In this episode of the Future Proof HR podcast, Jim Kanichirayil sits down with Chad Hartzell, VP of HR at Barletta Boats, to talk about what happens when an organization sees AI potential before it has a formal AI role, job description, or project plan.

Chad shares how Barletta, part of the Winnebago Industries brand portfolio, approached an opportunistic AI hire by starting with values alignment, letting the candidate help shape the interview, and mapping the role to the areas where it could create the most immediate business impact.

The conversation moves beyond AI as an HR-only story. Chad explains why Barletta first placed AI talent near customer experience and sales, how dealer feedback shaped the decision, and why improving service delivery can become part of a broader revenue and retention strategy.

Chad also talks about building AI as an organizational competency. From ChatGPT and Copilot to data integration, predictive analytics, and workflow automation, he makes the case that HR can help people understand where AI fits, how to apply it responsibly, and how to create real bandwidth for higher-value work.

Topics Discussed:

• Why Barletta hired AI talent before it had a formal AI job description
• How values alignment shaped the interview process for a nontraditional role
• Why the candidate led parts of the interview with Barletta's executive team
• How to co-create a role when the organization does not have a playbook yet
• Why customer experience became the first focus area for Barletta's AI work
• How AI can help connect warranty, service, technical, sales, and customer data
• Why AI strategy needs to tie back to people, innovation, differentiation, and scaling
• How HR can build AI competency across back-office teams like marketing, finance, HR, and IT
• Why repetitive tactical workflows are good starting points for automation
• What HR leaders can learn from early AI use cases in recruiting and operations

If you are an HR leader trying to move AI from a loose idea into practical organizational capability, this episode offers a grounded look at how to evaluate talent, build trust, and connect AI work to the business problems that matter most.

Additional Resources:

• Cleary's AI-powered HR Chatbot
• Future Proof HR Community
• Connect with Chad Hartzell on LinkedIn

Where do you gain efficiency with better

2

competency from an AI perspective?

3

How do you drive that

through the organization?

4

It starts with STRATEGY we've got, a

core component of strategy that exists of

5

three different things centered around,

People and Relationships the second one

6

is Innovation and Differentiation and

the third one is, Scaling the Business

7

the AI component for us begins

to come into play, in all three

8

planks of those strategies.

9

Speaker 2: Here's the situation.

10

You have a rough idea of what you

wanna do from an AI perspective.

11

You don't have anything clearly

defined or laid out, and then you

12

encounter somebody who's got the

talent, skills, and capabilities

13

for a role that doesn't exist.

14

So how do you go through

this opportunistic hire?

15

And more importantly, how do you

select them and align them in the

16

organization and map out a way for

them to have maximum impact when you

17

don't even have a role that exists

that defines what this person does?

18

You're hiring without a playbook, you're

interviewing without a playbook, and

19

then you're deploying the resource

after hire without a playbook

20

That sounds like it's gonna

be a big mess, doesn't it?

21

That's not how this turned out.

22

The story that we're gonna tell today

has to do with how you identify, select,

23

and hire unique talent and deploy

that talent in a way that's gonna

24

advance your fledgling AI strategy.

25

Joining us today is Chad Hartzell.

26

Chad joined Barletta in April of 2023, and

he brought senior leadership experience

27

across healthcare, manufacturing,

and supply chain industries.

28

His background includes global and

domestic roles with companies such

29

as Whirlpool and Target, and he's

a certified innovation mentor.

30

His expertise extends beyond HR

into strategy, organizational

31

and leadership development.

32

He chose Barletta for the opportunity

to work alongside a collaborative,

33

competitive leadership team that

truly values employee contributions.

34

Chad is passionate about the company's

relentless focus on culture and the

35

pride people take in being part of the

Barletta and Winnebago Industries family.

36

Beyond that, the design, craftsmanship,

and quality of the boats and knowing

37

they bring people together make the

work especially meaningful for Chad.

38

Chad enjoys spending time with his wife,

two sons, and their two Cavalier King

39

Charles Spaniels, which he confidently

believes are the best dogs ever.

40

He's a former multi-time

championship-winning sprint car

41

driver and now spends most of his

evenings and weekends at the racetrack

42

with his youngest son, continuing a

third-generation racing tradition.

43

Sundays are often spent on the water

in New Buffalo, Michigan, usually

44

wrapped up with a stop at the, at

his favorite local Italian spot.

45

Jim Kanichirayil: Chad,

welcome to the show.

46

Chad Hartzell: Thanks for having me, Jim.

47

Appreciate the opportunity to connect.

48

Jim Kanichirayil: Yeah, it's, it's

gonna be an interesting conversation

49

because, you're an oddball out of,

the guests that we've had far because

50

you're coming out of automotive

slash manufacturing slash recreation.

51

That's a space that we

haven't talked to anyone in.

52

This is gonna be unique in and of itself.

53

Just because of the

industry that you're in.

54

But before we dig into the core bits

of the story, why don't you give us a

55

little bit of a landscape of the company

and your role in the company and some of

56

the things that you have on your radar.

