Investing in employees by making fitness feasible at Bennett Family Dentistry

Ross Bennett decided he wanted to do something different for the 33 employees of Bennett Family Dentistry in Cape Girardeau — something beyond compensation, beyond a safe and cordial working environment and beyond all the intangible comforts that tend to accrue in working for a stable business with long roots in the community.

The answer came when Bennett listened to his work colleagues.

"We do yearly reviews and I sit down with every employee of the practice to talk about goals and professional development. I decided to add personal goals into the evaluation process — and in doing that, I saw a recurring theme of health, wellness and fitness," Bennett explained.

Some companies, Bennett acknowledged, purchase gym memberships for their employees or offer a reimbursement of a fitness center fee.

A valuable perk, no doubt, but Bennett didn't think such an arrangement would fit his people.

"We have mainly working moms here — in fact, 31 of our 33 staff members are women. The annual reviews showed they value their health and fitness but don't have the opportunity to leave our office, drive somewhere else, spend an hour in a gym, then have to go do all the things a working mother has to do — and we thought what a cool employee benefit having an on-site gym would be," he said.

A magazine cover with Dr. Ross Bennett's head superimposed is found in the gym of the lower level of Bennett Family Dentistry, 989 N. Mount Auburn Road.Submitted

A father's influence

Bennett's late father, Mike, started the original family dental practice in 1978 in Cape Girardeau and passed away in October 2020.

A piece of advice the elder Bennett gave his son was impactful.

"Dad encouraged me to get an MBA because he thought folks in health care needed some business education," Ross explained.

"In doing that MBA, we did research of Fortune 500 companies and their best practices, and if you look at some elite firms throughout the nation and the world, they have these fitness facilities in their corporate centers. Ours was not going to be what Apple has or a Google-type fitness facility at Bennett Family Dentistry, but I thought if we used the lower level of our office, we could provide this benefit. I floated the idea to the staff and they were ecstatic. They lit up and said a fitness center on-site here at work would be a total game-changer."

Exercise equipment in Bennett Family Dentistry's on-site gym.Submitted

Idea to reality

Bennett said the practice, at 989 N. Mount Auburn Road, was blessed with a large enough building to house a fitness center in the lower level — as 60% of the basement was left open as unfinished space when the structure opened in March 2020, just before COVID temporarily shut down many businesses.

For Bennett, space for a gym was not an issue but the cost had to be worked out.

"I sat down with my wife who is a fitness instructor; and my mom, who was a teacher; and my office manager, who is my aunt. Together we talked through the ramifications of building a fitness facility," Bennett said.

The total cost to build the basement gym was $30,000, what Bennett called a "sizable investment."

Two-thirds of the cost went to the contractor, Justin Wages of Bearded Bros.

"(Justin) started the work last Thanksgiving and promised he'd have the gym finished by Christmas and his prediction was dead on to the day," Bennett recalled.

Bennett credits a website, www.govdeals.com, with being able to find fitness equipment at an affordable price.

"Institutions using public funding can't sell equipment directly to the public if tax dollars have been utilized — so it has to go through an auction system," Bennett noted, saying he discovered the University of Alabama was redoing its entire student center and was shedding some previously-used equipment.

"I got on www.govdeals.com last summer and bought three ellipticals, three Stairmasters, a rowing machine, several weight racks and a pulley weight rack. Normally, if you bought that stuff new at retail, it would be up in the $20,000-range and we spent less than $2,000 on it and got it transported to Cape Girardeau."

Bennett said that over time, the gym will likely get additional equipment, such as a Peloton bicycle.

Challenges

"One thing holding businesses back from doing what we've done are the legalities. There is injury potential and with that, possible lawsuits. I talked to several attorneys and got some recommendations. We researched online and came up with waiver forms and policies and procedures, common-sense rules and regulations to ensure safety and protect the business," Bennett said.

Additionally, Bennett said each employee must use the gym with an exercise buddy; no one is permitted to work out alone.

Participation is entirely voluntary, he said. There is no pressure to use the fitness center.

"There are undoubtedly challenges to this sort of endeavor — having the space, the cost involved and, of course, the legal side. Any one of those three hurdles may be insurmountable for some businesses."

Intangibles

"One of the things in dentistry that's tough is we spend our days hunched over patients in non-ergonomic positions. Using a gym is a way we can take care of ourselves. If we're giving to others all the time and we're not taking care of ourselves, at some point you can't give yourself fully because you're not whole yourself," Bennett said. "I would 100% recommend this idea to other businesses."

Asked whether an on-site fitness center will help in the retention of employees and acknowledging the hidden cost of turnover, Bennett said he is unsure.

"I don't know if (a gym) is a difference maker for people or not but I know if I'm looking at two opportunities and if one of them has an on-site gym where I can meet some goals in my personal life, it could be a difference maker for an employee," he said, noting many of his staff has been with Bennett Family Dentistry for at least 15 years.

Another intangible is the encouragement staff give one another to try to stay fit.

"There's been some great accountability that's come out of this project. Co-workers say to each other, 'Hey, you weren't at our noon yoga session.' You can't go and hide; you're busted," Bennett said.

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