Ken Bouchard, VP of Talent Strategy at BJ’s Wholesale Club, joins Rob to break down how he led a full-scale HR transformation—without losing sight of the business. From splitting strategic and ER functions, to killing off “HR vanity projects,” Ken explains how he restructured his team to be faster, sharper, and more aligned to outcomes. Plus, he shares why some projects should be shelved even if they succeed, what HR can learn from restaurants, and how a little time in Iceland goes a long way for clarity.
Key Takeaways:
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Why BJ’s split employee relations from strategic HR—and how it improved both
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How to kill off “HR vanity projects” (even the successful ones)
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A practical framework for aligning HR work to real business outcomes
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Why HR pros should treat internal teams like customers
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The value of front-of-house/back-of-house thinking in HR org design
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Why experience across multiple HR domains leads to better leadership
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How to grow your career in HR when key processes only happen once a year
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The importance of postmortems—even when things go well