Author: Martin Port

The relationships you build today could last a lifetime

Posted on by Martin Port

In business, relationships are everything. Something incredible happens when two people connect, listen to one another, and try to help each other succeed. An enduring bond is formed in those moments.

I know this because I have been fortunate enough to meet many incredible people throughout the course of my career. These people have been colleagues, customers, investors and even rivals. The amazing thing is that those relationships have lasted years – even decades.

The impact of these relationships is huge – and cumulative. Your network of fascinating, talented people snowballs over the years. Customers that I met when building my last business, Masternaut, over 20 years ago have followed me to BigChange. Brilliant people who have worked alongside me on previous ventures are now integral to BigChange’s success today. People that I meet at events and exhibitions often become valued business partners or suppliers – if not immediately, then often down the line.

People have long memories. We have all had conversations with friends or colleagues who warn us off working with someone because they had a bad experience with them many years previously. There’s a reason for the old adage – “Be nice to people on your way up because you meet them on your way down”– we never forget the bad bosses, the times we were side-lined or patronised. But equally, we remember all the people who were kind, honest and fair.

It is my belief that the most powerful and enduring relationships can only be forged face-to-face. It’s rare to remember someone that you’ve only met via email or online. And a lot can be lost in translation when you communicate digitally. All those non-verbal cues are lost, the tone is different, and there’s little opportunity to find common ground. Small talk gets a bad rap, but it can be a great tool for breaking the ice, creating friendships, and making people feel more comfortable. One 2020 study in California found that chatting about non-work-related subjects even makes people happier in their jobs. No wonder that six out of 10 workers said they missed “watercooler moments” in the office during the pandemic.

I’m saying this as the founder and chairman of a technology company. Yes, we make software, but we will never lose our human face. There will always be opportunities to meet us in real life, or at the very least hear our voices down the phone. Email and chat functions are great, but you can’t laugh together at a joke or show empathy through a screen. 

I’m always telling my colleagues at BigChange to get out there and meet customers. When I mentor other entrepreneurs, I tell them the same thing – spend time with your customers and teams. There really is no substitute for getting out there and talking to people.

So, if you have been putting off having that coffee with so-and-so, dropping in on a colleague, or visiting one of your shops or manufacturers, let today be the day that you prioritise relationships, and get out there. 

Chairman’s spotlight on… Graham Nixon, CEO of Nixon Hire

Posted on by Martin Port

In life, patience is a virtue. In business, impatience can be even more valuable.

When you want your company to grow, to modernise, and to evolve, you can’t sit back and wait for things to happen. You have to drive that change. You must motivate your people and inspire them to be their best. It is your energy and sheer force of will that catalyse to bring new ideas to life.

When I met Graham Nixon 15 years ago, I recognised a kindred spirit. Graham is a self-confessed “impatient man”. “I embrace change,” he tells me. “I believe in action first – perfection will follow. Change is what gets me out of bed in the morning.”

Graham became CEO of his family business 12 years ago. Nixon Hire was founded by his father John in 1967. “He sold my mum’s car to raise the collateral to start the business,” he explains. “He used to be a sales representative for a company selling vibrating pokers and he saw an opportunity to offer rental too.” Nixon Hire grew to a single depot offering plant and vehicle hire. Today, Nixon Hire offers plant rentals, site accommodation, toilets, welfare cabins and more, serving the whole UK from 13 depots and employing 520 people.

Graham wasn’t just parachuted into the CEO job; he started as a fitter and worked his way up. During that time, he founded a bunch of other companies which taught him all about entrepreneurship – the highs and lows. Impatient to prove his mettle, he and his siblings even started a site services business, which became so successful that it was bought by Nixon Hire.

Nixon Hire became a BigChange customer in 2014, and I have watched the business grow and flourish. “I’m always trying to modernise and improve the business,” he says. “When we started using BigChange, it had a massive impact. No more paper. All our reporting is real-time. Who would have thought that a fitter in a workshop would be using software like this? But now they can’t imagine life without it.

“I am a great believer in getting from A to B in the most efficient way,” he continues. “Today, we integrate many parts of the business on the BigChange platform. 

“My ultimate business objective is to have perfect assets, always available for hire, and BigChange lets me deliver on that goal.”

Graham’s strength of character has shone through as the business has become increasingly adept at targeting individual sectors, such as events or retail. He introduced the innovative welfare cabin – an all-in-one product offering a generator, cabin and toilet in a single unit. The response has been incredible.

Graham never stands still; he’s always thinking about the next big thing. “Right now, we’re building up our renewables business,” Graham tells me. “Our solar pod, which allows customers to use the power of the sun to replace a diesel generator, has been hugely popular.”

