What Happens in Vegas Shouldn’t Stay There

The inside scoop from isolved Connect—and how a former HR Director turned Paragon insider brought back the blueprint for revolutionizing cannabis payroll and compliance.

What is isolved Connect—and Why Did We Send Paige?

First, let’s talk about isolved—and why it matters to cannabis payroll.
isolved is one of the most advanced Human Capital Management (HCM) platforms in the country, delivering everything from payroll and time tracking to benefits, onboarding, compliance, and employee self-service—all within one unified system. Unlike patchwork providers that piece together generic tools, isolved’s technology is built to scale with real businesses and real complexity.

Our partnership with isolved allows us at Paragon to bring that enterprise-grade tech to cannabis clients—while still customizing and translating it for the unique compliance, labor, and operational needs that come with being in this industry. It’s the perfect fusion: powerful infrastructure paired with people who actually get cannabis.

isolved Connect is the annual gathering of industry disruptors, software engineers, compliance strategists, and HR professionals who are shaping the future of HCM. It’s isolved’s flagship event, and it’s where bold ideas, new feature rollouts, and collaborative problem-solving take center stage.

That’s why we sent Paige Pelczar—our HCM Sales Consultant based in Portland, Oregon. Paige isn’t just a platform expert. She’s a former HR Director in the cannabis space, someone who’s lived the complexity, felt the burnout, and understands exactly what happens when payroll and compliance systems fail to meet the needs of this industry.

She’s an advocate for people just like you.

She didn’t go to Vegas to take notes—she went to listen in on what’s being built, uncover where efficiency could be unlocked, and bring back the kind of practical, game-changing insights that could shift how cannabis teams think about their tech stack.

What makes Paige invaluable in a setting like this is that she listens like an operator but thinks like a builder. She understands that small process changes, intuitive dashboards, and built-in accountability tools aren’t just technical tweaks—they’re the difference between HR chaos and HR leadership. Her goal wasn’t just to absorb. It was to connect the dots between platform innovation and cannabis practicality—and help us ensure we’re delivering on both.

Why We Sent Someone Who’s Been in Your Shoes—And Why It Matters More Than You Think

Before she joined our team, Paige was the Director of Human Resources at Drops Candies, a cannabis company balancing growth with the typical headaches: constant onboarding, inconsistent compliance practices, and payroll tools that didn’t fit.

She came to Paragon as a client, looking for help. What she found wasn’t just tech that worked—it was people who got it. We helped Drops stabilize their systems, streamline their workflows, and finally breathe again.

That experience stuck with her.

She was so inspired by the shift that she joined our team—because she wanted to be part of delivering that same feeling to other HR professionals like her: seen, supported, and in control.

So when she walked into isolved Connect this year, she didn’t just carry a badge—she carried experience. She showed up not just as a partner, but as someone fluent in the language of burnout, overwork, and the pressure HR leaders face daily.

“Even with all the new tech in our space, the human element still matters most,” Paige said. “Strategy and expertise, paired with genuine empathy—that’s what brings these tools to life.”

This full-circle story is exactly what sets our team apart. Paige isn’t selling a concept she learned in a webinar—she’s living proof of what happens when the right partner turns the tide. Her insights reflect not just her current role, but the professional she once was: overworked, overlooked, and fighting to keep her team afloat. That kind of empathy makes her indispensable to how we serve others.

The 2025 HR Toolkit: From Burden to Breakthrough

Here’s a snapshot of the tools cannabis operators will need to compete and stay compliant in the year ahead:

AI-assisted payroll audits
Automatically compare current payroll runs against historical data to flag errors before they snowball. Catch tax issues, underpayments, or compliance gaps before they cost you.

Built-in compliance wizards
From certifications to onboarding to tax tracking, isolved’s features remove the guesswork. In cannabis, that means staying ahead of constantly shifting rules.

Admin dashboards designed by actual admins
Not engineers in a silo. Paige helped redesign the admin interface during a live collaboration panel—and the feedback was unanimous: simplicity, visibility, and automation win.

People-first, not product-first
The culture at Connect centered around empathy, collaboration, and smarter problem-solving. It wasn’t sales-first. It was human-first. That mindset mirrors what we’ve built at Paragon. Seeing isolved rooted in that same mission gave us hope that our shared tech stack will continue to prioritize accessibility and human impact.

This toolkit isn’t about chasing trends—it’s about closing gaps. These features are already improving the lives of HR leaders who were once drowning in manual processes and compliance fears. By embedding isolved’s tools into Paragon’s cannabis-first strategy, we’re giving operators a rare advantage: systems that anticipate their challenges rather than react to them.

