Why I Prefer a Visit to the Dentist’s Office over a Trip to the Mall
Today our Support Centre spotlight shines on a member of our Real Estate team: Claude Lachance, Manager, Construction and Maintenance Services. Coming up on four years with dentalcorp, he tells us about the many facets of his role and why he would rather be at the dentist’s office than at the mall.
Tell me about your background – how long have you been with dentalcorp and what were you doing before you joined?
This summer I will celebrate my fourth year with dentalcorp. Prior to that, I led the Store Development groups for TELUS Retail Limited where I was overseeing the store design team, project and construction managers, store maintenance and fixture manufacturing. It was a national role so I’ve had a chance to see the country but after 18 years of it, I’m happy not to spend any more time in a mall!
Have you always wanted to be doing what you’re doing? What did you want to be when you were a kid?
I was always interested in automotive. I did my high school co-op at the local Ford dealership but ended up doing my post secondary education in Civil Engineering. My passion for anything that uses gas continues on – however now it’s a hobby I spend money on, as opposed to something I make money with!
Can you tell me a bit about your role on your team? What does a typical day look like?
My role at dentalcorp is great – I often tell my leader I have the best gig in the place. It’s hard to encompass what I do in a brief description as I am involved in a variety of projects. I collaborate with Compliance on steri centre renovations, work with Real Estate and Partners on new builds or expansion projects, engage with Practice teams on leasehold maintenance, large equipment replacement, flood restoration, temporary covid related measures, HVAC issues and the list goes on. The Corporate Development team occasionally calls on me to visit and assess new locations, but I’d say a large portion of my time is spent connecting with Directors of Operations to discuss potential projects, i.e., how much will this cost? how long will that take? why can’t we get the new Cadillac for the price of a used Civic?
Tell me about an experience you’ve had that’s really left an impact.
I’d have to say this one dates back to when I was a young teenager and our family moved from Montreal to Toronto. It was a culture shock and back in those days nobody was bilingual, it was all French in Montreal and all English in Toronto. I had to learn to speak English quickly and make new friends, but in the end I think everything worked out.
Tell me something about yourself that your co-workers would never guess?
I‘m a bit of an open book and I can be a bit of a talker so if you spend a bit of time with me, you’ll most likely know everything there is to know.
What are your aspirations for personal and professional growth? Do you have a 5 year plan?
In terms of personal growth, at this stage in my life I think that means spending time to plan my retirement, from a financial perspective. They say it’s never too early to start that. Professionally, my plan is to continue to learn as much as I can about the dental industry and combine that knowledge with my work experience to develop and grow a team/program to better support our practice network from a leasehold perspective.
What advice do you have for new team members joining dentalcorp’s Support Centre?
You can look forward to a very rewarding career with tons of opportunities to learn new things but prepare for the challenge of a fast-paced environment that keeps you on your toes. If you are energetic, focused on delivering quality and always eager to bite off more than you can chew, you’ll do great! Sound scary? It’s not at all. We have a great team of top performers here and my experience has been that there is always someone willing to give guidance and help. I would highly recommend dentalcorp as a place to work and I’m thrilled to be part of this growing team.