Under Graham’s stewardship, the business has gone from £27m in revenue to £85m. “We have added more divisions, and pushed to get maximum utilisation out of every depot,” he says. “This industry is fiercely competitive, with people fighting over the price of a sandwich on kit, so efficiency is key.” 

Graham has created a model that can be replicated anywhere. “We are currently supplying to most parts of the UK right now but need to strengthen our depot presence to make us more efficient and better placed to serve our customers.” This year, the business will hit another milestone: £100m in turnover.

This is the power of impatience

Entrepreneurs, your communities need you

Posted on by Martin Port

“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”
 
The legendary boxer Muhammad Ali said these words back in 1978. They have always resonated with me: I am a great believer in giving back.
 
Throughout my career, I have always tried to carve out time to support charities, fellow business owners, and my local community. When you’re building a business and working every hour of the day, cramming more into your to-do list may sound like madness – but I have found these experiences to be rewarding, eye-opening, and life-affirming.
 
Many studies have found a strong link between giving and happiness. Whether we are spending money on others instead of ourselves or giving our time to those that need it, the results are undeniable: a marked increase in wellbeing. There’s even evidence showing that elderly people who help those around them tend to live longer
 
Over the past year, I have doubled down on my efforts to make a difference in my local community. I am now President of a Leeds Synagogue, and I’m supporting a their Kosher Bakery, which makes the most incredible speciality breads,  bagels, cakes and doughnuts. Juggling these roles around my chairmanship of BigChange isn’t always easy – I work most evenings and Sundays – but I love it.
 
As the founder of BigChange, I’m able to make a real difference to businesses like these. I created the platform to simplify and streamline processes, eliminate paper, and help organisations become more efficient, so it won’t surprise you that both the bakery and synagogue are now customers. 
 
BigChange is now so much more than a mobile workforce platform – it’s also a facilities management tool, a members management system, and a health and safety resource. The synagogue has around 2,000 members and BigChange has replaced five separate software packages with a single system. As you can imagine, maintaining such a large building can be challenging. With BigChange, we can be more proactive, creating a planned preventative maintenance schedule, which means we never reach breaking point.
 
I used to run a bakery business, and it’s been great to draw upon this experience to help the Street Lane Bakery. The bakery now uses BigChange technology to track its delivery van, find the most efficient routes and flag when customers get their bread, but it’s also handling rotas, finance, and health and safety in the bakery and shop, which is massive when you’re dealing with food hygiene. We do all this without using a single sheet of paper – previously, bits of paper were constantly passed back and forth.
 
I love using my experience as an entrepreneur to help others, and it’s so exhilarating watching the technology I created make such a difference to these charities. Right now, times are tough for many business owners, so if you have skills and resources that you can share, make the time. You won’t regret it.
  
 #community #entrepreneurs #technology

Benefits of digital job cards (+ free field service job card template)

Posted on by Martin Port

Job cards play an essential role in day-to-day field service management, covering all the essential job information. 

Why?

Because without a job sheet to hand, work orders might be delayed, essential information is missed, and miscommunication between engineers and back office staff is rife. 

This is where digitising your job sheets comes in. 

By using digital solutions like job management software, you can create digital job cards at the click of a button, and ultimately improve the productivity of the whole team. 

But what is a digital job card? What are the benefits? We’ll cover this below. Plus, you’ll get a free copy of a best practice field service job card template.

Let’s get into it. 👇

What is a digital job card? (For field services)

Traditionally, job cards are paper-based. But like with any paper-based process, it’s prone to issues and human-error. On the other hand, a digital job card can be viewed, edited, and updated in real-time by any team member – including engineers and back-office staff. And you can even send a copy, instantly, to the customer too. 

What’s more, you can access them on a mobile device. Mobile job sheets are game changers for your field based team. Engineers can quickly take photos, take signatures, provide documents to customers and more. 

How do digital job sheets work?

Essentially, digital job sheets replace your paper-based job cards with a digital version – usually stored in the cloud via a job management software platform. 

It ensures all work is completed without any missing sheets or unreadable handwriting. It also means that any errors or problems in work can be acted on straight away. 

A system (like BigChange) would take your existing job sheet/cards and turn them into documents that are created and accessed online. And as the job is being completed, back office workers and customers are able to see real-time updates.

❌You might think sticking to paper-based job sheets is fine for now, but be wary of these key challenges. 

Challenges of using paper-based job cards

To put it bluntly, paper-based job cards are an accident waiting to happen. Notorious for sporting scribbled-out writing, oil marks, and spelling mistakes, they can be widely inconsistent and miss vital information. 

Key job details might be misread due to poor handwriting. Not to mention presenting an unprofessional look and feel for customers 

All of this adds up to a lot of headaches for back office workers. 

🔖Related: Going paperless: What does it really mean for field service management?

With this in mind, what does a good job card look like? 

What does a good digital job card template look like?

