When you want to buy a new product or service, whom do you trust? The person trying to sell it to you? Or a customer who recommends it highly?
The answer may seem obvious but it’s not always easy to connect prospective customers with your existing happy clients, especially as a B2B business. I have been looking for ways to generate those links, and I think I’ve found a new one.
Each year BigChange attends as many trade exhibitions as we can. It’s a major expense but a worthwhile way to win new business. We recently took a stand at the Facilities Show at Excel London, and were delighted to see many of our existing customers there, either exhibiting or attending.
And then it hit me: why not invite some of our Network Super Users to join the BigChange stand, and demonstrate how we have helped them grow their businesses? What better way to articulate the benefits of our service?
At our next trade show, I hope to have over 50 of our customers joining BigChange at our Network Pavilion. This will be a win/win. They get to talk about their service and show off their brand, and also explain how our technology is helping them to thrive.
A small booth at a commercial trade show can cost up to £10,000. Small companies will enjoy access for a fraction of that amount if they join us.
This is just another way that BigChange is helping its network, and being helped in return. The virtuous circle continues.
We are so committed to our vision of the BigChange Network that we have recruited two amazing new individuals to run the network team. Paul Witter joins us as new Network Managing Director, while Lee Wilkinson joins as our Business Intelligence Director.
The next chapter of our network story is here, and I’m so excited to see what the future brings.
If you would like to join our stand? Get in touch! email [email protected]
Thank you to all the people who posted comments and offered advice. There has been a fair amount of scepticism too. This is why I have decided to put my plan into action a little earlier than planned.
From July, we are moving to a 4.5-day working week at BigChange for all employees. It’s a small step in the right direction but one that should pave the way for my vision of a 4-day week.
This decision has not been made lightly. I have been working closely with my talented HR Lead to figure out exactly how this will work, and to avoid any potential issues or confusion.
My colleagues at BigChange will now have the option to work for just half the day on Fridays. They can choose when they take the half-day. Some may decide to take the kids to school in the morning and come in a bit later, with some of the weekend chores already complete. Others may want to leave early and have time in the park with their little ones, or just have some more downtime over the weekend. It’s entirely up to them. However, this is not holiday – if you don’t use it, you lose it. We already give our people 33 days off a year, plus another day off on their BigChange anniversary (and bank holidays too).
For the majority of the people here, Friday is the only day on which the half-day is applicable. The only exception is certain customer-facing departments, such as Road Crew. They will have the option to take a half-day at other times of the week. We already operate a rota system for these teams anyway so it won’t be too hard to factor in some extra time off.
I foresee a major uptick in productivity as a result of this move. Studies have shown again and again that Friday is a ‘tail off’ day for most people. The day they are only operating at half capacity. Interestingly, Tuesday has been shown to be our most productive working day.
At BigChange, people will no longer feel tired and worn out by Friday. They will be able to take better care of themselves, spend more time with family and friends, exercise, and plan most adventurous getaways on the weekend. When they are at work, they will be sharp and even more full of enthusiasm.
BigChange is a technology business. This means that we rely on our brains not our brawn. I don’t need presenteeism to invade our culture. I trust our people to put in the work, do what needs doing, and be responsible for themselves.
I can say this with confidence because every single person at BigChange has been hired because they fit our five pillars. These five qualities underpin our entire organisation: Big on determination; Big on innovation; Being dynamic and Big on service, be the Big difference;
Of course, it helps that we are expanding globally too. As soon we will have our own companies in Asia Pacific and the US operation’s up and running, we’ll be able to divert calls and flip business enquiries to both teams, when required.
So thank you to all the people who have got in touch to ask about my 4-day pledge. You have helped to focus my mind and efforts on this move. I’ll let you all know how it goes, come July.
Web developers are critical to the success of BigChange. They create the products that our customers rely on to build their businesses. They are solving problems every day, and working on new ideas and innovations that will ensure the long-term survival of this company.
Isn’t it strange, then, that the people who are building our technology have next-to-no interaction with the customers who will use it?
Back in 2016, my chief technology officer and I were flown over to Las Vegas by Google. The search giant must have spent a large sum on business class flights and hotels. They took us over there to meet the developers behind Google Maps. It was an incredible experience. We explained which APIs (application programming interfaces) we found useful, and what improvements we wanted to see. They couldn’t believe the things we were doing with their technology, or the sheer volume of APIs we were using.
They published a blog about us, which was great for the company https://cloud.googleblog.com/2016/04/BigChange-Apps-improves-mobile-workforce-productivity-using-Google-Maps-APIs.html
Google is investing in closing the gap between customer and developer and I want to do the same. This is why I am introducing a new initiative at BigChange – our very own ‘meet the developer’ event. Every six months, I will create an opportunity for our super users to come and meet the people who are building our platform.
