TwoScots takes two with Jarrad Schell, FD of Specsavers, ANZ

We’re opening the year by chatting to Jarrad Schell, Finance Director of Specsavers Australia and New Zealand. Jarrad has been working with Specsavers for a year and a half.

Previously he climbed the ranks at Coles to become Head of Commercial, Strategy, Livestock & Export before a two-year stint leading Group Commercial Finance at IXOM.

Our conversation was a great insight into a team focused leader who is passionate about not only raising himself up but also empowering the people around him.

Another thing which struck us when in conversation with Jarrad was his ability to juggle multiple projects, challenges and priorities - truly an impressive skill!

Assets and Challenges on the horizon

“All my team members are crucial to my success; because achievement is always team based. A vital part of my job is to make sure every one of them understands our vision, objectives and plans before supporting them all to succeed.

At the moment, we face several, varied challenges as a healthcare and retail business rolled into one.

Firstly, Australia is home to a growing and aging population. The aging population means we have more eyesight related issues and conditions to deal with in an ever-larger segment of society. And, now that we have launched Specsavers Audiology, we have a major new focus on hearing loss too. At the younger end of the age spectrum we also have more eyesight issues to deal with in kids, mainly because they are spending more time indoors and more time on screens.

These factors mean we are seeing far higher numbers of people needing eye and hearing care and as a knock on, we’re seeing an increase in competitors emerging within the market.

Specsavers has always welcomed competition because it’s ultimately great for consumers to have more choice and to ensure our offer stays sharp we are investing a lot of time and energy into creating innovative eyecare, eyewear and hearing solutions to suit the modern user.

Of course, from a consumer perspective that’s really important because wage growth in the economy is sluggish whilst the cost of living continues to rise and thus people have less disposable income. So, a clear and value-based offer is critical to our remaining competitive.”

A focused vision on continuous development

In order to keep his skills up to date, Jarrad says, “I constantly talk to people; peers, friends, leading accounting firms, professional networks and attend conferences. I recently went to a fantastic Gartner conference on resilience which I could relay back a number of practical tools to many within my team.

When I worked at EY it was instilled in me to proactively take ownership of your own continued learning and development over your career/life, which means being deliberate in stretching your mind muscles annually and completing some form of qualification every few years. The professional environment is constantly changing and so it’s important to keep updated and continue to test your boundaries.

In conversation we found his focus also translated in how he moved from subject matter expert to team manager, a feat many people find difficult.

“Personally, I didn’t find that change hard as I really like developing people and delivering within a team. The bigger challenge is transitioning from manager to leader.

This challenge requires you to develop new skills that you haven’t heavily focused on previously within your career. Fortunately, at this juncture in my journey I received significant development and support via the Wesfarmers Executive Development Program. For those navigating this transition themselves my advice would be to give yourself time to focus on understanding yourself, your leadership gaps and areas of development and then get a mentor to help support you to build those leadership skills that will take you to the next level in your career.”

On big challenges in a new role

“As a team, we need to pull together every day. We are an international business, yet we operate as separate regions.

One of our objectives over the next two years as a global finance leadership group is to improve the connection of our teams across the various regions. To date, we have created cross regional working groups that focus on supporting one another to identify and unlock opportunities, solve problems collaboratively or share concerns.

This kind of initiative helps solve problems quickly but also progresses us towards achieving our shared vision and provides people with an opportunity to develop their network internally.”

Life boundaries and inspiration

“Is there such a thing as a work life balance? I feel lucky in that I love what I do so I never really think about it.

But I do make sure I give time to feed other aspects of life. On my way to work, I have 20 minutes a day and I listen to music, predominantly new music that I haven’t heard or given much time to previously - it keeps the 15-year-old inside me alive as I explore new things. It also gives me an opportunity to let my mind wander, which allows me to make new connections and think creatively. It’s important to give your mind time to wander.

As well as listening to music, I really try and listen to stories from my children to switch off from work. It’s so important to put down your phone, tune in and really listen. My kids and their constant curiosity are my inspiration.”

Final advice for accountants just embarking on their careers

“You need to say yes to every opportunity that’s offered within your organisation to consolidate your experience and test your boundaries. When looking for employees, I favour those that have been promoted, taken risks and progressed through an organisation.

At Coles, I led an acquisition which unfortunately didn’t come off but as a result I was on the radar for lots more opportunities and kept saying yes to them. Don’t be afraid of failure, if you’re not making mistakes then you’re not extending yourself.

It is also really important to have fun, and enjoy the ride. Above all, be your best self and good things will happen to you. I see the best in people – which has helped me more than hindered me.”

 As this is our first edition of TwoScots Takes Two for 2020 we’d like to thank all of our 2019 interviewees from Cricket Australia, Village Roadshow, Hallmark Cards, Invictus Games and Buchan Group.