As HR manager, Colt provides support related to employee relations and engagement, performance management, and project management to teams across the hospital. For the past several months, he has also led staff redeployment efforts and served as the point person for the Nourished meal delivery program.
Q: How would you describe your team’s mission?
A: Our job is to help leaders and staff prioritize patient care and the patient experience by maintaining a positive, professional work environment in which they can do so. Whether we’re assisting with FMLA requests, fielding questions about job descriptions, helping with team-building, or orienting new hires, we aim to respond to individuals’ questions, concerns, and requests, so Presby’s other excellent teams can stay focused on their important work.
Q: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
A: “Feedback is a gift. Receive it gracefully, and give it back in return.”
Elam is the team’s employee relations & retention specialist and works to ensure PPMC is a welcoming, engaging place in which employees have opportunities to grow. As a jack of all trades and a walking encyclopedia, she aims to be a reliable source of information for all.
Q: What guides your work each day?
A: We want to help people and create an environment where everyone feels heard and included. Over the past few months, I’ve had to start with a clean slate each day because information is so fluid. It’s challenging, but I love being able to help someone with a dilemma that seemed unsolvable.
Q: What three items would you need while stranded on an island?
A: Caramel M&Ms, a flat iron — because as Ginger from Gilligan’s Island taught us, a lady always has to look good — and my husband for comic relief.
As a communications specialist, McQuate works with HR and other departments to craft messaging about news, events, and policies, then shares these announcements via email, posters, slides on the cafeteria screens, and more. She is also the webmaster of PPMC’s intranet home page.
Q: How did COVID-19 change your role?
A: For over three years, I worked part time and sent out the “PPMC Need to Know” email biweekly. When the pandemic spread, I started working full time and sending out the e-newsletter every day. It has been intense having a daily deadline, but so much was changing, and I wanted to help keep staff informed during this challenging time. Being able to support our front-line health care workers has been very fulfilling.
Q: What’s the best book you’ve read recently?
A: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. Her first novel, The Secret History, is my favorite book of all time.
Langston-Smith is the administrative assistant for CHRO Margorie Michele, MPA, PhD. She masterfully juggles tasks ranging from fielding emails and calls, to coordinating events, to managing calendars and travel arrangements. She is involved in both day-to-day office operations and in cultivating effective relationships with internal and external customers.
Q: What’s the most important thing people should know about Presby’s HR team?
A: I would like our staff to know that we truly are committed to providing service and support to all. Our team is a fun group, respectful of one another, and works effectively together to meet our organizational goals. We're committed to extending this to all of our PPMC colleagues.
Q: What person, real or fictional, would you most like to brunch with?
A: My granddaughter, Logan, who passed away in 2016 at the tender age of six. We would have brunch alongside her favorite doll (Elsa from Frozen) and eat tuna sandwiches from Corner Bakery.
In her role as an HR assistant, Doralice is often the first and last person staff interact with while visiting the office. Her role extends beyond administrative duties, and she collaborates with her teammates on nearly all of the department's programs and services.
Q: Why do you enjoy working with this team?
A: My absolute favorite part is when I see someone leave our office and know that we were able to fully assist them. I think our team does a fantastic job effectively communicating changing policies, supporting staff, and offering a listening ear. Feel free to stop in with questions or just to say hi!
Q: What is your dream vacation destination?
A: On my post-COVID horizon, I see St. Maarten, Anguilla, and St. Barths. White sand islands with warm weather year-round, surrounded by luminous, turquoise water and filled with endless trails and palm and coconut trees.