Each year, the number of companies that choose to go online and are satisfied with this decision increases. According to Deloitte, 85% of small and medium enterprises report their satisfaction with digital tools applied by 2019.
A year later, McKinsey’s overview shows that the most demanded online solutions in the pandemic era are acceleration of operations, reinvention, bolder decision-making with data foundation, and a smarter customer-centrism.
All these tendencies call offline businesses to catch the digitalization train before it departs.
However, not every company is ready to hire an in-house team of IT specialists, especially if they have small project scope, struggle with budget limitations, or have problems due to other constraints. In the given circumstances, the best solution is to request IT staffing from a professional agency.
This post will overview this solution and provide some recommendations for novices to ensure hiring the true professionals in the software development and related fields.
What Are IT Staffing Services?
In essence, IT staffing is the process of finding the top professionals who are able to complete the software development tasks requested by a client.
To do work first-rate, this service provider should have access to a broad network of tech talents who can deliver various types of tasks.
Not least important is keeping track of events and top IT trends to check the candidates offer the pertinent skills relevant to the current industry development.
At the same time, the appearance of IT staffing is not limited to finding the right developers only.
Within this service, you can request many other specialists: for example, IT architects, business analysts, PMs, and technical writers, along with many other specialists.
That’s why IT staffing frequently operates as matching development teams with the companies that need the full-scale service beyond simple coding. At the same time, getting a sole developer is also a possible option.
Key IT Staffing Models
There are many ways to receive the IT staffing service. That’s because you can hire different kinds of specialists and for different aims. Here are 4 common types of cooperating with hired IT specialists:
Short-term. A project launched to solve a specific urgent business need quickly. For instance, getting a consultation from a single contract developer.
Long-term. A long-term dedication of a hired IT team to your business (one year and more). The possible option here is to hire a full-time development team.
Succession planning. This option means close cooperation with your management board aimed at boosting the digitalization of the business.
Strategic. The mixed strategy where the existing business plan is brought into correlation with the abilities of tech talents and current development trends.
Once you decide on the appropriate type of cooperation, you can pick among 7 IT recruitment models:
Rare card. Here, you introduce professional IT training to your team members. Picking this model is effective for team extension.
The mark-up. Within this model, a client can control the quality of work done by IT specialists by paying fees above their salaries.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing. A third-party agency is hired to cover all the fuss connected with IT staffing, including quality control and effectiveness assessment.
Build-Operate-Transfer. In this case, your hired team will first appear as an offshore unit (something like trying it during a trial period) — and then, it’s transferred in-house after it proves its effectiveness.
Hire-Train-Deploy. The model is suitable for industry-specific projects. Here, the hardest task is to comprehend the complex business need — and then pick the most suitable candidates and mentor them.
Contractual. This option works for the decision to work on a project temporarily. It can grow into long-term cooperation or not: the choice is all yours. This is especially relevant for the positions like project manager, designer, and administrator.
Reverse Partnering. The model under which employees are proactive and search for companies by themselves. After a match, there are high chances to get a dedicated and initiative IT specialist in your team.
What Is an IT Staffing Company?
Considering the specifics of IT staffing, the main purpose of a company providing this service is to guarantee the expected quality and possess the required qualifications to deliver it.
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In this case, the task of hiring a specialist in the field can get numerous appearances and variations, and IT staffing companies should be ready for this.
The ultimate goal is to develop mutually beneficial cooperation between the hired specialist and the client.
Top 5 IT Staffing Companies
Here is the list of companies with a proven record of finding skilled IT specialists who contributed to the business profit of their clients:
Intellectsoft. The digital transformation consultancy and software engineering company assists Fortune 500 companies and small enterprises. The portfolio includes Harley-Davidson, Jaguar, Ernst & Young, and so many more.
Randstad. The popular choice for IT staffing for startups and medium-sized companies. The clients involve Steelcase Asia Pacific, HDFC Asset Management, and Merck Group.
Softserve. An IT company that offers digital solutions and consulting services. Clients: IBM, Panasonic, Deutsche Bank, and Logitech.
Fueled. This software company offers a wide range of development and digital marketing solutions. It cooperated with 9gag, Verizon, and Warby Parker.
LemApp. A tech startup that specializes in hiring a remote team. The company is experienced in working with medical ERP systems, eCommerce CRMs, and trading platforms.
Pros & Cons in IT staffing
In practice, IT staffing can have advantages and disadvantages. Luckily, the list of pros is much longer and promises many benefits to a business.
Advantages of IT Staffing
Custom recruitment. The hiring process starts by clarifying your demands and expectations. This way, you get a specialist who has the needed set of competencies and soft skills to establish effective cooperation.
Maximum flexibility. You can always change the project length, the team size, and even break a contract with an employee.
