CASE STUDY DENTSPLY SIRONA
Fusion platform: the intranet as a beacon in times of change
About Dentsply Sirona
Dentsply Sirona is the world’s largest manufacturer of dental products and technologies for dentists and dental technicians, with a 130-year history of innovation and service to the dental industry and its patients worldwide. Dentsply Sirona develops, manufactures, and markets comprehensive solutions, dental and oral health products and medical consumables that are part of a strong brand portfolio. As The Dental Solutions Company™, Dentsply Sirona delivers innovative and effective high-quality solutions to improve patient care and provide better, faster, and safer dentistry. The company’s global headquarters is in York, Pennsylvania, and its international headquarters is located in Salzburg, Austria.
Initial setting & targets
Sirona merged with DENTSPLY International on February 29, 2016, to create Dentsply Sirona, The Dental Solutions Company – the world’s largest manufacturer of dental products. A total of 15,000 employees worldwide were part of this historic merger, which represents a milestone in the dental industry. Together, they laid the foundation for a new company. The vision: to contribute to the improvement of dentistry worldwide with innovative solutions. A goal that a new, four-times-larger team is devoted to, and that may only be achieved if everyone is working in concert. Thus, employee communication is at the heart of the integration activities. The company decided to launch a new shared intranet from day one. Not only would it unveil the new corporate design, corporate identity, and company logo, but it would also provide extensive information and a welcoming culture.
Goal
The aim of the merger platform was to get employees actively involved in the company’s founding by means of proactive and comprehensive information. The basis for this is the common mission, vision, and corporate values, which have been transported via the platform from day one. Personal and transparent communication characterizes Dentsply Sirona, as does diversity and internationality, addressed by means of the bilingual platform. Connecting employees via this platform enabled them to quickly get to know and approach each other.unveil the new corporate design, corporate identity, and company logo, but it would also provide extensive information and a welcoming culture.
Challenges
Short implementation period:
By February 29, the teams had less than 5 months to set up an intranet for a new, joint company.
No unified corporate design:
No clear company name at the start of the project, and no common branding or logo.
Different IT infrastructure:
There were no consolidated IT systems for setting up technical solutions.
Unclear responsibilities:
Responsibilities on both sides of the communications and IT departments had yet to be clarified
Different culture or way of communicating:
Two companies that need to identify with the platform: different corporate cultures and ways of working had to be reconciled.
Solution
A project dummy was created on the basis of a specification sheet, which was presented to the board of directors and subsequently approved. The platform was set up on Sharepoint Online in a new dentsplysirona.sharepoint.com tenant to ensure that all employees were virtually treading new ground to underline a merger on an equal footing. A central function of the platform is the “People Search” function to connect employees right from the start. Active involvement in the company’s formation is made possible via the integration blog, where a wide variety of departments report on their progress on the way to a new company. FAQ’s, shared documents, and materials such as stationery, logo files and templates could be made available for download.
Benefits & Outlook
The figures speak for themselves: in April, the platform had 303,500 page views and 10,523 users, with an average visit duration of 6.05 minutes. In September, the following access figures can already be recorded: 834,223 page views and more than 12,000 users (with 15,000 employees worldwide – not all of them having PC workstations due to more than 30 production sites). The average time spent on the site is still between 5.5 and 6.5 minutes.
The intranet was launched worldwide on day one of merger without any technical incidents and every employee was sent their personal access data via the new company email address. The platform is filled with new content several times a week and has become the central point of contact for information and collaboration.