Executive Vice President and CHRO, DentaQuest
I had the chance to sit down and chat with Roxanne Martinez who is the Executive Vice President and CHRO at DentaQuest. If you’re not familiar with them, here’s a bit about their work and mission:
DentaQuest is a purpose-driven health care company dedicated to improving the oral health of all. They do this through Preventistry® — their inclusive approach to quality care and expanded access built on trusted partnerships between patients, providers and payors. As one of the nation’s largest and most experienced Medicaid dental benefits administrators, DentaQuest manages dental and vision benefits for more than 33 million Americans through a nationwide network of providers in all 50 states. Their outcomes-based, cost-effective dental solutions are designed for Medicaid and CHIP, Medicare Advantage, small and large businesses, and individuals. At the same time, they are expanding our footprint of more than 70 oral health centers in six states to deliver direct patient care in rural and underserved populations.
In this ever-changing and fast-moving climate, we had plenty to talk about! I first asked Roxanne to talk about her role and responsibilities and she simply shared that she loves her job! She explained, “I run HR and Workplace Services for DentaQuest’s 2,800 employees across the U.S.” Roxanne and her team manage the end-to-end employee lifecycle including Talent Acquisition, Employee Experience/Engagement, Total Rewards, DE&I, HR Systems and Analytics, Talent Management and Talent Services which includes the HRBP function, Employee Relations and other core HR Processes, Real Estate and Internal Communications; essentially everything that touches employees and drives culture.
Roxanne embraces the challenges she and her team face every day. She loves seeing employees excel, helping leaders grow and providing fulfilling careers while nurturing the workforce. She explained that DentaQuest has an incredible leadership team that works hard, has fun and has positioned the organization for future, sustained growth. She loves moving quickly, making decisions, and solving problems every day. I will tell you that her energy and passion for what she does is contagious and inspiring!
We discussed the “War for Talent”, which is at the front of every organization’s mind. Roxanne had some great experience to share as well as some key words of wisdom. She shared, “There are changes and challenges we face post-pandemic and also opportunities. The pandemic caused people to think about what is meaningful…where their passions lie…they are opting to make better decisions. On our end, we are making sure employees are challenged, engaged and feel valued by providing them with opportunities that are meaningful. Employee well-being has to be at the center of what we do; people need to re-charge and find their resilience in order to bring their total selves to work. We strive to keep our employees at the center of everything we do. If we don’t, they will find someplace else that will!”
When I asked her what advice she would give Senior HR executives and hiring managers, she said, “Be really clear about the hiring profile…spend time on building this and know what success looks like…work with your TA team and HRBPs and establish the top three criteria of role to set expectations with your candidates. Think of building a diverse candidate pool – you might find connections you never expected when interviewing people with different experiences.. The right candidate might have different needs and you need to meet them where they are. In short, know the job, set the expectations and be clear about what the job is and is not. Doing so will mitigate the risks of losing people after a year; otherwise it is a troubling cycle of re-hiring.”
Roxanne is highly regarded here at Willmott and throughout the Greater Boston HR community. When we finished talking, I asked her for some parting words of wisdom for our HR community and all of us as employees and she shared even more great advice. She said, “When you see a problem to solve, do not be afraid to step up and offer a solution or offer to take on a project. This will only help you grow and ultimately, provide you with insights that can shape your career. If I didn’t do that, I wouldn’t be where I am today…so be willing to volunteer, learn through the experience and set your path!”
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