For the developers, it will give invaluable insight into what they should prioritise, and should spark some great ideas on how to improve our product even further.
For the customers, it is an opportunity for them to see, firsthand, the caliber of our development team. It will also help us to drive home the fact the entire company is working for their benefit.
Customers can be demanding, as they should be. It can be frustrating to make a request and receive an IT ticket – you can feel as though your emails are just going into a black hole. Especially if you don’t see results straight away. I’m hoping that these developer days will humanise the process – our clients will see that there are real people at the other end of the ticketing system.
By connecting every person in our business directly to the customer, my people will be able to see the big picture. I don’t want any of the BigChange teams to be so focused on an app or issue that they lose sight of the users who need it – like a mechanic who spends so much time looking under the bonnet that they forget to drive the car. It’s another step in my plan to keep me and my colleagues here at BigChange completely engaged and focused on the customer. Wish us luck.
Many bosses pay lip service to the importance of looking after their people – but often that’s as far as it goes.
It’s easy to say, ‘employees are the lifeblood of my business’ but if you really, truly value your team, and want to ensure your employees are happy, healthy and engaged, you need to work at it.
At BigChange, we invest heavily in the wellbeing of our people. This week, I thought I’d share some of the initiatives that have worked really well for us – many of these strategies are cheap or free, yet we see an incredible response from the people. It’s not just about the great feedback we receive – the numbers speak for themselves: employee retention rates stand at 97%.
Have a huddle
We have a “huddle” twice a month. These informal meetings start at 9am and involve every member of the team; even remote workers out on the road dial in to take part. During these huddles, we talk about how the business is doing, and share any milestones or announcements. This is also where we introduce new hires or work experience people. But our huddles aren’t boring and staid. They are noisy, boisterous affairs, with lots of banter, laughter and applause.
Party hard
As well as our annual Christmas party, we also have a summer party in July. BigChange lays on all the food, drink and entertainment, and it’s a great way to bring people together. We have a small office in France, and we fly over those employees so they can spend time with their UK colleagues.
Motivational Monday
On the first Monday of every month, we invite amazing, interesting people who have overcome some kind of challenge, or have faced adversity, to share their stories. Tomorrow, Bob Champion is coming to talk to us about beating cancer and going on to win the Grand National. Everyone in the company is invited to attend, and it’s an incredibly motivating way to start the month. We invest significantly in these monthly events.
BigChange birthday
Everyone gets an extra day off on their work anniversary. It’s just a little gesture that shows people we care.
Fit and healthy folk
It’s really important to me that my team feel well at work. That’s why BigChange pays for a gym membership for all our employees, and brings in a massage therapist twice a month to give head, foot, or back and neck massages. We also encourage people to take a walk at lunch time, and stretch their legs – there’s now a regular walking club. But it’s not all about exercise, we try and help people to eat healthily too, providing fresh fruit and healthy snacks each day, and offering subsidised, calorie-controlled meals to anyone who wants them. That said, we don’t force people to eat like gerbils. Each Friday, we order in Italian for the whole team. If they want to have pizza, they can have pizza!
Stars of the week
People thrive on praise and I like to create opportunities to tell people they’re doing a great job. Each week, employees vote for the person they feel has gone above and beyond at BigChange. There’s no financial incentive. It’s simple recognition of a job well done. You’d be surprised by how much joy our ‘star of the week’ initiative brings to winners. I think it helps that the prize doesn’t come from me, but from their peers.
Employee of the year
At our Christmas party, we announce the Employee of the Year – the person who has contributed the most to the success of the company, and is most appreciated by the team. The winner gets £1,000 and the runner up receives £500, so it’s a nice thing to win. We also award prizes for Department Employee of the Year and Team of the Year. Our most recent Employee of the Year is Joe Goiti. Here’s what he had to say about his win: “With the employee of the year being voted for by colleagues, it really is the proudest moment in my professional life to have won it. I am very fortunate to work alongside such fantastic colleagues and friends who continuously support and push me to do my very best and also to maintain the highest standards possible.”
Family days
Every year, we invite our employees to bring their partners and kids for a fun day out. Last year, we went to Flamingo Land and 100 people came along, this year we are going to Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster. I want BigChange to feel like a big family, so I really enjoy meeting people’s loved ones.
