Dr. Cory Wicker on Redefining HR

Dr. Cory Wicker on Redefining HR

Today we welcome Cory Wicker, Ph.D., SPHR, SHRM-SCP, UCM associate vice president for Human Resources.

Since joining UCM in May 2023, Dr. Wicker has brought a wealth of expertise to the university, leveraging his extensive experience in human resources to drive positive change and empower the university’s most valuable asset: its people.

Dr. Wicker’s impressive credentials include a Ph.D. in Human Capital Development, an MBA and certifications as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP). His leadership is focused on fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment while delivering innovative solutions and exceptional service to faculty and staff.

Tune in as we discuss his vision for Human Resources in higher education, his strategic approach to human capital development, and how HR is helping to redefine what’s possible at UCM.

He might even have some tips on the music stores with the best vinyl, too. Don’t miss this insightful conversation!

Learn more about the UCM Office of Human Resources ⁠here⁠.

 

Transcript

Alex Greenwood
Welcome to Central Speaks, the podcast that puts the spotlight on the dedicated individuals who propel the University of Central Missouri forward. I'm Alex Greenwood.

Each episode, we delve into the stories of those who embody UCM spirit of innovation and service, showcasing the transformative work that redefines what's possible on our campus and beyond. Central speaks is all about hearing directly from UCM change makers as they share how they push boundaries and inspire colleagues and students redefining what's possible every day, this show isn't just about recognizing hard work, it's about sharing the passion, creativity and commitment of the people who turn ideas into action.

Through these conversations, we aim to inspire our community by highlighting the innovative solutions and personal journeys to continually shape and redefine the UCM experience. At the heart of it all is a simple truth. UCM success is powered by those who serve with purpose, constantly pushing boundaries, challenging expectations and creating new possibilities. Central Speaks is here to tell their stories in their own words and today on central speaks, I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Cory Wicker, associate vice president for Human Resources, right here at UCM.

Dr. Wicker brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, having joined the leadership team in May of 2023 with a career dedicated direct to directing human resources across multiple sectors, he is known as a true champion for change, dedicated to advancing performance, productivity and profit through our organization's most vital asset, its people. Dr. Wicker, his educational background is impressive, with a PhD in human capital development from the University of Southern Mississippi, an MBA from Southeastern Louisiana University, and a bachelor's in human resources development from Louisiana State University, he also holds prestigious certifications as a senior professional in human resources and a senior Certified Professional beyond his academic and professional achievements, Dr. Wicker’s contributions to the field have been recognized with numerous awards, including his induction into USM 2022, graduate student Hall of Fame, and his service on the boards of respected HR organizations here at UCM, Dr. Wicker is focused on fostering a positive, inclusive work environment that attracts, develops and retains top talent under his leadership. UC M's Office of Human Resources is committed to excellence, providing innovative solutions, exceptional service and strategic support to both employees and the broader university community, guided by values of integrity, respect and collaboration. Dr. Wicker and his team are dedicated to enhancing the overall employee experience and supporting UCM mission.

Well, Dr. Wicker, I feel like I need a break now, after I talked about all these wonderful things you've achieved and what you're starting to do here at UCM, but I want to thank you for joining us here on Central Speaks. 

Dr. Cory Wicker
Well, thanks for having me, having me, and I am so excited to be here.

Alex

I want to jump right in you've been here just over a year as we recorded this. So you got in May 2023, and you came from where?

Cory

The state of Louisiana. It's the Board of Regents, it's the system office, hmm,

Alex

So how did you find things here in Warrensburg?

Cory
I enjoyed it. I mean, it was a lot when I talked to people before I joined the team. It was a lot of the things that I was currently doing, you know, some rebuilding and laying some foundational work. So I jumped right in.

Alex
Did you find that you had to come in and perhaps hit the reset button a little bit on HR and maybe develop your own strategy carrying forward?

