A former Tekion leader wants to use artificial intelligence to help dealers, service providers and OEMs find qualified future employees.

This week, Interactive EQ launched Auto IEQ, which is an AI-based talent assessment platform custom built for auto-industry needs.

Designed for recruiters, internal HR teams, and hiring managers, Auto IEQ can measure candidate and employee EQ, or soft skills, across the talent management spectrum to help teams increase efficiency, reduce turnover, and lower the costs associated with hiring and retaining employees.

Auto IEQ is geared to improve the process of hiring employees, evaluating existing talent for areas of improvement, and identifying candidates for promotion.

Interactive EQ was created and developed by former Tekion executive and automotive industry leader Napo Rumteen.

With more than 30 years of experience in retail and SaaS sales, management, operations, and learning and development, Rumteen experienced the need to reimagine solutions to a significant issue plaguing the organizations where he worked and beyond.

Through an immersive adventure of real-world business scenarios, including simulated written communication, remote meetings, and in-person meetings, Interactive EQ can provide an assessment of Talent’s EQ skills across key categories, including:

—Observation skills: Reading a room and getting a pulse on the audience.

—Situational awareness: Thinking through possible outcomes and navigating scenarios ranging from sales opportunities to crisis management.

—Business acumen: Understanding and contributing to the broader goals of a company, for example, knowing when it’s time to sell versus close a deal, discount or hold price.

—Empathy: Recognizing, understanding, and responding to others’ emotions, for example, actively listening to upset customers and knowing how to shift toward a positive resolution.

—Collaborative aptitude: Assurance that talent will thrive on existing teams.

—Solutioning: Critical thinking and the ability to develop practical solutions.

—Cultural fit: Alignment with company values and team dynamics. This is configured for each organization.

These key categories are based on a proprietary AI model that scores EQ across hundreds of relevant soft skills that apply in everyday scenarios. Once the simulation is complete, the employer receives scores with detailed descriptions of the participant’s performance.

According to the National Automobile Dealers Association, the employee turnover rate averages 50% annually, with specific roles and sales exceeding 80% annually. NADA found that the cost of hiring and training customer-facing automotive professionals can range from $15,000 to $25,000 per employee.

“How often have you said, ‘You never know who you’re hiring until they start working?’ Abstract skills are hard to measure, and interview tools and processes have yet to address it,” said Rumteen, who is founder and CEO of Interactive EQ.

“Interactive EQ is the first industry-specific hiring tool to identify and measure soft skills accurately. It drives consistency in how candidates are evaluated and provides clear and meaningful insights into actual performance once a candidate is hired,” Rumteen added in a news release.

For additional information, visit: https://interactiveeq.com.