Last year the Company announced plans for Dentsply Sirona University. What can employees expect from the University this year?
We’ve made significant strides in finalizing the structure and archetype for the University and have decided to focus on the College of Leadership for our first pilot. We will begin with the Essential Leadership Program, which will engage first-time managers identified as having the potential to develop into broader roles within the Company. In April, the European participants began their learning journey with both an Americas and Asia kick-offs underway. We’re excited to build core leadership skills in our participants through a blend of both classroom and online learning and will be leveraging both internal and external faculty to deliver the program curriculum. The pilot will be very important as we look to further build out the programming in the College of Leadership as well as in other key disciplines.
How can employees drive their career forward at Dentsply Sirona?
I’ve had a number of opportunities to see employees fully engaged in bringing out the best in each other through constructive feedback and utilizing one another’s expertise, and through coaching and mentoring. It’s inspiring to see the organization develop as one global team. In parallel, it is our goal that every employee feels empowered to achieve their full potential.
Our new integrated Performance Development process starts with setting goals and I encourage everyone to be thoughtful about including a goal in the Develops Self category. It is important to focus on building an additional skill or leading a project that will help you improve in a particular competency. Be fully engaged in your own development. The new process encourages continuous feedback between you and your manager. Be proactive in requesting feedback so you can develop faster and drive your own personal value.
How is the company mobilizing and supporting continual learning? What are the main programs available today?
Many of our employees around the globe have participated in training through a blend of workshops, digital courses, group work, field seminars, technical apprenticeships, dual study programs, coaching and capstone projects last year.
In 2016, the Global Leadership Development Program (GLDP), which serves as the Company’s capstone leadership program, welcomed 20 high potential leaders. 80% of alumni of the program have been promoted within two years or have taken over broader roles within the organization. The European and Asia Leadership Development Programs provided training to more than 110 managers while the Women Inspired Network (WIN), a leadership development program to accelerate career development for women, quadrupled in size. We are further expanding our leadership development programming through the Dentsply Sirona University as mentioned above. Our goal is to ensure that we have the right talent ready to lead our Company now and in the future.
What is your perspective on what the future holds for Dentsply Sirona’s talent?
Our mission, vision and values have provided the common language to represent our new company culture. Ensuring we are living into our values will be the foundation for all our leadership development and talent programs. Dentsply Sirona’s drive to develop a high performance culture will ensure we continue to make critical talent investments and will demonstrate that we truly are committed to helping employees perform better and develop faster and, in turn, we will continue to be the leader in our industry.