By: Chris Gallagher
As the world increasingly becomes a knowledge-based economy, the demand for professional services continues to grow, with revenue expected to grow from $72.6 billion in 2024 to $95.4 billion in 2029, with a compound annual growth rate of 5.62%. While technology is one of the main drivers of this growth, it has also resulted in a loss of ‘human touch’ for many professional services firms. By adopting various technologies such as AI, professional services companies have, intentionally or unintentionally, handed over their clients to chatbots and algorithms by reducing person-to-person touchpoints that generate goodwill and provide opportunities for creative solutions to emerge.
Seeking to challenge this industry trend is RE Partners, a company that offers high-touch business technology consulting services to a wide variety of organizations. While technology is indeed majorly responsible for the growth of the industry and an integral part of RE Partners’ operations, this firm believes that companies are losing the human touch at their own peril. If the industry is to continue to grow in an era where everything is becoming digital, it must re-center itself on the human. This effort is being pioneered by RE Partners’ professional services leadership team, headed by Chief Delivery Officer Domenic Telaro and Directors of Engineering Tony Mamedbekov, Richard Broadhead, and Justin Lucente.
According to Domenic, the professional services industry has been veering off course by losing sight of the ultimate goal, which is creating a positive customer experience. Many companies, he believes, are no longer asking customers about the outcomes they are looking for.
“Many times, when professional services are conversing with their clients, they’re already formulating an answer even before they’ve finished asking the question,” said Domenic. “They’re not really listening to their customers. I believe that one of the major challenges for the professional services industry is to create a model where technology is balanced with human interaction. We need to provide them with an outcome-based consulting approach instead of just telling them what we think they want.”
The outcome-based consulting approach entails having a unified definition of success between both the client and the consulting firm and judging each other based on those standards. Telaro further explains that outcome-based consulting is not about positioning an engagement model that the professional services company wants to sell. Rather, it involves listening to what the customer needs and positioning the engagement based on what the customer requires. By the end of the project, both parties can evaluate the overall return on investment using the same set of parameters.
How Should Professional Services Firms Engage with Clients?
At the start of RE Partners’ relationship with a client, the first question the company poses is ‘What do you need to be successful?’ instead of asking what is needed for a particular project to succeed or which products or services the client is looking for.
According to Richard, this allows the firm to learn more about the client, allowing it to come up with the best solution that fits the client’s needs. “There’s no single best way to do things that applies to all clients and projects,” he elaborated. “This is why we take the time to listen to our clients’ needs and learn what processes they currently have in place and how their teams operate. It’s not as simple as just walking into their office and telling them they need to do things this way or that way. Rather, it’s figuring out what the client is trying to accomplish and how we can best assist them on that journey.”
During these initial discussions, RE Partners structures a team of experts well-equipped to assist the client throughout the entire process. It goes beyond asking just the bullet points of the skills the client needs and, instead, determines the kinds of people that the client can work most successfully with, creating a team that will best fit within the client’s existing organizational culture.
“We don’t want drones doing tasks. We want people with inquisitive minds who engage with the client and participate in pushing the business forward,” Justin said. “I believe that’s one of RE Partners’ differentiating factors. We’re not just ticking boxes or punching tickets – we’re bringing engaged people.”
RE Partners places high importance on a white-glove level of service to clients, which involves knowing organizations down to the personnel level and treating them like actual people instead of just numbers on a screen. Through its high degree of integration with the client, it makes them feel valued and creates trust. This benefits not just the client, but RE Partners too, as a substantial portion of its business is derived from referrals – a signifier of client satisfaction.
“The industry is moving toward stronger, industry-specific solutions that can be configured to meet unique organizational needs,” Tony explained. “Rather than relying solely on standardized platforms, companies are pushing software vendors to deliver more robust, tailored options that address their specific challenges. This evolution reflects a growing preference for solutions that combine the efficiency of automation with the flexibility to adapt to individual business requirements. From our customers’ perspective, the value lies in accessing technology that aligns closely with their industry while still benefiting from our expert guidance and support to maximize its potential.”
RE Partners focuses on delivering tailored solutions that align with clients’ needs, rather than promoting one-size-fits-all approaches. As AI and chatbots become indispensable tools in customer interactions, it recognizes that the human connection remains invaluable. While these technologies bring unparalleled convenience, efficiency, and the ability to elevate the customer experience, their true potential is unlocked when seamlessly integrated with genuine human engagement. Customers value the immediate and precise responses of AI and chatbots, but they also seek the depth and value that only a person can provide. In today’s fast-evolving digital landscape, RE Partners believes that success lies in harmonizing the accuracy of advanced technology with the value of human interaction to create truly exceptional customer experiences.
Published by Elle G.