57

Chad Hartzell: Sure.

58

I serve as the VP of

HR for Barletta Boats.

59

we are, part of the Winnebago,

Industries, brand portfolio.

60

we have about 400 employees, annually

produce, currently about 4,500

61

boats, per year, close to 18 a day.

62

And, I have been here for about three

years, almost it'll be in April.

63

and, joined here, after, a fairly

decent, long run in healthcare.

64

but prior to that I spent some time in

manufacturing and supply chain as well.

65

core focus here when I

came was really to help.

66

Continue, a business that is

rapidly growing and scaling.

67

And I think that from an HR

perspective, what that means is, I

68

sometimes disdain the term, how do

you become that strategic partner?

69

But it's been in my DNA in my background,

but really how do you help evolve a

70

scaling business and, align, HR to where

the business is really headed in taking

71

you and where you're going with that

and everything from, recruiting to full

72

scale leadership and org development.

73

And, luckily, I get to play, some

different hats and support our

74

strategy, development and execution

and some things that as well.

75

broad based role, and, definitely.

76

a very dynamic, fast-paced, and

then growing industry, with a

77

brand that has been a disruptor.

78

And, founded in 2017, first boats built

79

2021 and, continue to gain market share.

80

And I think last I knew we were

about third in market share in

81

a pretty competitive segment,

but still as a new company and a

82

disruptor with a lot of energy and.

83

Great.

84

great future ahead.

85

Jim Kanichirayil: Thanks

for, laying that out.

86

there's a couple things that I

want to dig into and first is your.

87

Transition from being in the healthcare

space to this particular space.

88

when

89

you're thinking about people leadership

and people management in a healthcare

90

context, that's a whole lot different than

in a manufacturing or automotive context.

91

what were the things that surprised

you as you made that transition?

92

Chad Hartzell: I absolutely loved

and enjoyed my time in healthcare

93

and part of the reason is.

94

a mission, focused organization

and, you save people's lives.

95

at the end of the day, there's a very

noble effort and cause, around it.

96

and then from an HR

perspective, supporting,

97

A health system, that had about, at

that time, about eight, 9,000 employees

98

through COVID was just a monumental

career opportunity, quite honestly.

99

now, it also, I don't wanna use the

term burnout, but it really gave me,

100

an opportunity at one point to just

determine okay, what might be next, if I.

101

Need to, want to make a move.

102

in the manufacturing space, what's

interesting is the, the area that,

103

that I'm in, in Elkhart County,

Indiana is, widely renowned,

104

is the RV capital of the world.

105

but also quickly, I think, I believe

becoming the pontoon boat manufacturing

106

capital of the world as well.

107

a lot of growth in that

industry and segment right now.

108

But I think the biggest changes to

me were really the surprising, and it

109

might be specific to Barletta actually.

110

It was specific to Barletta, the cultural

alignment with regards to a fairly newer

111

organization, still growing and scaling

that in within its DNA, culture first.

112

values driven leadership,

expectations driven, safety driven.

113

But, the energy around, the focus on

people and the employee experience, was

114

unlike most of the other organizations

within the region that I had the

115

opportunity to engage with and consider.

116

And, I shied away from manufacturing

for a good part of my career.

117

Went into it and out of it a few different

times, but, for me, culture, and values

118

alignment and driven are the most

important things, because of what I do and

119

what I to do and my passions for support.

120

The people and ensuring that there's a

great employee experience, I think to, get

121

to the piece of, the biggest differences.

122

if you're true to what your values

are and what you're looking for

123

in an organization, there's really

not a significant difference.

124

There are many similarities between

healthcare and manufacturing.

125

That, I, I think some people

just don't take notice of.

126

But, hospitals, patients, incoming

outcoming, outflow, volume,

127

efficiency, velocity, all translate

into the manufacturing organization.

128

And I always said the, welders

are a critical component of

129

talent in our organization.

130

And a lot of manufacturing that

necessitates that as a skillset.

131

Welders here are no different than

nurses in the healthcare system, right?

132

You don't have a nurse,

you don't have a welder.

133

Your product and your end result

is gonna be really challenged.

134

And there's just there's a whole

lot more similarities, quite

135

honestly than there are differences.

136

And then when.

137

integrate the people piece of it and

employee experience and all that.

138

For me, I, I always think that no

matter what industry you're in,

139

from an HR perspective, you find

those similarities and you draw from

140

the experiences that you've had.

141

And I've been fortunate to be in a lot

of different, operating environments

142

that I've been able to draw from.

143

Jim Kanichirayil: interesting

that you described your particular

144

organization as being highly focused

on, on the employee experience.

145

I would've automatically assumed

that in a manufacturing environment,

146

hrs role is more on the compliance

side and regulatory side than,

147

and has more of a bent that way.

148

it's interesting that you mention

it, but I want you, I want you to

149

tie that in the employee experience.