Accelerated hiring. When you have an urgent task, IT staffing is the model that can save you. From a company offering this service, you can get the required specialist or even an entire team within a couple of weeks.
Dedicated specialists. The quality of IT hiring is guaranteed by not only professionalism but also true dedication to your project from the employees you get.
Direct communication. Even if your IT team is hired for a short time and works remotely, effective communication is a must for it. That’s what each company offering IT staffing service guarantees.
Easy bureaucracy. The process of hiring is simple and hassle-free. Normally, an agency takes on all the administration and paperwork.
Full control over the process. You will interview all the team members before hiring and, in some cases, can even control their fee during the project.
Disadvantages of IT Staffing
Requires time. Even the best fit needs an adaptation period. Finding the right candidates and training them will inevitably take some time and patience from you. But that’s worth it.
Cultural differences. If you refer to the agency that operates in another country, you may experience some communication problems and cultural misunderstandings. However, if a company is a professional in IT staffing, it should know who to work with you and prevent these issues from happening.
Money. If you invite a recruitment agency, you will inevitably pay for its services. High quality has its cost, and not every company is ready to pay that much.
IT Staffing Challenges
Though sounding easy-to-apply (as any HR-related process), IT staffing can cause some severe problems that are hard to manage. And here, two main challenges refer to the problems with innovativeness and budget limitations.
Of course, there are many talented specialists, but the technology develops fast too. In the given circumstances, the innovative software doesn’t always suit the specific business needs, notwithstanding its apparent profit in a long-term perspective.
That’s why one of the key challenges is to maintain the proper balance between the novelty and utility in the software built.
Another challenge is budget-connected. It’s critical to find the true value-for-money between the customer wishes, competencies of IT specialists, and the money a client is ready to pay for their services.
It takes a while to negotiate and resolve all the conflicts of interest — and the exceptional communications skills for the IT staffing provider are a must here.
How to Choose an IT Staffing Agency?
The task of getting top IT specialists is tough. Most IT staffing agencies promise exceptional service and accurate matching, but the reality shows that these promises are hardly turned into reality.
Small companies and tech startups rarely possess the needed pool of tech talents to cover the companies' complex software-building tasks.
We, at Intellectsoft, do things in a different way. We have almost 15 years of experience in providing professional assistance to Fortune 500 companies and small enterprising in getting innovative solutions and approaches.
Are you and your organization looking for some? Talk to our experts and find out more about the topic and how your business can start benefiting from it today!
The hospitality industry depends a lot on keeping customers happy, but it’s getting harder to attract and keep them. The pandemic hit this industry hard, and now market competition is tougher than ever, with competitive offerings swaying customers. Hospitality businesses are willing to spend big to win customers back. The main questions for many are: how can we stay ahead of the competition, keep our customers, and increase revenue? Keep reading—we’ve got some answers.
Customers today have so many options that getting their attention is a real challenge. It’s not easy to make them choose your business over others. What worked 10 years ago doesn’t work the same way now. Back then, people often chose businesses based on reputation. But with new types of businesses (boutique hotels, craft cafes) popping up or big enterprises getting a new strategy, expectations have changed. The good news is these businesses have shown what works: great customer service. They focus on personalizing the experience, making things easy for customers, offering loyalty programs, and using smart technology.
In this article, we’ll explore these tech strategies and show you how they can help your business grow, and double the revenue. Keep reading to learn more!
The Importance of Customer Satisfaction in the Hospitality Industry
Customer satisfaction, which equals exceptional customer experience, is the backbone of the hospitality industry. It plays a central role in driving revenue and loyalty, as satisfied customers are more likely to return and recommend a hotel, restaurant, or other hospitality business to others. In fact, a study by the Harvard Business Review found that a 1% increase in customer satisfaction can lead to a 0.5% increase in revenue. Moreover, loyal customers are more likely to forgive mistakes and continue doing business with a company, even if they experience a negative encounter.
Let's quickly review the challenges the hospitality industry is facing right now so we can move on to the solutions and our case studies.
Challenges in Hospitality
As businesses navigate the changes in the hospitality industry, there are some key areas where a little improvement can go a long way. From improving customer service to embracing digital transformation and tackling labor shortages, we’ll take a closer look at today’s biggest challenges—and, more importantly, how technology can step in to help. Let’s get started!
Poor Customer Service
Even with strong and high-quality business offerings, poor customer service can drive potential customers and existing customers away. Common issues include:
Long wait times in customer service queues (it is worth remembering that our attention spans 8 seconds, and we live in a very busy world, so quick and efficient responses are more important than ever.)
Poorly trained customer service representatives
Lack of follow-up
Services not being done properly or quickly
Recall issues that require multiple service calls
These problems can frustrate customers. But, at Intellectsoft, we believe that the right approach, combined with technology, can address them effectively.
