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In a sector as dynamic as tourism, where efficiency and employee engagement are key to delivering an excellent customer experience, attracting and retaining talent is undoubtedly one of the most important goals for organizations in our sector, where continuous training must boost its growth and competitiveness.

In these processes, the digitization and automation of human resources processes in the tourism industry will play a key role, since it will be fundamental to try to achieve a maximum positive employee experience, which, without a doubt, has a direct impact on customer satisfaction, and, consequently, in the income statement of our organization.

To learn more about these elements, we were able to interview Carlos Hornstein, co-founder and CEO of niikiis, with a successful professional career of more than 30 years as an executive in multinational corporations such as Siemens and Lutron, as well as in international educational institutions, such as IESE , The Wharton School, London Business School and Planeta. He founded niikkis with Mireia Cuyàs and Bernat López with the aim of continuing to help people grow, in this case, through technology. Carlos is an industrial engineer and MBA, and his passion is sports, photography and travel (he has been to more than 80 countries).

niikiis is one of the more than 80 members of the Tech Tourism Cluster, can you please tell us briefly about the main elements of your organization?

1 in 4 people quit because of a bad onboarding process; more than 50% of employees are actively looking for a job, and nearly 60% quit because of their manager. If we also add the high percentage of turnover in the tourism sector (better not to put the figures so as not to scare the reader) and an almost zero digitization of the talent management processes, everything indicates that there is a lot to do. And that is why niikiis was born. 

niikiis, beyond digitizing the entire life cycle of an employee - from recruitment to training, internal communication and talent development - seeks to foster a sense of belonging and the commitment of each collaborator. In other words, it combines the improvement of operational efficiency with an increase in productivity. The goal is to help employees perform their daily tasks better, putting the focus on the supervisor. Through its mobile application it gives them superpowers.

In the world we live in today, and with the technological advances that exist, it makes no sense to ask a worker to use 4-5 different applications to carry out their most basic tasks, not to mention still using paper for control schedule and shift management and using other non-corporate tools to communicate the risks involved. 

In case of niikiis, it is not an additional cost, but an investment. The impact the worker has on the guest experience is huge. After all, the investment is probably 0.0001% of the revenue and risking the stars on TripAdvisor is not the best decision.

How is your participation in this tourism technology cluster contributing to the improvement of innovation and the development of your company?

Being part of the Tech Tourism Cluster was an easy decision: on the one hand, the essence of niikiis focuses on the importance of training and communication, and on the other hand, it is aligned with one of the five values ​​of niikiis : the collaboration. We want to contribute our bit to improve the competitiveness of the sector by encouraging the use of technology and putting the focus on people. 

Additionally, the Cluster allows sharing and understanding the trends of the sector at a macro level, both from the point of view of operators and consumers, and to exchange ideas on how to apply new technologies (AI, for example) in existing solutions. The next step is to explore how two or more players can work together to deliver more value. In the case of niikiis, it's being able to combine the information you have about employees and understand the impact they have on guests and how to improve both experiences.

In the context of this Cluster, what collaboration and networking opportunities have already presented themselves for your company in terms of new projects or strategic alliances?

The challenge of attracting and developing talent is certainly on the agenda of every organization. That is why we are part of the "talent" working group, and we are looking at how to collaborate with other technological partners to give the hotel manager more visibility of the most relevant levers to improve productivity. So that it does not remain in a theoretical framework led by a university partner, we want hoteliers to join together to see the model applied. There is a saying that says "what is not measured, is not managed", and there is another that says "analysis, paralysis". You need to measure, you need to know what to measure, and you need to make decisions based on these analyses. Our goal is to contribute to this digital transformation with a highly practical component.

How has the exchange of knowledge and experiences between Cluster member organizations influenced the creation and adoption of more advanced technological solutions in the tourism industry or initial proposals in this area?

The results of this exchange will be seen in the medium and long term. The Cluster has done a great job of bringing together representatives from all segments and identifying lines of action. Now it is the partners themselves that we have to thread the needle. The collaborative mindset is a part of it; devote resources, laltra. We bet on both, without thinking about the return on investment, but as a responsibility (not to say a duty) that we have as an active member of the ecosystem.

Specifically, we need to advance the development of virtual assistants both for employees (niikiis was the first software to incorporate a chatbot for the employee) and for hotel guests. Innovation is certainly headed this way: assistants that communicate by voice and that are predictive. We are not far from this reality.

What is your company's main contribution to the tourism technology ecosystem and promoting the growth of other member companies and the Cluster itself?

As mentioned above, niikiis is synonymous with talent (focus on people) and technology (focus on digital transformation). Beyond that, we will be happy to participate in forums, studies, fairs, ... wherever we can contribute: from making the Cluster known and attracting new members, to sharing our experiences. Because, in addition to the collaborative mindset, you need to have another equally important one: continuous learning.

As the saying goes: "every journey begins with a first step". In this case, the first thing is to be a member, and then move forward. As the saying goes: "you make your way by walking".

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