Listen to this articleBelow is our recent interview with Marty Yaskowich, Lead Vice-President of Customer Development at iQmetrix:
Q: Could you provide our readers with a brief introduction to your company?
A: iQmetrix is North America’s leading provider of intelligent retail management software designed to power the telecom industry. Our software is built around enabling telecom retailers to deliver a buy-anywhere strategy through multi-channel inventory management and digital retail solutions; make data-driven decisions using robust reporting; and unify storefronts and digital channels for a consistent customer experience, in-store, online, and anywhere else.
iQmetrix was launched in 1999 when our founders, the owners of a Saskatchewan wireless store, recognized that the retail management solutions on the market could not meet the needs of telecom companies—especially in terms of intelligent retail metrics and customer data. Since its inception, iQmetrix has grown to become an enterprise-level company with 350-plus employees across offices in Canada and the United States. Our retail management solutions powered $15.5BN in sales last year, and are used by 425,000 telecom retail professionals across 1,200-plus clients. iQmetrix is a privately held software as a service (SaaS) company.
Q: Any highlights on your recent announcement?
A: iQmetrix is extremely proud of its workplace culture. We are united by our shared company values, with a focus on diversity and inclusion, while also knowing how to have a great time in our stunning offices and at our amazing company getaways and events.
iQmetrix was thrilled to announce recently that the company has won its regional award category for Best Tech Work Culture in the 7th Annual Timmy Awards. This awards program from Tech in Motion celebrates the best technology workplaces across North America, with hundreds of regional finalists, and tens of thousands of votes selecting the regional winners. iQmetrix won its category in Charlotte, N.C., where the company has its U.S. headquarters, and will now go up against 10 other regional winners at the national Timmy Awards.
Recommended: Q: Can you give us more insights into your offering?
A: iQmetrix offers a highly comprehensive suite of intelligent software solutions for telecom retail operators. This includes:
– Front-of-house solutions such as point of sale, mobile point of sale, payments, cash management, rate plan activations, carrier integrations, and more.
– Back-of-house retail management solutions such as inventory management, extensive data and analytics reporting, employee management and incentivization, finance and accounting, customer relationship management, and more.
– Omnichannel retail solutions such as e-commerce, dropship, BOPIS/ROPIS (buy/reserve online, pick up in-store) integrations, curbside pickup, digital queue management, and more.
iQmetrix clients benefit from the company’s huge ecosystem of more than 40 partner companies and solutions that plug into its retail management system. These range from marketing solutions to cellphone/rate plan insurance to product care, and much more besides.
iQmetrix has also recently acquired its former partner Shiftlab, a data-driven workforce management platform, and the two companies are now working together to create a world-class integrated workforce management solution.
Q: What can we expect from your company in next 6 months? What are your plans?
A: It is a very exciting time for iQmetrix, as we are in a period of rapid growth and transformation. Our strategy revolves around becoming the leading provider of retail management solutions for telecom on a global scale. We aim to do that through organic growth, in terms of expanding both our product offerings and our international reach, and through inorganic growth with our highly active acquisition pipeline. This M&A strategy complements our organic growth by identifying opportunities that either open up new markets in telecom or fill any gaps in our retail management offerings. We continue to evaluate other software companies that keep our clients sticky and/or add functionality to help telecom operators run their retail operation and ultimately create a better end user experience for consumers.
We have also recently hired a new Lead (President and CEO) of iQmetrix to take us into this exciting future. Ryan Volberg is a highly experienced SaaS entrepreneur who has very successfully led software companies through rapid-growth periods, and we couldn’t be more excited to have him at the helm for this new chapter in iQmetrix’s story.
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Q: What is the best thing about your company that people might not know about?
A: iQmetrix is successfully working to become a fully self-managed organization. This means every iQ employee (“iQer”) is hired because they are the best person for the role, and they are trusted to meet their accountabilities with autonomy. This is what we call the iQ Operating System, or iQos—a self-management structure built on the principles of Holocracy, but adapted to fit our company’s unique needs. Under the iQos, we do not have top-down bosses dictating how work should be done; instead, our Team Leads act as guides and mentors supporting every individual contributor. Using the iQos, iQmetrix is able to unleash its human potential by allowing every iQer to bring their authentic selves, their passions, and their unique skills to the company.
iQmetrix is also a learning organization. Our employee education program offers a wide range of courses and workshops to help every iQer reach their potential, and to help the company grow. Every iQer develops their own Personal Learning Plan and Skills Map under the mentorship of their Team Lead, which sets out existing and desired skills, goals for long-term career growth, and a plan for how to achieve those goals. Each iQer also benefits from coaching sessions with a certified iQmetrix coach, and the company holds regular learning workshops to help iQers improve themselves, such as unconscious bias and inclusivity training.
