| A Clear Vision of the Future |
| Healthcare Facility | |
| By Kate Burrowsy | |
| Wednesday, 18 July 2007 | |
 Clearvision offers prescription eyewear that appeals to both children and adults. “We’re real people, and you can speak to the president just by calling or e-mailing. Unlike many corporate organizations, we don’t necessarily think bigger is better. “We think better is better. Our customers appreciate the way we run our business, since many of the optical professionals we serve operate family run organizations, as well.” Eyewear for All ClearVision, based in Hauppauge, N.Y., distributes eyewear geared to young children, teenagers and adults. ClearVision’s brands include Jessica McClintock, BCBG Max Azria, Ellen Tracy, Izod, Op, Fisher-Price and ClearVision’s house brand. “We have a strong position in fashion eyewear,” Friedfeld says. In addition, the company is one of the leading distributors of quality children’s frames in the United States. “What’s special about the youth market is that we’re selling both to the child, the eyecare professional and to the parent,” Friedfeld says. “The frames have to be acceptable to the child on a cosmetic basis, practical to the parent and durable to the optical professional. “They also have to be technically proficient from an optical standpoint to be commercially viable.” Partnering for Kids The company partnered with Fisher-Price more than 20 years ago to develop pediatric eyewear for newborns to young children. “We offer 11 different styles in that collection,” Friedfeld explains. “Each style is available in multiple colors and sizes.” In addition, the company designed a unique pediatric fitting kit for its customers who provide eyewear for children. “Any optical professional in the United States can purchase our fitting kit, and adjust frames to fit just about every child that comes into the office – from newborns to children around seven or eight years old,” Friedfeld explains. Trendsetter Teens ClearVision also distributes specialty frames for teenagers. According to Friedfeld, many of these frames feature enhanced durability. “We feature unique products that are made especially for active young boys,” Friedfeld explains. “We offer Izod PerformX Boys, which features memory metal, a highly flexible material that can bend to almost 90 degrees and still flex back to the original shape. “This material offers our customers a more durable type of product that allows them to serve a different type of consumer.” Reaching Out The company keeps in constant communication with its customers to ensure they are aware of new product offerings and developments. “We have a regular newsletter that goes out to our customers four times per year, a standard bi-monthly survey and our sales consultants have their own direct-mail programs for their customers, as well,” Friedfeld explains. ClearVision utilizes a highly trained sales team operating throughout the United States and abroad. “We have an experienced team of about 70 salespeople,” Friedfeld states. “A number of them have been with us for close to 30 years. “In addition to formal internal training, each sales member can volunteer to be part of a mastermind group, which is a team of their peers across the nation. “The group has national sales meetings to work on solving issues that will help them perform their jobs better and be more successful.” Extensive Training Phases The company is developing an extensive training program for all employees to develop career skills, while simultaneously giving workers the opportunity to achieve personal goals, as well. “We’ve partnered with an outside resource to develop ClearVision University,” Friedfeld explains. “It’s very unusual for a company of our size to offer this level of training.” Training will be free for employees, and offered in four distinct phases. “The first track is an orientation program that every new employee will go through,” Friedfeld explains. “It will teach them about our expectations, products, the way we work, how we deal with vendors, and a variety of other issues. “One of the most important elements of our orientation program is teaching new employees about our corporate culture and our values as a company,” Friedfeld continues. “This phase of our training program will last somewhere between six to eight weeks, and it’s geared to everyone in the company, regardless of their positions.” Second Phase The second phase of ClearVision’s training is focused on personal development, where it offers classes that appeal to its employees, but may or may not benefit their job performance specifically. “We survey our employees regularly to ask them what they would like to learn more about, and what they’re interested in,” Friedfeld explains. “In the past, we’ve offered classes about personal financial planning and ESL. We often use outside resources, and set up times where employees can learn about these different topics they’re interested in. “In this phase, it is not necessarily about what benefits the corporation; it’s about what benefits our employees.” Career Development ClearVision’s third area of training is based on career development and educating employees about how to make themselves more valuable on the job market as a whole. “We offer classes in how to get a raise, how to participate more fully in the organization and how to take advantage of cross-training opportunities,” Friedfeld explains. The final area of training is specific to each position. “In this phase, we will help employees develop skills they need to do their jobs well,” Friedfeld says. “Most of the time, these courses are not taught here at ClearVision. We have professors here in the company that teach certain classes, but we also bring in adjunct professors in from a university, or send employees out for external training that we pay for. “Individuals are fully compensated during our training process,” Friedfeld continues. “I have never seen this level of intensity toward training at any other company of our size, but our view is just that our people are the most important resources we could ever ask for.” |
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