Honored Leader: Thomas Raffio, President and CEO
Company Name: Northeast Delta Dental
Location: Concord, N.H.
Nature of Business: Dental insurance
Founded: 1961
Revenue: $190 million
Growth Rate (2004): 3 percent
Number of Employees: 172
Average Tenure: 6.6 years
Northeast Delta Dental is a 44-year-old, nonprofit dental insurance company with 172 employees. CEO Thomas Raffio has helped foster a culture of service and improvement through open-book management and a philosophy that "Feedback is a gift." Consistent with that philosophy, employees have the opportunity to appraise their manager and their manager's manager during performance reviews. The team environment is emphasized in quarterly "all colleague" meetings and the company believes strongly in communication regarding finances, customer relations, marketing successes, and employee recognition. Community involvement is emphasized: the company has an admirable record of donating time, financial resources, and meeting space to a variety of nonprofit causes. While the industry average is 80 percent, the company currently retains 96 percent of clients from year to year. The company experiences little voluntary employee turnover: 8.72 percent in 2004, compared to an industry average of 21.5 percent.