From Post-Its to Product: Kelli Rico on Building, Balancing, and Securing the Future of HCM

What happens when a product leader with 13 years of HCM experience still prototypes with sticky notes? You get real innovation—built from the ground up, user-first.

In this episode, Kelli Rico, VP of Product Management at isolved, joins us live from isolved Connect in Chicago to share how her team turns napkin ideas into powerful platform features. From customer co-creation and UX-led design to product marketing alignment and R&D tax credits, this conversation reveals the mechanics behind isolved People Cloud—and what it takes to stay secure while shipping fast.

We dive into how her team balances customer input with market insight, avoids feature bloat, and prioritizes trust over flash. Plus, Kelli explains why slowing down for security is the fastest way to earn loyalty in payroll tech.

Timestamps:

00:00 — Meet Kelli Rico, VP of Product at isolved

01:06 — Starting in implementation and growing with the company

03:09 — What drives the product roadmap at isolved

04:48 — Balancing feedback, data, and scale in a SaaS world

06:34 — Feature bloat and the challenge of removal

08:53 — Innovation by observation: ideation sessions and user behavior

11:14 — R&D in payroll, perfect payroll, and AI-driven UX

16:04 — Product marketing alignment and internal education

17:00 — Biweekly releases, change management, and in-app training

20:33 — Security over speed: fraud, trust, and data protection

22:56 — Slowing features to prioritize safety in HCM

23:59 — If not HCM, what would Kelli be doing?

This conversation was recorded live at isolved Connect in Chicago.

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.

You can learn more about isolved here: https://www.isolvedhcm.com/

Connect with the guest:

• Kelli Rico LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellirico/

• Website: https://www.isolvedhcm.com/

Connect with Us:

• William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/

• Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/

Connect with us on social:

• Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/

• Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined

• Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/