150

Piece to something that you

mentioned earlier, which is you're

151

part of a, a scaling organization

that's growing pretty aggressively.

152

when you look at employee experience

and candidate experience as part of

153

a scaling organization, how do those,

how do all of those things connect

154

in terms of your people strategy?

155

Chad Hartzell: Our

people strategy is fluid.

156

Because of the market dynamics

that we're experiencing right now.

157

and here's a great example.

158

We, there's, new competitors

entering the pontoon segment

159

on a fairly consistent basis.

160

but we still maintain, a framework of.

161

what we refer to as culture matters,

and it's based off of values, it's

162

based off of safety, and it's based

off of nine different leadership

163

expectations that we have for everyone.

164

We say that everyone at, at Barlett

is a leader, and from an experience

165

standpoint, I think we stay

grounded in those types of things.

166

But what's interesting is that we

still, we're 400 employees, you're

167

still small enough that you can.

168

get to know, everyone, maintain some

connection, maintain, your knowledge of

169

who everybody is and still have a little

bit of that family aspect of the DNA.

170

As you grow, that challenge

becomes a little bit.

171

well, it becomes more

challenging as you grow.

172

but I think that if you're consistent in

staying true to a little bit of that DNA

173

that we had when we were that startup,

but also, you have to educate or bring

174

people along a little bit with regards

to, the why, and as we evolve, we can't

175

operate the same way that we did when

we were a startup, when it was all

176

about just getting product out the door.

177

There's certain levels of efficiency

and productivity and safety that

178

make a great experience for people.

179

and I think if you stay grounded

in those types of things, it's a

180

little bit less of a challenge.

181

but you still have to respond to the

market dynamics that you're experiencing.

182

Jim Kanichirayil: It's interesting

how you're laying that out 'cause

183

you're describing a people strategy

that is continuing to evolve as

184

the market conditions change.

185

You're seeing competitors

come into the marketplace.

186

You are centering the organization,

on a people first mission.

187

First values first.

188

point of view and still having it

run as, a family owned business.

189

How do you feel that sets up a

competitive advantage in the marketplace?

190

Especially when you're looking

at, all of the competitors coming

191

in, and eventually that's gonna

lead to a talent crunch as well.

192

Chad Hartzell: Sure without giving

away some of our secrets in our

193

strategy, what I'd say is consistency

in who you are, is an employer

194

in your employer brand, how you

interview, who you bring onto the team.

195

we have really.

196

I think evolved our leaders as they're

choosing and building their teams.

197

it's interesting.

198

I take them through training and

really refer to them as, you need

199

to think of yourself as a coach or

the CEO of the function that lead.

200

And with that mindset it's, our environ.

201

Might not be for everybody.

202

If you wanna work 60 hour weeks and get

guaranteed overtime, that's not barletta.

203

we're gonna, try to ensure

that we balance, everything.

204

with regards to our volumes

our schedules and all that.

205

We will run lean to ensure that we've.

206

400 people that get 40 hours a week

and stay whole and they can budget

207

and all that type of stuff as well.

208

I think the part of it's probably the

consistency and, people knowing what

209

to expect and also knowing that you

might have 15 years of boat building

210

experience within this region.

211

That doesn't necessarily mean that

you're a fit for our environment, right?

212

we look at the whole picture and the

whole experience and I've really tried to

213

coach our leaders and evolve and develop

them to have that mindset of, listen,

214

we also need to be, great at developing

people, both inside the organization,

215

higher at the lowest possible level.

216

there's a lot of things that I think

help us drive the competitive advantage.

217

But the, the number one thing

consistently that I see us do

218

is just maintain who we are.

219

We're not gonna chase, some of the other

market dynamics if it doesn't align

220

with who we say we are and what we say,

what we're gonna do, and how we're gonna

221

treat people and how we're gonna work.

222

but really the consistency I think is

part of that competitive advantage for us.

223

Jim Kanichirayil: you said something

interesting, which is we're gonna

224

maintain who we are, the reason

why it caught my attention is.

225

We're a show about the

intersection of HR and ai,

226

i'm talking to a boat guy

227

Chad Hartzell: Yeah.

228

Jim Kanichirayil: I'm talking

to a boat guy who's in a company

229

that is very family oriented and

makes methodical decisions and is

230

committed to maintaining who we are.

231

When I listen to that I start thinking

about, okay, how do you fit an AI

232

component into that environment?

233

I don't see the connection, but that's

not, you wouldn't be on the show

234

if, if there wasn't a connection.

235

Chad Hartzell: Right.

236

Jim Kanichirayil: us a little bit

about how all of that, what you just

237

mentioned, fits in to an AI story as well.

238

Chad Hartzell: Yeah, I think

it starts with strategy.

239

we've got, a core component of

strategy that exists of three

240

different things, and it's really.

241

centered around, people and relationships.

242

The second one is innovation and

differentiation, and the third

243

one is, scaling the business.

244

And I think the AI component for us begins

to come into play, believe it or not,

245

in all three planks of those strategies.

