03 PEOPLE-FIRST CULTURE
We build lasting relationships and invest in our team members, to cultivate a collaborative, responsive and inclusive workplace.
People are the foundation of who we are. Only with talented employees can we run our business to the highest standard and meet our customers’ needs. As of April 2024, we had approximately 7,600 full-time employees in the U.S., Canada and U.K., of which approximately 6,200 were employed in the U.S.
To attract and retain the right people, we provide meaningful benefits, a collaborative culture and career opportunities with the potential for advancement.
Patterson’s chief human resources officer leads our human capital management division, a dynamic and multifaceted team committed to fostering a thriving workforce. The division is comprised of multiple integral units, which together collaborate to deliver comprehensive talent development solutions and strive to ensure alignment of human capital strategies with organizational goals.
The talent management team spearheads initiatives across the entire employee lifecycle, from talent attraction and planning to onboarding and development. This team is dedicated to creating a robust pipeline of talent through strategic recruitment and succession planning. By focusing on retention and performance management, the talent management team seeks to ensure that employees are engaged, motivated and equipped to achieve their full potential. These efforts are pivotal in nurturing a culture of continuous learning and development, driving both individual and organizational success.
The HR analytics team harnesses data to inform and optimize HR strategies and practices. Analytical expertise enables the organization to make data-driven decisions that enhance talent planning, improve employee engagement and drive business outcomes. The HR analytics team plays a crucial role in identifying patterns, predicting future trends and offering actionable recommendations that support effective talent management. Quarterly reports are provided to our chief human resources officer, who updates our board Compensation and Human Capital Committee on such trends and patterns, as appropriate.
HRBPs serve as strategic advisors to business leaders, aligning HR initiatives with business objectives. They work closely with leadership to understand the unique needs of each department, providing tailored solutions designed to enhance workforce effectiveness. HRBPs facilitate the implementation of HR policies and programs, striving to ensure they are integrated seamlessly into business operations. Their partnership with business leaders is essential for fostering a cohesive and responsive HR function that supports the organization’s strategic direction.
The employee benefits and compensation team plays a critical role in designing and managing comprehensive compensation packages and benefits programs. This team seeks to ensure that our offerings are competitive and aligned with the overall organizational strategy. By continuously evaluating market trends and internal data, they develop compensation structures that seek to attract, retain and reward top talent. The team is also dedicated to enhancing employee well-being through a diverse range of benefits, including health and wellness programs, retirement plans and work-life balance initiatives.
The collaborative efforts of these teams are designed to ensure a holistic approach to talent development. From attracting and onboarding new employees to planning for future leadership through succession planning, the human capital management division covers all facets of talent management.
As a people-first organization, the overall well-being of our team matters. Patterson’s total reward philosophy includes market-competitive pay along with a range of benefit choices to meet employees’ diverse needs, reward performance and strengthen shareholder value.
Compensation plans include base pay, sales incentives, bonus plans, short-term incentives and long-term incentives. We conduct regular internal reviews of our pay structures.
We provide medical, pharmacy, dental and vision plans, giving employees coverage and encouraging preventive care to identify health issues early. Our medical plan offers employees and their covered dependents the option for virtual visits with medical professionals 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as well as a 24/7 nurseline.
Patterson strives to help employees achieve their personal fitness, emotional, finance and work/life balance goals. Through an employee assistance program, we offer support to our employees and their dependents with a range of services for thriving in their personal lives and staying safe and well – mentally, physically and financially.
We also offer resources and support for diabetes, weight management, tobacco use and joint pain. Those on our medical plans also receive support for themselves and their families during significant health events, like dedicated maternity care management resources for high-risk pregnancies.
We believe that flexible family-friendly policies are essential to cultivating a work environment where employees can thrive professionally without sacrificing essential personal obligations. We offer fully paid parental leave to employees growing their families, including for those becoming parents through adoption or foster care.
Patterson supports employee goals for financial well-being through matching contributions to 401(k) retirement savings (up to 4%), life insurance, company-paid short-term disability insurance and an employee stock purchase plan that allows employees to purchase company stock at a discount. Our financial partners provide educational tools to help our employees keep their financial goals on track.
Patterson conducts an annual survey of our employees in the U.S. and Canada to better understand their experiences at work. We engage a third-party provider to administer the survey, protect anonymity and share analysis of results with our managers.
