In this episode of The Chad & Cheese Podcast, recorded live at RecFest USA, Paige Elliott, Global Employer Brand Manager at Veeam Software, shares why authentic diversity stories are key to attracting talent.
She discusses how to align internal culture with external messaging, leverage diverse storytelling formats, and collaborate with ERGs and DE&I teams for genuine narratives. The conversation also covers candidates' increasing scrutiny of DE&I commitments, strategic recruitment partnerships, and the importance of transparency in pay and culture.
Don’t miss Paige’s expert insights on building a brand where values and actions align!
PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION
Podcast Intro: Hide your kids. Lock the doors. You're listening to HR's Most Dangerous Podcast. Chad Sowash and Joel Cheesman are here to punch the recruiting industry right where it hurts. Complete with breaking news, brash opinion, and loads of snark. Buckle up, boys and girls. It's time for The Chad and Cheese Podcast.
[music]
Joel: Thanks for hanging out with us today. Let's start with who are you and why are you here?
Paige Elliott: My name is Paige Elliott. I am the global employer brand manager at Veeam Software. And I'm here today to talk about the power of diversity stories within organizations, why it's important. That is my session for tomorrow. And just really help the talent acquisition and HR know the importance of diverse perspectives and just how important it is today.
Chad: Yeah, yeah. So, with that in mind, looking forward, right? What advice would you give to your peers in talent acquisition and recruiting? What nugget would you give them moving forward?
Paige Elliott: I would say employer branding is not just the websites anymore and just the nice slogans and nice-to-haves. It's really about also the employee experience as well. You want your employer brand to match what's actually happening internally inside your organization. Because the last thing you want is to talk about your company and all the amazing things about your company, your values, and then they get into the organization, and their experience does not match that. And so just the importance of making sure that your culture and your values internally match your employer brand, and it's carried the whole way through that process. And that includes activating your diverse employees stories, letting their voices be heard, and really incorporating that into your employer brand and your messaging.
Joel: Let's dig into... You talk about storytelling a lot. What does that look like? Is it video? Is it the written word? Is it audio? Is it all of the above? And how do you deliver that to your audience?
Paige Elliott: It's all of it. When it comes to recruiting, whether they're on your careers website, your social media; whether it's your employees posting on their own; it's all content. I think when it comes to getting any feedback from employees, you can leverage it and repurpose it on every platform. And it comes in the sense of using it to recruit, using it for, like I said, your careers website or your blogs or anything. But being able to just capture their voices in all avenues internally so that they feel that sense of belonging. And yeah, so it's all types of content avenues.
Chad: So, it's hard because you have so many employees, and you want to capture all these stories. How do you capture them? What's the easiest way? How do you capture those stories? Because manually, it's hard for you to scale as a person or a team, right? How do you do it?
Paige Elliott: I think it's really about partnership and being able to collaborate internally. I always use employee resource groups as a starting point because those groups are for minorities and underrepresented groups, right? So, starting with them, networking with your HRBPs, they know their organizations best; talking to recruiters, they know who they're looking for to hire; DE&I and talent management, they know the different employees that are coming through the pipeline and the internal mobility. Talk to them, leverage them. I think it's really just not working in silos, but finding out the people in your organization who have a story. Because we all have a story, right? And that's what makes your company unique. It's your people and their experiences. And so we can really amplify those messages and those stories. People connect with that. People like real people with real stories, at the end of the day. So, it's just finding those things and diversifying it.
Joel: Yep. So DE&I has been on quite a wild ride the last few years. Something that went from "This is a good idea everyone should embrace" to "This is political," "This is weaponized," to companies taking sides. Wondering from your perspective on the candidate side, what kind of conversations and questions are you getting from the candidates in regards to inclusivity and diversity?
Paige Elliott: That's a good question. Candidates that are currently within a company or candidates that are like external looking to work for you?
Joel: All the candidates, yes.
[overlapping conversation]
Paige Elliott: All the candidates. People just want to know if it's real or not, at the end of the day. Are you just trying to check a box, or are you authentically moving forward and committed to diversity and inclusion? And so I think that's what I'm saying with the messaging. People can feel that. Are you just putting it out there? And then I come work at your company and there's no processes in place, there's no systems in place to support what you're saying? So, that's the conversation. How serious is this company? Candidates are doing their research now. Once they're going through the interview process, they're going to look you up, right? They're going to look on LinkedIn, social media, see what people are saying, and they want to be able to see what's on your career website. You know what I mean? So, I think it goes beyond the corporate message, but it goes to, what are the people saying about the organization? And people inside are talking about it. And people externally that you're looking to hire, they're talking about it as well.
Chad: So, were you surprised earlier this year when companies like TSE and Harley and some of those organizations literally said, "We're just pulling out of DEI entirely?" Did that surprise you?
