With so many businesses out there competing for more customers, the businesses that stand out from the competition are those who understand the value of company culture.
Company culture is, in essence, the personality of a company that defines the environment where employees work. In other words, it’s the way people feel about the work they do, the values they believe in, where they see the company going, and what they’re doing to get it there. Collectively, these traits represent the personality — or culture — of an organization.
You may have heard of several tech companies with a high quality of company culture that involves fun perks in the office, but even local medical offices also offer distinct company culture.
Among these local businesses is North Park Dental, a McAllen-based dentistry. Its owner and lead practitioner, Dr. Ricardo A. Muñoz, said company culture is important due to how it attracts both happy employees and happy customers.
According to a Forbes 2019 article on company culture, great cultures are formed when there’s a workplace with a clear mission connecting employees’ daily work to a broader social purpose and positive change.
The mission of North Park Dental, according to Muñoz, is to deliver excellence in every aspect of a patient’s care to empower them with a healthy, confident smile.
“Company culture is something I am a big believer in,” Muñoz said. “When I opened this office I had a vision of making it feel a lot less like a mini hospital and feel more like a home with a relaxed environment. To ensure our staff members are providing patients with an excellent experience, we do things such as a huddle every morning to discuss the patients we will see that day and discuss their previous visit and how we can improve it, and at the end we have ‘us’ time where we check in on each other and talk about what we’re grateful for. It brings us together because it gives us all an insight of what is going on in each other’s lives.”
As perks for its employees, North Park Dental offers rewards such as dinners or gift cards. This is to make employees feel at home while they are at work, Muñoz said.
“They work so much that they practically live here — it’s our second home,” Muñoz said of his employees. “It’s very important we enjoy our company and understand and care about each other and that we’re here to work. If you hate your job and the people you work with, it’s going to reflect on your work and the patients will see it. It’s why we do everything from answering the phones happy and ask patients about their day with a smile. We’re happy to be here.
“Because of this attitude from company culture, all the employees talk about ‘we’ and understand they’re here as much as I am. This is their second home and I think they love having a place they are proud to be in.”
As part of company culture, Muñoz is embracing social media and uses it to highlight patients and staff members with posts featuring them in and out of the office doing activities ranging from doing yoga together and having a meal together.
This is so patients can familiarize themselves with staff members before coming to the office, Muñoz said.
“If you keep hearing about how great your staff is, they should follow them to get to know them,” Muñoz asked. “It’s why I feature them; if you see what is going on there you will see who we are and think ‘I know them now’ when you come in. Coming to a new dentist can be scary. You don’t know if you’ll like the place or the dentist and it’s something stressful. You don’t know these people but with social media that can change.”
North Park Dental has state-of-the-art dental equipment in an inviting setting designed to make the dentistry feel more like home for both employees and staff members.
“Dental visits is actually one of the most anxiety-inducing visits you can have as a patient. I hear it everyday from patients, so if you have a doctor’s room that looks like a hospital or staff who aren’t nice, it increases that anxiety,” Muñoz said. “With company culture, we are focusing on making sure that this is a place you can feel at home and know everyone. The point of it is so patients get treated like family and we always have to do something good for family and coworkers. This isn’t a hospital, it’s somewhere you can feel at home and know everyone.”
