Exclusive Interview of Jimmy Chebat, Zizo Technologies Inc

ZIZO is a Workforce Gamification Platform. Gamification is applying gaming mechanics into non-game environments to increase participation, motivation, and overall happiness. Employee gamification software allows employees to receive real-time feedback that motivates and encourages them. Things like competition, points, rewards, achievements, rules of play, self-expression, and status are leveraged to give employees feedback. It empowers them to participate and reap the benefits of tangible rewards, bonuses, and a rise in rank within a company.

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Jimmy Chebat has over a decade of experience as a Call center owner, and now he is revolutionizing this business through gamification.

We had a chance to interview him. Here are very inspiring answers.

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What motivated you to start ZiZo Technologies, Inc.? How did the idea come about?

I was the owner of a call center for over a decade, and I realized I had a workforce that lacked accountability and engagement, causing culture and retention problems in my organization.

The idea came from a whiteboard that was used in my call center to track daily productivity. I wanted to find a way to use the data on that board for more than just today's knowledge while building a new culture of fun and excitement.

The first iteration of what is now ZIZO was a business analytics tool to help me manage my team more objectively. Over time as I recognized the positive effects, it evolved into a comprehensive management tool.

What was your mission at the beginning of starting your business?

The mission of ZIZO is to revolutionize the way that the world works.

ZIZO is the ultimate management solution for the workforce of the future. My team and I have performed extensive research into the future of work, and we know that something needs to change to keep up with the new generational workforce.

ZIZO's management solution is the future of work.

What do you attribute your success to? Is there a trait you have or a person who helped you along the way?

I'm fortunate to have a wide range of experience owning businesses across multiple industries for 20+ years. The skill that has always made a difference in my ventures is my ability to process data.

I'm highly numbers-driven, and I can see relationships and possibilities with data more quickly than most people.

When times get tough, what would you say motivates you to keep going? To not hit the snooze button and to keep fighting for your goals.

I truly believe in the power of ZIZO. When things become challenging, I remind myself of the positive impact our solution can have on the workforce, and that gives me the inspiration that I need to keep going.

Employees are one of the most important players to succeed in business. What do you look for in an employee?

In any new business, it is crucial to focus on finding committed employees. Start-up companies are demanding, it is a roller coaster of highs and lows, and it can feel overwhelming.

Employees need to be able to commit to and believe in their company's mission. Are they willing to stick it out when things are shaky? Will they quickly change direction or play new roles as the business evolves? These are the traits I always measure throughout the interview process.

What is unique about your business? Is there a competitive advantage that you have over the rest?

ZIZO is unique because it is a holistic and immersive approach to gamified management.

Instead of just slapping a leaderboard onto a CRM and calling the product done, we took the time to perform extensive research in the gaming industry to create a product that emulates the video games we're addicted to outside of work.

Taking it a step further, our solution is entirely automated, unlike other platforms on the market. We integrate directly with operational software to provide custom reports and automated insights and goals to drive your employees without the need to manage yet another system.

Have you ever gotten a disappointed client or customer? If so, how did you handle the situation?

We've never had an entire company disappointment, but we have had individual users who provided negative feedback about the product. We discovered early on that most times, when someone isn't satisfied with our product, we can fix the problem through mutual education.

One of our primary goals at ZIZO is to ensure no client or individual user feels alone or confused. The second a user provides feedback that they don't like the platform or don't feel that it is delivering the value we promise, our customer success manager sets out to identify the specific problem and fix it.