Years ago, we had an epiphany in the way we hire people at Intact.
This epiphany was born out of big shifts we made to our business: shifts from focusing on short-term project delivery to driving long-term customer outcomes, and the realization that the implementation of software is just the beginning of a customer’s outcome journey.
We were building a company focused on customer success, and in order to do this effectively, we knew we had to prioritize hiring for, and training in, emotional intelligence.
In IT projects, the focus is often solely on technical expertise and much less on the emotional intelligence and behaviors of a consultant or developer. At Intact, we believe that the balance between EQ and IQ is critical. Ensuring a client feels seen and heard, understanding the pressures they face, and solving their problems—all essential ingredients of success—require staff with high EQ.
Ten years ago, we decided to add a powerful Managed Service offering to our business model to drive long-term outcomes and customer success. Because these resources did not readily exist in our industry, we chose to build our own recruiting and training program to create our own supply of talent. From that experience, we have built a highly successful workforce development program—one that attracts the best of the best, from all over the country.
A rigorous EQ interview
Our need, and subsequent learning, led to us building a unique hiring process that balances EQ needs along with traditional credentials.
This process begins with an interview that assesses key EQ attributes: situational awareness, empathy, resilience, and a growth mindset. Unlike traditional interviews, we shift the initial focus away from background and work experience. Those indicators have always felt less predictive of success in the job, anyway.
Instead, we drew on principles from Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow and Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence and worked closely with a behavioral psychologist to shape our interview questions. This was around the time that Heineken aired The Candidate, its search for an employee that involved the interviewer faking a heart attack in the room to see how candidates responded. While no one in our interviews fakes heart attacks, we draw on a similar principle: we’re looking for situational awareness and a bias to action for helping others.
Some sample questions from the interview include:
- “When was the last time you unintentionally offended someone?” This assesses self-awareness and willingness to take responsibility and apologize. If people can’t own up to their mistakes, they can’t learn and grow.
- “Tell me about a time when you sensed something was bothering a peer—what did you do about it?” This evaluates proactive empathy and ability to read and respond to others’ emotions. It’s essential for putting ourselves in our customers’ shoes.
- “What’s the most difficult thing you’ve ever experienced?” This gauges resilience and ability to stay composed under pressure, important for client-facing roles.
Beyond technical skills
Candidates who pass the interview enter an intensive, paid, 8-12 week training program. Each cohort is about 20 people, and the curriculum they experience includes modules on technical capabilities, like Intact’s delivery model and products, IT concepts, and ServiceNow training, as well as broader skills training, like consulting 101 and communication.
In the curriculum, there’s also a dedicated EQ training module led by a behavioral expert. The topics she covers with the cohort include active listening, emotional regulation, and the role of empathy in business. We teach this because we believe it’s both essential for success in delivery of client work and also for building a company where people are cared for.
The results: A high-performing, people-centric team
After the training, candidates “graduate” to support federal and commercial customers as full-time technical consultants—the backbone of Intact’s managed services offering. We have a 95% graduation rate from the program, a 95% first-time pass rate for ServiceNow CSA certification (vs. 34% industry average), and a 90%+ retention rate over the last four years.
By prioritizing people skills in hiring and training, we have built a team uniquely equipped to navigate the human challenges of sustained digital evolution. We empower our team to be sponges, to learn and grow, and to inspire others.
Despite rapid modern enhancements, technology does not deploy itself. People deploy technology; you can’t have great technology without great people. It’s time for the industry to recognize this and prioritize putting people first.
At Intact, we’re not afraid to be different, and we love to share what we’ve learned. We hire differently, train differently, and work differently from your typical IT consultant. This is how we have built an award-winning, high-growth, human-centric company that delivers for our clients.
