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Employee Resilience

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Employee Collaboration

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Difficult Conversations

Organizational Transformation, Workplace Culture Improvement with Operations Management and Effective Communication Case Study

The Client

The client was a large dental office comprising multiple dentists, some owners and majority associates. With a team of 100 people, they were grappling with significant challenges impacting their operations negatively.

The Challenge

The dental office was suffering from communication breakdowns, causing frequent staff arguments and constant employee turnover. Employee burnout was high, leaders felt unequipped to engage in difficult conversations, and the leadership team was caught up in constant crisis management.

SKYL’s Strategy

Our intervention spanned over a year, focusing on organizational transformation and communication improvement.

1. Leadership Training: We engaged closely with the dentist-owners, equipping them with tools and strategies to handle difficult conversations, foster psychological safety, and transition from fear-based to empowering leadership. This training involved monthly report meetings to review progress and suggest strategies for developing autonomy, nurturing a positive culture, and effective leadership.
2. Employee Engagement: We surveyed team members to understand their perception of a supportive workplace environment. Initiatives and workshops focusing on mental health awareness and support were introduced to enhance workplace wellbeing.
3. Streamlining Processes: We worked on refining processes and procedures to promote efficiency, keeping in mind the unique roles, needs, and values of all team members.
4. Communication Improvement: We held a lunch-and-learn workshop on burnout and communication. We also facilitated difficult conversations through mediation and conducted training sessions to enhance interpersonal communication, empathy, and understanding within the team.
5. Individual Coaching: Identified key team members were provided one-on-one weekly coaching for no less than 4 months at a time to develop their interpersonal skills, navigate challenges, and grow as team leaders.

Results

Our intervention led to improved collaboration among team members, reduced arguments, increased workplace harmony and overall improved morale. Leaders felt more comfortable engaging in difficult conversations, the workplace culture shifted to become more supportive and inclusive. Employee turnover rate reduced, and instances of sick days decreased, with the office moving from a reactive approach to a proactive, people-centered leadership model.

Testimonial

A newer staff member posted this message in their team WhatsApp group:

"Thank you so much for such a wonderful and insightful seminar today. From someone who lives with mental illness and understands it too well... I'm so happy to be a part of a supportive team in every aspect of our jobs. Honestly, it was a breath of fresh air to see and hear what was being presented. Dr. Jessica spoke about so many truths, experiences I had to live myself unfortunately in past jobs. I said to myself, "I wish every employer would do this for their teams." - employee