Best Practices for Your Next Technology Project’s Success

Technology projects are essential for organizations to stay competitive and innovative in the digital age.  However, many projects fail to deliver the expected outcomes, wasting time, money, and resources.  According to various sources, the success rate of technology projects ranges from 16% to 30%, depending on the project's type, size, and scope.

Technology deployments can fail for many reasons, including:

• Lack of executive sponsorship: Often the most common reason for failure and can start at the top.
• Lack of change management: Without a plan for change management, projects can be delayed, and users and stakeholders may be confused.
• Poor implementation planning: Businesses may not correctly assess their needs, goals, and objectives before starting the implementation process, leading to unrealistic timelines and inadequate resources.
• Unrealistic expectations: If users don't understand what's possible, or if they don't understand the capabilities of the technology, they may become frustrated, and the project may fail.
• Inadequate training: Without proper training, employees may not know how to use the system, leading to user errors, data inaccuracies, and inefficiencies.
• Data issues: Data issues can arise from the source data's availability, cleanliness, or completeness.
• Inadequate data and metrics strategy: Without a coherent strategy, data can become overwhelming.
• Inadequate resources: Without enough resources, a project can't be completed.
• Poor communication: Poor communication during development can be a primary cause of failure.

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Businesses often lack the resources to hire full-time employees with the necessary skills and knowledge of the hospitality technology landscape, and trustworthy consulting experts take time to come by.  When finding someone to help you transform or optimize your technology stack, you want to be sure you’re working with the best.  Look for someone with experience and a proven track record of success.

How do you know when to hire a consultant for your business?  Let’s look at the Top 10 Benefits of Consulting:

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1. Expertise

One of the most significant advantages of hiring a consultant is access to their expertise.  Consultants are experts in their field and can provide valuable insights and recommendations.  This is especially true if they specialize in a specific business function.  From industry challenges and business trends to day-to-day operations and process optimization, consultants offer a wealth of knowledge to help you grow your business.

2. Cost Savings

Hiring a consultant can also save you money in the long run.  While there is an initial cost to hire a consultant, their services can save you money by helping you avoid costly mistakes.  In addition, consultants can help you improve your processes and operations, increasing productivity, efficiency, and profitability.

3. Competitive Advantage

As a hospitality executive or asset manager, you are continuously bombarded with urgent tasks that need your attention.  This can make it challenging to find time to focus on long-term planning.  Hiring a consultant can give you a competitive advantage by bringing best practices and cross-industry knowledge into your business strategy.  Consultants can also help you clarify your goals and the direction of your business and align your organization to make it happen faster and easier.

4. Objectivity

It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day operations of your business and lose sight of the big picture, making you biased.  Conversely, consultants have no emotional attachment to your business and can provide impartial advice and insights based on their knowledge and expertise.  This objectivity is especially helpful when you’re facing tough decisions about your business.

5. Customization

Top consultants tend not to offer a one-size-fits-all solution to their clients.  Instead, they will take the time to understand your specific needs and challenges before developing a tailored solution unique to your business.  This customization ensures you get the most out of your consultation and the recommendations are relevant to your business.  Therefore, consultants can create customized solutions to fit your requirements, whether you need help with a specific project or long-term assistance.

6. Accomplishing Short-Term Goals

Another advantage of hiring a consultant is that they can help you accomplish your short-term goals.  This is especially true if you’re looking to implement a new project or initiative, where consultants can help you with everything from planning to execution.  For example, if you’re looking to launch a new CRM or loyalty program, a consultant can help you with the research, planning, execution, and change management of your team.  Coupled with their expertise, they can help you avoid common pitfalls and ensure your project succeeds.

7. Leveraging New Skills

Inevitably, there will come a time when you and your team need to acquire new skills to scale your business.  This could be anything from leading a team to implementing new software to understanding the latest marketing trends.  While you and your team could try to learn these skills on your own, it would be more efficient to hire a consultant who already has the skills and knowledge that you need.  This way, you can focus on running your business while they focus on helping you acquire the new skills you need.

8. Outside Market Knowledge

Another advantage of hiring a consultant is that they can provide you with outside market knowledge.  This is especially helpful if you want to enter a new market or expand your business into new areas.  With their understanding of the market and its trends or insight into your competitors’ strategies, consultants can help you make informed decisions about your business.  This outside perspective can be invaluable when planning strategically that will significantly impact your business.

9. Process Improvements

If you’re unhappy with how things are done in your hotel or restaurant or think they could be more efficient, hiring a consultant can help you improve your processes.  This is because consultants are experts in their field and are always up to date with the latest best practices.  Therefore, they can help you identify areas where your processes can be improved and recommend streamlining operations.  This will save you time and money and improve your business's efficiency and profitability.

10. Increased Productivity

Finally, hiring a consultant specializing in process improvement can also help you increase productivity in your business.  This is because consultants can help you identify areas where you and your employees are wasting time and recommend eliminating or automating these tasks.  As a result, you and your team can focus on more critical tasks that contribute to the bottom line.

Are you interested in learning more?  Follow Get Hoppy Consulting on LinkedIn for updates, or email me at gregg@gregghopkins.com to discuss your organization’s tech.