Cory
Yes. of course, adopting some of the our strategy here at UCM is we're people centered and mission driven, so we want to carry on that approach and build that foundation toward that maybe looking at what our goals are as far as an organization, how might HR add value to that? So my team were already doing HR, right? But let's take it on to another level.

Alex
Can you give me maybe just an example of that?

Cory
So first coming in, you always start in. My apologies. Let's talk about my approach is you start with a needs assessment. You kind of look, that's how you gather your information. So when I first got here, I did listening tours. And prior to my Start, you see I made engaged locked in companies in an engagement survey as well as a compensation study. So using that information, I began my work, yeah, so making sure they connected to UCM strategic plan, and doing some of the work. So in practice, that started out with, of course, doing a needs assessment, finding out what we what our employees wanted. That birthed some initiatives, such as, we did an employee discount program. We did a total rewards survey, which we're in our second round of that. We continue that. We did a benefits fair and flu shot. We brought that back to campus. I saw you there, yep. And then we, for the first time, we did a jet dental hygiene clinic. So. So these were all the things that are people centered, that contributes to academic excellence and organizational excellence, and then our another pillar of what we do is continuous improvement. So this past April, the board, with the blessing of VP Hawley and President Best, we took to the board talent management suite, and that's going to be a part of our continuous improvement by taking away some of the paper based processes that we have and bringing it more to an electronic streamline.

Alex
Yeah, I've been in those trainings for some of the Neo Ed stuff is that we're talking about here, because I actually was part of a hiring process. I've only been here about eight or nine months, and I had to be on board for that and all the paper at the time. You know, I was just here right before everything started to go over to Neo Ed. And it's just, it's revolutionary how you've cut back on the paper side of things. I was curious, as I've been in one of your trainings. I've been to two year trainings, actually, about that. How are people responding to that?

Cory
Yeah, so I would say, well, positive, you know, with the forms our prior process, using prior process or fill in a vacancy, they would kind of pass a paper around campus and get their signatures, and then it's, you know, where is it? You know, we play the world, where's Waldo when now you're able to see where it is and follow that process, who's added approval, if there's any issues, you're able to communicate in the system. Hey, maybe you want to look at this change, the funding and this kind of thing, so you're able to really communicate. And we're doing some 21st century HR practices.

Alex
And what I was going to tell you too, as a relatively new hire, my first day, orientation day, folks. I mean, it was just, I You're always nervous your first day, you know, you've done the hard part, you think, which is to get the job right. You've jumped through the hoops, you've done the interviews, you got the interviews, you got the hire, you got the offer. You're coming in, and it's your first day, and then it's like, oh boy, it gets real. You know, I'll never forget this, the one down that hallway on the first floor by HR, and there's your entire team lined up to welcome us into the conference room to do orientation. And then you came in, and it was this warm, energetic welcome. Everybody. Got chance to go around the room and talk a little bit about themselves, and it was so comprehensive and it took about a half a day, which, which I is amazing. I thought it was going to be an all-day thing, you know, but I wanted to express how much as a new employee, I just delighted in that, because I did not walk out of there with a lot of questions, but walked out of there feeling really good about the choice to come work here.

Cory

Awesome.

Alex

As you talk about continuous improvement, I bet you're finding new ways to make sure orientation goes as smoothly as possible. There's probably always room for improvement there. And I think that, I think that you see that in a lot of industries, of course, and I was curious too, is there a significant difference in the higher ed sector versus private sector elsewhere, as far as how you manage?

Cory
I would say that universities have are unique in their needs. It's a balance of academic rigor with operational efficiency is you're not really your bottom line is different. So HR, we what we do is we strive to contribute to that bottom line. We're not going to do any programs or initiatives that are not going to be tied to the ultimate bottom line. So in our field, it's mostly our students that student contact. So you have to think about it at different you know these student experiences that our employees are connecting to, connecting with how can, what can we do in HR to make that better?

