The tool enquires about different aspects and the employee answers. The answer is always anonymous, and not even colleagues know what answer each gave on a personal level so that no one can be marked out. What the company gets to see is a series of graphs and a word cloud that provide an overview of what the atmosphere inside the firm is like and what issues cause most concern.
On the one hand, this helps to improve certain aspects that are out of line. On the other, it allows people to compare their answers with those in general. "Sometimes it seems like a team is not happy, but the surveys show that on a global level everything is fine and that it is one person who is toxic, perhaps someone with too much of a say, who has a very negative perception," says Gabetti by way of example.
In short, TeamEQ should be seen as a "management tool to empower the entire organisation so that they act responsibly within their own area." Thus, if a Fitbit counts steps to evaluate whether you need to do more exercise on a particular day, the startup analyses the situation so that the management knows what action to take and what measures to introduce.
All companies have teams
Agbar, Telefónica or La Farga are some of the large companies that are working with this tool. Hola Luz and Corner Job, too, cases that show that startups also have Human Resources concerns: "All of them have teams and at heart it is a common problem for all businesses."
"The only difference we find between large companies and entrepreneurs is the time. The startups need to measure the climate in the short term, every one to three weeks, because things are always changing in their environment; large companies work over a longer time scale," points out the cofounder.
With the results in hand, the same tool offers some standard tips to begin improving the working climate. At the same time, there is a second specialised consultancy service available, and if the client is already a consultant, there is a second functionality for these professionals to use with their clients' teams.
Lluitant contra la bretxa de gènere
TeamEQ rose to prominence as the winning project of the HackDGap in the latest edition of the Mobile World Congress, a competition that recognises companies that foster gender equality.
The TeamEQ team during the HackDGap prize-giving at the 4YFN
The startup, as well as evaluating the climate in teams, "works on personal and team performance from the point of view of skills across the board." Gabetti explains that 'EQ' sees emotional intelligence (emotional quotient), which brings together features that are considered feminine, such as "empathy, understanding and communication." "We help to reduce the gender gap because we provide support in the company's transition to a meritocracy and soft leadership that takes into account skills across the team."
Bon in Silicon Valley
The startup originated in the Imagine Express 2013 programme, created by Xavier Verdaguer and organised in Silicon Valley. That is where the founders met - Ray García, Francesco De Ambrogi and Francesca Gabetti- who were initially working on an application for Google Glass called ProfEye that was to evaluate the technical cross-team skills in the working environment.
"The transition was quite quick, that was in 2014," says the cofounder, "the conclusion was that we had to go from individuals to teams to be more effective." That is how in under three years they have created a product already operational in Spain and Italy, and that also has clients from other countries.
Last summer they closed an investment round worth 200,000 euros and they aim to do another this year. Of the three partners, Gabetti is the majority shareholder, and they also have Dídac Lee, Helena Torras and David Tomás among their shareholders. "All of them are mentors and powerful investors," she says.
This new injection of capital will be invested in automating processes and improving the product, as well as creating a strong marketing team to consolidate their market and find new clients. Moreover, the cofounder states that they want to develop Data Science: "We have more than 60,000 answers, it is all Big Data. We want the tool to be predictive and to provide suggestions in real time."
Although they took part in Imagine Express, they are ready to renew the startup as often as necessary to adapt it to the needs of the market. Perhaps that is why Gabetti believes that they are the only idea to have come out of the programme and that continues on a firm footing.