A HARLOW audiologist is celebrating almost half her life working at Specsavers, and – this International Women’s Day – has been reflecting on life in an all-female business partnership.

Audiology Director Faye Hall, 34, is part of the store director team at locally-owned-and-run Specsavers Harlow in the Harvey Shopping Centre, as well as some other stores in Essex.

She’s joined by Retail Director Sarah Flowers and Ophthalmic Director Neha Patel, and together they’ve trained and developed a great team, both male and female.

Faye started her career at Specsavers 17 years ago in a weekend admin role at Specsavers Stockton-on-Tees, before becoming an optical assistant.

After nine years working in the optical side of the business, she was inspired to retrain into a hearing care role.

Faye explains: ‘I changed career path because I witnessed the pure delight when a patient left the hearing care room with their new hearing devices, beaming smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes.

‘I knew then that audiology was where my future lay, and I trained as a hearing care assistant.’

Faye was then supported by her supervisors to move straight onto a Foundation Degree in Hearing Aid Dispensing, and – once qualified as a dispenser – to a BSc Audiology degree. She then gained her directorship at Specsavers, and moved down south dto Essex.

Since becoming a director, Faye has trained four audiological practitioners (with two more set to qualify in April) and two registered hearing aid dispensers (with two more currently in training). 

Faye continues: ‘My dad was a contact lens optician, and always ingrained in me the need to choose a career which I enjoyed and which didn’t feel like work. Helping people has always brought me great job satisfaction.

‘Audiology was once a male-dominated role, and it’s lovely to see there is now more of a balance. I couldn’t have got here without the support of my supervisors, directors at Specsavers, who funded and helped me through my career.

‘It’s very important for me to be able to give back to my peers regardless of gender the opportunities offered to me. It’s hard to fathom how many six day weeks I’ve worked, sometimes 14 days in a row to grow the next generation of audiologists, and it’s always fantastic to see them flourish and become qualified professionals.

‘I am forever grateful for – and inspired by – Sarah and Neha, and my other female business partners in Loughton, Epping, and Saffron Walden. I’ve only been a store director for two years, and without their guidance there’s no doubt the path would have been much harder and scarier. They are always lifting me up and showing me how to be an inspiring leader, leading through example and growing and developing those around them.

‘It’s quite easy amongst all the daily chaos of running clinics and looking after teams to forget to celebrate each other, each female in the team brings such a wealth of knowledge and they often forget how badass they are. Long may we continue to look back on how far we’ve come as women and celebrate where we’re going!’

Specsavers Harlow is open seven days a week at Unit 58-60 Harvey Shopping Centre, Harlow, Essex, CM20 1XR. To find out more or book an appointment, visit www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/harlow or call 01279 410888.