Eric Seguin, President & CEO, Solix, Inc.

Eric Seguin, president and chief executive officer of consulting and business process solutions provider Solix, Inc., spoke with Invest: about staying nimble and adapting to changes in the business landscape. “Opportunities will emerge to improve operations and create new and relevant market offerings. Change drives innovation through technology as well as the ways in which people think about and evaluate relationships and interactions,” Seguin said.

What changes or shifts over the past year have most impacted Solix, and how is that reflective of the state of the consulting industry?

We have recently witnessed significant changes at both the state and federal levels of government and in technology. We are a consulting and business process solutions firm, and most of the work we do is focused on eligibility and compliance with federal and state regulations. Changes in the regulatory framework and structural changes at the federal level have created some caution. In some cases, there is hesitancy to expand programs or spend money in the short term. In other cases, there are new opportunities.  As work is outsourced from the government to the private sector, opportunities are created for companies like ours. In terms of technology, AI is affecting every business across the spectrum, and we are adopting AI appropriately and in a controlled manner in line with our clients’ expectations.

What are some of the ways Solix is setting the precedent for your sector going forward?

Solix’s differentiators are our client service and uniquely talented professionals. Over the past few years, we have added to the team with highly experienced professionals as well as people newer to the industry. We are a mid-market solutions provider extremely focused on innovation and service. In 2018, we began using the Net Promoter Score (NPS), a method of gauging client satisfaction based on direct feedback. For our industry, an NPS above 70 is considered world-class, and we’ve achieved 27 consecutive quarters of world-class service ratings. This commitment to our clients drives overall satisfaction and retention, allowing us to continue to grow even through challenging times. 

How is your business strategy evolving in terms of innovation, workforce development, and technology adoption?

Technology enables us to operate efficiently, scale, and lead market innovation. Our technology solutions are augmented by our ability to anticipate our clients’ needs, engage our subject matter experts, and develop productive relationships with clients. In finding new ways to do things, we can provide more efficient process solutions and better experiences for customers. Saving money is usually a focus for clients, but our primary goal is to achieve program objectives by having experts who can engage with clients and dive deep into their most relevant issues. We begin by implementing programs or client solutions, and then we help them evolve. We’re always searching for ways to do things better and faster, and the most effective process improvements are enabled by technology with an appropriate blend of human touch. 

Are there any business sectors or industries that have seen a bigger need for your services? What has driven this shift?

We do a lot of work within the public sector, particularly in health and human services and education. In health and human services, we’ve seen tremendous growth and demand for doing more things in new ways. Our areas of expertise include determining program eligibility and maximizing revenue recovery while ensuring compliance and minimizing fraud, waste, and abuse. Our clients want to achieve program objectives while ensuring that processes and outcomes are compliant, verifiable, and auditable. Specific to education, we’ve been helping states administer tutoring assistance and other programs that help students gain access to needed resources. Demand for these services is growing because people are more mobile than ever, and having access to flexible, responsive technology solutions is paramount.   

What strengths have you found in the changes in the services you are providing?

2025 is our 25th year in business.  We are headquartered in New Jersey, and we serve 42 states across the country. We have offices in the Northeast and Midwest, and customer care centers in Texas. In total, we have the capacity for approximately 750 people in our brick-and-mortar locations. In 2020, we were part of a team that supported the state of Florida’s COVID testing operations and were asked to onboard and train 2,500 call center agents in a matter of weeks. By utilizing a flexible work model with remote teams, we were able to achieve those targets. In the past, we would have been constrained by the size of our physical facilities. The deployment of a flexible, remote work model created more opportunities for our team, who were able to work wherever they were. It also offered the flexibility to respond to huge spikes in demand. We have maintained this flex work model while realizing equal or even higher production and quality results. 

What are the most common barriers businesses face when implementing digital transformation initiatives, and how can they overcome them?

A key factor in success is having a mindset that you can and will find a way to overcome challenges and change. It requires resources to move to a digital world; you need sufficient capital to make the investments, an understanding of technology, and the right people who can implement it. For example, we have remote workers all over the country, and we provide them with equipment and technology to ensure they are working in an efficient and secure environment. It takes talented professionals to be able to work through the myriad details to successfully transform business operations. 

What are the key factors you share with your clients when it comes to collecting and analyzing their business data?

Our highest priorities relative to client data are security and integrity. We have a comprehensive cybersecurity framework along with training protocols and audits designed to protect client data during collection, use, and storage. In recent years, clients have shifted their focus from achieving the desired result to having real-time data analytics and on-demand dashboards. We’ve been able to build out our business intelligence expertise, which we now offer to all our clients. This capability offers transparency into program administration and how effectively we are managing processes and interactions. Clients have access to everything we see internally related to their programs and outcomes, which helps us and our clients understand and work through any challenges and identify improvements. We leverage data to assist clients with a range of initiatives such as marketing, outreach, application intake, and field operations. In many cases, we develop analytics supported by technologies like geofencing to identify target markets and to better focus client resources and activities. Business analytics has been vital to improving outcomes and strengthening client relationships.  

As public and private funding programs become more complex, how does Solix ensure compliance and accountability in program delivery?

We approach program and project design with a compliance and auditing mindset. When all is said and done, the entire process must be auditable and verifiable. We ensure each step along the way is well-documented and adheres to comprehensive checks and balances. Automation can assist with eligibility reviews, including lifting images and information from applications and supporting documentation. We use automation to help verify information from health and human services and other third-party databases. Once a process is complete, actions are fully documented in the system and can be traced backwards to follow the entire trail. Our subject matter experts leverage technology to ensure we are treating people consistently and fairly throughout the process while achieving compliance and auditability. 

Looking ahead, what are Solix’s top strategic priorities over the next three to five years?

I’m optimistic about both the short term and the long run. We have recently experienced a significant amount of change, but things are starting to align and normalize. Some of the programs we support have lost funding, and some clients have delayed investment decisions because of potential changes, but there will be a clear path forward that will create opportunities. People are thinking about ways to do things differently and more efficiently, including broader adoption of AI. Opportunities will emerge to improve operations and create new and relevant market offerings. Change is constant and needed, and it helps keep everyone fresh. Change drives innovation through technology as well as how people think about and evaluate relationships and interactions.  We look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead.