Ovation Star – Judi Beachum
Meet Judi Beachum, Vice President, Human Resources
Judi Beachum
Judi Beachum joined Ovation as our new HR leader on November 29, 2021. She comes to us with a wealth of experience in healthcare human resources, as well as a special story about why working in the fertility care field feels like coming home.
Why did this job at Ovation feel like the right fit for you?
I have a 20-year-old daughter who is donor conceived, with me as solo parent. So when a recruiter I knew contacted me about this opportunity with this company, I told him that I was 60 days into a new job and happy, but it just was one of those serendipity, once-in-a-lifetime chances to have an opportunity to work in a field of medicine that I’m passionate about.
We have met five of my daughter’s “diblings” (donor siblings), and it’s been amazing. Fertility care is a passion story for me. As an HR professional, I’m a couple of generations away from patient contact, so my opportunity lies in helping to improve the lives of people in a field that improved my own life. It’s coming full circle for me, since my passion will play out in a way that helps me realize my own career goals.
What’s your philosophy as an HR leader?
Service and mission are my drivers. I am driven to give back to the field, and to make a difference in people’s lives.
My experiences working in healthcare HR have allowed me to have the ability to engage and connect with people at every level in an organization. I’m not uncomfortable having direct conversations or listening to constructive criticism from anyone at any level. My goal is to provide an opening for anyone in the company to bring me things that they are satisfied about, dissatisfied about, or ideas for improving culture and engagement.
People should never be treated like commodities. I need to connect with people to be effective. I need to have my hands in, doing the work. I’m not someone who will sit at a computer and tell others what to do. I take a very experiential approach to continuously learning and improving.
What will you be working on in the coming months?
First, I need to meet people, so I’ll be traveling to all of our labs and offices. I want to get to as many locations as I can, and if a location has monthly meetings, I want to be there in person or at least remotely. When I can get to know the people doing the work, I can be better at my job.
At some point, we will create an employee survey to get a baseline reading of culture and engagement. Using that feedback, I can understand what people are looking for, combine that with Ovation’s strategic plan, and build an HR strategic plan. This ensures that every HR activity is tied to both organizational strategy and what employees want and need.
Management development is another sweet spot I’ll be focusing on. As an organization, we have a responsibility to give people the tools they need to operate at their highest potential. So I’ll be working to identify needs inside the organization, where we can provide resources to improve people’s ability to perform their jobs. That could touch on several aspects, from succession planning to benefits, professional development, and performance management. All of that is what makes a great company culture.