Charity days
This year we’ll give £100,000 to charity. I think that my team really value working for a company that wants to give something back. And now we’re moving beyond donations towards a model whereby employees can give up a day to help a charity and receive a day off in lieu. Today, we went to Living Potential Care Farm, an amazing place where people with disabilities can connect with nature. We planted trees and cleared the ground to make way for a new orchard. It was a fun and worthwhile day out for all of us.
All of these initiatives are for nought if you don’t create a positive culture around them. We let people be themselves at BigChange and embrace all kinds of personalities and quirks. I have an open-door policy, which means that anyone can come and chat to me if they have a question or a comment. And we always promote internally when we can, giving people the chance to grow and flourish. Employee incentives never work in isolation. It’s only when you put all these small efforts together that you create a powerful culture.
I hope you’ve found this post inspiring and useful. If you have come up with some great ways to motivate your people, please share them below.
My working week is demanding. I wake at 5am to get through all my urgent emails before the office opens, and I now work five and half days a week.
As managing director of BigChange, I also have to attend a lot of meetings, which take up a lot of time. Despite all this, I have decided to throw two new distractions into the mix.
I have become a member of a local charity and was recently voted on to its executive. Two weeks ago, we also got a nine-week-old golden retriever puppy. I can’t tell you how much these two developments have impacted my life. I thought I was pressed for time before….
The puppy
For the past couple of years, we have been looking after guide dogs. We typically have them for up to four weeks, and then they go to a new home. But then we were boarding a golden retriever called Taffy and loved him so much that we decided we wanted one of our own. Three out of four of our kids have moved out the house; Joseph is still at home, and Mandy and I so we decided Brodie would fit in well, and to help me train for the marathon. I’m hoping all those dog walks will improve my fitness.
For the first couple of weeks – before Brodie had all his jabs – he was at home all the time. It’s full on from 7am to 11pm. I can’t check my emails in the room I usually use because I’ll wake the puppy. And if I keep my laptop charging in there, he will chew the cable. It’s a complete change of pace and lifestyle for me.
The charity
A while ago, I blogged about my plans to get more involved with charitable organisations and to help them operate more like businesses https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-you-remembered-martin-port/ It’s the first time I’ve done anything like this, and I’m determined to help the charity to achieve big things. But the first time I got an email about a project, I got quite emotional. This organisation, like many charities, is run so differently from a for-profit.
The puppy and the charity have both forced me to re-evaluate my working week. Both threaten to take up all my time, if I let things get out of control. Luckily, Mandy loves Brodie and takes him when I’m maxed out. But he forces me to make time for walks, which is important for my health, and gives me valuable thinking time.
I’ve decided not to check any emails from the charity until after 6pm each day. It means I can compartmentalise the work I’m doing for them, and prevents me from being distracted when I’m at BigChange.
Some may think I take on too much but I’ve found that bringing distractions into your life can be so rewarding. I make more time for the things that really need my attention, and having all these different facets to my life brings me balance.
Why did human beings develop machines, computers, and – ultimately – artificial intelligence? To reduce the work that had to be completed by us. Yet here we all are, working harder than ever.
In Britain, we work longer hours than any other country in the European Union. We work two hours more than the average European – and yet our productivity lags behind many other nations. I want to take action. I want to reverse this trend, and boost productivity while slashing down the hours my people have to work.
This may sound like wishful thinking but I have a plan. Machine learning and automation are the future of BigChange. We are actively using big data to make decisions for us. If necessary, we will take out the human element completely. Our technology lets users’ book jobs on the platform but there still can be a human element. I want to retrain those people and move them into more important roles while letting a computer do it automatically.
This is just the beginning. There is a whole layer of people who can move up into more challenging roles while machines analyse all our past data to work out the outcomes and answers we need to push the business forward. This is so exciting for the business but it also means that I can pass the benefits on to my hard-working people.
They will make the same money but will be given the tools to do their jobs in four days, not five. That means more time to relax, spend with their families, and exercise. They will take fewer sick days and experience less stress. And when people come to work, they will be fresh and engaged; how many people turn up to work on a Friday and are only running at 50% productivity because they are already exhausted? Doing less for the same salary is the dream, so I believe this step will also help us to recruit the industry’s best talent.
The four-day work week is already being employed by other organisations. A string of smaller firms have made the move and now even the Wellcome Trust has announced its commitment to the four-day week.
Back in the 1930’s, the economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that we would be working just 15 hours a week by now. My plan to get to 32 hours isn’t quite there, but it is a step in the right direction.
We’ve started 2019 on a high here at BigChange, with growth up 65% year-on-year in the first three months. This is an incredible time for the business. We recently acquired two businesses, which shows how mature the company has become.
