SPECSAVERS WALLINGTON Ophthalmic Director, Vinisha Cliff is encouraging fellow colleagues to fulfil their potential and to follow their chosen passion. Aged 4 years old, Vinisha was prescribed a strong glasses prescription due to being very short-sighted. At the time Vinisha said this was a life changing moment and was to be an important catalyst in her later training to become an optometrist.

Whilst in 6th Form, Vinisha had a Saturday job at a local independent opticians in her home town of Wimbledon. From there she studied for a BSc Hons in Optometry at Aston University for three years. After graduating, Vinisha met with Specsavers Wallington Ophthalmic Director, Chana Dhaliwal and Amber Raychal-Bowler, Retail Director, for an interview for a 1-year pre-registered optometrist contract position.

Upon completion of the training, Vinisha was offered a full time role at Specsavers Wallington, where she stayed for four years, building up a loyal community of customers before being offered a more senior opportunity, to join the team at Specsavers Fleet as a Senior Optometrist and Supervisor. This role expanded her retail and professional experience as it also entailed mentoring pre-registration optometrists and other members of the clinical team. Vinisha did however remain as a locum at Wallington, offering sight tests to those patients she had been testing over the years.

It was in 2017 that Vinisha was enticed to re-join the team at Specsavers Wallington. Vinisha said; ‘The daily commute to Fleet from Wallington was pretty tiring, even though the Directors were flexible with regard to start times. It was when I heard that some customers would only book a sight test with me that I made the decision to take up the offer to return as a full time optometrist back in Wallington. This was very powerful, especially as I felt part of the community and I’d even seen children growing up over the years!’

During the next three years, Vinisha worked closely with the store team and with the local community. In 2020, it was Covid-19 that would change everything, as unfortunately all of the store colleagues were put on furlough, including Vinisha. In April 2020, Amber asked Vinisha to return on a full time basis to assist her with testing, running the store and the business. It was just the two of them, so the experience of working across the business was a first for Vinisha and a key learning curve.

Vinisha said; ‘It was Amber and myself in store, so I learned everything there was to learn, from opening the store, doing the finances and banking, liaising with the lab, deliving glasses around the community, booking appointments, carrying out pre-screen tests, triaging over the phone, and dispensing.’
Vinisha continued; ‘It was during this intense time that Amber re-suggested exploring the Specsavers Career Pathway. A meeting and interview was set up with Mark Paine, Regional Relationship Manager. He outlined the vision of the career opportunity and the process involved. Vinisha said; ‘Mark was instrumental in me re-considering the Career Pathway. Also I do like to be challenged and to learn new things, as I had discovered over the preceding months of working so closely with Amber, running the store.’
Continuing Vinisha said; ‘After my interview with Mark, my career with Specsavers took on a new pace, as I had been nominated for the ‘Advanced Pathway’, the fast track option. This entailed a mix of remote courses, store based projects, including improving the efficiency of the clinic bookings and reduction of cancellations.’
Following in the footsteps of her mentor for over 12 years, Amber Raychal-Bowler, Vinisha’s leadership style is supportive and nurturing, and she is an advocate of encouraging staff to study for further qualifications, to add to their skill sets and progress their careers.
So one year on, Vinisha became an official Partner of Specsavers Wallington on 22nd October 2021. Vinisha said; ‘It was a low key event, however the team were amazing and gave me a lovely welcome, with flowers and chocolates. I am truly grateful to Amber for all her support, mentoring and insight over the years and to Mark, who gave me the vision and final impetus to commit to the Specsavers Fast Track Pathway.’