A good job sheet process gathers all the information (in one place) accurately, consistently, and in real-time. 

A typical digital or mobile job sheet includes: 

  • Name of the job
  • Company logo
  • Date 
  • Customer details
  • Location of the job 
  • Details of the job (images, description, notes, serial numbers)
  • Quote/estimate for the job
  • Paid/unpaid job 
  • Cost of materials used
  • Attachments such as images and documents 
  • Engineer and client sign-off

In fact, it might look a little something like this job sheet template:

🔽You can download a job card PDF version of our job sheet template here.

Now that you know what one looks like, let’s get into the key benefits of digital job cards. 

Benefits of digitising job cards

Digital job cards have plenty of benefits. Here are a few of the most important:

  • Real-time information: Job information is sent to the back-office in real-time, so they have true visibility of progress against the plan.
  • Cloud-based: Create new jobs in the field, enabling you to respond quickly to customer requirements as they arise. You can even see on-site information in real-time. 
  • Photo and signature capture: Easily capture proof of work, and capture signatures before, during, and after work.
  • Documents on demand: Mobile workers can access documents, images, and diagrams in the field. 
  • Win back more time: Save a huge chunk of admin time by entering information digitally rather than writing it all up.
  • Reduce risk: Having a digital job card system limits risks, such as losing handwritten notes, and ensures all information is captured first time. 
  • Mobile app: App users can view the history of jobs against any customer, with valuable insight at the tap of a screen. You can also take photos, scan barcodes, and more.
  • Reduce waste: Automating manual processes like job cards has a positive impact on reducing waste and saving on paper.
  • Maintain high standards: Ensure consistent service standards and protect your brand image with branded job cards. Plus, you can bill customers within minutes. 

In short, digital job cards are immediately available to the customer and act as a single source of truth if there are any queries regarding the job. And because they are permanently held on your CRM, they are always available as a key source of information you can search through any time. You can even attach an invoice to it before issuing it to the customer. 

In fact, one thing our clients love about digital job cards is that they help ensure engineers have all the information they need for each and every job:

“The engineers know in advance what their day looks like and they know they have the information they need to deal with each and every job. With BigChange, even the back-office staff know they have the tools they need to get the job done from scheduling to keeping the customers informed and managing cash flow.”

Adam Redgwick, Sales Director, Warmaway

Digitise job cards with BigChange

We hope this blog has convinced you of all the ways digital job cards will benefit your business. 

You can do all this and more with BigChange. The BigChange system automatically generates standard job cards, featuring data captured in the field. 

You can choose the information that will be displayed on the job cards and even personalise with your company logo, custom fields and branding. 

And even if you have an existing job card template, you can simply import it directly into BigChange’s job sheet software. Alternatively, BigChange offers a custom design service. 

Replace your traditional paper job sheets with digital versions

6 ideas for your 2023 job management approach

Posted on by Martin Port

In the fast-paced field service industry, everything revolves around how quickly engineers, back-office staff, and other team members can get the job done, and get it done right. 

That’s why we expect 2023 to place even more emphasis on speed, accuracy, automation, and quality. 

To help you achieve just this, this blog looks at six ideas for your job management approach in 2023. 

But first, let’s look at what’s driving change. 👇

Why job management is set to change in 2023

There are two drivers prompting a need for immediate change in field service management:

  • Changing customer expectations
  • Economic challenges

Changing customer expectations

Across all industries, customer expectations are high. Field service businesses are no different:

  • Customers now expect better communications. In fact, 75% of customers think that fast response times are the most important part of the customer experience.  
  • They want jobs completed first time. When first-time fix rates drop below 70%, businesses notice a 10% deterioration in customer retention rates.

But those that do prioritise customer service actually enjoy 5.7 X more revenue than those that don’t.  

Economic challenges

The aftermath of the pandemic, heightened fuel costs, supply chain issues and sky-rocketing utility bills are just a few of the challenges facing businesses in 2023.

The bottom line? These challenges slow down operations, reduce cash flow, and severely impact profit margins.

While this may paint a doom and gloom picture, it can be an opportunity for growth too. 

In fact, the past 12 months have seen more field service management businesses innovating and accelerating the use of new ways of working than ever before.

Let’s dive into some examples of how.

6 ideas for your 2023 job management approach

Here are just a handful of ways that field service businesses are maximising operations and boosting customer experiences, that we expect to continue throughout 2023:

Job management idea #1: Improve time management

When managing a field service business, managing time properly is everything. After all, poor job scheduling can lead to poor customer experiences, damaged reputations, and lost clients.

What’s more, it impacts your profits. Low engineer productivity and available engineers not being assigned to jobs = missed income opportunities.

On the flip side, it’s not great for your engineers’ morale or job satisfaction if they become overloaded due to poor job management either.