Paige Elliott: I would say it didn't surprise me. It's sad a little bit, because it became the good thing to do. You know what I mean? But it shouldn't even be a conversation. It's a necessity. The fact that we're still having to make it important, or talk about it, "Is it good? Is it not good?" it should be embedded in your principles. And so I was surprised by it taking place, but people have been... It just hasn't felt as authentic, is where I'm... You know what I mean? People have used it and weaponized it in different ways, so I'm not surprised that they've held back. But at the same time, there's a lot of companies that are still pressing forward with it. So, there's still value when it comes to spending money, and really being able to push the DE&I agenda forward. It's important, but unfortunately, some people have, or companies have misused it.
Joel: Yep. What are you doing from a marketing perspective or job distribution perspective, or just marketing in general to make sure that you're getting in front of as many people and diverse candidates as possible?
Paige Elliott: Yeah, that's a good question. You really have to, well, one, diversify the content that you are getting, right? A lot of it comes to recruitment campaigns. We work with, say, our sales team is looking to diversify their talent, so then I have to get really intentional with my targeting. What area are we looking at? Do we need to target certain universities, if it's early careers? Minority groups, the partnerships are important. We've recently partnered with Out & Equal organization for the LGBTQ+ community or Women in Tech, to really leverage that network. Partnerships are important. I just think it's about being intentional, really being intentional.
Joel: Are partnerships different than sponsorships?
Paige Elliott: So, they can do both.
Joel: Okay.
Paige Elliott: So, we are a partner of Women in Tech, but we also sponsor some events that they have. So, they both show your commitment to diversity and inclusion, but you can leverage partnerships in different ways.
Chad: Right. You can spend money but still hire.
Paige Elliott: Spend money but still hire...
Chad: Right.
[overlapping conversation]
Paige Elliott: Because the partnerships come with a lot of benefits. They show that you are committed to the agenda of equality, right? But then they also provide resources for you to use internally to improve your processes. They have job boards that you can hire to their diverse... The diverse boards and slates. So, there's a lot of opportunity with partnerships. So, yeah.
Chad: So, in 2025, what is your main priority? What's Paige's focus can be in 2025?
Paige Elliott: "Paige's focus." Well, I wear many hats, so I feel like my focus is in a lot of places. But I would say really amplifying that employee experience that I was talking about in the beginning. Our company has been working on our careers website, our EVP, and our culture and values, all at the same time. So, really being able to make sure that's embedded in the employer brand, but again, that it's felt consistently throughout the employee experience, and then really bringing that to life so that the employees come on that journey with us. We want to show them where we're going, but without not being authentic, right? We want to just bring them along with the journey. And again, that employee experience is really what my focus will be.
Joel: Are there any groups that you feel like you need to be in front of more, or be more aggressive in getting your opportunities in front of? I know we focus a lot on a few, but are there some that we're falling down on?
Paige Elliott: I think I just sat in a session about diversity in tech roles. So, definitely want to be able to diversify women in tech roles and software engineer roles and different things like that. I think it's different for every company, what they're focused on. I know for us, it's really looking at the different markets. Diversity looks different in every market, every country. Right? You have to look at what is the need there when it comes to diversity. And then now you know how to be intentional with your targeting and everything. I don't have a "one size fits all" answer for that, but I would say, women in technology would be one area for women.
Joel: Where do you start as an organization on pay transparency?
Paige Elliott: We don't post the pay and everything externally currently, like on our website or Glassdoor. We currently don't have that exposed. Once they go through the process, we will answer those questions. I'm not truly involved in that process. I'm not with NTA, but I know the recruiters, they will have that candid conversation.
Chad: Excellent. Paige, thank you so much for coming and having conversation. If somebody wants to connect with you, where would they do that?
Paige Elliott: You can connect with me on LinkedIn, Paige Elliot. I'm happy to connect. And yes, I see people around here actually coming up to me saying they follow me on LinkedIn.
Chad: Nice.
Paige Elliott: Let them connect. Yeah.
Chad: Paige Elliott, everybody. Thanks for joining us.
Paige Elliott: Thank you for having me. Thank you.
Podcast Outro: Wow, look at you. You made it through an entire episode of The Chad and Cheese Podcast. Or maybe you cheated and fast-forwarded to the end. Either way, there's no doubt you wish you had that time back. Valuable time you could have used to buy a nutritious meal at Taco Bell, enjoy a pour of your favorite whiskey, or just watch big booty Latinas and bug fights on TikTok. No, you hung out with these two chuckleheads instead. Now go take a shower and wash off all the guilt. But save some soap, because you'll be back like an awful train wreck you can't look away. And like Chad's favorite western, you can't quit them either. We out.
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