Managers are expected to discuss results with their teams to set goals that respond to the results. Survey results have prompted recent changes such as adding more wellness options to the employee assistance program.
Patterson participates in job fairs as part of our efforts to attract promising new team members. We also host a summer internship program that supports talent development across the enterprise. Internships are designed to address actual business needs and provide real-world experience in students’ field of interest. We host approximately 20 college students per year. Among the many benefits of the internship program, our employees gain leadership experience by working with their interns. The intern program includes organized group activities, professional development programming, volunteer events and a final presentation.
In addition, we run several initiatives aimed at attracting diverse talent. More information is provided in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion chapter of this report.
Investing in our employees is essential for our success, and Patterson strives to support their progression and career development. We encourage employees’ initiative in taking on new roles and expanding their responsibilities through education and learning.
Our talent team leads employee learning, leadership development and performance management at the enterprise level. Each business unit has specific development opportunities as well, amounting to an extensive network of learning assets across the company.
We track and report metrics on employee learning and development. These include the courses being accessed in our online platform, the number of new users and how many employees enroll in, complete and drop programs.
We conduct performance reviews for employees every year. In FY23, 93% of the company’s eligible workforce in the U.S and Canada completed an annual performance review. Fulfillment center employees are reviewed more often so they can quickly build their skills and advance through operations.
Reviews include setting goals for the employee’s job performance and growth and reviewing progress. The process centers around a conversation between the employee and their manager, and results in performance-based pay recommendations from the manager. In addition to the annual review process, we encourage employees and their managers to informally discuss job performance and goals on a regular basis.
We are proud of our history of promoting from within the company. For example, within the last two years we promoted four of our current senior executive leaders from other roles at Patterson. We believe this reflects Patterson’s strong professional development, talent review process and succession planning. It also demonstrates our commitment to creating opportunities for our team.
As part of a strategic workforce planning approach, we conduct an annual exercise to assess leader-level talent. We assess employees’ potential for future job openings and strive to prepare them for their desired career path, helping the company maintain a pipeline of internal talent for key roles. We update our action plans accordingly to ensure successors are in place for roles across the company. Our chief human resources officer reports to the full board annually on succession planning for key executive roles.
Patterson runs a popular, thoughtfully designed Mentor Program. Now in its fourth year, the program attracts dozens of participants each year including the mentors and their mentees. Participation grew by over 100% between FY23 and FY24. The program takes place over the course of one year and consists of a monthly facilitated dialogue for networking and professional development, as well as monthly meetings between the mentor and mentee.
We seek to ensure new managers are effective in their leadership roles through our partnership with Franklin Covey, a world leader in consulting and training. Our internal training team facilitates the Covey course “The 6 Critical Practices for Leading a Team.”
In addition, leaders enterprise-wide complete our Inclusive Leadership program. The training builds awareness and skills in three core areas: identifying unconscious bias, increasing empathy in personal interactions and facing bias with courage. Inclusive Leadership equips leaders to address the impacts of unconscious bias on decision-making, improve collaboration among groups and take a practical, action-oriented approach to diversity training and inclusivity. In FY24, we achieved approximately 86% participation, reaching nearly 800 individual leaders.
For leaders at the director level and above in Canada and the U.S., we offer the Patterson Leadership Academy, an intensive cohort-based development program that takes place every other year. We created the curriculum in partnership with Carlson Executive Education at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. Participants are leaders at Patterson (director-level or higher) and must be nominated to participate. Participants work closely with our executive leadership team and other senior colleagues across the company to learn firsthand how we approach our business and industries. The experience also creates personal connections which can help elevate each participant’s career and strengthen networks across our functional teams.
Patterson Leadership Academy is six months long, beginning with a one-week residency at the University of Minnesota for courses in leadership development and business acumen. This is followed by work on an actual Patterson business project, collaborating with an internal sponsor to gather data and present findings and recommendations to executive leaders. The proposed solutions have a high rate of success and adoption into Patterson’s operations. It concludes with a final one-week residency.
Our newest leadership development program engages Patterson’s emerging sales leaders in the U.S. and Canada. We piloted our Emerging Leader program for dental leaders in 2023 and expanded it to include companion and animal health leaders in 2024. Emerging Leader training strives to build participants’ communication skills, help them develop an enterprise perspective and expand their network across the company.
