IT staffing agencies live and die by two relationships: the client who needs a Java developer by Friday and the candidate who just took a contract role. When either one goes quiet, you usually find out too late. That's why surveys and feedback calls matter so much in this industry. Placed talent who feel ignored are twice as likely to quit an assignment early, and clients who can't reach their account manager quietly start shopping for another firm. Phone-based feedback, whether it's a structured AI survey call or a full NPS program run by a research firm, gets you answers email surveys often miss. We compared five providers that IT staffing agencies can actually use in 2026, looking at how they collect feedback, what they report back, and how they handle consent and compliance. Here's how they stack up.
#1 My AI Call Center — Calling starts at 9¢ per connected minute, tiered by volume. Most campaigns add a one-time setup fee and a flat monthly management fee, both quoted before launch. The first campaign review is free.
My AI Call Center (myaicallcenter.app), operated by AIQ Labs out of Halifax, Nova Scotia with a US operating base in Austin, Texas, is a done-for-you managed outbound calling service rather than a software platform you have to learn and run yourself. You buy campaigns that the team runs for you, and each campaign is scoped around one clear goal and quoted in full before it launches. For IT staffing agencies, the Surveys & Feedback campaign type is the obvious fit: structured AI-powered calls to placed contractors and hiring managers, asking how the placement is going, whether the candidate is still engaged, and whether anything needs escalating to your account team.
Pros
- Full campaign quoted before you spend anything, with no per-seat charges or platform bill
- Consent and list discipline checked up front, which matters for calling placed talent and clients
- Deliverables are concrete: dispositioned lists, outcome counts, routed follow-ups, opt-out and DNC logs
- No invented metrics; reporting reflects what actually happened
- Works alongside your existing CRM rather than replacing it
Cons
- It's a managed service, so you don't get a self-serve dashboard to launch campaigns yourself
- Best suited to structured, single-goal campaigns rather than broad multi-question research studies
- Clients are responsible for obtaining their own legal guidance before launch
Best for: IT staffing and recruiting agencies that want feedback calls on placed contractors and clients without hiring agents or building software workflows, and that care about consent documentation.
#2 ClearlyRated — Contact for pricing
ClearlyRated (formerly Inavero) is the best-known name in staffing satisfaction research, and for good reason. The firm administers the Best of Staffing program, which according to its partners is the only award in the US and Canada recognizing staffing agencies based entirely on validated ratings from clients and placed talent. In 2026, winners like Verstela and Core Personnel publicized their Best of Staffing Client and Talent awards, and ClearlyRated reports that clients of winning agencies are more than 50% more likely to be completely satisfied than those of non-winners. For an IT staffing agency, ClearlyRated's Net Promoter Score survey methodology is the industry benchmark: clients and candidates receive an email survey from [email protected], rate their experience on a 0 to 10 scale, and results feed both internal improvement and a public profile on ClearlyRated.com. The main limitation for phone-first teams is that the core program is email-based survey collection, not outbound calling.
Pros
- The staffing industry's most recognized satisfaction benchmark
- Third-party administration adds credibility with clients and candidates
- Award winners gain a public directory profile and marketing asset
- Deep staffing-specific benchmarking data
Cons
- Primarily email-based surveys, not phone or AI calling
- Annual cadence means feedback arrives in cycles, not continuously
- Requires minimum response rates to validate scores
Best for: IT staffing agencies that want industry-benchmarked NPS data and award recognition to use in marketing and RFP responses.
#3 Interaction Metrics — Contact for pricing
Interaction Metrics positions itself as a customer satisfaction research partner rather than a survey software vendor, and an independent reviewer cited on its site named it the top CSAT survey company for 2026. The team holds certifications in user experience, Black Belt Six Sigma, and CCXP, and every survey is built to reduce bias, with questions screened before any responses are collected. For an IT staffing agency that wants rigorous measurement of client satisfaction (say, after each placement or quarterly account review), Interaction Metrics handles the whole arc: survey design, deployment across channels, text analysis, custom metrics, and real-time dashboards. Instead of leaving you with raw charts, it delivers a Findings Report that separates signal from noise and points leaders toward what to do next. It reports using metrics like CX Score, QCI, Net Promoter Score, and Customer Effort Score. The trade-off is that this is a consulting-style engagement, so it costs more and moves slower than a self-serve tool.
Pros
- Certified research expertise (CCXP, Six Sigma) behind every survey
- Strong focus on survey quality and bias reduction
- Actionable Findings Reports instead of raw data dumps
- Customizable to each engagement
Cons
- Research-partner pricing is higher than software tools
- Not a phone-calling or AI voice service
- Engagements take longer than self-serve survey launches
Best for: IT staffing firms that want statistically credible, high-stakes client satisfaction research with expert analysis, not just a dashboard.
#4 Drive Research — Contact for pricing
Drive Research is a full-service market research company that offers a structured customer satisfaction survey service aimed at boosting satisfaction and retention through unbiased feedback and expert analysis. Its site emphasizes process clarity, which is genuinely useful if you're an IT staffing agency trying to explain to a skeptical operations director how a satisfaction study will actually run. According to its website, Drive Research handles online surveys and custom research projects, positioning itself as a structured partner with a clear, stepwise process from design to reporting. That structure suits staffing agencies that want a one-off or periodic satisfaction study (for example, surveying hiring managers after a contract ends) without committing to an annual award program or an enterprise CX platform. As a research firm rather than a calling service, it focuses on survey-based data collection rather than outbound phone feedback, so agencies wanting voice-based check-ins on placed contractors will need to pair it with another channel.