We have successfully brought them into the fold and it’s another step on our journey to becoming a much larger organisation. I’m so excited and delighted by the progress we’ve made, and 2019 has only just begun! Here are some of BigChange’s highlights from the first quarter.
A boost to growth
The major milestone is that we have now hit 1,000 customers. That’s an amazing achievement and a credit to our incredible teams. Our two acquisitions have been an overwhelming success. Back in January, I blogged about buying Labyrinth Logistics Consulting, an award-winning supply chain, logistics and compliance consultancy, and Trace Systems, a creator of fleet, garage and workshop management software https://www.martinport.com/news/my-2019-scale-up-secrets-revealed/
Between them, these companies have added around 100 customers to our roster, and BigChange won 100 new clients independently. Overall, this represents £5m in new contract wins and brings our total number of users to 35,000. More than half of these are mobile workers, so we are having a major impact on the gig economy, which was one of my big goals for this year.
Our fast-growing customer base means that BigChange is on target to hit £18m in turnover this year. We have expanded internationally, establishing a company in France, and a reseller covering Cyprus & Greece. The US is next on the hit list, and we have now registered our trademark over there.
Maximising efficiencies
I’m very proud to say that BigChange has achieved BSI ISO 9001, which means we’ve made significant improvements to our products and services, and we’ve ensured that our business model is as resilient as it can be. We are also proud to be a certified Platinum Partner to Sage, the accounting giant. These kinds of certifications are important because they show that we are doing all we can to keep building efficiencies into our model and striving for excellence in all things.
A great way to show that you’ve made your business as lean and innovative as it can be is to apply for awards. We’ve been lucky enough to secure quite a few already this year. We came ninth in the Tech North Top 50 fastest-growing technology companies in the North of England. BigChange has also featured in the Tech Nation Future Fifty Awards for the second year running . We were recognised as one of the Maserati 100 – a ranking of the UK’s most innovative entrepreneurs, published in The Sunday Times. Finally, BigChange was dubbed one of Yorkshire’s Most Exciting Company by Ian Leech, editor of Insider Yorkshire Magazine.
It’s all about the people
One of the new developments that will have the biggest impact over the next few years is the BigChange Network, which launched this year. We’ve signed up the impressive Kevin Keegan OBE, former England manager, as Network Ambassador, and he will be giving his invaluable advice to our customer members. In June, a new network director will be joining the business too, and will be developing the network globally for the first time.
My colleagues are the lifeblood of this company. BigChange now employs 120 people. It feels really good to be growing fast and bringing in new talent, while encouraging long-serving employees to keep developing their skills. To help my colleagues reach for the stars, we have continued with our “Motivational Mondays” series in 2019, bringing in people like TV personality and businesswoman Michelle Dewberry and former football coach Lawrence McMenemy MBE.
One of the other ways we make sure people feel that BigChange is a great place to work is through charitable giving. This year, we will give more than £200,000 to good causes. I am personally planning to raise £50,000 for Brake and Transaid over the next 12 months first activity is a half marathon in October.
These are just a handful of the great things that have happened over the past three months. Share your 2019 business successes with me in the comments below.
These days, everyone is obsessed with titles. They want something grand on their business card. There’s an idea that one’s self-worth gets a boost simply because you have the word “chief” in front of your job title. But fancy names don’t impress me.
First of all, the term “chief executive” is an American invention. I’m not from the States – I’m a Yorkshireman. In this country, the boss has always been the managing director. That’s one reason why I’ll never call myself CEO of BigChange.
But there is another explanation for my choice to remain MD, even as the business grows internationally (one day, we hope to be trading in the US). The fact is that chief executives tend to be one level removed from the shop floor of any business.
In my experience, chief executives tend to have fewer reports – maybe two or three people. An MD runs various teams and can have many more people reporting to them. I have seven reports. Managing directors get their hands dirty. I like to stay closer to the daily workings of my organisation.
I am still the founder and the leader of this business. That means that my role encompasses strategy and funding and culture – things that are typically assigned to the CEO. But I am honest about my strengths and my weaknesses, which is why I buy in expertise every time I need to go outside my comfort zone. I call these people my “coaches”, although I suppose the old-fashioned term is “consultants”. Right now, I have a coach helping me hone my three-year plan.
I could write this forecast on my own but this coach has a vast amount of experience at companies of all sizes – some that generate billions in revenue. He has also worked across many industries. He brings a new perspective, a skillset that goes beyond my own; I’ve never worked in a big corporation so I have never made plans that suit a really large organisation – I hope that BigChange will be one of these before long.
Over the years, I have seen many private equity firms appoint specialists like these to help their acquisition companies to grow. Who says you need to wait until you’re acquired? I’m going to find and absorb all the knowledge I can.
