One President's Commitment To His Employee’s Growth: A Team Solutions Exclusive
The journey of development continues at Team Solutions Dental where we are obsessed with growing our team!
We are proud to have our own Training Department- and we don’t mean a few technicians teaching new hires, equipped to provide comprehensive courses and training materials for all Team Solutions employees - regardless of experience or tenure. Our commitment to employee growth ensures that each team member receives the skills and knowledge they need to thrive.
Our Instructional Design team is comprised of Zack Schaff and Heather MacLean, two motivated and creative individuals who are constantly exploring new methods to promote our team's growth. Recently, Heather even earned a promotional transition to a new title - check out our blog about it here!
Without a well-defined plan or learning opportunities, it is difficult to make meaningful progress.
Our Executive Team alongside the Instructional Design Department decided it was time to offer new learning opportunities to employees and got straight to work.
Zack Schaff and President, Jason DeFranco, setting up for the new course.
Zack Schaff and President, Jason DeFranco, setting up for the new course.
Eight highly motivated individuals were hand-selected by President and Co-Founder, Jason DeFranco, for our PTC Course, ‘Simplifying Posterior Dental Anatomy’. The selection was based on positive feedback from their team leads and Jason's own observations while working with them in the lab.
At the start of the PTC Course, we introduced the new TSD Tuition Forgiveness Program. This program allows all of our employees to have access to training materials and educational courses while ensuring they keep their promise to us and stay committed to their roles. The PTC course had an accumulated cost of 7,500 dollars which took into account the teacher's time; Jason DeFranco, our Instructional Designers who worked tirelessly to offer a course that made sense in a condensed amount of time, alongside the cost of the course material and exercises.
We presented the agreement to the entire class and gave them the option to either accept or decline the opportunity to participate in the learning experience.
For 3 days, Jason DeFranco provided instruction on the course and facilitated drills, exercises, and unique learning strategies. Each day, students were given a quiz to review material from the prior session. Following the completion of the course material, students took an exam to assess their understanding and retention of the course information.
We are delighted to announce that all of these hard-working individuals have successfully graduated and completed the PTC Course!
Team Solutions eagerly welcomes candid feedback from its employees; we believe this helps us to continually improve and ensure our employees are receiving the best experience possible. After awarding certificates to the eight graduates, we hosted a panel discussion where they could share their honest thoughts and reflections on the course. We wanted to make sure that we heard all aspects of their experience, both positive and negative.
Our graduates: Kahli Clarke, Evan Roberson, Sonja Fernandez, TJ Castelow, Danyel Weeks, Savanna Kane, Luis Riva, and Aaron Martin were asked a series of questions and we listened to their responses.
One of the most important questions we wanted to ask is how they felt at the beginning of this course and how their feelings changed as the course progressed. Savanna told us she didn’t know what to expect at first, “I knew we were going to learn about some anatomy of the teeth but I didn't know we were going to learn about the learning boundaries and it was interesting to see the more philosophical side of the course and now I feel like I’ve learned so much about it.”
Although this course was primarily on Posterior Dental Anatomy, Jason DeFranco loves to seamlessly tie in pop culture elements alongside valuable life and philosophical lessons to any of his talks or workshops. This allows those involved to fully engulf themselves in the learning process and have a better understanding.
Team Solutions knows not every President of a company will take the time to personally grow his employees, however, that is not how we function here. We hoped this course could give insight on how the culture of growth and development we nurture at TSD, and it did exactly that. Sonja said she felt that the fact Jason himself gave it to us says everything, “What kind of President will take the time to teach these courses to people who are so new and that says so much about the culture of the company.”
Spending so much time with an individual after having a certain opinion can allow someone to learn a new side of them which was another benefit to having this one-on-one course with Jason. Before knowing the reason behind the madness an individual may not understand Jason’s methods and could categorize him as a yeller, however after learning and spending time with him that belief will likely change and most people see him as passionate.. Which is exactly what happened.
One of our PTC graduates, Danyel, shared his previous opinion on Jason saying “my only perspective of Jason since about last month was him stomping around yelling at everyone but after PTC I learned that there’s a reason behind that, he’s very passionate and pays very close attention to the things that go on and I really appreciate that. It lets me know he wants me to grow as much as I want me to grow and I think that's very important to have in the company.”
TJ told us he originally felt intimidated, but “getting close and personal throughout PTC allowed me to feel more comfortable and he helped us take a breath to go through it all.”
Through this course not only were they able to learn more about the President of the company but also about themselves. Before PTC, Danyel thought he was a great communicator but realized he actually wasn’t communicating well. Khali said, “I learned I have much more potential then I originally gave myself credit for.”
This is one of Jason’s strongest suits, he excels at recognizing and cultivating potential in people!
We previously mentioned the Tuition Forgiveness Program, we asked the graduates if they felt they had obtained the $7,500 worth of value they were promised when they first started the course. All the graduates unanimously agreed that the quoted amount was an underestimation of the true value they got from the course. TJ expressed his appreciation of the program, saying, “I’m truly grateful for this experience. I learned more in this course than I would have in a whole semester.” Evan added, “This program shows that the company is as invested in us as we are in it.”
Having completed this course, Team Solutions is now ready to find the next group to be a part of this learning experience. But who will it be?
We tasked our eight graduates to now be the ones who identify individuals with ambition and a willingness to learn. They offered guidance and encouragement to the next group: Evan reminded them to remain calm, Sonja encouraged them to never pass up an opportunity to learn from the best. While Savanna says, “Pay attention to the minor details. As long as you get the flow of the drills it just makes sense what he taught us and how and why he taught it the way he did, so just relax, trust the process and let it click.”
Our panel concluded with closing remarks where the group was able to share any final statements about the entire experience as a whole: Aaron reflected he was glad he stuck with it and was patient and trusted the process, “I am very thankful for Jason and taking his time to teach and choose us to go through with this.”
This experience made Danyel feel like more than just a number, “It's not often to get to learn from someone who is in such a high position and it's amazing learning how he thinks and how I can apply his thought processes to my thought processes. A lot of companies you come in sit for 8 hours, you feel like a number but being handpicked from someone in such a high position lets me know that he's looking at us.”
TJ and Luis both shared they were proud to be in the room learning, Luis said “I know Jason chose the right people, he saw potential and I feel appreciative he chose me and took time to teach us.”
Savanna shared this was an enlightening experience for her. “To know a company could care so much about you to learn and the President of the company wants to take that time with you and handpick you. It’s so heartwarming to know that they care enough for you to grow and see you want to grow. It inspires you to grow and you learn so much more. I have so much appreciation for the time that was spent.”
Evan and Kahli both felt motivated by Jason. While Kahli states she will become more proactive, Evan, who has been with the company for over 5 years said, “Jason is my buddy and my family, it puts in perspective to not take him for granted.”
Team Solutions is thrilled to have the opportunity to grow people and we won’t stop! We consistently create a positive and supportive environment where people can learn, grow and thrive. We believe that everyone deserves the chance to reach their full potential, and that’s why we are committed to helping people become the best versions of themselves.
From Left to Right: Aaron Martin, Danyel Weeks, TJ Castelow, Savanna Kane, Luis Riva, Evan Roberson, Kahli Clarke and Sonja Fernandez.