246

and the reason why is I think

that there's interconnectivity.

247

From a people perspective, we are

going to be probably pushing people

248

outside of their comfort zone.

249

And I think that when you do that

from a technology perspective,

250

if you're not grounded in strong

relationships and credibility and

251

trust with your people as a leader.

252

any type of large scale change is gonna

be a little bit more difficult, right?

253

It's the second piece.

254

Innovate to differentiate, right?

255

the AI piece for us, we're a

product organization, right?

256

when you think of, 10 types

of innovation is an example.

257

It can't always be just on the product.

258

How are you innovating

across the full spectrum?

259

and then how does AI

potentially help you do that?

260

and I don't care if it's again,

using AI models to understand your

261

customer better or understand trends

and adjacent, products or whatever.

262

And then the third piece

really is the scaling.

263

where do you gain efficiency with better

competency from an AI perspective?

264

And how do you drive that

through the organization?

265

we've just recently had conversations

yesterday with, broader Winnebago

266

leadership team about AI at Barletta

and how are we gonna look at it and

267

how are we gonna develop our people?

268

along that, building that competency

or building some muscle in a space

269

that's new to everybody, and you have

to be real with understanding that.

270

Jim Kanichirayil: Yeah.

271

when I hear that sounds good on paper,

272

how are you making that real,

especially in an environment where you

273

don't automatically think of people

embracing AI in, in doing anything.

274

how did you get started specifically

in move, in moving this forward?

275

Chad Hartzell: Yeah.

276

Complete transparency.

277

I'm not gonna sit here and say oh,

we've got this AI thing licked.

278

And we're a phenomenal organization.

279

Really what it came down was, last August.

280

a talent, a profile was referred

to us, and we had as a leadership

281

team, consistently on a strategy.

282

I am not even gonna say parking lot

because a parking lot I think for

283

me is something that, you need to

get to and you'll get to it when

284

the time is right or whatever.

285

We've always just had this AI

conversation of what does it actually

286

mean to us and how do we utilize it?

287

And all that.

288

Long story short, a profile, a

early career talent that had a

289

significant amount of growth in ai.

290

both from a data analytics integration,

but then application and platform

291

development perspective, was referred

to us and we are not, an organization

292

that's in the position to create

extra jobs and create headcount.

293

We're very purposeful with each

position and role that we have.

294

we elected to hire, or interview and

then ultimately hire an individual.

295

and did not fill another

position that we had open.

296

and this was essentially

our first AI focused role.

297

now here's what's interesting.

298

We didn't have a job description.

299

We didn't have, a

significant project plan.

300

What we knew was that we were

gonna learn from an individual

301

that understood the landscape of

integration, of data, integration of

302

platforms and systems, and then also.

303

Building applications that will,

utilize, different aspects of

304

the different AI capabilities,

to help us better our business.

305

we hired a data analytics and ai,

individual that is really focused

306

in our customer experience space

right now with also some support

307

into our sales organization.

308

Jim Kanichirayil: I hear that and, I'm,

I come from the recruiting space, I, I,

309

I was always in the habit of presenting

candidates, that weren't exactly the,

310

exact fits for roles that were open, but I

311

Chad Hartzell: Yeah.

312

Jim Kanichirayil: about here's

where you could take this person

313

based on what they've done.

314

Chad Hartzell: Right.

315

Jim Kanichirayil: I

operated in the IT space.

316

that's pretty common in those

spaces to find good talent and

317

then create a role for them.

318

your situation's a little bit different.

319

It's a first hire of this flavor

of candidate, and you don't

320

have a job description and you

don't know what you don't know.

321

when you hire that person, how

do you deploy them in a way

322

that's meaningful for everybody?

323

And.

324

You're getting them on the path

to being ramped up and successful

325

very quickly when you don't have a

playbook that exists for that person.

326

Chad Hartzell: Yeah, I think it all

started with the interview process.

327

quite honestly, I, I prescreened

the individual myself.

328

it was a 15 minute phone call.

329

Made sure that, he hit everything.

330

I'm looking at a values poster.

331

He hit everything, knocked it out

of the park with regards to our

332

values, leadership expectations.

333

Right.

334

There's the whole component

of was this a barletta talent?

335

Yes.

336

Okay.

337

and then when we brought that

individual into interview with us.

338

We really didn't interview him.

339

He interviewed us.

340

I said, what do you need to know?

341

What do you need to understand?

342

What do you need to know

about our challenges?

343

What do you need to know about our future?

344

that individual, quite honestly.

345

who, a couple years out of college, was

sitting at a table with an executive team.

346

in, in asking us questions, which

ended up being, the interview, we got a

347

stronger understanding as to the landscape

of, okay, where can he integrate in?

348

Where does he see opportunities,

across our technology, across

349

our platforms, across our data?

350

where does he see gaps?

351

And that quite honestly, we worked with

him to say, okay, what, where do you

352

think you can play understanding and

knowing where we're headed and what

353

we've got, our vision, from a customer

experience, user experience, technical

354

service delivery, all those different

types of things, coupled in with a

355

vision for a future, service, tech,

service applications and all that.