Actionable tips: 

💡 Plan ahead. Think about jobs as a whole, not just the resourcing of them. For example: What parts or equipment will be needed? What are their lead times?

💡 And avoid using too many manual and paper-based processes in your day-to-day workflows.

Job management idea #2: Schedule routes more efficiently

With pump costs set to continue to be high in 2023, finding ways to reduce fuel costs will be key to cost savings. But also, it prepares field service businesses for meeting government requirements on reducing carbon footprint. 

Actionable tips:

💡 Go digital. A digital scheduling assistant can help get the right engineer, with the right skills, to the right place, by the right route, and streamline job management.

💡Monitor your team’s driving behaviour. With tools like BigChange, managers can set driving behaviour alerts and view driver data, in order to curb idling, speeding, and harsh acceleration.

Not only does this keep your people safe on the road, it also cuts fuel costs and emissions. For instance, driving at 55mph uses 25% less fuel than driving at 70mph.

Job management idea #3: Improve engineer and back-office communication 

With the majority of field service workers being out in the field, creating a collaborative work environment with healthy communication can be difficult. Yet immensely important. Your workers can only be as successful as the information they have access to. 

Actionable tips:

💡 Provide your team with field service management software that has real-time data to resolve any communication challenge in one fell swoop.

💡 Use a tool that plugs into accounting software so you can quickly invoice once a job is complete.

💡 Leverage a strong CRM system that’s mobile so that all customer interactions are stored in one place and everyone can quickly access them when speaking to a customer. 

Job management idea #4: Make use of the right software and tools

If you are in the field service management industry, one of the main causes of reduced performance could solely be the tools you are working with.

Actionable tips:

💡 Consider whether the software tools you use have the capacity and features you need to achieve your goals in 2023. You may need a more comprehensive platform as your business grows and changes. 

💡 If you’re using several tools, spreadsheets, and manual methods, consider switching to an all-in-one solution to manage every area of your field service business. If you’ve a range of tech-abilities within your business, it’s easier for people to learn and manage a single platform. 

Job management idea #5: Empower mobile engineers

Field service engineers are the face of your company. Their capabilities on the job are critical to make or break the customer experience. 

That’s why they need the right information, the right tools, and the right parts to do the job to a high standard, and the first time they attend the site. This is where digital solutions come in. 

Actionable tips: 

💡Job management software, mobile apps, and the right tablet are just some of the tools that simplify and speed engineers in the field – ensuring responsiveness, continuity of service, resolving issues sooner, and making them more productive and cost-effective.

💡 Be prepared to react on the go. These tools also allow you to make the most of opportunities when in the area, or to add additional jobs for the customer whilst on site, to maximise efficiency and ensure correct billing.

Job management idea #6: Consider planned preventative maintenance

Unplanned downtime can cost companies hundreds of thousands of pounds. That’s why it’s critical to ensure equipment functions at optimal performance levels, at all times. 

Here are ways field service businesses tackle vehicle maintenance but you could apply this approach to machinery and client systems — client maintenance may be essential for compliance and legal requirements so this is one you can’t ignore!

Actionable tips: 

💡 Engineers could complete daily vehicle checks and record results on their mobile or device. These reports help fleet managers spot problems before they become a major, costly problem or stop the vehicle being on the road, potentially putting engineers out of action.This prevents the need to hire vehicles or jobs need rescheduling.

💡 With some tools, you can also set alerts against any defects so that the fleet manager can immediately action them and keep the driver informed at the same time.

What’s more, it also reduces safety risk to your engineers. And can save on fuel costs. Did you know, tyres are responsible for around 20% of a vehicle’s fuel consumption?

Key takeaways

With these job management ideas, hopefully you can see exactly how you can improve operations, boost efficiency, and ultimately book in more customers. Of course, this all supports better cash flow and increased revenue.

💡Final tips

  • Set time aside in the day to check job progress and team updates.
  • Use a job management tool to track jobs, vehicles, and more.
  • Update your website with any new testimonials and case studies. 
  • Work with the most accurate and up-to-date information to make real-time decisions
  • Listen to what workers are saying – get feedback from them on how processes can be improved.

Your next steps

Ready to take job management digital? If you’re in the market looking for a job management software solution to do all the heavy lifting, check out this blog first: Top 5 must-haves when choosing job management software.

Add BigChange to your shortlist. And see why hundreds of field service businesses choose us by booking a personalised demo right here.

BigChange celebrates its 10th birthday

Posted on by Martin Port

New Year’s Day 2023 is a very special time for BigChange: we will celebrate our tenth birthday. In the beginning, it was just me, my wife Amanda, Andrew, Johann, Anthony, Roger, Matt, Edward, Simon, George, Francis, Alex and Jerome. We now employ more than 230 people and almost everyone from that start-up team is still with BigChange today.

