Job interviews, entrance exams, assessments and corrections: everything that used to be done in person can now be done virtually. A small Quebec company has found a way to simplify these remote exchanges and reduce the associated risks.
The idea
By wanting to simplify her task as an exam corrector for the Order of Chartered Professional Accountants, Marie-Sophie Dionne has helped to simplify the lives of many companies.
Those red-pencil hard copy corrections were time-consuming and tedious, she recalls. To lighten the load, she designed an online version of these exercises. It was before the pandemic. With the health crisis, a much larger market opened up as more and more activities migrated to the virtual. Examinations, but also job interviews and aptitude tests would feed a company, Solutions Nexam.
Marie-Sophie Dionne and Josiane Trudel, two accountants who had already worked together in a previous life, embarked on the adventure in 2019, with a third partner, Hubert Perron.
The product
“When the pandemic hit, we added security features like screen recording and anomaly detection. We have secured the environment,” explains Marie-Sophie Dionne.
Nexam Solutions offers a secure platform that allows organizations and businesses to conduct job interviews, aptitude tests or exams remotely.
Organizations choose whether or not to enable webcams and other security features. The platform can for example detect certain anomalies, such as if someone left the screen.
Josiane Trudel
The use of these features depends on the context. “For professional orders, whose mission is public safety, this is important. For an employment exam, this is not always necessary. »
Data security, both for the company and for those taking the exams, is guaranteed by Nexam, which obtained CyberSecurity Canada certification last May. The issue of data security is “a continuous work”, says the co-founder.
The small Quebec company wants to patent certain parts of its activities that set it apart from the competition.
The tools designed by Nexam can greatly simplify the life of organizations. This is the case for the Order of Geologists, one of its clients, which must reach members who often live far from urban centres. From anywhere in the world it is possible to appear for an exam or a job interview.
To use Nexam’s services, all you have to do is open an account. “Our big distinction is that there is no download necessary,” says Marie-Sophie Dionne. We don’t take control of the computer, we can exit, but if we do, it’s detected. »
The future
The Solutions Nexam team has about ten people who currently work “more than full time”. The demand is great and Marie-Sophie Dionne and Josiane Trudel have their work cut out for them for the next five years.
Their business plan is ready and notably provides for geographic and multilingual growth. “We are two accountants, that’s our strength,” says Marie-Sophie Dionne.
To date, the company has received financial support from the City of Quebec and organizations such as the BDC. “We have great partners who support us,” says the co-founder of Nexam.
Nexam’s intention is to remain focused on valuation, which is its specialty, and to develop the services that its customers demand of it. “The worst mistake a company can make is to develop things that they think might be the fun for the customers. We add something when customers ask for it or pay for it. »
The company is paid on a flat-rate basis and eventually wants to develop usage credits with its most regular customers.