356

and again, Jim, it's just

kinda shift that mindset.

357

and we learned a lot about the

interview process and again, not

358

doing just your traditional stuff and

asking behavioral based questions.

359

and I think in a context of something AI

that's new to an organization and new to

360

us, you have to think things differently.

361

You need to approach things differently.

362

You need to look at your

talent differently, as well.

363

that's I think, how it

happened and landed for us.

364

Jim Kanichirayil: The part that I really

about what you just described as you

365

aligned on values first, I think a lot

of, organizations would be well, served

366

if they started there, and then moved into

the attitude, aptitude skills piece of it.

367

I think the part that I find

interesting beyond that is.

368

How you flip the interview process to have

it be candidate led versus, employer led.

369

that's unusual.

370

why was that the path

that you decided to take?

371

Chad Hartzell: I've

done that method before.

372

when I'm dealing with, What I would

say, I don't want to say unicorn,

373

talent or candidates, but when you're

dealing with emerging technology that's

374

changing rapidly, I think there's little

value in just a traditional interview

375

methodology for a couple reasons.

376

First off, if a candidate is

strong, in their competency in

377

whatever, space it is, but let's

just say high tech in general or ai.

378

it's a candidate market, and I think the

key thing there is giving that candidate

379

the opportunity to position themselves

and see themselves, understand the job.

380

But then more importantly, and

this is what I really liked about

381

it, is have a say and what's the

execution of the role, right?

382

this individual was, he was attracted

to the company first and foremost,

383

and that was a great, start.

384

But you gotta love the job that you're

gonna be doing and then see a path,

385

and a future beyond that as well.

386

that's the whole approach that I've

always taken with highly specialized,

387

competitive talent marketplace type

roles is really let that individual

388

drive the interview process, which pushes

some leaders out of their comfort zone.

389

But I think we learned

a great deal from it.

390

'cause it was the first time

that I did it here actually.

391

Jim Kanichirayil: Yeah, when I hear

you describe it, it, it falls into the

392

category if I'm gonna put it on a bumper

sticker when you don't have the playbook.

393

You and the person that you're hiring

should be building the playbook together,

394

that you at least have some framework

on what direction to move forward in.

395

Which leads me to the next question.

396

Now this person's been hired, you look

at, Hey, we should do something with ai.

397

You've hired a person that's

gonna do something with ai.

398

What, where did you

focus this person first?

399

Because you got an entire

organization that you could apply.

400

AI across the entire enterprise,

across every single function,

401

Chad Hartzell: Yeah.

402

Jim Kanichirayil: it do something.

403

How did you prioritize

what gets done first?

404

Chad Hartzell: Yeah.

405

What's interesting is, we had an in

really, unique circumstance when we

406

brought the candidate in because the

candidate was actually referred by

407

one of our executive team members,

who wanted that candidate directly

408

working in his space, which was sales.

409

At the end of the day, we decided as an

organization and a leadership team, that

410

our biggest opportunity for this space,

was gonna be in the customer experience.

411

The reason being is, our DNA and

how we were founded was, how do we

412

disrupt and be a differentiator?

413

The customer experience

specifically to how we partner

414

with our dealers was critical.

415

and our VP of customer experience,

who was also new enroll really started

416

off with a technology strategy and a

roadmap for what is great, look from a

417

user experience, customer experience.

418

path forward.

419

we prioritize it there.

420

And part of that reason, Jim, is because

all the data that we have, from a

421

warranty perspective, from a technical,

troubleshooting perspective, all that

422

type of stuff, nothing was integrated.

423

Nothing, existed cohesively.

424

and what we're trying to do is

we're trying to gain efficiency

425

for our service advisors.

426

We're trying to gain efficiency, for

our dealers and going onto a platform

427

and ordering parts and knowing,

okay, this model about had this model

428

component and just simple things that.

429

But it's also the piece of, the family on

the 4th of July that, has an issue with

430

their boat and it's causing them not to

make the memories that they bought the

431

boat, to make on these types of things.

432

How might we get to the point where

they've got, a generative app that allows

433

them to do some very quick troubleshooting

on their own without having to call

434

a dealer that's gonna be closed on a

holiday or something along those lines.

435

And we prioritize the need.

436

To say, where are we gonna

leverage it the most and the best.

437

but then also, quite honestly,

we've resourced that individual to,

438

to help with some sales analytics

and data integration as well.

439

just to ensure that we're, not just

solely focusing within one space and

440

really quite honestly, helping the guy

that gave us the referral to begin with.

441

Thomas Kunjappu: This has been

a fantastic conversation so far.

442

If you haven't already done so,

make sure to join our community.

443

We are building a network of the

most forward-thinking, HR and

444

people, operational professionals

who are defining the future.

445

I will personally be sharing

news and ideas around how we

446

can all thrive in the age of AI.