It’s hard to believe that our first ever business plan aimed for just 100 customers across Europe – and we thought that was ambitious. Our technology now supports 2,000 customers hailing from as far afield as Australia and Canada, with 80,000 users on the platform.

To celebrate this landmark birthday, I’d like to share a bit of our history – a timeline of all the important milestones. It’s been an awesome journey!

2011 – The year I sold my last business, Masternaut. But I wasn’t ready to retire at 50. I soon began work on a new start-up: BigChange.

2013 – I launch BigChange on New Year’s Day. Technologist and co-founder Johann Levy, who developed the first iteration of JobWatch and is still our Head of Innovation today. Watch a younger Martin Port introduce JobWatch https://youtu.be/L2u7TwV_GNA

2014 – Over the past 18 months I have raised over £1m in growth funding.

  • Revenues grew 300% this year and we really hit our stride.

2015 – We enable one-man bands to grow into national players. Michael Taylor at pest control specialist Contego https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/chairmans-spotlight-michael-taylor-founder-ceo-contego-martin-port/?trk=pulse-article_more-articles_related-content-card began using BigChange this year. In 2022, he employs 140 people.  

2016 – BigChange wins the BigChip Award 2016 for best B2B eBusiness project.

2017 – We now have 600 customers, ranging from local councils to utility companies, with 15,000 individuals using the technology. This was the year we won our first international customers in France and the US too.

  • Listing in the Deloitte Fast 50 Tech Track – a list of the fastest-growing technology firms in the UK. We were the only tech company in Yorkshire to make the Top 50.
  • We launch our Motivational Monday initiative, inviting inspiring people from all walks of life to come and share their stories with the team. Over the years, we have welcomed Falklands war veteran Simon Weston CBE; Kevin Keegan OBE, football star and manager; and the model turned entrepreneur Caprice. 
  • The year of our office move! Our new headquarters in Thorpe Park Leeds allows us to double our workforce from 70 to 170 over three years.
  • We feature in the Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100 league table, which ranks Britain’s private technology, media and telecoms companies with the fastest-growing sales – we made the ranking in 2019 and 2020 too.
  • We launch our Road Safety Leaders for Life campaign in Partnership with Brake, the road safety charity.  

2019 – BigChange pioneers the 4.5-day working week. Our Flexi Friday initiative was a huge hit with the team.

  • The BigChange Network launches in April 2019 to make it quicker and easier for organisations to win new business and collaborate with suppliers and contractors. 

2020 – BigChange wins the Queens Award for Enterprise in the innovation category. This is one of the highest official honours for companies in the UK.

  • We launch the BigChange University, pioneering a new online training curriculum and inviting customers to take part in free sessions to learn how to make the most of our technology. More than 2,500 students enrol in that first year.
  • We hire 30 new team members, despite two national lockdowns and a recession.

2021 – We raise £75m from Boston-based Great Hill Partners. The deal values our business at £100m and supercharged innovation.

  • I move into a chairman role at BigChange, appointing the brilliant Richard Warley as CEO.
  • BigChange wins the coveted Best Companies to Work for award, gaining recognition for being an outstanding employer. We also win the Yorkshire Post’s Best Company 2021 in the £10m to £50m category. In the GP Bullhound Northern Tech Awards 2021, BigChange is recognised as one of the Top 15 Fastest Growing Larger Technology Companies in the North of England Scotland and Ireland.

2022 – BigChange launches its Channel Partner Programme, which will help to accelerate international growth.

  • BigChange takes a major step on the road to Net Zero, carrying out its first carbon audit and putting in place a carbon reduction plan. We will be carbon neutral this year through offsetting.
  • BigChange won Business Enabler of the Year at the Lloyds Bank British Business Excellence Awards, which are the ‘Oscars’ of business awards.
  • We also retained our coveted Best Companies to Work for award.
  • This year, we hit the incredible milestone of £500,000 in charitable contributions.

Over the past decade, we have forged lasting partnerships with some incredible companies. From Sunbelt Rentals, the UK’s largest rental equipment company, to household names like Dyno-Rod and public sector organisations like Sheffield City Council. We are the platform that underpins their growth and drives efficiency and productivity. Over the coming years, we will continue to attract more enterprise clients, while also supporting the growth ambitions of smaller companies.

We have done our bit to help some brilliant organisations through our corporate social responsibility scheme, such as: Transaid, the international development charity; Business in the Community; road safety charity Brake; Living Potential Care Farm; national hearing loss charity RNID; and homelessness charity St George’s Crypt. Philanthropy will continue to be an important part of our work here at BigChange. 