In the U.K., employees have access to external training to develop their skills in management and leadership. The courses take place in partnership with local colleges and universities.
Patterson teams complete a significant amount of training and development each year. As leaders and team members in the U.S. and Canada identify skill-building and other development needs, they can take advantage of learning assets available through Workday. The training library provides thousands of online courses for technical, professional and leadership development. In FY24, Patterson employees spent over 3,660 hours on learning experiences through our resource library.
In the U.K., employees can take internal training courses for learning and development related to their roles. In addition, as needed we place employees in external courses to further support their growth. Such training is financed by the apprenticeship fund that we maintain in the U.K.
As new hires, our dental sales professionals participate in a flexible and efficient onboarding experience. It includes an online, self-paced program for completion within 30 days, in-person orientation at the branch, access to Workday and our sales platform (Seismic), and instructor-led virtual courses in the business of dentistry and professional selling. Our sales team has access to additional training on a periodic basis on topics like negotiating and advanced selling.
Our service technician teams participate in upskilling opportunities and completed 8,640 hours of training in FY24. We conduct extensive internal training for our customer support teams. In FY24, they completed 33,139 hours of training.
Patterson provides financial assistance to encourage education, development and professional growth. For all full-time employees, we reimburse up to $3,500 in expenses for courses and other educational programs related to their jobs or careers.
In FY24, 35 employees took advantage of our tuition reimbursement program. Employees completed advanced-degree coursework in psychology, oral health, public health and organizational leadership, as well as undergraduate courses in business, software, finance and management.
We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce strengthens our company. We encourage our teams to bring their authentic selves to work every day to create an environment where individuals from all backgrounds feel valued and respected. In so doing, we not only enrich our workplace culture but also foster innovation and success.
We are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) and we are dedicated to championing these principles throughout our organization.
In FY24, Patterson took a significant step forward by appointing our inaugural director of DE&I. This strategic appointment underscores our commitment to a culture supportive of diversity, equity and inclusion and reflects the importance we place on our people-first values and collaborative leadership. This individual brings a consultative approach to leading our efforts in this vital area, providing updates to our chief human resources officer, who in turn reports on the company’s overall progress across business units for DE&I initiatives to our CEO and the Compensation and Human Capital Committees of our board.
We leverage DE&I as a catalyst to accelerate growth and innovation across the enterprise. By fostering a diverse and inclusive environment, we unlock the full potential of our workforce, driving creativity, engagement and superior business outcomes.
The Patterson Code of Conduct expresses our commitment to an inclusive workplace and one that is free of discrimination, harassment, bullying and physical or verbal abuse. It also offers guidance for employees on speaking up about suspected discrimination or harassment.
Our employee handbook sets forth policies and expectations that reflect an inclusive approach. It specifies that it is our policy not to discriminate, and that we are committed to ensuring equal opportunities for all.
We recognize that empowering our workforce through a safe and inclusive culture is pivotal to our business impact and overall success. We work to develop a culture that promotes professional growth and acknowledges individual differences, which in turn stimulates engagement, productivity and innovation.
We believe the outcomes are tangible: an internal community that is engaged, innovative and productive, as demonstrated by our 81% engagement rate in the 2024 employee engagement survey.
Affinity groups work together on community engagement, volunteer efforts, inclusivity and forums for discussing employee experiences that have an impact on their professional lives. Through our affinity groups, we aim to amplify employee voices, providing platforms for skill development, collaboration and impact on the business. These communities serve as catalysts for a diverse and inclusive workplace.
Our affinity groups play a vital role in driving enterprise-wide awareness and capability in DE&I. Together, we strive to build a workplace where every individual is empowered to thrive and contribute. In FY24, acting on a recommendation of the Patterson Affinity Zone (PAZ) group for employees who fall into groups that are underrepresented, Patterson added Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a company-paid holiday for employees in the U.S.
In addition to PAZ, we have an affinity group for LGBTQA+ employees and launched our newest affinity group, Women of the Workforce, in FY24. Our executives sponsor the affinity groups and there is a process for creating additional groups to ensure they are appropriately supported for success.
