How an Eye Specialist Clinic rides the Rough Wave of COVID-19 Crisis

KUALA LUMPUR, MalaysiaJuly 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Many businesses are now forced to face the dreaded consequences of COVID-19. VISTA Eye Specialists (VISTA), one of the leading eye specialists in Malaysia, is no exception to these risks.

 

Some of the initiatives by VISTA during the COVID-19 Pandemic, such as Webinars and Facebook Live Sessions, “Tender Loving Care” calls to patients, daily cleaning of the centers and VISTA’s 11 Center catering to Kids.

Thankfully, with full teamwork and trust from our staff, we have been successful with pivoting amidst the uncertainties,” explains Boon Siong Lim, Chief Executive of VISTA. “Over our 21 years, we have been through many crises and learnt that it isn’t enough to just survive, but we need to thrive in this pandemic and economic aftermath, by being laser-focused yet stay flexible to pivot and react to this very volatile situation,” said Lim.

One of VISTA’s key strategies to thrive was to put themselves into three functional teams.

The Survival team, consisting of the Finance and Human Resource departments, whose primary focus is on resource sustainability to ensure the Company has enough cash flow to survive, and to ensure our staff’s safety, well being and livelihood. These include continuous and proactive communication with our partners, including suppliers to ensure mutual survival, negotiate contracts to manage better finances, while establishing an internal staff welfare team under VISTA Together programme to take care of staff wellbeing at work, and their mental and personal health,” Lim highlighted.

The Today team included the Operations and Marketing departments, whose primary focus was to ensure continuity of operations and preserving the primary source of revenue. “We’ve organised over 50 webinars to raise awareness on the importance of eye health, especially on the impact of prolonged screen time as a result of working from home, and online classes for kids,” Lim explained. “We have also made thousands of ‘tender loving calls’ to our patients to check on their wellbeing, continually build relationships and show them we care about their eyes, especially during this pandemic.”

The Tomorrow team, composed of a few talented leaders, are to formulate forward-thinking strategies to ensure that the Company seizes every opportunity and thrives from this pandemic. “We need to continually focus on looking for new opportunities while rethinking the organisation in terms of who we are, how we work, and how to grow and thrive from this perfect storm. Now in the Recovering Movement Control Order phase, we also welcomed our 11th center, designed to cater to kids with an explorer themed interior in Klang Valley, Malaysia,” Lim elaborated.

“From this crisis, we have seen our staff become more agile, multi-skilled, and aligned with the Company direction. On the other hand, our patients really appreciate the many safety steps taken for them and our focus in creating a heartwarming experience in their journey to see from blur to clear,” Lim gratefully expressed.