With more than three decades of experience guiding people, culture, and strategy across multiple industries, Sheila Cassady, General Manager of HR, Environmental Health & Safety, and Legal Affairs at DaikyoNishikawa USA, Inc., brings deep expertise and a passion for people to her leadership. She has balanced advocacy for employees with strategic partnerships for employers across insurance, medical facility management, agronomy service, and manufacturing.
Sheila holds a BBA from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and is PHR certified by the Human Resources Certification Institute. Her philosophy of strategic HR management is being an advocate for the employee and a partner to the employer. She also volunteers with the Boys & Girls Clubs of North Alabama and the Huntsville Chapter of Soroptimist International. Sheila is also active with community-service and scholarship based pageants, both as a competitor and judge.
Sheila’s pageant platform, “Thriving Women,” is an endeavor to promote financial independence among girls and women from disadvantaged backgrounds, including teens from Boys & Girls Clubs, supporting female military transitioning to civilian life, and scholarship funding for young, single mothers who want to pursue an education.
From Early Curiosity to HR Calling
Sheila knew early on that she wanted to be in the middle of decision-making in a large business. She liked the idea of working in an office because her dad worked in a plant, and she wanted the best of both the plant and office environments. Her dad also talked about Human Resources as if it were a department to visit if you were getting very good news or very bad news. “That sounded like a department that made things happen,” she recalls.
When Sheila started college, she knew she wanted to major in a business-related discipline. Her desire to make a difference in a business and its workforce got her hooked on Human Resources after her first level class. “Every career move has been a step up for me,” she observes. When Mazda-Toyota Manufacturing announced they were building a manufacturing plant in her area, Sheila knew she wanted to be involved since it was a large start-up and she could get in to build policy and shape culture quickly.
As a Tier One supplier to MTM, DaikyoNishikawa USA Inc (DNUS) was the perfect fit for her. While DNUS has been established for over thirty years in various plants on the Asian continent, it had no business presence in the United States. So, their start in Alabama was an opportunity for her to contribute to their growth, not just at this one plant, but in their venture into the U.S.
Defining Success and Sustaining Balance
For Sheila, personal success means happiness with every facet of her life. That includes personal relationships, family life, work life, career, business goals, hobbies, recreation and physicality, and social activities in her community, church, and networks of personal and professional colleagues. “At 59, I feel the most fulfilled with satisfaction, success, and happiness as I’ve ever been,” she reflects.
She is very proactive in setting goals and deadlines, so that her career and personal life can be distinctly separated. She has also built a strong team of professionals that includes someone who will step up to take her place when the time comes. “My team’s growth, knowledge, and skills contribute to the success of the HR department, enabling each of us to live fulfilling lives,” Sheila notes.
Leading with Consistency and Resilience
Sheila’s most critical responsibility is policy application and enforcement to create consistency and culture in the DNUS workplace. “Employees need to know what to expect, whether they’ve read the Handbook or not,” she notes. “Creating policy that can be fairly applied and is consistently enforced is appreciated by every level of employee.”
Her biggest challenge, which was also traumatic, was becoming a single parent at 41, with two daughters, ages 12 and 8, when her husband of 17 years died in a work accident, leaving her a widow and the single Mom of two young girls. She felt like the rug of life had been pulled out from under her and was constantly reeling, trying to figure things out.
At the time, she had a job that required a large amount of out-of-town travel. “My first goal was to make my daughters feel secure that I would be there, and as much as possible for them, would not change,” she explains. This required a job change, so she resigned from a very demanding position and took an office administration job at a locally owned small business.
After about three years, she felt like she had the sole parenting role under control, and the owner of the business she worked for was experiencing tremendous growth. “I stepped up and presented some ideas for creating employment policies, installing benefit plans, and establishing a human resources function to include more than just processing payroll. It turned out to be an excellent personal and professional growth opportunity for me, which enabled me to prepare for another venture in an executive managerial role,” she recalls.
Innovating Through Communication and Dependability
Sheila believes that the best way to drive innovation is to have open communication among the HR Team and every level of management. While she may have final approval on HR practices and policy, she notes that she does not have all of the ideas. “Welcoming and accepting input from colleagues allows for consideration of diversity and fresh approaches,” she explains.
She also believes that the best way for HR to be valued by the workforce and by business is to demonstrate dependability and responsiveness. “Do what you say you’re going to do,” she says. Sheila instills this attitude of dependability among her team and in monthly SHRM and HR Manufacturing Meetings.
Bridging Global Standards with Local Values
Sheila explains that, as a Japanese-owned company, their workplace culture must be inclusive of diverse personal cultures, but include standardized work ethics and values. “We teach the Japanese work concepts of ‘Kaizen’ and ‘Obeya’; constantly striving for improvement and innovation. It is the best way to transcend the expectations to keep our workforce involved and working as a team,” she reflects.
She notes that HR has already proven to be THE factor in growing and stabilizing the workforce. During her first full year, they experienced 68% turnover, and last year, they achieved 35% turnover. “During that same time, we more than doubled our headcount,” she shares. “With focused recruiting and targeted retention, HR leads the business plan in achieving production goals while limiting cost.”
Advice, Achievement, and Lasting Impact
Having had the good fortune of mentoring motivated individuals who made career moves with her, Sheila appreciates the pleasure of measuring not just their knowledge growth in HR, but their personal and professional development as well. Her advice to aspiring HR leaders in the automotive sector is to get to know their workforce and develop a culture that’s defined, inclusive, and goal-oriented. “Do not expect it to happen overnight; with all of the other functions of HR, it can easily take 2-3 years to establish a healthy work culture,” she cautions.
Sheila appreciates being recognized for fairness and innovation, being an advocate to each employee, and a partner to the business, a legacy that she would like future leaders to recognize. “My career speaks to establishing policies and practices that can fairly be applied to everyone, and that are communicated thoroughly. My career success can be attributed to doing these things consistently,” she affirms.
Conclusion
Sheila Cassady’s career reflects being an advocate for each employee and a partner to the business, grounded in establishing policies and practices that can fairly be applied to everyone and that are communicated thoroughly. Through focused recruiting, targeted retention, mentoring motivated individuals, and teaching concepts that keep the workforce involved and working as a team, her work consistently contributes to growing and stabilizing the workforce while shaping culture, consistency, and success.
