Competitive industries are hemorrhaging talent. Turnover is rampant. PIPs are the norm. Training time is scarce. The Great Resignation is back with a vengeance. Economic uncertainty manifests as panic, leading to frozen budgets and shrinking headcounts. Conversely, strong talent attracts loyal customers, generates repeat and referral business, and reduces the need for expensive advertising. Today, hope arrives. 

LOS ANGELES, May 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Interactive EQ, the leader in emotional intelligence–based talent assessment and development, today announces the launch of Zeppy, an AI-powered talent advisor built to help organizations diagnose, treat, and elevate employee emotional intelligence (EQ) in real time. 

Purpose-built for highly competitive, talent-pressured industries, including automotive retail and software-as-a-service (SaaS), Zeppy is a first-of-its-kind EQ concierge for the employee journey. From hiring and onboarding to performance management and retention, Zeppy provides real-time, personalized coaching to both managers and employees so talent stays resilient, engaged, and productive even in times of turbulence. 

“Let’s be clear: traditional talent tools have failed. You don’t fix employee performance with a pep talk, PIP, or an exit interview,” said Napoleon Rumteen, Founder and CEO of Interactive EQ. “Zeppy steps in like a first responder. It diagnoses, treats, and guides before disengagement turns into disaster, helping great managers keep great teams.” 

Why it matters now:

• Turnover is bleeding organizations dry. Especially in automotive retail where the average dealership sees 46% turnover including sales roles hitting a striking 80%, according to Dealertrack data.
• According to CareerBuilder, the cost of a single bad hire in SaaS can exceed $50,000, factoring in lost productivity, disrupted client relationships, and destabilized team dynamics.
• Bad hires also have a ripple effect. A Robert Half survey of 2,100 CFOs across various industries found that poor hiring decisions most often lead to degraded staff morale (39%) and reduced productivity (34%), with financial costs trailing behind. Supervisors also report spending 17% of their time managing underperformers. 
• Performance improvement plans (PIPs) are common and failing. Often a thinly veiled path to termination, PIPs damage morale and increase attrition. The Wall Street Journal reports only 10% to 25% of employees survive the process, and the number of workers placed on PIPs has surged 31% in recent years. 
• Training time has evaporated. Companies are racing to fill seats with little capacity for onboarding. Business leaders are stretched too thin to coach properly. Zeppy fills the void, providing always-on guidance where and when it’s needed most.
• Employee replacement costs are staggering. Based on aggregated estimates from sources including NC Associates, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Harvard Business School, US franchise new car dealerships may spend more than $13 billion annually on employee replacement alone, excluding broader costs tied to morale, performance, and culture. 

What Zeppy solves: 

• Flags early signs of disengagement, misalignment, and burnout before it impacts culture and KPIs 
• Uses assessment data to generate personalized EQ development plans 
• Empowers managers with “train-the-trainer” guidance, delivering targeted tools and coaching scripts to help them advise their direct reports 
• Enables employees to engage Zeppy directly for real-time coaching, skill-building exercises, and practical performance solutions 
• Offers a more diagnostic, prescriptive alternative to traditional learning and development (L&D) plans, tailored to individual needs
• Scales with you, providing human-centric coaching without the overhead of a large HR team 
• Treats emotional health like business health, because it is
  

Who it’s for:
Zeppy is now available to all organizations using the Interactive EQ platform, whether in automotive retail, SaaS, or beyond. Any company that values people-first culture, depends on high-performing customer-facing teams (internally and externally), and wants to grow talent with intention will benefit from Zeppy. It builds on the success of Interactive EQ’s cinematic video assessments that decode EQ with unmatched accuracy. 

From high-pressure sales teams to overloaded managers, Zeppy is the development coach that never sleeps, helping leaders build better teams and employees become high-level contributors. 

About Interactive EQ
Interactive EQ is a leading provider of talent assessment technology that measures intangible skills. The platform combines AI with interactive videos based on industry-specific real-business scenarios to determine emotional quotient. This helps improve the hiring process, evaluate existing talent for areas of improvement, and identify employees for promotion. For additional information, visit: https://interactiveeq.com/

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/29581e14-aea7-4698-85fa-105edb8b1968

MEDIA CONTACT:
John Richard
954-592-1201
Jspr561@gmail.com