So, for instance, a lot of our faculty members and our chairs, they talked about the adjunct hiring piece where we required HR use some HR practice was to, no matter if you've been an adjunct before, you always would have to provide each time each semester, you'd have to provide your letters of recommendation and letter of intent, and that included your returning. So that's a barrier for our faculty because they can be again, spending time doing other things, connecting with students and so forth. So what in HR can we do to eliminate that barrier. So working with our provost, looking at HLC, I was able to make that determination, that we will then remove that from our process. So again, it's that, what can we do that automatically effects our student experience?

Alex
Okay, here's a tough question for you. You know, are you held to account by turnover from employees?

Cory
Yes, I would say that, yeah, yeah.

Alex

Indeed, when you talk about continuous improvement, that's part of the process is identifying the things that might be might contribute to turnover. Is that so?

Cory

Yeah.

Alex

I spent some time yesterday at the MIC, is there a difference in the locations? Do those employees have different needs than perhaps Warrensburg employees, or vice versa? Or is that it's pretty uniform?

Alex
I would say, being where we are located rural, that adds a different level. That's what we talk about, external forces. Right location being rural, and we have Kansas City where there's more job opportunities and so forth. So that does add a different level to our complexity when we recruit and retain.You spoke earlier about faculty needs as well. And talk about complexity here. I mean, UCM, for intents and purposes, is a large, small town here in the middle of Warrensburg, right? And we have thousands of students and several hundred employees, and it's just it's so amazing. You have these wonderful people who do facilities and maintenance, and you've got our great OT people, and I'm looking beyond even the faculty, who's just incredible, but you've got all these staff that are dedicated, and they all have different ways of doing their job and coming at their job.

And I mean, you got people who are super creative, so they're a little different, then you got people who are super, you know, regimented. They do this one thing, you know, it's got to be a challenge for you and your team to do that. Or do you just kind of approach everybody as “Look, this is your UCM employee. This is how we come at you. This is what we work with” Or do you do you have to kind of work on differentiation of approach, different approach?

Cory

Yep. And it's the same thing with management. You know, you have your employees that you know you supervise. One takes a different approach. You know you have to as the adaptability, right? Management style, right? So that's the focus that you also have with your employees because each department is, as you stated, unique in the way they do things. So you have to understand your workforce, understand how the way they operate, their needs, and that's the way you tailor your approach in working with so we have a team. They're called HR strategic HR partners, and that's when they partner them with their learning the business, learning how each of their client groups function, to be able to provide HR that, meeting them where they are,

Alex
Okay, I'll make sure I understand you. So you have these, these folks that are attached, like one HR staffer who's attached to certain areas, correct? Can you give me example?

Cory
So you have four colleges. So, each four senior strategic partners, they each take a college as well as they have their staff groups.

Alex
Oh, okay, excellent, excellent. Well, yeah, I'm an IMC, and we approach our clients the same, you know, similar way. We have marketing specialists for each college, or we're trying to get there. Yeah, I understand that you've been doing HR for your basically, your entire career. What are the big no matter where they are? I'm not just saying you see it. What are the big misconceptions about human resources?

Cory
The big misconception, I would say, is the transactional component. We're always talked about as we just do administrative work. And I want HR to be seen as more than that. I want us to be seen as an advocate and a resource, as well as a focus on fairness and equity and creating a positive work environment. So, we want to be able to partner and collaborate. We want to be seen more than just “Okay, let's just process this step action form.” We want to be seen as more than that, and then not so much of when you're called or we email you and say, Hey, come by. You know, sometimes it's the principal's office, you know, our call. So, right? What did I do wrong? We want you to think of it as a way that we might be want to collaborate with you.

Alex
Is it tough though, too? I mean, you're in the midst of, kind of turning the ship around in that regard, trying to get people to understand that, right? Is that a tough sell for people, or is it just a matter of, you know, not, attrition is not the right word, but it's just a matter of working with people day by day, month by month, that it's going to finally, hopefully sink in in that regard.

Cory
Yes…not just talking the talk but walking the walk. So they need to be able to see it, to trust it.