447

You can find it at go cleary.com/cleary

448

community.

449

Now back to the show.

450

Jim Kanichirayil: it's interesting

that you described the landing

451

path for this particular candidate.

452

'cause when I think about it from

a revenue perspective, there's

453

three ways that you can generate

revenue for an organization.

454

I'm gonna oversimplify it, but there's

three way, three paths to revenue.

455

Typically, within an organization,

you can get new revenue in the

456

door, that's new net new business.

457

You can retain the

customers that you have.

458

this customer retention.

459

And then the third piece of it is you

can expand your existing customers to

460

get either new customers via referrals

or you can sell them into other products.

461

Chad Hartzell: Yep.

462

Jim Kanichirayil: And when I think

about that, I see parallels in the

463

decision making process behind the

scenes, with your organization.

464

It seems there was an index towards

let's retain and expand what we have as

465

the first priority, is how I translated

what you, what you, what you said.

466

why was the decision made to focus

on customer experience versus net

467

new in terms of how you applied,

this resource to the AI strategy?

468

Chad Hartzell: I think first and

foremost, some of it probably

469

has to do with feedback from our

dealer partners to begin with.

470

Right.

471

knowing that, it's interesting, Jim,

you talk about the three different

472

planks on the revenue piece and

we've sometimes talked a little bit

473

about the three different, ways to

differentiate and gain competitive

474

advantage, whether it's, through

market share or growth or whatever.

475

But I always love the innovation

methodology of if you can be first

476

unique or best, it's something,

there's some competitive advantage.

477

If you can be all three at once.

478

before your competitors, wow,

there's some great eureka moment

479

and maybe a 6, 12, 18 month window

before someone starts chasing you.

480

And I think from that service delivery

perspective, for us, to maintain.

481

Our reputation on phenomenal,

service delivery, to our dealers.

482

And then also on occasion, the

actual end user, the retail user.

483

that's just the piece of, Hey,

we always said that we're gonna

484

be service focused organization.

485

we need to.

486

Evolve that and always keep that

in front, from a sales perspective.

487

again, also, we are utilizing, that role

and, to help us e evolve and do that.

488

But again, if.

489

That sales piece, and if people see

that we're different from a service

490

perspective and a user friendly and

a ux, whatever you wanna call it.

491

And I always break it down

to the simplest piece.

492

K.

493

Keeping people on the water, keeping,

the families making those memories.

494

That's what's most important.

495

if people buy.

496

with their discretionary income, our

product, we have a great product,

497

great innovative product, but if they

also know that man, that, I just, the

498

reputation for service is phenomenal.

499

that's the vision and where

we're headed, towards too.

500

And then the sales, obviously

we're gonna have sales strategies

501

and dealer strategies that have.

502

Positioned us for the growth and where we

are in the market to begin with, right?

503

You gotta have a great product.

504

we'll always have that, but

it's how do you support that?

505

How, after the sale, and, dealer, dealer

might sell the first boat or, we want

506

the dealers to help sell the second, the

third and the fourth boats as a result

507

of a great service delivery as well.

508

Jim Kanichirayil: Yeah, I the

emphasis on service delivery, but

509

particularly I I your comment about,

how do we maximize the amount of time

510

that our products are in the water?

511

because that actually builds the

customer experience that keeps

512

them coming back and also ends that

has them referring their friends.

513

and the reason why it stood out

to me is that generally speaking,

514

when you're talking about.

515

I work a lot in the startup space, and

when are just getting traction on there,

516

it's important to get people in the

door and then you need to make sure that

517

everything is tight you can, that, that

those people that came in through the

518

door are a hundred percent referenceable

and they stay with you beyond just

519

the first year of that service.

520

you have to not only be good at.

521

Bringing them in.

522

You have to be excellent at retaining them

and growing that customer as you grow.

523

that's the parallel

that I draw from there.

524

thing that I'm curious about when we

talk about your particular experience

525

is, you started this initiative

and deploying this resource on

526

the revenue side of the building.

527

typically when we have conversations with

HR leaders about how they're utilizing

528

AI within their organization, it's an

AI within HR story that we're telling.

529

why did you, or why did the organization

decide, Hey, we're gonna bring in this AI

530

resource and then plant them in the, in

the revenue side of the building versus

531

the operation side of the building?

532

Chad Hartzell: it's, this is probably

a horrible response, but, 'cause

533

we didn't know any better, and I'm

not gonna say it's right or wrong.

534

What I will say is that our consistent,

strategic conversations, are always

535

gonna be focused on, product development.

536

product development and customer

experience for Barletta is the hallmark

537

of, our key pieces of that really fill up

those three, components of our strategy.

538

but that's not to say that we're

ignoring it in other areas or sections.

539

It was quite honestly, the happenstance

that this candidate was referred to us

540

and we saw an opportunity to leverage

a skillset, get us into a space that,

541

we just made the decision to say,

let's jump in, let's get after it.

542

might be a little bit of a,

a wild blue yonder, whatever

543

you wanna call it, blue space.