What This Looks Like in Real Life—For Cannabis Operators

If you're a cultivator, you know harvest season hits hard. Temporary labor surges. Overtime spikes. One missed classification or underpayment could mean hefty penalties. With AI-assisted audits, you’re proactively alerted to payroll issues—before they become costly.

If you're a manufacturer or processor, compliance tracking is everything. You’re onboarding workers in high-turnover roles while juggling safety, tax, and documentation. isolved’s compliance wizards manage this automatically. Everything is centralized, timestamped, and audit-ready.

If you're a retailer, where turnover is high and speed is everything, isolved's reimagined admin dashboard lets you track new hires, late punches, training statuses, and payroll errors all in one clean, accessible view. No more chasing down signatures or scrambling before an inspection.

This is about future-proofing cannabis operations. With these tools in place, you’re no longer managing chaos—you’re leading with clarity.

Why This Should Matter to You

Because the right tools don’t just lighten the load—they change the trajectory.

When you finally have payroll systems built with your industry in mind, everything shifts. You stop patching broken processes and start building scalable workflows. You stop fearing audits and start welcoming growth. You stop surviving—and start scaling.

Most importantly, you stop compromising. The cannabis space deserves systems that work for it, not around it. When your tools reflect your reality, you're not just keeping up. You’re getting ahead.

The Doors This Opens

Operators reclaim their time. HR leaders shift from crisis response to strategic planning.
Budtenders and field teams onboard faster. Cultivators get ahead of compliance—before regulators show up. Founders stop worrying if their provider will vanish when things get hard.

And once you're operating with clarity and control, you're leading the future of this industry.

What Paige Witnessed That Most People Miss

While most people at conferences chase feature demos and networking selfies, Paige was tuned into something different: the invisible inefficiencies. The real admin friction points that only someone who’s been in HR inside a cannabis business can see.

She asked the questions others don’t: “How will this help someone onboarding 20 new trimmers in the hills with no signal?” or “What happens when your state changes its tax rules mid-pay cycle?”

Her presence wasn’t performative. It was purposeful. And it’s the kind of perspective that pushes platforms like isolved—and partners like us—to be better.

How This Impacts Our Product Development and Support

At Paragon, Paige’s insights directly shape how we train, support, and grow.

We don’t just use isolved; we build with it. Her feedback doesn’t go into a void. It becomes part of our product requests, onboarding updates, vertical-specific training, and hands-on client support. Cannabis clients don’t just get tools—they get solutions shaped by someone who’s walked in their shoes.

That’s the difference between a vendor and a partner.

What HR Teams Told Us They’re Still Struggling With

Even outside of cannabis, HR leaders at Connect shared similar stress points:

• "I’m buried in onboarding paperwork."

• "Our system has features, but no one knows how to use them."

• "I’m terrified we’ll miss a compliance deadline."

In cannabis, these pressures are even more extreme. The fact that we’ve already built playbooks, training flows, and workflows around these issues means we’re not guessing—we’re solving.

A Call to the Cannabis Community: Let’s Keep Building Together

We’ve never believed cannabis should be treated like a risk. It’s an opportunity. A movement. A culture.

When we send people like Paige into rooms where software gets built and roadmaps get set, it’s not about being seen. It’s about being heard.

Let’s keep pushing for better—more access, more equity, more tools that truly support how you work. You’ve survived long enough. Let’s start scaling.

Why This Makes Us Proud

We’re not just building workflows. We’re building bridges—between what cannabis operators need and what the tech world often overlooks.

Being able to send someone like Paige—who once stood overwhelmed on the client side and now leads the charge as a respected partner—is the kind of full-circle moment that reminds us why we do this.

Paragon is committed to closing the gaps that hold this industry back. Gaps in support. Gaps in equity. Gaps in respect.

Moments like this show us it’s working.

From Overlooked to Empowered

At Paragon, we don’t believe in performative partnerships. We believe in showing up. We believe in listening, building, iterating, and advocating—especially for the cannabis operators who’ve been ignored, underserved, or dropped without warning.

Paige’s journey—from HR director to Paragon client to Paragon leader—is proof that the right support can change everything.

“I feel lucky to have spent time with so many brilliant, passionate people. Folks who love payroll are my people. The willingness to share, collaborate, and lift each other up is something I’ll carry forward and build upon.”

You deserve tools that work.
You deserve people who care.
And you deserve to know that better isn’t just possible—it’s already here.

Let’s build smarter, together.

Ready to see what 2025 can look like when payroll finally works for you?
We’re here. Paige is too. Let's Talk!