What does this mean for entrepreneurs and business leaders?
It means you need to get back into start-up mode.
Remember those heady early days of your business when you rose before dawn and worked well into the night, waking at 2am to send a quick email to suppliers in another time zone? Those days are back.
These are going to be tough times and you need to be absolutely focused on your business. You need to know what’s working and what’s not. That means getting back into the detail. Even those running larger organisations need to get back into the trenches – don’t just rely on your direct reports. Go and speak to people in every department. Ask them what’s really going on – their challenges and pressure points. Ask them what customers love and what developments would really make your product or service stand out in the marketplace.
This complex trading environment also means you need to sweat your assets like never before. Rip up your budget forecasts for 2023; it’s time to go back to the drawing board. Any “nice to have” investments must wait. If you were going to hire more people in advance of growth, it might be better to get through the coming year first. Explain to your teams that you will be expecting them to give 100% as we move into this critical period – reward them, motivate them, and make sure they know how important their efforts are to the continued success of the company.
Costs must be controlled but don’t cut back on the spending that generates more business. You still need to be out there prospecting, meeting customers, and getting your brand name out into the world. These are not “nice to haves”- these are business critical expenses, and you will cut them at your peril.
Data is going to become your best friend (if it isn’t already). It’s only by analysing every single metric of success that you’ll understand what kind of work brings in the most profit, which jobs lose you money, and which assets are underutilised.
When you have absolute clarity on your data, you can even see which loss-leaders are worth keeping because they open the doors to other, more lucrative projects. This is the kind of insight that we at BigChange are bringing our customers. I believe it will ensure they remain unstoppable, despite the challenging times ahead.
In fact, BigChange has launched a new campaign with this mission, mantra, and customer promise: be unstoppable. We want ambitious entrepreneurs and business owners to feel empowered to act and unleash their energy – even when the going gets tough.
Whatever technology you use to help drive efficiency, lean on it now. Many businesses only use a small percentage of the tech at their disposal. That’s the kind of waste that can easily be utilised – especially by leaders with a start-up mindset, who don’t mind burning the midnight oil to plumb the depths of their business software.
2023 won’t be easy but the businesses that survive will be fitter, leaner, and better prepared for the future than ever before. Recessions test our mettle, as leaders. They hone our business models and cement our place in the hearts of our customers. Think of this time as an opportunity to go from good to great.
BigChange has helped DBS, a specialist in the repair and maintenance of petroleum forecourt structures and retail sites, boost operational productivity by 20 per cent. The job management system has also improved customer service, cut office administration work by half, and improved workforce health and safety. The complete job management platform links field workers to back-office staff with real-time tracking, scheduling and reporting.
DBS is a family-run business that has been trading since 2000. Based in Southampton, DBS is a leading forecourt maintenance service company, specialising in the nationwide construction, branding, repair and maintenance of all commercial, retail, agricultural and petrol forecourt structures. Working with brands such as BP, Shell and MFG, DBS offers a range of construction services, including steel erection and fabrication, signage, HIAB crane hire, roofing and cladding.
“Prior to BigChange, we relied on spreadsheets, paper files and a large wall-mounted map. We work all over mainland UK and would update the map manually each day, with magnets to show the current location of each gang and all our outstanding surveys and jobs. It was extremely time-consuming and left room for human error.”Emma Lamburne, Operations Manager at DBS.
“We considered other systems before choosing BigChange, but they were either too complicated or not fit for purpose. We have up to six teams available to work, 24/7, anywhere in the UK, in addition to our survey team,” she continued. “Between them, they can visit up to 40 sites a week, so being able to track and share live ETAs is really helpful. The scheduling function allows us to respond to emergency callouts whilst minimising disruption to planned works, and the HR features, including time sheets, holiday requests and staff training, have all been well received by our staff.”
Using the BigChange job management platform, which incorporates customer relationship management (CRM), job scheduling, live tracking, field resource management, job finance and business intelligence in one simple-to-use and easy-to-integrate platform, DBS manages virtually every aspect of its mobile operation. Quotations for proposed work and invoices for completed projects are automated as BigChange integrates with the company’s accounting software, and field engineers can digitally complete Risk Assessment and Method Statement (RAMS), saving time, paper and the potential for errors.