544

Blue ocean, what, whatever.

545

let's just get after it.

546

And then, what's nice from my

perspective, from an HR perspective

547

is, I keep seeing some of the

things that we're engaged in and I.

548

We discussed it yesterday

in a talent review actually.

549

a talent review.

550

Think of it, you're normally talking

about, your succession planning

551

and all those types of things.

552

we spent some time talking about, what

does our strategy look for building AI

553

competency across a lot of our, service

level departments, or I shouldn't say, I

554

shouldn't say service level, but backend

office marketing, hr, finance, it.

555

I have it on my strategy and I feel

a lot of pressure to say, okay,

556

let's look at AI as a competency.

557

And that's just me.

558

I, I'm, how do I make it simple?

559

And for me, I've always been a fan of, old

school process of building a competency

560

model and in some regards, behind the

scenes, people don't need to know that

561

I'm using, HR terminology and whatever.

562

What I'm gonna do is I know what I

wanna deliver is what's the expectation

563

and how do we help people understand

that AI is more than chat GPT, right?

564

There's gen, generative ai, reasoning

models, multimodal AgTech, predictive

565

analytics, all these types of things.

566

I'm trying to get it into the piece of is

there a, and I know they exist out there,

567

but I'm trying to translate it into our

environment and our culture to say that if

568

you work in finance and you're doing this

type of reporting or this type of thing

569

on a month end basis, challenge yourself.

570

ask yourself how might we.

571

Get to a point where we can automate

this process or flow or whatever.

572

and what I'm finding out, Jim, is that,

that it's no different from us and

573

taking that leap to say, we're gonna hire

this individual and get in this space.

574

It's getting everybody, I think, to that

comfort level to say, okay, AI is more

575

than chat GPT or a next level Google.

576

let's learn a little bit about

it and then give people the

577

opportunity to apply it, right?

578

And that's what we're working on and

what we're framing and scoping right now.

579

Jim Kanichirayil: I like how you're

building a competency model across the

580

organization, and that competency model

includes a lot more than just, chat, GPT.

581

when you think about building that

competency model, is there any function

582

that you feel is Hey, this should be

a high priority for this particular

583

function versus another function?

584

Chad Hartzell: I think not yet.

585

here's what I'd say, are we doing

anything specifically right now?

586

as far as expectations or which

group am I, gonna work with first on?

587

No, not yet.

588

and again, part of that reason

being is because I I don't want to

589

be the HR partner that is naive.

590

To the reality of what other

people are dealing with.

591

part of some of the.

592

utilizing, the predictive analytics

is, okay, are your analytics, coming

593

from single source or do you need

to integrate across platforms?

594

Sometimes you have to build an

infrastructure to be able to get the

595

data in a way that you want it to be

able to utilize it, to help you gain the

596

efficiency and, whatever you're doing.

597

what I'd probably say is

ultimately I think that if we.

598

Learn and understand that there's

some functions that have high

599

repetition, tactical workflows.

600

then it's, let's hit those things

first and see where there may be

601

opportunities to gain some efficiency.

602

revenue generation can come not just from

sales, it can come from, I don't wanna say

603

cost efficiencies and labor efficiencies

and position efficiencies and all that.

604

And you ought to be able to gain some.

605

but a again, it's, you have

to get somebody beyond.

606

using a chat, GPT or

a copilot is a Google.

607

And, I had a safety, our safety

leader, showed me that he's using power

608

automate to, put emails with data that

he uploads into Power BI on a daily

609

basis that used to take him 4, 5, 6

hours a week and learn power automate

610

to just boom, handles it for 'em.

611

That bandwidth.

612

Is phenomenal.

613

And I love the fact, I'm what are

you doing with that bandwidth?

614

And he said, I'll figure it out.

615

But I tell you one thing,

I'm probably gonna be able to

616

spend more time on the floor.

617

Oh my gosh.

618

If I could have leaders and other

functions that are connecting with

619

our people as a result of gaining

some efficiency or their work, or

620

picking those things up off their

parking lot because they gained some

621

efficiencies and say, hey, I want

to go here and I want to go there.

622

for me, I think I.

623

That's the approach that

we're gonna take, right?

624

and get people to, to begin to

work towards, but you're gonna

625

have to get after it at some point.

626

Jim Kanichirayil: Yeah, that makes sense.

627

and when you describe those.

628

repetition, tactical workflows.

629

Those are perfect workflows to

build agents, to handle those

630

things within the environment.

631

and considering that you have wide open

green fields to do whatever you want to

632

do from an AI perspective, that might be,

another strategy or at least a another

633

initiative that you wanna roll out.

634

I wanna zoom out real quick and have

you reflect back on how you got here.

635

fell into this, by accident, 'cause

you had talent that was presented

636

to you that wasn't on your radar

and now you're off and running.

637

When you think about what you've

learned from where you started to

638

where you are now, what are the key

things that stand out to you as, oh,

639

this might have been something that

we could have done differently, that

640

could have gotten us here faster.

