Spotlight on Suzanne Seider for Women's History Month
When Suzanne Seider joined the Human Resources (HR) team at Cook Children’s, she had never experienced female leadership in her career before.
“I remember being surprised that all of the recruiters were female,” said Suzanne, director of Talent Acquisition. “It was very empowering, and I think it is the main reason I did so well from the start.”
Suzanne joined the system in 2008 as a recruiter and worked her way up to senior recruiter before landing a role as a talent acquisition specialist. She was named director of the team in November 2021.
Her love for others runs deep – a characteristic instilled by her mom who was a schoolteacher. Suzanne credits her mom with greatly impacting her career choice in more than one way.
“My mom taught me to care. Later in her life when she was in the hospital, I watched the health care workers have such a dedication for their job and helping her," Suzanne shared. "That is when I knew health care recruiting would be my calling.”
Suzanne says the graciousness and encouragement of female HR leaders at Cook Children's immediately made her feel part of the team. The environment lends itself to mentorship, which is not always the case within the industry.
“Recruitment can be very cutthroat and recruiters by nature are very competitive, but not with our team at Cook Children’s," she said. "We focus on making the right decisions and always doing the right thing.”
Suzanne’s passion lies in not only working with people but finding the perfect fit for each position that will ultimately lead to helping patients.
“Our Promise at Cook Children's is to take care of the needs of our patients and families. I am in a unique role in that I don’t directly help them, but the way we recruit candidates, how we get them on board – that is going to positively affect the patients and families," Suzanne said. "I look at not only the candidate’s ability to work as a team and collaborate but most importantly, their passion for our Promise. It is my way of giving back.”
Suzanne has followed several of her new hires through their career path at Cook Children’s. It has been rewarding to watch one particular employee who was hired while still in the reserves and has grown from an LVN to RN.
Beth Schmidt, assistant vice president of Human Resources, said Suzanne seamlessly transitioned to her new role as director.
“Suzanne spent a number of years under our previous director who did an excellent job making sure she was educated and had exposure opportunities,” Beth said. “Suzanne does a great job of making sure people understand the uniqueness of Cook Children’s. Whether she is hiring a nurse, recruiter or Food Services employee, she shares her passion with each person.”
About Suzanne
When Suzanne started her first role at Cook Children’s, there were 3,300 employees in the organization. She says it has now grown to more than 8,000 but it still feels like a big family. As Cook Children’s expands even more to Prosper, Suzanne sees it as an opportunity to add to the family.
“We are getting the chance to help more of the children in our region through our Promise," she said.
The way Cook Children’s cares as much about their employees as they do their patients is a motivating factor in Suzanne’s service to Cook Children's. She regularly volunteers at events on the weekends and recently won the Paul Wallace Award for her commitment to the patients and families. For Suzanne, coming to work each day is about more than getting the job done. It’s about fulfilling a purpose – one she hopes to be part of for many years to come.
“I plan on retiring here.”