Alex
You did talk about the principal's office a little bit. There are the aspects of your job that I'm sure are no fun for you, with conflict resolution, that kind of thing. I mean, we are all human beings. Human beings are different, some might say, flawed in all different ways, but we have to work together. You've been here a shorter short time. It's been my experience, at least in the past nine months or so that I've been here, that we have amassed and attracted some extremely talented people on our staff and our faculty. Have you found that to be the case? And if so, what do you think draws people here?

Cory
Absolutely, I think that it's the community you know as one of our values. It’s what attracted me and why I stay. I believe that any all the relationships, relationships I've built over time, including with you, I feel like. I can call you and say, “Hey, I'm running into this problem, or I'm thinking about launching this initiative. What do you think?” Yeah. “How do you think it's going to fare?” Yeah, and you probably would stop what you're doing and say, you work with me. Same thing I saw when we were preparing for HLC. It was all hands on approach. You can't find that any everywhere, where everybody fosters a community in a spirit of collegial let's work together. And you really saw that during our HLC, yeah.

Alex
I think too, in my line of work, you know, which is to try to help extend our reputation and our awareness in most more into this, let's say the Kansas City Market and elsewhere across the state, St Louis, eventually all those things is I always tell my clients this, I'm like, “Oh my gosh, you have such great stories.” And I am so excited that I get to kind of shape those stories, to try to get the news media interested, or to tell the public about it. I don't know about you, but I get excited getting to work just about every day when I think about that, it's got to be it's got to be fun for you.

In that regard, is it fun for you or, you know, I know it's long hours. I know it can be tough, but do you ever have any fun at this job?

Cory
Oh yeah, the part that you know, what keeps me going is when you have an employee come back and say, It's noticed. Oh, wow, thank you. Wow. The gratitude that goes a long way because our jobs and HR, you can kind of probably look it up. You probably see this, our burnout rate is, I think, was predicted to be back in the 90s, a 92% burnout rate, right? And it didn't know other I would say, profession is changing, and we're accelerating at a different pace. We're called to do on a lot of things. You know, the big thing right now is the FLSA changes, right where nobody, pretty much gave us a guidebook. We have to come up with that ourselves of how we remain compliant. So it's just when we when our work is noticed, goes a long way for us.

Alex
It sounds like you're saying, I don't want to put words in your mouth. Cory, but it sounds like you're saying, though, to staff, “you don't have to wait to hear from us if you have a question or an issue.” Is that fair? That's good?

Cory

Yes. Yes.

Alex

Best way for them to get a hold of you. What do you advise folks to do?

Cory
Oh, so we have our emails out there, phone number or just simply stop by. Yeah, yeah. We have rebranded our office where you can actually there's letters out there that says human resources, so, yeah, we're have it where you can it's well noted where we are.

Alex
I have also been and I do the programs, by the way, I do lots of the programs, the health and wellness. I wanted to get in. I got an email just this morning from you about the holiday health situation. If you would tell us about the holiday health thing you're doing, and then I'd love to just get into a little bit more. Is that a is that type of program, these wellness programs, is that kind of nationwide trend, or is it something that you specifically were asked to look into, or you brought it with you? Just tell us a little bit about both those things.

Cory
Yeah, so we're looking for something in the holiday stretch, you know, just to get everybody going, we're our people. We're people centered. So anything that keeps our staff healthy and well, we would like to do that. We're adding. One of our initiatives was to benefits, make sure it's not communicated just one portion of the year. We want to communicate throughout, right? And if our workforce is healthy and well, then we're making we're hitting our target, we're servicing our student. That's that bottom line impact, right? So that's what birth that just a series of events that keeps our faculty and staff?

Alex
Well, yeah, I've, well you talked about that earlier. You mentioned the health fair, and you mentioned the dental visit, which is just what I never, frankly, never heard that, coming to a place of employment and doing that. And I, I have a long drive here to and from every day, and me getting to the dentist is getting tougher and tougher, right? And I, when I heard that, oh, wow, they might be coming here. Maybe I can schedule some, some, you know, you can't schedule serious oral surgery, but cleanings and things like that, right?