External partnerships also play a crucial role in supporting our workforce diversity initiatives. Through these collaborations we leverage additional expertise, resources and networks to access diverse talent pools, gain insights into best practices and expand our reach in creating an inclusive workplace culture.
Patterson is a member of Out & Equal, a global non-profit organization advancing LGBTQA+ equality in the workplace. Patterson employees attended the workplace summit in FY24 and virtually in past years.
Our commitment to the advancement of women extends beyond our workforce to the industries we serve. Patterson partners with WILMAH, an organization that provides opportunities to help women succeed at every stage of their careers. We encourage Patterson women to participate in WILMAH’s events and mentorship programs. We have served as a WILMAH sponsor for over three years.
Through our work with Women in Dentistry, Patterson helps women in the industry connect and support one another. The organization holds locally focused events in 30 U.S. cities. Patterson leaders provide content and speakers for events. In FY24, we hosted a virtual series of events focused on why and how to network.
Our talent acquisition includes a focus on outreach and recruitment to expand diversity across our workforce. The team engages with both employees and candidates to share Patterson’s efforts and collaborates with managers to source from diverse candidate pools for new positions.
Fostering an inclusive workforce that reflects our customer base and those with whom we do business benefits our employees, supports talent attraction and has the potential to bolster market reach through engagement and a sense of belonging.
People of color We are implementing targeted recruitment strategies to attract qualified individuals from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Among these, we:
Partner with community organizations that focus on supporting people of color in their career development
Attend career fairs and networking events specifically tailored to communities of color
Offer mentorship and professional development opportunities, like the Patterson Mentor Program, to support the advancement of employees from diverse backgrounds
Military veterans We are proud to support veterans’ transition into civilian careers by actively recruiting from the U.S. military community. Our organization values the unique skills, experiences and dedication that veterans bring to the workforce. Among our initiatives, we:
Collaborate with veteran-focused organizations such as Hire Our Heroes to identify and recruit top military talent
Participate in military career fairs to connect with veterans seeking employment opportunities
Provide support for veterans throughout the recruitment and onboarding process to ensure a smooth transition into our organization Early career and students We partner with educational institutions in Minnesota to provide opportunities for students from underserved communities to explore careers in technology and other fields. In support of this goal, we:
Collaborate with organizations like Genesys Works and Cristo Rey High School to offer workplace experiences for high school students
Partner with colleges to offer summer internships
Provide college scholarships and internship opportunities to support students in pursuing higher education and gaining real-world experience in their chosen fields
DE&I scholarships We offer scholarships to support qualified students from underrepresented backgrounds in pursuing higher education, particularly in veterinary and dental careers. These scholarships reflect our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion within our organization and the broader community. Up to four awards are granted per year. To help reach students, we partner with Scholarship America, a large non-profit, private scholarship organization.
Patterson aims to promote equity, inclusion and economic empowerment within our supply chain. By partnering with qualified businesses owned by individuals from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, women, veterans, LGBTQA+ individuals and people with disabilities, we enrich our supply chain and a diverse business ecosystem. We appreciate the importance of supplier diversity in driving innovation, enhancing competitiveness, and creating shared value for all stakeholders.
Keeping employees safe and healthy is essential to Patterson’s value of putting people first. We are committed to high health and safety standards and have systems in place designed to manage risks and drive compliance with applicable laws and industry best practices.
Patterson’s senior director of EHS leads our program, with oversight from our chief compliance officer. Our EHS team collaborates with safety liaisons and managers at Patterson’s 150 sites across three countries.
The safety liaison completes monthly compliance audits, runs workgroup safety huddles to provide key safety reminders and communicates any updates in health and safety practices and expectations. The liaison also supports management by driving training completion.
Several of our larger sites have safety committees led by the safety liaisons, which meet monthly to discuss recent incidents, hazard reporting and safety initiatives.
Detailed updates are provided quarterly to our management compliance committee. They cover our annual risk assessment, the annual environmental health and safety plan, key project updates, recent wins and challenges and metrics such as injury rates, lost time and hazardous material shipping issues.
Our board’s Governance and Nominating Committee has broad oversight of ESG matters while the board’s Compliance Committee specifically oversees our health and safety program. The Compliance Committee receives quarterly updates on health and safety from the chief compliance officer.