Real-time tracking allows back-office staff to keep customers up to speed, and automated scheduling has allowed the company to be flexible with working practices. Digital forms and photo libraries are helping engineers and surveyors to share condition reports and feedback, which in turn is helping DBS be proactive with maintenance programmes and responsive to client requests for information.
“BigChange saves us time and money on every aspect of the business, and the support has been outstanding.”Jacob Lamburne, Operations Director, DBS
Forecourt construction firm DBS boosts productivity 20% with BigChange.
“We’ve eliminated paper and all the administration dealing with it, and in the office, we’re certainly twice as productive. BigChange has also had a big impact on our field operations with better scheduling and resource allocation, improved communication and real-time reporting. It means we can do more jobs during the month, and I reckon we’re 20 per cent more productive now, and that has a big impact on the bottom line.”Jacob Lamburne, Operations Director, DBS
In this day and age, your customer experience can make or break your field service business.
In fact, companies that lead in customer experience outperform laggards by nearly 80%. Not to mention 84% of companies that work to improve their customer experience report an increase in their revenue.
One key tool that helps field service businesses improve customer experience is job tracking software.
In this blog, we’ll walk you through the different ways job tracking software can take your customer experience to the next level – starting with a quick definition.
WHAT IS JOB TRACKING SOFTWARE?
Job tracking software is a versatile business tool. From time tracking to job tracking and vehicle tracking – it can be used to improve many things for field service management businesses.
For instance, you can see the status of each job from creation to completion. This makes it easy to keep both customers and managers informed of job progress.
Here are just a handful of the benefits real businesses are seeing:
But one of the biggest benefits is the fact it can play a significant role in improving the overall customer experience. In fact, in just one example, a B2B business recorded a 25% boost in customer service rating due to quicker scheduling and faster call-out responses.
And for field service businesses like this one, live job tracking provides customers with alerts saying an engineer is on the way so that they don’t have to stay in and wait.
HOW JOB TRACKING DELIGHTS CUSTOMERS
We’ve touched on this briefly, but let’s delve into this more…
JOB TRACKING BENEFIT #1: EMPOWERS YOUR TEAM
This may seem backward, but businesses that win with their customer experience start with their employees.
Job tracking software is designed to be easy to use. It allows multiple employees to log in and track job progress in real-time. In fact, jobs can be opened and edited at the click of a button.
Why’s this important? Ultimately, it means job status reports are up-to-date, allowing you to inform customers instantly so they don’t have to wait to receive documentation. And if there’s an issue, the nearest engineer can be redirected to a job (more on this later).
This is all made possible by using the right solution and mobile app. This is key to real-time updates, as it allows engineers to communicate on the move. BigChange’s mobile app, for example, maximises efficiency by connecting your back office and field engineers in one system.
JOB TRACKING BENEFIT #2: BOOSTS CUSTOMER COMMUNICATION
Today’s customers want transparency, timeliness, and constant communication.
Job tracking software allows you to do just that. It keeps customers in the loop with automatic updates on job progress and arrival times. And the ease of automated communication boosts customer experiences and frees up your time to focus on service delivery.
Plus, with the back office having full visibility of a job’s status, it helps to eliminate errors. For example, an invoice won’t be sent to a customer in error when the job isn’t yet signed off (‘completed with issues’), or if your engineer was unable to gain access.
The number one reason clients complain about services is that the engineer wasn’t able to resolve the issue on the first visit.
It’s an all too common issue in field service businesses.
Yet, with job management software, customers can add notes and attachments when requesting a job. If a fix is flagged at a later point, first-time fixes are even more likely because the engineer knows the make, model number, and issue, so they are likely to have the right parts.
What’s more, using real-time data on parts in vans, engineer skills, and location, job tracking software can help you to assign the right team and equipment to the right site when issues do inevitably occur.
While this is great for improving customer satisfaction, when a job gets completed on the first visit, you can reduce costs and do more jobs in a day. You can boost efficiencies for your business too.
JOB TRACKING BENEFIT #4: PROVIDES CUSTOMERS WITH INSTANT DOCUMENTS
Once a field technician has completed a job, they can fill out all relevant information on their device, providing real-time updates on job cards (including warranties, images and test results).