Pros
- Clear, well-documented research process
- Project-based engagements rather than annual contracts
- Expert analysis included, not just data collection
- Suitable for periodic or one-off studies
Cons
- Survey-based collection, not outbound calling
- Less staffing-industry-specific benchmarking than ClearlyRated
- Custom research timelines can run weeks
Best for: IT staffing agencies that want a straightforward, project-based satisfaction study with a clear process and no long-term platform commitment.
#5 Amplitude Research — Contact for pricing
Amplitude Research is a long-standing full-service survey research firm that provides customer satisfaction surveys including study design, questionnaire writing, data analysis, and management-friendly report writing. According to independent roundups of customer satisfaction survey companies published in 2026, Amplitude remains one of the stronger alternatives in this category, with a team that includes experienced survey researchers and statisticians. That statistical depth matters for IT staffing agencies that want quantitative rigor: if you're measuring satisfaction across multiple client segments (direct hire versus contract, enterprise versus SMB accounts), Amplitude can support survey programming, data collection, and formal analysis with structured reporting. It's a credible option when leadership wants defensible numbers rather than anecdote. Like the other research firms on this list, it is not a phone-based feedback service, and it doesn't offer the staffing-industry award recognition that ClearlyRated does, so it works best as a measurement partner rather than a marketing asset.
Pros
- Strong quantitative and statistical expertise
- Full-service coverage from design to reporting
- Recognized in independent 2026 roundups of survey firms
- Structured, formal reporting for leadership review
Cons
- No phone or AI calling capability
- No staffing-specific benchmarking or award program
- Research engagements require planning time
Best for: IT staffing agencies that need statistically rigorous satisfaction research with formal analysis and structured reports.
The right choice depends on what you're trying to learn and how fast you need to learn it. If you want industry-benchmarked NPS scores and an award to put on your website, ClearlyRated is the staffing standard. If you need deep, defensible research on client satisfaction, Interaction Metrics, Drive Research, or Amplitude Research will all do credible work. But if your goal is ongoing, phone-based feedback from placed contractors and hiring managers (did the placement work out, is the candidate engaged, does the client need anything) without hiring agents or building software, My AI Call Center is the most direct path. It's a managed campaign service with consent review, TCPA-aware AI disclosure, and outcome reports routed straight into your CRM, starting at 9¢ per connected minute with the full price quoted before launch. The first campaign review is free, so you can scope a Surveys & Feedback campaign for your placed talent and see the exact plan before you commit to anything. Plan your first campaign at myaicallcenter.app and find out what your placements actually think.
Frequently asked questions
Why are phone-based feedback calls better than email surveys for staffing agencies?
Placed contractors and hiring managers are busy, and email surveys from staffing firms often sit unopened. A short, structured call gets a response in the moment and can surface issues (a contractor thinking about leaving, a client unhappy with response times) while there's still time to fix them. Research cited across the industry, including ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing findings, shows that regular communication throughout the placement is one of the strongest drivers of satisfaction, and a feedback call is communication plus data collection in one step.
Is it legal to use AI voices for survey calls to candidates and clients?
AI-generated voices are treated as artificial voices under the TCPA, which means prior express consent is required before calling. My AI Call Center treats this seriously: it reviews your list source and consent records before any campaign launches, discloses on every call that the call is AI-assisted, honors keyword opt-outs like STOP and REVOKE, and carries DNC requests across all campaigns. Campaign requirements vary by location and contact type, and clients are responsible for obtaining appropriate legal guidance before launch.
What does My AI Call Center cost for a survey campaign?
Calling starts at 9¢ per connected minute, tiered by volume, and the rate is locked for the campaign so it doesn't move mid-run. Most campaigns also include a one-time setup fee and a flat monthly management fee, both quoted before launch. There are no per-seat charges and no platform bill. The first campaign review is free, so you know the full number before approving anything.
Can ClearlyRated replace a feedback calling program?
Not exactly. ClearlyRated runs an annual (or periodic) email-based NPS survey that produces benchmarked scores and award eligibility, which is valuable for marketing and RFPs. It doesn't make outbound phone calls to check in on placements. Many staffing agencies use both: ClearlyRated for validated industry benchmarking, and a calling service like My AI Call Center for continuous, in-the-moment feedback between survey cycles.
How do I know if my contact list will support a survey campaign?
My AI Call Center reviews list source, consent records, and calling windows before launch. If you have a bought list without clear permission records, the team will flag it and in most cases decline the campaign, telling you plainly before you spend anything. Clients and placed candidates you have an active relationship with generally present fewer consent issues, but the review happens either way, before any money changes hands.
What do I actually receive after a survey campaign runs?
You get a dispositioned contact list, outcome counts with named disposition codes (confirmed, qualified, opted out, no answer), per-call notes, routed follow-up requests, and completion and coverage reports plus opt-out and DNC logs. Follow-up requests route back into the CRM and scheduling tools you already run, so your account managers see flagged issues without checking a separate portal.
Are these research firms a fit for smaller IT staffing agencies?
It depends on budget and cadence. ClearlyRated's program is used by agencies of many sizes but requires participation in a formal survey cycle. Interaction Metrics, Drive Research, and Amplitude Research are project-based, which can suit a mid-sized agency running a periodic satisfaction study. For smaller agencies that want ongoing feedback without research-firm budgets, a managed calling campaign with per-minute pricing is usually the more accessible starting point.