641

Chad Hartzell: Yeah.

642

I'll go back to, believe

it or not, probably.

643

2016, which was my real first

introduction into some AI work.

644

and that was in healthcare, creating

a chat bot, with one of our service

645

providers for a recruiting platform

where nurses, if you could identify

646

a nurse, someone comes to our

career site text, window pops up.

647

But we ended up creating, A chat bot

where if the chat bot identified that we

648

have a nurse in play, that nurse had the

ability to schedule their own interview.

649

At that point in time, we

didn't even ask for a resume.

650

We just asked, are you a licensed rn?

651

If yes, it was great, when

would you to interview?

652

and then we made it happen.

653

and the reason I use that going

654

began my interest in how do you

utilize this stuff at broader levels?

655

and how do you get there?

656

when, when I came here, and in healthcare

I thought was really a, an early adopter

657

and a great environment, from a customer

experience, user experience, employee

658

experience perspective, utilizing, some

early, very early AI tools coming here.

659

I think it's the piece of a new

growing scaling organization that,

660

Growth is easy, scaling is hard.

661

you can double in size when you're new

and you have a great product, right?

662

but it's how do you maintain

your, your margin, your cross

663

structure, your profit models, all

those different types of things.

664

And for me, from an HR perspective,

that's the stuff that I get jazzed

665

up about hearing and saying,

okay, how do we impact that?

666

Without, necessarily saying

no, it's all about selling more

667

votes, which quite honestly it is.

668

We wanna sell more votes or, but it's

use, utilizing that stuff and knowing

669

where we are as that organization to

say that, okay, maybe the chat bot thing

670

here for a lot of people would blow their

minds even though it's something that

671

I was doing good Lord, 10 years ago.

672

Because it's about where are you in your.

673

Maturation or your maturity model,

whatever you wanna call that.

674

and I think that's just where it is

for us, is where we are in our maturity

675

model, is that we got to the point in time

where it's Hey, it's important enough.

676

We don't wanna be on the, we don't

wanna be caught, on the outside.

677

We don't want to have somebody else.

678

Gained some competitive advantage.

679

and quite honestly, Jim, I'm very

careful with what I'm sharing, because

680

Lord knows who might listen and see

or hear and gain some interest, in

681

exactly what organizations are doing.

682

Jim Kanichirayil: Great stuff.

683

If people want to continue the

conversation, what's the best way

684

for them to get in touch with you?

685

Chad Hartzell: LinkedIn,

686

Jim Kanichirayil: Alright

687

Chad Hartzell: that's the best way.

688

Jim Kanichirayil: Thanks

for hanging out with us.

689

There's a lot in this conversation

that I think is worth mentioning, but

690

there's a few things that stood out to

me in particular, and I think when we're

691

talking about having a loose initiative in

place, and when you're facing a scenario

692

where you don't have a job description,

you don't have a talent profile, you

693

don't even have a rough idea of how you

would deploy, a unique talent in your

694

environment, there's some key lessons

that we need to focus in on first that I

695

think you brought out in the conversation.

696

First and foremost, The values alignment

emphasis was particularly important.

697

Whenever we're thinking about building

organizational commitment and employee

698

commitment within organizations, that

mission, vision, values alignment it

699

goes a long way when you're looking to

create a high-performance organization.

700

And I think when you were talking about

the hiring process for, your unique

701

hire, of the AI, resource, I thought

the alignment on values was particularly

702

im-i-important as you went through.

703

The other thing that stood out to me

about the conversation was how you

704

co-created that job description when, you

were going through the hiring process.

705

That's also particularly important.

706

If you have somebody that's a values

fit and then they have the attitude,

707

aptitude, and skills to fit within

the organization, but you don't have

708

a role that's defined, co-creating

and, co-creating that position, is a

709

pretty strong idea and a strong way to

have buy-in for every employee or any

710

employee that you plan to bring in.

711

And the last thing that stood out

about the conversation is how you

712

went, a different route than what

many organizations do when they're

713

thinking about their AI strategy.

714

Usually, when organizations are

deploying some sort of AI initiative,

715

they pilot it with a lens towards: How

can we make ourselves more efficient?

716

And I'm sure that was part of the

calculation, but you and your team

717

immediately deployed your new hire into

the revenue side of the organization.

718

How can we do a better job of attracting

more customers, retaining the customers

719

that we have, and eventually taking

those existing customers and up-

720

upgrading them into new offerings?

721

I think that's, a really unique way of

deploying AI and AI resources, to build

722

the revenue case for a wider deployment.

723

So those are things that stood

out to me in the conversation.

724

I appreciate you sharing that with us.

725

For those of you who've been

listening to this conversation,

726

we appreciate you hanging out.

727

If you liked the discussion, make sure

you leave us a five-star review on

728

your favorite podcast player, and then

tune in next time where we'll have

729

another HR leader hanging out with

us and sharing with us the AI stories

730

that are helping them future-proof HR.