Then when it comes to invoicing (if the job is complete), the accounts team can send the customer a digital invoice in seconds. Once invoiced, customers can then pay their invoice immediately using a range of convenient online options.
Not only do online payment methods ensure that your business bills are settled quickly and on time, but customers will have a smoother experience in dealing with the company and be more inclined to use your services again.
JOB TRACKING BENEFIT #5: ALLOWS FOR RAPID RESPONSES
Essentially, job tracking allows businesses to respond rapidly. There are a number of reasons why job tracking can help with this:
Availability of full customer history – This means you can send through site details and customer-specific information, such as health and safety regs, prior to arrival.
Finding the nearest resource to go to a specific location – Integration with other platforms, such as What3words, allows engineers to even find unmapped sites – invaluable for new builds or companies delivering, say, port-a-loos to festivals. This also helps meet KPIs and SLAs.
Preempting needs – To stay proactive, you can even use customer service history to detect when client equipment is due – for preventative maintenance, servicing, or upgrades.
As a side note, a field service technician who is prepared instils more confidence in customers.
JOB TRACKING BENEFIT #6: GET INSTANT FEEDBACK
Even when customers are happy, there is always room for improvement. Fundamentally, this is what sets you apart from competitors and prompts growth.
This is where automation can help. For example, using automated survey requests allows you to ask customers to rate their experience immediately following a job. This is a much more efficient way to capture feedback than manual processes like emailing or calling.
Once you have the feedback, you can digest it and make plans to improve service and customer experience.
And if you don’t get many replies to requests for customer feedback, you can also use job tracking software to review business intelligence data and KPIs to gain valuable insights to improve service levels.
Now that you know how job tracking delights customers, here is a case study of it in action.
Job tracking in action: Heatforce
Heating company, Heatforce, has used the latest job tracking software to boost its customer service rating by 25% in just six months.
Before implementing job tracking software, Heatforce was inundated with paper and with separate systems, it was proving increasingly difficult to manage operations, so they knew they needed to completely overhaul everything.
“With BigChange, office efficiency has already increased by 25%. In addition, improved job scheduling means fewer miles are being travelled, and productivity is up, especially as engineers don’t need to come to the office as often. We’ve also increased contract win rates thanks to the added capability BigChange gives us, and, despite the lockdown challenges of recent months, the system has actually enabled us to increase our profitability.”
By investing in the right all-in-one solution, your entire team can improve response time, reduce costs, and better satisfy customers.
And to top it off – First-time fix rates will soar! 🚀
Ready to accelerate growth for your business? Book a free one-to-one demo here today to see how BigChange can help you improve efficiencies and customer experience.
Gas engineer software makes planning, tracking, and monitoring jobs a total breeze.
With a range of features like job scheduling, real-time job tracking, and automated invoicing, job management software is a no-brainer for gas engineer businesses.
But because all tools aren’t built the same, it’s critical you choose the best software for your business.
In case you need convincing, an estimated 48% of field service businesses use job management software. Many of these are boosting growth by 35%. Additionally, businesses that invest in job management software boost productivity by 40% – and waste less money than businesses that don’t.
These stats are hard to ignore.
With that in mind, let’s dive into how you can choose the best software for your business.
WHY GAS ENGINEER SOFTWARE IS A GROWTH MUST-HAVE
In short, gas engineer software gets rid of the headache caused by scattered and chaotic paper-based operations and replaces it with an all-in-one solution that has everything you need and is easy-to-use.
The end result? Unshackled from the burden of admin, you can free up your team to take on more jobs. You get paid faster and boost your cash flow by invoicing in seconds — not days or even weeks. And you can reduce operational spend by optimising travel routes, reducing fuel, and resource costs.
But don’t take our word for it. Take a look at this handful of real results:
✅ Access digital risk assessments, gas safety certificates, and COSHH sheets.
✅ Keep all contracts safe and in one place.
✅ Search and filter documents to instantly find what you need.
Update jobs in real-time:
✅ Storing everything on a secure cloud means your teams have full visibility of jobs.
✅ Optimise engineers’ time and instantly capture signatures, upload photos, and find full job details.
Keep customers satisfied:
✅ Send key date reminders to customers.
✅ Alerts ensure your teams never miss a deadline.
