The Spotlight Editorial Team met with CEO Don Casey after his first 100 days with Dentsply Sirona and asked him about a range of topics.
In this interview, Don discusses his vision for growth, which includes working together as One Global Company and placing the customer at the center. He also shares reflections about his time speaking with employees and customers and how those interactions have influenced his thinking.
Your first months at Dentsply Sirona included a lot of travel to visit many locations around the world. Could you reflect on your first 100 days and share your initial impressions?
Don Casey: After my first 100 days, I’m even more optimistic than the day I started. I’ve had the chance to speak with about 4,000 employees in person, lay out my vision for the Company going forward and listening to their stories and the pride they have for working in this industry. Combine that with the fact that we can get 1,500 or more dentists to come to any event on a particular topic area and you start to get a sense of the strength and also the opportunity that exists in the market.
Our training and showroom facilities made an impression on me and are clearly making an impression on our customers. Clinical Education is undoubtedly an area that differentiates us from the competition and we will continue to build on that.
You noted that Clinical Education is an area that differentiates Dentsply Sirona. Does Clinical Education factor into your overall vision for growth?
Don Casey: Definitely. For example, we recently opened a Dentsply Sirona Academy in Charlotte, a state-of-the-art facility, which enables us to reach an additional 10,000 dentists each year and we are expanding the facilities in Bensheim. We’re also investing in eCommerce solutions to make it as easy for our customers to order our products as it is for them to order something with Amazon Prime. We are also going to focus on smaller economies that are growing rapidly, implement $100 million in cost-savings which can be reinvested into areas of the company that support growth, create infrastructure around our manufacturing by centralizing supply chain functions, and also work on reducing complexity within the organization.
I would like us to put the customer at the center of everything we do. It would be great if every employee could have a picture of a patient and a dentist within eyesight at their workplace as a reminder of who is at the heart of everything Dentsply Sirona does as an organization.
How can employees support these growth initiatives?
Don Casey: One of the practical things that we can all do is to think of our customers in a more holistic manner – meaning that we have one set of customers in every market rather than a business unit specific. Let me illustrate with an example. When I was in Shanghai for the last stop on the Implants SBU’s World Summit Tour, I had the opportunity to speak with a well-known dentist who has a big following there. He uses our equipment but not our consumable products. I asked him why he hadn’t considered becoming a total partner and his reply was that no one had asked him. We have to think about what we can provide as a complete company rather than in terms of specific product areas or SBUs.
After participating in Town Hall Meetings in different locations, are there any questions from employees or interactions that particularly struck you?
Don Casey: That’s a good question. I’ve been asked a few times about professional development and goal-setting. We need to ensure that we as a workforce are prepared for the growth that we anticipate. In order to do so it’s incredibly important to have a baseline for every single one of our employees and make sure they get to have a one-on-one discussion with their manager about their goals and development at regular intervals. This will help to ensure that expectations from both sides are clear.
One of our employees asked me how she could better connect with leadership and I’ve thought a lot about this question as it’s relevant to strengthening engagement within the company. This has to start with the leadership ourselves and I think we’re making a good start with opportunities on the DS Community to interact through Yammer and more broadly through the Global Engagement Survey, which was an opportunity for our workforce to give an honest assessment of some of the things that are working and the things that aren’t. It’s up to us to listen and I hope we’re doing that.
What is your interpretation of the initial results of the Global Employee Engagement Survey?
Don Casey: I was heartened that over three-quarters of our employees took the survey and I hope that when we repeat the survey next year we can improve on this participation rate by another 10 or 15 percent. The results show that only about 25 percent of our employees are highly engaged and that’s a disappointing result. That said, I see a motivated group of people coming to work everyday and I’m sure that as we lay out a common vision and work toward that together over the next couple of years, that this result will improve.
The steps we’ve taken so far are just the start of an ongoing dialogue and the beginning of the process toward greater engagement.
Could you share with us an update on the Top 5 Priorities? How do you view the progress in those areas and what can employees do to further that progress?
Don Casey: A lot of thought and great work was done to put the Top 5 Priorities together and to begin implementing them. The Top 5 helped to create momentum and a sense of unity. I also think that we are at a point where these priorities need to evolve. Going forward we need to focus on improving our commercial capabilities, our KOL partnerships, and on bringing great products and services to market. At the center of all of these things are our customers.
The Dentsply Sirona Model – “putting customers at the center of everything we do”
On the last page of each Spotlight edition we have a section that is called “Ask me anything.” For this edition, we asked employees what kind of customer experience our customers should expect from Dentsply Sirona. Would you share your point of view regarding this question too?
Don Casey: We are in the business of helping our customers provide better, safer, faster dental care. Therefore, our job is to provide the products and services that satisfy those needs. In terms of customer experience, Dentsply Sirona is the only company that can truly provide a one-stop-shop experience. If a dentist is moving into a specific area of dentistry such as implants, we can help by providing the products, efficient workflows and even the training. We want our customers to know that we are truly a partner in their success.
Donald M. Casey Jr., Chief Executive Officer of Dentsply Sirona
Since joining Dentsply Sirona as CEO in February 2018, Don Casey has concentrated on key priorities that include improving the salesforce effectiveness, accelerating innovation and growing in the regions with rapidly expanding economies. He has visited many locations for townhall meetings and connected with employees from all over the world.
Don Casey has more than 30 years of global health care experience. He has worked for various companies in the Health Care Segment, such as Cardinal Health, Gary and Mary West Wireless Health Institute, and Johnson & Johnson. Mr. Casey serves on the boards of AdvaMed and the James Foundation. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Notre Dame.
Reach out to Don via his blog on Yammer or have a look at the fireside chat of Don Casey at the new video format “DS Talk”, both of which can be found in the DS Community.