Q&A: Yvonne Ramirez on the 'New Einstein Way'
Since Albert Einstein College of Medicine became a part of Montefiore Medicine in late 2015, the institution’s leadership has explored establishing a new identity that builds on Einstein’s storied past while embracing the future. As the College of Medicine continues to pursue its mission to teach world-class academics, lead scientific investigations and improve health for local and global communities, through the “New Einstein Way” the institution is creating a more dynamic work environment that benefits everyone. To get a better idea of what this means for members of the Einstein community, we sat down with Yvonne Ramirez, vice president of human resources and diversity officer, who offered her thoughts.
Yvonne Ramirez, vice president of human resources and diversity officer
How did this idea of the “New Einstein Way” come about?
Throughout the process of updating old information on our website, we thought, "wouldn’t it be great, now that we are 'new' Einstein, to bring our department heads, managers and leaders together to discuss how we can create improved administrative services and functionality to help sustain a better Einstein"
That led to a retreat on September 8, 2016—an all-day conference conducted as an open-space meeting aimed at shaping the new Einstein way. Participants were encouraged to set the agenda, noting themes and topics for discussion on sheets of blank paper that were posted on a board.
The larger group—about 120 people—then broke into smaller discussion groups, with each individual selecting topics that they felt were most important to address. One that came up very quickly was respect. Another was communication. We also discussed creating better processes. And we asked questions. Are we addressing all issues of importance to our community? Are we communicating in ways that assure information is accessible and makes sense? How should we communicate with those who use our department and request input on how to improve our services?
We’ve identified five initial key areas to assess further and address, and we’ll soon be inviting all members of the Einstein community to provide their feedback, so they can take part in shaping our new Einstein way.
What does the new Einstein way mean for the Einstein community?
September 9, 2015 marked our transition to the Montefiore family and we viewed it as a rare opportunity to start anew. The new Einstein way is focused on creating a consistent, reproducible, rewarding experience for every individual we welcome to the College of Medicine, as well as for those who are already part of our community. It’s about creating clarity and accountability around roles and responsibility.
While members of all our administrative departments were already updating our policies so they would be compliant and competitive, we also wanted to be sure we were coordinating well to make processes seamless and consistent, as we establish clear standards of expectation and service levels throughout the College of Medicine.
It seemed that a great place for us to start was when new members of our community arrive at Einstein. We asked ourselves: "How do we welcome and orient newcomers to our community and help them be successful at Einstein—in their first few months, and later in their careers?"
Whether they are faculty, staff or research fellows, we want each new employee to have a strong start and the opportunity for success at Einstein. And we want each of them to feel that they are a valued member of our academic family. To reach those goals, we provide new employees with information they need, which is clear and easy to find—both on our new human resources website and on the College of Medicine’s intranet, Inside Einstein.
What are some of the key focus areas of the new Einstein way? In what ways are they different and in what ways do they build on the core values instilled from Einstein’s inception?
Our values haven’t changed much since Einstein opened its doors in 1955, but I think that we’re defining them in a more modern way. A community such as ours performs best when we work together, collaborate, respect one another, and communicate well with each other. We now have an opportunity to reinforce these core ideals and improve our outcomes. This is an opportunity to further identify and act upon areas that need attention and improvement. We acknowledge, for example, that much of what we do today requires new technology and different skill sets, and we can use the new Einstein way to set a tone for our leadership and employees that promotes success.
One idea, underscored repeatedly during our retreat, is the need to ensure that employees who provide frontline services are treated with the same measure of respect that we give our researchers and academic leaders. That’s a standard that we plan to reinforce through a special campaign, for which we hope to receive ideas from all members of our Einstein community. It’s important that we never take for granted those who serve the needs of our faculty, staff and students. Respect must be bi-directional.
Are there any significant changes in how things will be done at the College of Medicine that members of the Einstein community should be aware of?
Recently, we rolled out a code of conduct and a new employee handbook so employees have the information they need to perform their work effectively. The code of conduct allowed us to crystallize what our expectations are and assure consistency in their application and related standards.
Accountability is important, but you can’t achieve it without a clear outlook defining how we will be accountable. As far as workplace policies, we have some that have changed because the times have changed. For example, we’ve worked with facilities to create single-occupancy restrooms labeled with signage that indicates they are gender-neutral. That change reflects best practices, and it’s the right thing to do to assure that all members of our campus community feel supported and welcome.
The human resources department has developed several new programs recently. What other plans are underway from your office?
We are revamping our professional development activities. I’ve also been working on leading a diversity and inclusion planning effort for the College of Medicine, which we hope will result in a comprehensive strategic plan. It’s an exciting time. When we start to closely examine what we do as an institution, how we welcome people and include people, we see some need for change that will be most valued by those we serve.
Where can the Einstein community find out more information on any changes, including policies updates or the code of conduct?
Much of the information can be found on our new intranet, Inside Einstein. We hope people will go there for internal information, to find out what’s new and what’s going on, and to learn “how do I” do X, Y and Z. There is also a lot of information on our recently launched human resources website, which we redesigned completely and rebranded.
In what other ways will the new intranet help support the goals of the new Einstein Way?
I think Inside Einstein will become a place where people go to improve their job performance. If that’s the only thing it does, that will be great. But I also think it will help rebrand Einstein internally and help us be more organized. I hope it reaffirms our core mission as a successful academic institution and helps build an internal pride at Einstein that reflects our renewed sense of community.
Editor’s Note: Since meeting in March, group leaders for the five issues identified as important priorities have begun planning next steps. These include reviewing improved communications, creating a “Respect” campaign, updating policies and procedures, developing new tools for more effective time management, and improving orientation and mentorship opportunities. Watch the announcement section of Inside Einstein for the latest details on how you can take part.
Photo Gallery
The initial retreat in September 2016 and a follow-up meeting in March 2017 led to the identification of several key issues from which to begin developing the “New Einstein Way.” View the photo gallery from these meetings.
(To view slideshow of photo gallery, click on an image below; then move your mouse over the left or right margins to navigate.)
Posted on: Tuesday, May 30, 2017