Matt Corker is People Consultant at The Corker Co in Vancouver, BC. Matt makes an impact on businesses by creating operational excellence, coaching and developing strong leaders, or presenting game-changing information. Area Matt leads and educates in include: leadership, strategic thinking, and innovation. A futuristic trend watcher, Matt is a committed volunteer in the Vancouver community, and even finds time to speak at high profile events.
Matt will be speaking at the DisruptHR Vancouver on March 30th. The event has a stellar line-up of speakers and 100s of fresh-thinking attendees ready to discover and share new ways to develop a better work culture, and more engaging employer brand.
We caught up with Matt ahead of DisruptHR Vancouver, presented by Learnkit, to learn more about him and The Corker Co. Here’s what Matt had to say..
Editor: Please tell our audience a little about your career path and expertise.
Matt: When I was 10, I read Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Successful People which kick-started by love affair with personal development. When I graduated from UBC with a BCOM in HR, I attended a workshop led by an HRprofessional that was, frankly, garbage. So I vowed I would never work “in HR.” What I didn’t realize is that my passion for people and developing impeccable leaders didn’t fade – be it working in sales for a giant tech company, alumni services for a post-secondary institution, or while solving quality issues for a yoga apparel retail company. While I was educated in (and continue to study) human dynamics, I would say my expertise lies in how these theories and practices are actually lived out in corporate departments outside HR.
Editor: What’s your company and how does it help professions in the Talent arena?
Matt: We believe in heartbeats – elevated, sweaty, and passionately pounding kind of beats. The Corker Co was created to inject these heartbeats into companies – either through acquiring new talent or accelerating the talent they’ve already got.
Editor: What brought you to becoming a speaker at Disrupt HR Vancouver?
Matt: The law of awesome of course! Awesome people organize this event and they have attracted an incredible group of awesome speakers. I’m grateful to have snuck my way in.
Editor: What will you be speaking about at Disrupt HR Vancouver?
Matt: I will be speaking about “going rogue” – my secrets on making sh*t happen and what it takes to lead a team of people that know what it takes to go rogue responsibly.
Editor: Why is your topic important to HR and Talent pros?
Matt: HR tends to be known as “where good ideas go to die” or “where there is more paperwork than there are results.” Not always, yet definitely often. I believe the capability for HR pros to lead the next corporate revolution is huge – and its time for them to lead.
Editor: You only get 5 minutes to speak to the audience. What unique challenges, and indeed opportunities, does such a condensed speaking slot offer?
Matt: It challenges me to speak like I eat – be real, with no added fluff.
Editor: How does Disrupt HR provide you with a platform to talk about talent in new ways?
Matt: I love that Disrupt HR invites people within HR and outside of HR to come together to be challenged and think differently about talent. In our connection economy, any advancement will likely require more than just one department to make it happen.
Editor: Please share 2 or 3 ‘influencers’ in the talent and recruitment space who you follow and tell us why.
Matt: Steph Corker – my incredible sister, business partner, and 13x Ironman finisher. She reminds me what running a business with heart is like. @steph_corker
The other two are not in the talent and recruitment space – because I believe we need to be looking outside of our industry for inspiration…
James Altucher – a serial entrepreneur and bestselling author who writes about failure and leadership, and writes in a way that “leaves blood on the page.”
Dara Parker – a leader in the world of diversity and inclusion here in Vancouver (and beyond) that is best known for the impact she has made through QMunity, BC’s Queer Resource Centre
Editor: The HR Gazette is a big believer in the shift from traditional thoughts of HR to embracing modern HR as part of ‘people and culture‘. What does ‘people and culture’ mean to you?
Matt: It’s a really fancy slogan or department name if the leaders in the organization don’t believe people are their top priority. Above margins. Above strategic initiatives. People – and the quirky, messy, and positively brilliant things they can uniquely bring to the table.
Editor: What do you think will be the major developments in the Talent space to watch out for in the next 12 months and why? For example, how does the growing numbers of Millennials in the workplace shape traditional talent management approaches?
Matt: In the next 12 months, we will be required to look at how to provide freedom and support for our teams. How do we allow someone to go traveling on a 6-month sabbatical to “see the world” and come back to their job? What does “onboarding” look like for new moms returning to the workplace? How can we fund people’s learning goals, even if they aren’t relevant to their current job?
DisruptHR Vancouver is hosted by Learnkit and will be held at the Rise office on Wednesday, March 30th 2016. You can learn more here.