Focus on Innovation:How the Silhouette Group Is Rethinking Learning
Supporting people and helping them grow—for Annika Frenzel, this is more than just a job. As a trainer and responsible for the Silhouette Group Academy, she develops innovative learning concepts for our partner opticians worldwide. With a creative approach and a clear focus on innovation, she’s creating new ways of learning and shaping the future of the optical retail industry.
Annika, you’re in charge of our Silhouette Group Academy. What exactly does that mean?
The Silhouette Group Academy is an international learning and loyalty program that we launched in 2023. Our target audience is the optical retail sector; we currently have around 5,000 daily learners worldwide. Our goal is to present knowledge about our brands and collections in a way that allows opticians not only to understand this information but also to actively share it with their customers. This is crucial because they are our most important advocates. After all, they decide whether our premium eyewear is presented to their customers.
Annika heads the Silhouette Group Academy and ensures that opticians can learn in a fun and engaging way right in the store through the well-designed learning and rewards program.
What do opticians learn at the Academy?
On the one hand, we provide detailed product knowledge, covering both new and existing collections. On the other hand, we focus on sales techniques, consulting skills, and industry-specific topics. What makes this unique is that our target audience isn’t required to learn—they choose to do so willingly. That’s exactly why we have to make learning as engaging as possible. Through playful elements, challenges, and incentives, we foster motivation and genuine enthusiasm. Those who actively participate can, for example, qualify for exclusive learning events or will be invited to our headquarters in Linz.
What makes your work so innovative?
We’ve made a conscious decision to rethink learning. While many rely on traditional PDFs or videos, we take an interactive and hands-on approach. Our focus is clearly on the needs of the optical retail industry. The Academy combines learning with community: participants can exchange ideas, learn from one another, and provide feedback. That’s what makes our concept unique. You can think of it as a social media platform, with learning as the central element. There’s far more to it than just regularly publishing new content. It requires gamification, challenges, community management, and a deep understanding of what truly motivates our target audience.
Annika's definition of good training? Helping people by presenting topics in an understandable way and ensuring they have everything they need to succeed.
You speak with great passion about your profession. What inspires you about it?
I absolutely love helping people by presenting topics in an understandable way and ensuring they have everything they need to succeed. That’s exactly what defines good training work for me. When I see someone grow and learn new things through my work, it’s incredibly fulfilling. I also love creative work. When developing the Silhouette Group Academy, I had a lot of creative freedom right from the start. I can contribute my ideas and try new things.
You live in Italy but work for the headquarters in Linz. How does that work?
I’ve been living in Italy for over ten years, and my place of residence has never been an issue for the Silhouette Group. That shows how internationally minded and flexible we are as a company. I’m in Austria for about one week a month; the rest of the time, I work remotely from home. This flexibility gives me a lot of freedom and trust, but at the same time, it requires structure and personal responsibility. What I especially appreciate is the trust placed in me. I work independently, take on responsibility, and actively help shape the direction of the company. It’s precisely this environment that makes it possible to bring innovation to life.