We’re less than two weeks away from Louisiana SHRM Conference and it’s time for another post in our series of “meet the Speakers!” Sandy will be speaking on “Do Re Me – How Thinking like a Musician can build a Better Team….and a Better Organization” which discusses how to think like a musician and use those talents in your daily HR life. Here’s more about Sandy…
What made you decide to be in HR?
Aretha didn’t need me as a back-up singer so I had to go to option #2. I started in sales and enjoyed the training aspect of my job more than anything. I heard that “training” was an actual profession and jumped into it. (For all of you newbies, no judging! L&D wasn’t as well-known as it is now.) Fast forward….I moved to the HR operations side because I wanted to develop the processes – and I’ve never looked back.
What keeps you in this field?
The excitement. This is a field that never stops evolving. The HR we knew 10 years ago is completely different than the HR today. New HR professionals are learning about systems integration and technology….it just proves that there is always a better way to build a mousetrap. That growth and evolving energizes me about the next 10 years.
What challenges do you face?
Studies consistently show that communication within organizations is the number one challenge….and I agree. HR professionals face this challenge often because we launch company-wide programs (performance management, new hire processes, etc.). During a program implementation we have ONE chance to communicate to the employee population. Any missteps can cause confusion to the employees and negatively impact the success of the program….and even worse, it can damage the credibility of HR.
Your session is on how thinking like a musician can improve an organization, what made you decide to present on this topic?
I am passionate about both topics!
What session/speaker/event are you looking most forward to for LA SHRM 2013?
There are so many!! I need to clone myself so I can sit in every session!
Sandy Michelet is the Senior HR Director at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center and the current President for Greater Baton Rouge SHRM. She is proficient as a top multi-project manager and team builder in program implementation, requirement identification, performance reviews and executive relationship building. She has experience in the creative design and execution of successful, high-impact training initiatives and performance metrics plans; formation and administration of employee evaluation surveys, infrastructure support and skills assessments. As the Director of HR Corporate Services for the Shaw Group, a global 27,000 employee Fortune 500 Company, she led the HR Operations, Learning and Development, Compliance and Leaves of Absence teams. She led the development and launch of new programs, policies and processes, led the company wide initiative to become I-9/e-verify compliant (she shares your love of the I-9) and launched the Shaw Group’s first orientation program. As a self-professed “paper hater”, she initiated the paperless initiative to transition paper personnel files to OCR electronic files for 28,000 employees and led the effort to create standardized hiring processes and new hire packets across business units. She has a Master’s Degree in Workforce Development from University of Southern Mississippi and is SPHR certified. She is obsessed with all things HR but when not chatting about FLSA and employment statuses she sings with a cool rock band, rides her Harley Davidson Heritage Softail and relaxing with her husband Craig and her chocolate lab who is “adorable but as smart as a box of hair.” You can find Sandy on Twitter @SandyMichelet.
We look forward to seeing Sandy at Louisiana SHRM Conference on April 8th – 9th in Baton Rouge! Read more about the conference here.
HRTact 