSHIP

Discover more

To discover more, view the course start dates and apply online,

please visit: http://www.spectrum-blog.eu/uk/pathway/

If you have any questions about Pathway, please email Zara McGowan,

Pathway Manager, at zara.mcgowan@specsavers.com

We’ve seen your potentialTake the next steps towardsfinancial security

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Imagine a future where you’re running your own store and building a valuable asset. Imagine being supported every step of the way by the UK’s leading optical retailer, so you can continue to focus on what you do best – exceeding the expectations of our customers.

Pathway is the first step towards making this happen.

Pathway is a FREE intensive 24-week internal recruitment programme that develops and prepares you to become a JVP. It also forms part of the JVP recruitment process, so you’ll graduate from Pathway with full recognition to become a JVP. This pioneering initiative represents a massive investment in our people and will help us to stay one step ahead of the competition by developing your expertise.

You’ll be ready to take up the reins, share in our success and play a lead role in growing the business and providing customers with the best in value, service and expertise.

“Pathway helped me further develop my skills, enabling me to become a more effective leader. It also gave me the opportunity to work closely with fellow pathwardians and form strong friendships”

– Gurdeep Bansal, Optom JVP, Redditch

5. Managing people and performance

This section is about how you support staff to be the very best they can be. Consider how well you communicate to those around you, and how often you take the time to acknowledge, reward or praise success – no matter how small. This also covers your ability to address and manage under-performance in a supportive and effective manner, driving results whilst maintaining relationships.

6. Building high performing teams

The role of the modern business leader is to maximise the potential of those around them, to give them purpose and meaning and to allow them to be the best that they can be. The very best retail stores don’t just have good teams they have great teams, high performing teams that succeed as a team no matter what challenges they face.

7. Driving service excellence

If the vision and values provide the Green Blood of our business, then our customers provide the

lifeblood. It goes without saying that without them, we wouldn’t have a business. This section allows you to analyse just how customer centric you really are, and whether you take time to consider if you are putting the customer first.

8. Influential leadership

Results are a critical part of how effective your store is. Keeping it simple, getting it done and delivering on promises goes a long way to being effective. This section helps you focus on the role you play in being part of an effective team.

“Pathway is great for equipping people before they go into a store and become directors. I was very impressed with how the assessment was structured as it mimics real life situations that would occur in day to day running of the business”

– Uan Gohil, Retail JVP, Derby

1. Culture, brand and partnership

Our Vision and Values are at the heart of everything we do, and are a vital part of what makes Specsavers special. Here we look at what it means to have “Green Blood” and how you inspire that same passion in those around you, whilst treating them as they would wish to be treated.

2. Connected leadership

Contemporary leadership is much more about emotional intelligence and emotional capital than it is about knowledge and process. An effective Specsavers leader demonstrates personal strengths and abilities that come from within, that come from a desire to connect with teams, individuals and customers.

3. Commercial Awareness & Financial Improvement - Growing the top line

A key element for any future partner is an understanding of how profit is driven within store. This section helps you to examine how financially and business aware you are, building on the distance learning financial material completed prior to attending. Do you understand the performance of your store and team well enough to analyse results and drive improvement? This section will concentrate on your ability to lead business initiatives to drive sales.

4. Commercial Awareness and Financial Improvement - Managing costs

This section will build on Module 3, concentrating on how you manage costs and maximise the return on your expenditure. You will explore your ability to plan and work with the team to influence improved financial performance. It will encourage you to consider how you communicate results to the team and include the use of business planning and financial tools.

“Pathway provides an opportunity to grow in all your skills, and with a team of supportive mentors and coaches, allows networking with other store members on the same level as you. The classroom environment versus practical task balance seemed just right, and the instore project builds confidence that you can apply your theoretical knowledge in a productive way”

– Jim Worton, Retail JVP, Redditch

Pathway modules“Pathway is an opportunity to meet lots of like-minded people and also to think about the future of the hearcare business. The tutors and mentors were always on hand to give advice and their support was incredible! When I graduated I felt I had a real “3D” understanding of the partnership; the true secret to Specsaver’s success. My advice to anyone thinking about going on Pathway? Go for it!”

– Emma Coveney, Hearcare JVP, Arnold

Pathway is your journey to Partnership whether you come from Optics, Retail, Hearcare or Domiciliary. It is for ambitious individuals who live and breathe Specsavers and who want to secure their financial future by investing in one of our stores. The programme will develop your expertise, so you’re prepared to manage and grow your own business. We’ll also provide you with the advice you need to put the relevant finances in place when you’re ready.

Pathway consists of a series of 2-day events with a total of eight modules over a six-month period, where you will be continually assessed on your contribution towards each of the modules. There’s also a Leadership Skills Assessment workbook to complete when you return back to store after each 2-day event, a 5,000-word project and Assessment Day. You’ll be mentored throughout the programme by the Pathway Faculty and members of the Retail Support Team. All events take place at the Hilton hotel at Manchester Airport where accommodation for the middle night of the 2-day events and the night before the Assessment will be met by SOG, as will the cost of the programme itself. You will be expected to meet your own travel costs and any additional accommodation required.

“Pathway provided a fully supported route to fulfil my professional ambition of owning my own business. Becoming a Specsavers JVP is the best that I can be”

– Charlotte Jones, Optom JVP, LlandudnoStart your journey >

The Pathway programme

“It is a source of huge satisfaction for all of our teams to support and celebrate the people who will carry the Specsavers torch into the next decade - and we are blessed to see so many dedicated and skilled people ready to take up the reins of partnership. Right now, the partnership has never been stronger and Pathway gives me a glimpse of things to come, a reassurance that our partnership will only grow stronger into the future.”

– David Martin, Head of Partner Recruitment (UK & Ireland)

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