As a matter of policy, our sites conduct monthly self-inspections to determine compliance with relevant company policies and regulations. Inspections use a checklist provided by the EHS team. Each site is responsible to remediate any non-compliance in a timely way. On a monthly basis we confirm that leaders at each site have implemented appropriate remediations as needed and completed daily or per-shift safety measures. In addition to the monthly process, facilities must also conduct an annual self-assessment of their compliance with our health and safety policies, along with training completion.
Our health and safety requirements apply to all Patterson employees. Contract workers must follow their own safety policies as well as our policy on contractor safety.
Company policies cover key health and safety issues such as accident reporting and investigation, controlling exposure to bloodborne pathogens, confined spaces, driving, electrical safety, safe lifting, fall protection, hearing conservation, preventing injury and illness, working with pesticides, radiation safety, respiratory protection and spill prevention. We outline procedures for workers to remove themselves from situations that they believe could cause injury or ill health and we have a policy that protects against reprisals.
We also maintain emergency plans for scenarios related to weather, wildfires, earthquakes and more. Our employee handbook addresses emergency response procedures that we expect everyone to follow in the event of an emergency.
We work to mitigate risks for our technicians, suppliers and other essential areas of our operations outside our facilities. For example, for driver safety, we conduct annual checks of driving records, and we maintain a guidebook on supervising commercial drivers. The guidance covers routine tests, training and paperwork. For technicians installing X-ray equipment, we provide procedures on safely installing equipment and state-by-state regulations.
Our employee handbook also addresses workplace security and handling workplace violence or bullying. It provides detailed definitions of prohibited behavior and guidance on reporting it.
The EHS team has access to a range of safety metrics, including incident rate and lost time rate on a rolling 12-month basis, as well as a summary of recordable incidents. The EHS team regularly reviews recordable incident data to promote targeted safety initiatives. We strive to reduce days lost from work-related injuries by 5% each year, generally using benchmarks provided by the National Association of Warehousing.
Our EHS team tracks incident investigations, completion of site monthly self-inspections and annual self-assessments, and health and safety training completion. Updates on these indicators are shared with executive leadership and the board of directors on a regular basis. We track any remediation gaps until closed, with closure due dates set by the EHS team.
High-hazard risks include working at heights, using powered industrial vehicles to move supplies and transport driving. We also manage risks of back, shoulder and other ergonomic conditions.
To aid us in identifying work-related hazards, the EHS team conducts an annual overall risk assessment and requires local management teams to maintain a job hazard analysis for each position. This job hazard analysis is part of the training and orientation for new hires in the role. When an audit or other process brings our attention to a new type of risk, we add it to this job hazard analysis. We strive to mitigate risks through our reporting and investigation activities and the application of the hierarchy of controls.
Employees can report hazards in several ways, such as speaking to a safety liaison or direct manager or making a report through our compliance helpline, “Speak Up Patterson.” We encourage a culture of speaking up and have a strict non-retaliation policy. We do not tolerate adverse actions directed at anyone who reports a good faith concern or participates in an investigation.
Patterson leverages a nurse triage service available via telephone 24 hours a day for employees to self-report or for supervisors to report any injuries. The nurse can quickly direct the employee to the best care for their injury. This system also provides direct reports to the senior safety and health manager.
Beyond tracking incidents, we place a special emphasis on investigations. After an incident occurs, supervisors and managers complete online incident investigation forms. We assess the root cause and determine potential improvement measures. We consult in depth with the leader most relevant to the affected employee. This process supports our efforts to prevent reoccurrences of incidents and keep everyone safe.
Each employee must complete safety and health training according to the needs of their role.
Each month, Patterson provides content on a specific safety topic, which site teams share during monthly safety huddles. Recent focus issues include employee wellness such as hydration in high temperatures, ladders, learning from experience and vehicle chocking.
We also provide in-depth training in ergonomics, safe driving, first responder training, power tools, fall protection, ladder safety, power tool safety and more. For positions that require certification, such as operating a forklift or other powered industrial vehicle and shipping hazardous material, our employees receive and maintain certification via completion of formal training, job-specific training and formal evaluations. We log and maintain employees’ certifications.
The training coordinator on Patterson’s compliance team regularly updates company leadership on completion of relevant training and any remaining needs or gaps.
