As CEO, three of the better ways I find to stay in touch with my employee colleagues are: the informal coffee with the coach, a chat around a cup of coffee with a random group of 6 – 10 employees during which I ask the question, “if you were me, what would you do differently?”, and I get to hear all about their positions at Northeast Delta Dental, external customer feedback, and process improvement suggestions. The second method is by exercising with employee colleagues — while exercising (running; the fitness center), everyone is in the same boat and it’s great to hear things after a nice workout. And, finally, our quarterly all colleagues meeting – a two hour jam packed session of presentations of new products, roll-outs, Q + A, and recognitions for many employees. Each of these three venues provides me with a great opportunity to keep the pulse of Northeast Delta Dental. Then, when we do a formal employee climate (strategic alignment survey), there are no surprises.
Tom Raffio, President & CEO of Northeast Delta Dental
