Taking Care of Patients and Staff

When Rachael Marlow took a job as an optical advisor with Huddersfield based opticians the Valli Group in 2007 little did she know that it would be the first step in obtaining a degree in Ophthalmic Dispensing.

Rachael had planned to study in her spare time to obtain the GCSE in maths that she had failed whilst at school but Valli Group managing director Moin Valli saw more potential in her and offered her a fantastic opportunity.

“I knew that Rachael was eager to learn new skills and progress in her career so, through regular appraisals we set a career development plan which led to the enrolment and study of a degree course, which we were happy to fund,” explained Moin.

It meant that once Rachael, 29, had obtained GCSE maths she had three years of hard work studying for her degree in the evenings and at weekends, as well as completing work based tasks.

But the commitment was all worth it when in August Rachael, a former pupil of Royds Hall High School in Paddock, was informed that she had passed the degree.

“I was over the moon,” she said. “Having the degree opens up a lot of doors for me in terms of how I can go on to further develop my career. Although it was a lot of hard work on my part I really couldn’t have done it without the support of the Valli Group. They paid for the course, which I wouldn’t have been able to afford myself, and gave me this fantastic opportunity. I was determined that I would put as much work into it as I possibly could.”

Moin added: “We’re all really proud of Rachael’s achievements. We believe in supporting our staff wherever we can and regularly invest in staff training. It’s important to us to have a highly enthusiastic and fun working environment where our staff are happy.”

This is an ethos that continues through to the Valli Group’s relationship with its patients.

“We pride ourselves on being a modern practice with traditional values in service,” Moin said. “We care about our patients health and take the time to get to know them so they feel as welcome as possible when they visit us.”

The Valli Group runs six opticians practices across West Yorkshire – Hampshire Opticians in Lockwood, Meltham and Honley, SD Haigh Opticians in Almondbury,  Valli Opticians in Mytholmroyd and another independent Opticians in North Kirklees.

“There’s always a warm welcome waiting for you at your local Valli Group opticians practice. Pop in for a complimentary coffee, tea, cappuccino or hot chocolate and have a chat with our friendly staff about your eye health,” Moin said.