Digital Transformation Gaps
Approximately 50% of hotels are adopting new technologies, with 43% automating repetitive tasks and 39% upgrading existing systems. Source: workstaff.app
While many businesses are adopting digital solutions, some still struggle with outdated systems and fragmented data. Legacy companies often face chaos when trying to manage their data and create new systems or add features.
Some of the recent examples include clients coming to us to create AI solutions for their services while their data simply was not ready for the advanced tasks. We advise stepping back, communicating with a company objective, and working on keeping the data clean (centralized, structured, and segmented).
When we’re asked to create advanced systems using AI, we always emphasize the importance of organized data. To train AI and build such complicated systems that truly work, you need to start from the very beginning—collecting, storing, centralizing, and organizing it. We encourage our clients to align all departments to work internally on the data so we can create a unified digital system that delivers personalized experiences.
If you’re unsure where to start with your data, we can help. Collecting feedback at various touchpoints along the customer journey is crucial for gaining insights into customer satisfaction and loyalty. Book an IT consultation with us, and our experts will guide you in mapping out a path to get more from your data and build a system that works for your business and team.
Reskilling Staff
The pandemic hit hard in early 2020, especially for the hospitality and travel industries. Even five years later, many businesses are still feeling the impact. Recruiting and retaining skilled staff has become a major challenge post-pandemic.
Reskilling to address technology’s impact is of utmost importance, as about 40% of hotel General Managers place it among their top three workforce challenges.
We strongly believe that adopting the right technology can help. For example, creating an app to train your staff not only saves time but also ensures consistency in learning. AI assistants can also work alongside your team, helping with tasks like recruitment (providing industry insights, crafting emails) and staff training. Imagine having an app dedicated to making your team’s work easier and more efficient!
How Technology Tackles These Challenges and Supports a Customer-Centric Hospitality Culture
Automation, AI, and similar technologies may threaten many. However, the debate about replacing humans isn’t about that—it’s about cooperation and working hand in hand with technology to achieve the highest standards and establish brand-new “golden standards.” Technology is here to assist staff in listening to and collecting customer insights from data.
Let’s review some of our cases to see examples of how technology helps improve customer experience and supports customer service.
Examples of Intellectsoft projects
Property management systems (PMS)
We created a web platform and mobile app that makes managing daily tasks easier and offers extra services to improve residents’ experience. It gives a clear overview of daily activities and helps with managing units and users. Residents can easily book amenities, submit service requests, and report incidents. The platform also includes features for equipment management, key instructions, workflows, and custom permissions. This makes it easier for staff to stay on top of equipment and ensure residents have all the information they need. Plus, tools like announcements, quick votes, a forum, and a community calendar help build a connected and engaged community.
Guest Experience Management App
Our next app helped our client improve their guest experience by replacing printed marketing materials and the need for phone calls with a smart solution. Now, guests can easily order in-room dining, make reservations, and interact with staff— through a simple tablet in their room. The solution includes three parts: a custom in-room tablet with a variety of services, an admin panel for hotel staff and service providers, and a backend system that connects everything together. This approach makes things easier for guests and staff, improving both convenience and efficiency.
Existing Customers First: Building Loyalty with Personalized Touchpoints
Keeping existing customers is not just a strategy; it’s well-known that retaining existing customers is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. In fact, research shows that it costs five times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one. KPMG named customer retention as the number one revenue driver for the company.
Moreover, a 5% increase in customer retention can lead to a 25% to 95% increase in profits, showing the significant impact loyal customers can have on a business’s bottom line. Retention strategies, like personalized experiences and loyalty programs, can foster long-term relationships and generate recurring revenue, ultimately making them an invaluable part of any business model.
Personalization: How Technology Can Help?
Everyone loves to feel special—it’s part of being human. In hospitality, personalization has evolved from being a luxury to an essential standard. With the right technology to manage your data effectively, you can deliver those “wow” moments that guests won’t forget.
More than half of hotel chains are already using personalization features on their websites, booking platforms, and apps, and another 39% are planning to follow suit soon. They’re tailoring experiences to fit guest preferences perfectly.
Source: Deloitte
How does technology make it happen?
CRM Systems: They help you keep track of guest preferences, booking history, and special requests so you can offer services tailored just for them.
Loyalty Programs: Personalized rewards and offers show your guests that you value them, keeping them coming back for more.
AI Personalization: AI analyzes guest data to predict what they’ll love (from room upgrades to local recommendations) before they even ask.
IoT Gadgets: Smart room features like voice-activated assistants, or temperature controls adjust to your guests’ preferences, making their stay more comfortable.
With tech-powered personalization, you’re building loyalty and maximizing the lifetime value of every customer.