Cory

X rays, teeth whitening, just a general exam.

Alex
That's just fantastic. And the other thing too, I got my flu shot here, which was great, but I loved the atmosphere you set up. It was kind of a fun, you know, party, not “party”, party atmosphere, but you know, it was a fun, joyous occasion where we all got together and with good humor and learned some things, and got some of their basic health things covered, which for me, it just by doing that, getting that flu shot there, I didn't have to worry about maybe taking part of a day off to go get a flu shot elsewhere, back home, or, you know, and my doctor visits, things like that, all coming together, but, but also just being more healthy in general. And I like the idea too, that when I first started here, I said, Wow, the rec is next door to my office building, and I just would go over there and work out over lunch, things like that. And that is encouraged, that's highly encouraged to use our facilities that way. Do you have kind of a gentle push to tell folks, you know, you can work out here? You can. And or just take your time, walk around the campus, do what you can to kind of get moving.

Cory
Yes. So our wellness campaign, they will be allowed to track their steps. In our total reward statements, we give a shout out to the rec center. We actually partnered with the rec center this for our benefits Fair this year, and we will do so next year, great. Yeah. So in our orientation, we talk about the Student Rec Center. So it's a push. Now, with our Healthier You, you can have your fitness tracker track to that and get your points that way. So it's to get the steps moving. And what a way to do it.

Alex

Yeah, I  take advantage of I absolutely love the approach. I think it's fantastic. But that brings me to some of the most important employees on this campus, and they work for you. These are those wonderful people who lined up on my orientation day. These are people who--I cannot tell you I have ever seen an HR training where people got so excited. I don't mean me. I mean your trainers, your staff. They get so excited about the topic, they're practically giggling through it. You know, they just, they just love their jobs. Yes, that's I got to say it. I I've never seen that before in my life. What do you do? What are you doing that that has created this environment where your team seems so ebullient and so excited about their work.

Cory
The big piece, I think, is that they feel valued. You know, listening to them, we collaborate. I'm in the trenches with them. You know, in addition to that, it's, again, we talk about, if I'm investing in people as far as our workforce, then I have to do, also do it with my staff, right? So it's encouraging them to go to, like, professional development. So this will be the second year I was able to bring them to a national conference, and that conference is allowing them to rub elbows with HR professionals at other colleges and universities in United States. In addition to that, I feel as time is like our most valuable resource as well. So they get my time. Yeah, so at any moment in time they need me, I'm there available.

Alex
Do you think that that is—for want of a better term, scalable for other departments? Do you recommend that to other department heads if they come to you and say, maybe I've got some motivation issues here?

Cory
Yeah, absolutely. You have to know your people. You have to listen to them, you know, do a pulse check, you know, how things going? Also have weekly one on one meetings with each of my staff members, and that's their opportunity to kind of, we can collaborate. We can talk about maybe any barriers they're experiencing, anything that they may need help with, or just, they just want to talk, yeah, so is that a lot of time just to kind of check the pulse. So when it comes time for performance discussions, there aren't any surprises, because we talk regularly, we communicate and we collaborate.

Alex
Oh yeah, there's nothing worse than showing up on your review day once a year and then all of a sudden, “Walt, I didn't know there was a problem.” You know, that's fantastic. And what's on the horizon? Anything that the UCM employees might see coming soon. Or do you want to tease something you're thinking about doing?

Cory
We talked a little bit about NeoEd in and our first there's actually five modules a part of that, because it's a full Talent Management Suite, because we want to be able to touch the employee throughout their life cycle, meaning from date of prior to hire right until the transition of, let's say, retirement, so we want to be able to track that throughout. So first, we started out with recruitment, our first module, and that's when we talked about the staff vacancy form and how we were going to transform our recruitment to make it a more paperless process. But then we're going to go into a learn module, and that's where we're going to do all our training and invest in that career development component for our employees. Then we're going to do the performance evaluations, performance discussions and so forth. So it'll be a full suite when we're done with it. So we're now in the implementation component of learn.