I’ve been told this is an unusual strategy: buying in CEO smarts, as and when I need it. Coaches are expensive, they say. Well, even £2,000 a day or above is cheaper than taking on a new member of staff to do the job. And with these experts, there’s no downtime. It’s an intensive process and usually you see immediate ROI.
Most people also don’t like to admit they have gaps in their knowledge – or are desperate to secure the coveted title of CEO. I prefer to stay humble.
I’ve abolished departments at BigChange. There will be no more divisions within my business. Instead, I’m creating teams. Some of these teams will be assembled according to specialty, such as RoadCrew customer service, but others will reach across different areas of the business.
This may seem like pure semantics – a change in name only – but it’s not. Language is important. When you think about departments, you envisage physical walls between different sections of your business. You think of the IT department in one part of a building, and sales over on a different floor. Teams, in contrast, have no boundaries. Teams share a common purpose. Team members support one other and work well with other like-minded groups – that’s why it’s called “teaming up”.
There is good reason for this change. When I started BigChange, we were just a few people working out of a single room in Leeds. Everyone knew everyone, and each win was celebrated by the whole company. Now that we are so much bigger, it is easier for colleagues to operate in silos where the needs of the department feel more important than those of the business as a whole. Departments lead to territoriality. This is the opposite of the culture that I want to foster at BigChange.
By creating teams that are focused on projects, it is easier to build fluidity into the business. People naturally do tasks that they are suited to, rather than just sticking to the typical activities of their department. As a business grows, sometimes people need to move into different roles. A team structure will allow me to make sure that everyone is in the right place at the right time.
The wake up call that prompted me to make the change came earlier this year when a valued colleague decided to leave. She missed the start-up feel of BigChange and, after two years, had become to feel disenfranchised. I never want to encounter that problem again, so I’m focused on implementing new ideas that all people to grow, and unite us all.
The idea of ditching the department and embracing teams isn’t original. I borrowed it from Microsoft. Its unified communications platform is called Microsoft Teams – and I imagine that many clever people and many thousands of dollars went into deciding that brand name. I don’t have millions to spend on a re-branding exercise but I can stand on the shoulders of corporate giants and learn from them.
I announced the change to the structure of BigChange at this week’s huddle. I noticed, even at that meeting, that people were standing with colleagues from their own department. Let’s hope that at future huddles, we’ll see cross-departmental “teams” grouping together instead.
The Brexit vote divided young and old. People who had already made their money, bought property, and perhaps even retired, were much more likely to vote Leave, while students and those on the first rung of the career ladder wanted to Remain.
When I started reading articles about the backlash – young people saying they wanted to deny older Brits the vote, claiming they were out of touch and selfish, and older people calling Millennials “snowflakes” – it worried me.
We need to bridge the generation gap. I’m in my fifties, and I am in no doubt about the talent and contribution of young people. BigChange could not thrive without them.
My kids are young – they range in age from 18-33 – and they have given me some incredible ideas for the business. When I said I wanted to call my new product “The Marketplace”, my daughter said, “Don’t do it”. She works in digital marketing and she explained that “marketplace” sounds like a place to hawk products or advertise, whereas what I’m building is a place where like-minded entrepreneurs can team up and help one another. She convinced me to call it the BigChange Network instead. She may be young but her advice was sensible and I listened.
When my son was at school, he used to rave about a concept called Golden Time. When kids did great work, their teacher would reward them with an hour of fun activities that they really wanted to do. I was inspired by the idea and have offered Golden Time at my business. My colleagues get their BigChange birthdays off to celebrate the way they want, and we give them extra time off as a reward for great ideas or going the extra mile. I call it Golden Time.
It sounds like a cliché but young people are the future. They are more technologically minded, they have fresh ideas and they are more adaptable. Listening to them makes me more adaptable too. I may be at the Saga stage of life but I don’t want to turn into a dinosaur who can’t change or try new things.
And this is a two-way street. My kids listen to me (at least sometimes) and my colleagues at BigChange listen to my ideas and experience because I respect theirs.
The young and the mature should not be at war. We should be listening to each other and working together to build great businesses – and a world – that we can all enjoy.
This year we’ll give £100,000 to charity. I think that my team really value working for a company that wants to give something back. And now we’re moving beyond donations towards a model whereby employees can give up a day to help a charity and receive a day off in lieu. Today, we went to Living Potential Care Farm, an amazing place where people with disabilities can connect with nature. We planted trees and cleared the ground to make way for a new orchard. It was a fun and worthwhile day out for all of us.