Our Case Study: Smart Hotel Management & Loyalty Program
For one of our clients, we created a smart room solution, complete with a custom IoT system. Guests can use a mobile app to control services, explore amenities, and find resort information-- with a special touch to their suite type. For the client’s entertainment business, we improved their legacy software by running a full IT and code check, fixing issues, and making the system better for customers.
Along with that, we developed a mobile app for the loyalty program, allowing businesses to effortlessly reward their customers and keep them engaged with exclusive benefits.
Our solutions not only helped the client with special experiences for guests; it also improved operations, cutting costs by eliminating inefficiencies. Here's what our experts shared:
"We transitioned away from ESB (Enterprise Service Bus) systems, which previously cost millions, and replaced them with more efficient, self-managed solutions. Similarly, we’ve implemented Device Farms that improved operations and saved resources."
Leveraging Software to Increase Upsell Opportunities
Here are some examples of tech tactics that will help your team sell more and introduce new offerings to existing customers, improve overall efficiency leaving your team grateful:
Dynamic Pricing Algorithms
For finance and marketing teams, manually calculating pricing by segment to introduce your clients can be incredibly challenging. AI-powered tools can strongly optimize these strategies by analyzing your database in detail.
Upselling via Apps
Boosting revenue in the hospitality business often comes down to personalized experiences. Imagine this: a guest books a room, and then your app suggests a spa package or a room upgrade at just the right moment. Later, it nudges them to book a dinner reservation or a guided tour designed to their preferences. With apps offering these personalized recommendations during and after bookings, you’re not just increasing your revenue per guest but also skyrocketing their experience. And you do it in a sustainable way, not by speculating, but by offering what your customers desire based on their previous experiences. It’s a win-win: seamless, helpful, and far from pushy.
Inventory and Resource Management Software
Making every resource count in your hospitality business is key. Inventory and resource management software allows you to effortlessly track everything from linens to room availability, ensuring nothing goes to waste. Having real-time insights to reduce overstock, avoid shortages, and optimize operations assists sustainably keep everything under control and know what you need to focus more. It helps maximize room occupancy by aligning bookings with available resources, ensuring every room and item is used effectively. This approach leads to smarter management, better guest experiences, and a noticeable boost to your bottom line.
Adopting these strategies not only optimizes your operations but also drives business growth. Ready to discover how technology can elevate your goals? We’re here to create a tailored solution for you.
Steps For Implementing a Customer Service Technology Solution
Improving customer service in hospitality doesn’t have to be a daunting task. With the right technology, you can smooth the path of your operations, speed up response times, and elevate the overall guest experience. Here’s where you can make it happen:
1. Understand Your Needs
Start by identifying the challenges your business is facing. Are you struggling to manage high volumes of inquiries, track customer feedback, or personalize the guest experience? Pinpointing your needs will guide you to the best solutions.
2. Pick the Right Tools
Choose technology that aligns with your goals. Look for solutions that are scalable, easy to use, and integrate effortlessly with your current systems. Options like CRM software, live chat tools, or a guest experience app can make a difference.
3. Equip Your Team
Technology is only as effective as the people using it. Train your staff to make the most of the new tools, so they can deliver exceptional service and resolve issues quickly. Confident, well-equipped staff creates happy, loyal customers.
4. Keep Improving
Once implemented, monitor how well the solution works. Are response times improving? Are customers more satisfied? Regular evaluations will help you fine-tune your approach and keep things running harmoniously.
Some Tech Ideas for Hospitality Businesses
CRM Software: Manage customer interactions and preferences.
Guest Experience Apps: Delight guests with personalized experiences right at their fingertips.
Amenity Management Systems: Simplify operations for everything from room service to facility bookings.
Live Chat Tools: Offer instant support and answers.
Social Media Management Tools: Keep customer interactions engaging and organized.
Integrating these strategies will not only improve your customer service but also deliver unforgettable customer satisfaction, loyalty, and, ultimately, your bottom line. Ready to take the next step? Book a consultation with our experts.
Conclusion
To wrap up everything we've discussed, customer satisfaction and experience are at the heart of hospitality. Retaining customers is more than just keeping them around—building strong, long-lasting relationships and consistently meeting their evolving needs. By understanding their pain points and offering personalized solutions, you can inspire loyalty and drive progress. With the right technology and continuous improvement, your business can stay ahead, let go of what no longer serves you, and keep growing.
At Intellectsoft, with over 17 years of experience in software development, our expert team is ready to help. We create everything from mobile apps to full-fledged portals and systems, leveraging the latest technologies like AI, Cloud, and Machine Learning. With deep experience in the hospitality industry, we’re here to craft personalized solutions that bring your business unforgettable customer experience and retain your valuable clients.
Ready to double your revenue and level up your customer retention strategy with personalized technology? Contact our experts, and we look forward to working hand in hand with you to build or revitalize the perfect app or system for you.
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