Human Resources

Dena Hicks, PHR

Senior People Operations Professional

www.linkedin.com/in/denahicks

Profile & Summary

Experienced and trusted People Partner, Human Resources Generalist/Advisor, providing strategic and advisory support for all employment disciplines. Demonstrating a passion for people and being of service, while applying best practices, growth strategies, and expertise from diverse industries, including Financial, Manufacturing, Sales, High-tech, Distribution, Insurance, Quick Service Food, and Fire Life Safety. Experienced in multi-site/state, global, and remote environments (Public, Private, Non-profit, Non/Union, and Family-owned).

Core Competencies

Strategic: HR Employee Lifecycle, Succession Planning, Performance Management, Compensation Analysis/Management, Six-Sigma Green Belt People Focus: Culture/Retention/Engagement, Learning & Organizational Development, Being of Service, Call Center/Administration/Franchise Support Compliance & ER: Employee Relations, Investigations, ADA/Leave Administration, OSHA, EEOC, DOL, NERC, WC, California Law/Compliance

HRIS & Payroll: HR/Payroll/Recruitment, Benefit/401(k) Administration Professional Experience

9/2022–9/2025 Senior Human Resources Manager (3000+ employees) SUMMIT FIRE & SECURITY, Nationwide

• Managed and developed a nationwide remote team of 7 (Generalists, Compliance, Apprenticeship, Administrator); Canada PEO account administration

• Guided employment life-cycle experiences, from onboarding through offboarding, for 3000+ employees across multiple states.

• Created scalable employment processes, policies, and programs, including navigating aggressive growth through organic hiring and acquisition (M&A) integration.

• Provided key communication and guidance to leaders and employees on escalated matters, policy interpretation, benefits, leaves of absence, and performance management.

• Conducted high-level employee relations investigations and managed legal/claim responses. 1/2018–7/2022 Vice President–People (700+ people in 15 States) GREATER NEVADA CREDIT UNION, Reno, NV

• Member of the Senior Leadership Team, influencing and leading multiple People-focused teams: Learning and Development, Benefits/Payroll/Leaves of Absence Administration, Employee Relations, Recruitment, and Retention

• Supported growing Financial Services entities (Credit Union, Mortgage, Commercial Lending)

• Drove dynamic attraction and retention activities, plans, and programs using benchmark analysis and surveys

• Served as the People expert, leveraging knowledge of employment laws and organizational approaches to address People experiences successfully

• Managed RFP process for Benefit Broker and led system implementation for HRIS/ATS platforms Dena Hicks, PHR

Senior People Operations Professional

www.linkedin.com/in/denahicks

1/2016–12/2017 Director, Human Resources - PORT OF SUBS, Reno, NV

• Provided direct HR support for 400+ people in 8 States 5/2009–11/2015 Manager, Employee Relations - EMPLOYERS, Reno, NV

• Provided direct HR support for over 750 employees across more than 30 states 9/2005–5/2009 Human Resources Leader – International Game Technology (IGT), Reno, NV

• Provided direct HR support for 1800+ in 2 NV locations 6/2002–3/2005 Manager, Human Resources - Amazon.com, Fernley/Reno, NV

• Provided direct HR support for 800+ (1800+ people, 3 peak seasons) in 2 NV Distribution locations Education and Credentials

• Degree: Bachelor of Arts, Communications - San Francisco State University, Communications: Conflict Resolution

• Professional Current Designations: PHR (Professional in Human Resources, HRCI); Previous: SHRM-CP (Certified Professional, SHRM)

• Certificate: Human Resource Management - UC Santa Cruz Extension

• Additional: Six-Sigma Green Belt; Numerous World-At-Work courses in pursuit of CCP (Comp) & CBP (Benefits) Designation; Attended Language School of Berlitz (Spanish) HR Technology & Tools

HRIS/Payroll: Paycom, Oracle, PeopleSoft, ADP (Workforce Now), Ascentis, Ceridian

(Ensemble), Kronos, SAP (HR)

ATS/Talent: Oracle, iCIMS, Taleo, Halogen, BrassRing, LinkedIn Recruiter Assessments: Predictive Index (PI), DISC, Myers-Briggs, CMyers Other Platforms: Office 365, MS Teams, Oracle, Dealroom, Monday.com, Smartsheet, Serviceware, Payscale

Community Involvement & Affiliations

• Northern Nevada SHRM (NVSHRM) – Member, Former Board Member, Chapter President

• Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) – Nevada State Council (Board Member/State Director)

• HR and OD Council Member – Credit Union National Association (CUNA)

• Northern Nevada Sr. HR Forum – Active Member

• American Compensation Association (ACA), World at Work

• Silicon Valley Compensation Association (SVCA)

• Northern California Human Resources Association (NCHRA)

• University Management Advisory Board – College of Business, University of Nevada, Reno

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