We have a world-beating product, an unbeatable proposition and we are streets ahead of the competition. Over the coming decade, we plan to hit a billion-dollar valuation, and become a “unicorn”. Huge thanks to our incredible customers and the first-rate

Season Greetings from all at BigChange

Posted on by Martin Port

Season Greetings from all at BigChange.  As the year comes to a close, I hope that the holiday season brings you joy, peace, and time to relax with loved ones.

I am grateful to have such an engaged and supportive readership, and I look forward to continuing to bring you informative and thought-provoking content in the year ahead. Thank you for joining me on this journey, and I hope you enjoy reading my most popular blogs of the year.

I am excited to share the top-performing articles from the past year. These are the pieces that resonated most with my readers and generated the most engagement and discussion.

First on the list is We all deserve a chance. This post was all about the chronic shortage of opportunities for people with physical disabilities and learning difficulties. This received an overwhelming response from my audience. Next up is Don’t wall yourself off from your team. Most modern bosses are no longer found on the battlefield but in the boardroom – but the lessons from ancient times are as valuable today as they have ever been. You need to have a rapport with your team, and you need to spend time in the mix with your colleagues to stay close to the inner workings of your business. This is why I am such a fan of an open-plan workspace, where leaders sit beside colleagues, not in their own offices. And finally, No more empty desks sparked some interesting debates among my readers.

2022: a year of growth, energy, and customer obsession

As another year draws to a close, I’d like to reflect on all we have achieved here at BigChange. This year has surpassed all our forecasts – like many business leaders; we expected a difficult 12 months because of political upheaval and the sudden biting recession and cost of living crisis.

Despite these challenges, our team has outperformed our wildest expectations, our customers have thrived, and our ground-breaking technology has attracted many new businesses – large and small – into the fold. Our customer numbers are up, revenues are soaring, and we are moving ever closer to our ultimate ambition – to be a “unicorn” business and the global brand leader in our industry.

I look forward to continuing our relationship in the new year and working together to create even more success. Wishing you all the best. 

2022: a year of growth, energy, and customer obsession

Posted on by Martin Port

2022: a year of growth, energy, and customer obsession

As another year draws to a close, I’d like to reflect on all we have achieved here at BigChange. This year has surpassed all our forecasts – like many business leaders, we expected a difficult 12 months because of political upheaval and the sudden biting recession and cost of living crisis.

Despite these challenges, our team has out-performed our wildest expectations, our customers have thrived, and our ground-breaking technology has attracted many new businesses – large and small – into the fold. Our customer numbers are up, revenues are soaring, and we are moving ever closer to our ultimate ambition – to be a “unicorn” business, and the global brand leader in our industry.

Here’s an overview of our year to date.

The best in class

Our platform continues to outperform all our rivals and the proof is in our numbers: over the past year, new contract wins are up 40% on 2021, generating £33m in new business for BigChange.

We welcomed nearly 400 new customers this year, taking our total to 2,000. Across the globe, some 80,000 individuals use our technology day in and day out, which is an incredible achievement.

Our technology now supports every function within our customers’ organisations, and we logged 30m transactions in total over the past year, as companies created jobs and invoices, tracked vehicles and tools, logged time sheets and processed expenses. BigChange is truly the architecture underpinning business success: some £2bn-worth of invoices were delivered though our platform.

A diverse and thriving customer base

We built BigChange to be the partner of choice for companies of all sizes, across every industry. We are proud to say that we now boast customers across 60 sectors, from one-man bands to multinational enterprises.

This year alone, we have welcomed an impressive range of new clients, including: EFT Systems, which does everything from sprinklers and fire alarms to cyber security and CCTV; fleet installations specialist RS Connect; ventilations expert EnviroVent; RGE Services, which protects people and property through fire and electrical compliance; Edinmore Contracts, the building insurance and maintenance contractor; property repair specialist Merlin; Shenton Global, which has over 30 years’ experience in the supply, installation and maintenance of critical diesel power systems; Motivair Compressors; and Kaboodle, the  independent installer of white goods.

Helping our customer become more resilient

The beauty of BigChange is that we grow only when we help our customers become more successful: it’s a virtuous circle. This year, we have continued to drive efficiencies and cost savings across the board. DBS, a specialist in the repair and maintenance of petroleum forecourt structures and retail sites, has boosted operational productivity by 20%. J W Hinchliffe (Tanks), a specialist in fuel tank services, has boosted its annual turnover by 35% following the introduction of a BigChange job management system. While new build after-care specialist A&S has used our mobile workforce technology to double its business to a £5m turnover in two years.

We call our dedication to customer service, “Customer Obsession”. This year, RoadCrew has supported over 100,000 calls, emails and self-service requests. Onboarding is a crucial part of the BigChange journey but it doesn’t end there, and our Customer Success team works tirelessly to nurture existing customers and help them get even more out of our technology.