Alex
Yeah, I see several more, at least, joyous trainings ahead--fun times with your staff. It's a good vibe. You know, you go in and it's, I mean, it's serious business, don't get me wrong, but, but it's a good vibe. I've never worked anywhere HR had that kind of vibe ever.

Cory
I appreciate that. Yeah,

Alex
Is there anything that I haven't covered here that you just want to make sure you mentioned while we have everybody's ear?

Cory
Yeah, I would just say stay tuned for and just be open mind to change and embrace change. And we'll be looking for ways of to collaborate with partners across campus. We just want to make sure that you're ready and you're willing, and when we call you that you're ready, but for the most part, I think we've captured everything, and just stay tuned for what we're getting ready to do with NeoEd. I think that's going to be a game changer for our campus.

Alex
I'm excited to see it really when it's fully out there, you know, when we got it going. And kudos to your staff again for doing that. You know, you can't get away without one last question. Okay, this is a little corny tradition here on Central Speaks called the final fun fact. Just tell us something fun about you? About Cory Wirker?

Cory
So Cory is a record collector, vinyl, So I've been recreating my catalog I had, of course, cassettes and CDs growing up, and now I'm trying to transfer that to vinyl. Yes. So fun. Fact is, I start I came here, and my grandmother's probably going to listen to this podcast with three records that I got from her. I don't know if she knows this. Oh, you borrow them. And then morph now to and that's when I first, you know, got here. I may have started collecting in August, and my collection has grown to about eight hundred.

Alex
Eight hundred vinyl. Whoa,

Cory
Yeah, and counting. Wow.

Alex
What do you what do you like? What's your genres of music do you prefer?

Cory

So I go through phases, of course, but the most it would be 90s hip hop, maybe 80s hip hop if it's a rare gem. In addition to that, I like your soft rock, classic rock. So yeah, I'm kind of all over the place with this, with a little bit of jazz, maybe not any country,

Alex

It's an it's interesting, as I get to this certain stage of my life, which shall be not mentioned, I've turned to jazz and, like, I listen to jazz all the way down here most mornings, just it gets me in the right mood. I even like some of the old 40s stuff, the Benny Goodman stuff the Benny Goodman stuff and all that kind of thing. You know, it's just a different vibe altogether. You just don't hear it very much. But so I guess it's fair to say, you really believe that the sound out of vinyl is a richer sound than the digital?

Cory

Absolutely. And I didn't think that until I actually put the needle on a record, yeah. And then I heard, I think, okay, yeah. I can, I can see why, yeah, and it's not--for those who listen here--how fast my collection has morphed:..it’s not an addiction when it comes to vinyl.

Alex

You know, you talk about a warm, rich sound of vinyl and music, and I just get really good, warm vibes talking to our guest today, Dr. Cory Wicker, who is our associate vice president for Human Resources here at the University of Central Missouri, Cory, thank you, not only for joining us here on Central Speaks, but thank you for all the work you and your team are doing. It's tough work, it's challenging work, but I'm here to tell you I think you're making a difference.

Cory
Thank you, and thanks for having me. And of course, I would not be able to do this without my team. We have an amazing group down there, and we're going to continue to shine and carry forward. UCM, so go mules!

 

Alex

Go mules and Jennies! Snouts out, etc., this has been Central Speaks. We'll be back soon with another changemaker here on the University of Central Missouri campus.

We’re recording this episode in KMOS studios. Big thanks to Josh Tomlinson for engineering this one. We really do appreciate it.

We'll be back soon with another episode of Central Speaks. Check out the show notes for more information, and we'll see you next time.

 

© 2024 University of Central Missouri. All rights reserved. Central Speaks is a production of the ⁠UCM Office of Integrated Marketing and Communications.⁠

Recorded at ⁠KMOS PBS⁠; engineered by Josh Tomlinson.

Music by https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html