Daniel A. Michaud has been named vice president of human resources at Women & Infants Hospital. He most recently held a senior leadership position at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. He has a B.S. in political science and an M.P.A. from the University of Maine, Orono.
PBN: What interests you about working in human resources?
MICHAUD: I began my career in human resources working for the State of Maine Department of Personnel as a technician. My first major project was a compensation realignment for a number of major state departments. Since that time I have been fortunate to have experiences in all the major facets of the HR field.
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PBN: How have your professional experiences in health care differed from those in an academic setting?
MICHAUD: Human resources strategies and practices are similar in many organizations. That stated, there are also situation-specific responsibilities reflective of the particular industry. HR provides resources to employees and other constituents based on the company’s mission and strategy. In health care we provide support to all levels of the organization in securing and retaining a skilled work force in a challenging 24-hour day, seven-days-per-week environment. In higher education, more hiring is based on an academic year for some areas, while others are year-round.
PBN: What do you see as the biggest HR challenge at Women & Infants, do you see promising efforts to help address those issues?
MICHAUD: I am extremely pleased to have joined the staff of Women & Infants. As a new employee I am not in a position to determine the greatest challenge at this time. I would emphasize that the exciting prospects of the new building construction and the enhancement to quality for our patients was a major draw for me. Working with staff to transition to the new state-of-the-art environment will be one of the major initiatives as we move closer to the completion date.