As we continue to improve the lives of our customers, it’s been great to see our Customer learning team launch our Digital BigChange University. There are now 67 online modules; over 21,000 modules have now completed by our customers (that’s 11,000 hours of online training!). The BigChange help centre has had over 130,000 page views allowing our customers to get the support they need instantly!

People power 

We have strengthened and grown our BigChange sales and marketing team by adding an extra 60% headcount to the most knowledgeable team of experts in the industry.

The team here at BigChange is our most valuable asset. We are blessed to have the most innovative, hard-working and dedicated colleagues in the industry. As we have grown the business, we have recruited new BigChangers and given our existing team new responsibilities and opportunities.

To ensure that our unstoppable, entrepreneurial, and customer-centric culture remains at the heart of our business we have worked hard in 2022 to define what it means to be a successful BigChanger. This led to us launching the BigChange Leadership Principles which apply to all of us and are embedded in our customer interactions, our recruitment and the way we judge success.

Spreading the word

Like most companies, BigChange became a remote-first company during the pandemic but I’m delighted that, this year, we have been getting out and about again.

We set ourselves the mission to create an established events calendar, consisting of 14 tradeshows across a variety of industries. We attended those exhibitions, showing attendees how we can help their business become unstoppable. Next year, we are setting our sights even higher and have 30 shows on the calendar.

We have also entertained many customers and prospects at our Leeds United box and are looking forward to the last game of 2022: Leeds v Manchester City.

International ambition

Our team in France has continued to drive the business forward. BigChange France is now fast approaching 100 customers, which is an incredible result.

Meanwhile, our Partnerships team has continued to build upon the successes of our international resellers, establishing new relationships in both Canada and Greece. Our resellers in New Zealand, Australia, and Cyprus, have all seen continued growth in 2022. We now have 130 customers in these countries.

Technological advances

Over the past year BigChange Technology has lived up to its name, and we have increased investment into innovation. This has enabled us to start delivering even more value into the BigChange platform.

We now have a data warehouse with new dashboards (currently in beta) that will be going to general release early in the new year. We have transformed the foundations of our Job Finance function, helping our customers to better understand profitability, work in progress, and forecasting. We have enhanced our group job functionality to allow for greater control over multi-job projects. We have launched a completely new look and feel to our booking site that resizes for any device.

Alongside all this, we have developed a very exciting roadmap for 2023 that will see lots of great new functions for Job Finance, Business Intelligence and Job Management.

Making a positive impact

In 2022 BigChange took a major step on the road to Net Zero by carrying out its first carbon audit and putting in place a carbon reduction plan and commitment to be carbon neutral this year through offsetting.

Our BigChangers have carried out litter picking, lobbied for better recycling and worked with our local business park to encourage car sharing and other joint sustainability initiatives. We know that BigChange helps our customers be more sustainable through its reporting of driver behaviour, scheduling and job visibility and we will be focusing on understanding how we can improve this support in 2023.

We have also continued our proud history of charitable donations in 2022 through a series of employee-led initiatives to help our community. With our wonderful Customer Success Director, the unstoppable Tansy Sheehy, leading the charge, we have organized food bank collections, a day in the community at Living Potential care farm, clothing donations, volunteering at St George’s Crypt to support the homeless, and our Christmas Party with a Purpose where BigChangers overwhelmed us with their generosity buying presents for the homeless and teenagers in care.

Awards for BigChange

Our dedication to the team helped BigChange to achieve a Best Companies 2* Award in 2022, which means we continue to be an outstanding employer. We also completed our re-certification in ISO27001 in October. Other awards include: Lloyds Bank British Business Excellence Award, Virgin Atlantic & Delta Air Lines Business Enabler of the Year, a ranking in the GP Bullhound Northern Tech Top 100 Companies, and Mid-Market Corporate of the Year at the Yorkshires Business Awards.

Thank you all for your ongoing support. I – and all of us here at BigChange – wish you a joyful festive season. 

BigChange Job Management system helps NWCE treble workforce

Posted on by Martin Port

NWCE Food Service Equipment is saving thousands of pounds a year, boosting engineer productivity, and reducing its environmental impact, having implemented a job management system from BigChange. Offering commercial catering equipment services across the UK, NWCE uses BigChange to intelligently schedule and create optimised routes for its team of around 60 field engineers.

With average savings of just over 30 miles, per van, per day, this equates to enormous annual savings, reduced travelling times and a decrease in Carbon Dioxide emissions. BigChange also provides the Bolton-based business with 24/7 visibility of its mobile workforce, automated stock management and a range of fleet management tools.   

“We had a system before BigChange, but it was slow and clunky,” commented Ben Odling, Managing Director of NWCE Food Service Equipment.

