RALEIGH, N.C.— Optimize a new selection and hiring solutions company, is launching its services to the vision care field with a series of partnerships to help ECPs access its proprietary programs which help select and hire staff more effectively.

Optimize offers scientific assessments including: cognitive ability, motivation, personality, and situational judgment tests created by Dr. Adam Grant, an award-winning teacher, researcher, and tenured management professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and chief consultant at Optimize. To tailor their assessments to eyecare jobs, Optimize asked employees at over 100 eyecare professional offices across the U.S. to take their assessments and then linked employees’ test scores to their actual performance data including sales revenue and supervisor ratings. Dr. Grant and Optimize said they’ve found that employees who scored high on the scientific assessments generated, on average, $102,000 more revenue per year than those who scored low, according to a statement from the company.

C&E Vision Buying Group and Vision West have signed on to become Optimize’s exclusive partners among U.S. buying groups in the eyecare industry, effective this month, enabling members access to significant discounts on the Optimize system. “When we were seeking a partner to help our members hire better employees, the choice was obvious,” stated Brad Shapiro, principal at C&E Vision Buying Group. “Dr. Adam Grant and Optimize represent a perfect fit for our members, in that they are committed to helping eyecare professionals hire smarter, more motivated, and more successful employees. With any partnership, we want to drive potential clients our way, and we know that Optimize’s hiring tool will help us in that effort.”

In addition, Optimize has established an exclusive partnership in the ophthalmic lens arena with Carl Zeiss Vision for the Optimize program to be a part of the Carl Zeiss Vision Rewards program. “Carl Zeiss Vision’s goal is to help eyecare practices become more successful—not just in the optical, but in every way,” said Claude Labeeuw, Carl Zeiss Vision’s vice president, marketing. “One of the keys to success is good personnel, which is why we’re pleased to offer Optimize with special pricing through Carl Zeiss Vision Rewards.”

Dane Barnes, Optimize’s vice president of sales, told VMail, additional partnerships with other sectors of the market are currently in development. “We’re very excited to bring the proven features of the Optimize program to eyecare professionals. Staffing is the number one challenge facing eyecare professionals today.”