RICK CURRY

Rick Curry serves as the Director of Human Resources and Organizational Development for Blistex Inc. His professional background is a unique list of HR projects and achievements. Rick has led HR department start-ups, company acquisitions, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP) and mentored several successful HR professionals.  His labor relations experience includes both union contract negotiations, and multiple successful union-avoidance campaigns.  

Rick has made positive impacts through his role at companies like NICOR National, Alexander Lumber Co., Hilton Hotels, Budget Rent a Car, and United Airlines/Mileage Plus. 

Rick earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from DePaul University, and a Masters’ Degree in Organizational Development from the University of West Florida.  He is a Senior Human Resources Professional designated through the Human Resources Certification Institute. He is a past President of the Board of Directors for the Fox Valley Human Resources Association in Aurora, IL, and has served as Adjunct Instructor for the HRIS Implementation course within the MBA-HR program at Aurora University in Illinois.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Having and communicating your strong brand will help attract quality candidates to your organization.
• Cultivate a focus on best practices, continued learning, and process improvement 

• 12 Step Process for Hiring a Senior Leader:

  1. Define your company culture
  2. Define the ideal candidate
  3. Vet an executive search firm
  4. Benchmark the job description, including role responsibilities, base pay, short-and long-term incentives, and relocation benefits
  5. Allow search firm to find candidates
  6. Review candidates for initial fit
  7. Assess candidates through various leadership tools
  8. Interview candidates
  9. Determine the communications plan with messaging
  10. Negotiate the job offer
  11. Develop the onboarding plan
  12. Inform various levels of the organization using the communications plan
• Develop and incorporate programs such as a Leadership Enhancement Program and Professional Enhancement Program to develop your entire leadership team
• Build mentoring into your supervisors’ performance reviews; the metric of success is having one of their reports being ready for a promotion or receiving a promotion
• Track your company’s hiring for diversity to ensure a mix of employees from all walks of life; when needed, employ marketing campaigns to raise awareness about the roles you want to fill

Rick also mentioned several aptitude tests that he uses in his role at Blistex when hiring:

• Wonderlic
• Kolbe
• Watson Glaser
• Leadership Opinion Questionnaire 
• Dimensional Management Matrix
• Thurstone Test of Mental Awareness