“BigChange is the complete opposite! It’s fast, it’s reactive, and it is there when you need it. With our promise not to let our customers down even when their equipment does, this directly relates to and supports our ethos and way of working.”Ben Odling, Manager Director of NWCE Food Service Equipment

NWCE Food Service Equipment offers a nationwide commercial catering service working with a diverse customer base which includes organisations and businesses from the health, retail, hospitality and education sectors. With a team of engineers, gas professionals and kitchen installers, NWCE services include 24-hour breakdown and repair, design and installation, equipment maintenance, and sales on a vast array of catering and refrigeration equipment found in commercial kitchens or catering environments. 

NWCE implemented the BigChange job management platform, which incorporates customer relationship management (CRM), job scheduling, live tracking, resource management, job finance and business intelligence, in 2019. The intelligent scheduling assistant, which uses real-time data to account for location, traffic information, job constraints and engineer type, combined with smart route planning, has contributed to an average saving of more than 30 miles per vehicle per day.

This equates to a reduction in travelling time of 3 ½ hours per engineer per week, boosting productivity by 10 per cent. It also means the business is limiting the environmental impact of its mobile operation with an annual reduction in vehicle emissions of 90 tonnes of CO2.

Engineers are further boosting efficiency with direct access to customer files, site service histories and equipment documentation using the BigChange app; this also helps NWCE keep their clients up to date on asset management and equipment spend. Customisable job sheets can be automatically shared with the back office, which is improving customer communications and service levels.

“Before BigChange, an engineer could be hanging around on-site waiting for paperwork to come through by email,” continued Odling. “For example, if a fryer was condemned, they would have to wait for someone in the office to dig out the right piece of paper for that specific unit, send it across for the engineer to fill out and return, and then put together a quote for a replacement. With BigChange, it’s literally a one-button process, and the customer has all the information they need to make a decision before they even know the extent of the problem.”

Other aspects of BigChange that are positively impacting on NWCEs bottom line include automated stock control, with real-time updates and trend analysis, which allows for just-in-time ordering and re-stocking and a reduction in expensive items sitting in a warehouse or in service vehicles. Fleet management tools, including daily vehicle checks and alerts for events such as MOTs, servicing and insurance renewals, are improving driver and vehicle performance, and real-time tracking allows NWCE to issue accurate arrival times and update customers of any delays.

“Since implementing BigChange, we have trebled the size of our employed workforce and, with the competitive edge that BigChange provides, I am confident we will continue to expand and evolve, and BigChange will support us at every step,” Odling concluded.Ben Odling, Managing Director of NWCE Food Service Equipment

Deactivate to reactivate

Posted on by Martin Port

Want to know how to be a more effective entrepreneur and leader? Take some time off.

It may sound counterintuitive but it’s true: ensuring that you have enough downtime each week will make you a better manager of people and allow you to make better decisions.

I know how all-consuming it can be when you are building or starting a business. You feel as though you need to work every single hour of the day if you are to achieve your goals. Even sleeping at night feels wasteful.

There have been times in my life when I have worked non-stop for weeks on end. I remember the impact it had on me, how my mind started spinning and I struggled with basic tasks. I wish I knew then that I could have been 10x more productive if I had just taken breaks to recharge.

These days, I have a rule. I take one day off every week where I switch off my phone, silence my emails, and put work out of my mind. I deactivate to reactivate.

When I wake the following day, and fire up my laptop, I do it with renewed vigour. It feels so easy – and enjoyable – to complete tasks and work on my business interests. It’s as though, throughout the week, I have been slowly depleting my supply of oxygen but after a day’s rest, I get a whole new tank.

Did taking a day off every week when I was first building BigChange slow its growth? It did the opposite. BigChange smashed every goal that we set over the years. I believe that embracing downtime – not just my own, but the whole team’s – helped bring about that success. We were pioneers when we gave 34 days holiday, giving people more time with their families. 

I don’t know if I would have chosen to do this if it weren’t for my faith. I observe the Sabbath because it’s one of Judaism’s most important rituals, but I feel the benefits in all aspects of my life. Whatever your beliefs, it’s important to make that space in your life to rest and recharge.

It’s important to understand what downtime really means. It’s a time where your brain isn’t focusing on anything. Scrolling on your phone or watching TV isn’t downtime. Naps, walks, meditation, and mundane tasks where your mind can wander – that’s real downtime.

Many studies have shown that the human brain desperately needs enough sleep at night and plenty of breaks during the day https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mental-downtime. In his book, ‘Rest: Why you get more done when you work less’, Alex Soojung-Kim Pang says that allowing the brain to enter a “resting state” is vital. “When we are not directly focused on a task, it’s still active, engaging its default network to plug away at problems, examine and toss out possible answers, and look for new information.”

So, leaders, whatever you do this week, make sure you make time to do nothing. Set a good example for your team by having at least one day off and setting your ‘out of office’. I promise you; you won’t regret it – I never have.