What do a basement full of paper records, a ferry ride to work, and a thriving customer advisory board have in common? They're all part of the story behind isolved’s “people heroes” movement.
Live from isolved Connect in Charlotte, Ryan Leary and William Tincup sit down with Paige La Fever, Director of Community Relations at isolved, to unpack how HR tech companies can build real trust—not just tools.
Paige reveals how isolved’s community evolved from a tactical advocacy platform into a strategic growth engine, giving HR pros a voice, visibility, and an actual seat at the product table. From leveraging Influitive to activate customer networks to letting executives take live feedback on the chin, this episode is a crash course in customer intimacy at scale.
She also shares why letting clients leave gracefully is the key to long-term retention—and why some do come back.
And in the middle of it all? A payroll hero from Alaska who went from paper trails to panel talks.
If your idea of “community” still involves newsletters and a Slack channel, this conversation will recalibrate your playbook.
Timestamps:
00:00 — Live from isolved Connect: conference formats, partner strategy, and a face for radio
01:14 — Meet Paige: reputation, advocacy, references, and a whole lot more
02:30 — People Heroes origins: how a tactical program turned into a customer-led movement
03:42 — How isolved uses Influitive to power connection, feedback, and activation
05:00 — Why most vendor communities fail—and why this one didn’t
06:22 — Transparency in action: when product feedback gets answered on the spot
07:53 — Advisory boards, real feedback, and expanding by industry or size
09:34 — Customer story: Jaylene in Alaska, from file cabinets to featured panelist
11:03 — What “People Heroes” really means—and why isolved sees itself as the sidekick
12:04 — Winning over new HR leaders who didn’t choose isolved
13:25 — Why a graceful offboarding is the best retention strategy
14:46 — The part of isolved people don’t see: it still feels like family
16:07 — Analyst relations, vendor bias, and navigating credibility in paid ecosystems
18:34 — Wrapping with Irish goodbyes and party predictions
This episode was recorded live at isolved Connect on the UNC Charlotte campus.
The Heroes of HR podcast is a limited series sponsored by isolved. isolved is an HCM platform that modernizes HR, benefits, and payroll across Healthcare, Hospitality, Manufacturing, and more.
Learn more about isolved: https://www.isolvedhcm.com/
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William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/
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Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/
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