✅ Grow relationships by giving your teams a 360˚ view of every account.
Boost cash flow:
✅ Get paid faster by updating jobs and issuing invoices on-the-go (or by automating them).
✅ Only order the parts you need.
✅ Track engineers in real-time and divert them if there’s an issue.
✅ Intelligent reporting provides financial information, such as work-in-progress (WIP) reports and profitability forecasts.
Now we know why gas engineer software is a no-brainer, let’s take a look at the features to look out for when choosing gas engineer software.
CHECKLIST: 6 BEST FEATURES FOR GAS ENGINEER SOFTWARE
You might have seen there are quite a few gas engineer software solutions out there. But not every solution is built the same. So let’s look at exactly what you need to gain streamlined operations and deliver superior customer experiences:
#1: IS IT AN ALL-IN-ONE JOB MANAGEMENT SOLUTION?
Does it allow for easy job tracking, managing invoicing securely, and easily hold documents?
Does it allow for live GPS tracking so that both you and your customers can see where engineers and parts are?
Can all your team members access the solution for easy collaboration (with the option to prevent access to sensitive information)?
#2: DOES IT ALLOW ENGINEERS TO MAKE REAL-TIME JOB UPDATES VIA A MOBILE APP?
Is there a mobile app for engineers to update jobs in real-time?
Is the system user-friendly and visual?
Can engineers access the safety documents they need and input new customer information, like the location of the gas meter and stopcock, while on-site? Or schedule themselves additional jobs when required?
#3: CAN IT EASILY AND SECURELY STORE GAS SAFETY DOCUMENTS?
Does it provide an easily accessible digital library of COSHH certificates, essential health and safety documents, and more?
Does it allow for easy completion of digital risk assessments and other compliance forms?
Is the solution industry compliant?
#4: DOES IT PROVIDE AUTOMATION?
Can it trigger alerts to notify engineers when new jobs arrive on their mobile device?
Can it send customer reminders?
Can it send automated Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) reminders for jobs such as machine or boiler servicing and allow customers to book in their renewal?
#5: CAN IT STREAMLINE INVOICING?
Does it enable you to issue an invoice and job sheet as soon as the job is complete?
Can you send automated or batch invoicing directly through the software?
Does it easily integrate with other systems like your accounting software to avoid double data entry?
#6: DOES IT GIVE YOU A 360-DEGREE VIEW OF YOUR CUSTOMER?
Does it provide real-time engineer and job status updates?
Can you view customer quotes and invoices?
Can you view customer documents like signatures, gas safety certificates and photos?
👉In summary, the right solution for you is one that eliminates as many manual processes as possible from your day-to-day work, saving you precious time and effort. Determine which tasks you need automated and invest in a solution that can efficiently automate these features and much more.
Psst. BigChange has all these features and more. Take a look here.
If you still need a little more convincing, here’s a real-life case study in action.
CASE STUDY: GAS ENGINEER SOFTWARE IN ACTION
Celsius plumbing and heating identified an opportunity to provide homeowners with the type of professional plumbing and heating service normally reserved for demanding ‘big contract’ commercial clients.
The challenge was working out how to achieve the desired levels of service as a relatively small and new player in the market.
The solution
Moving away from the cumbersome paperwork that burdened businesses like Celsius, the company made the switch to digital working, leveraging cloud and mobile technology. This covered every step from engineer scheduling to completion — eliminating paperwork at all stages.
The result?
Here’s what Celsius said:
We used to average 6 jobs a day, but now we are doing 7 or 8, meaning that our engineers are often 30% more productive.
Our service booking success rate increased from 20% to 90%.
Customers love the system. It’s really easy to book a date and time online and with ETA notifications on the day they know when an engineer will arrive.
“In the office, the productivity gains are even greater. With a single, paperless system, BigChange has not just cut administrative work but, through automation, we have significantly reduced the customer calls we make. Saving all that wasted time – we are certainly 40% more efficient – it has in effect freed up two members of staff to focus on important things like customer service.”
FINAL TAKEAWAYS
As with any software solution, gas engineer software needs to be easy to use, accessible by all (and on-the-go) and with built-in features that take away the administrative burden of physical paperwork.
Otherwise, it defeats the object of having it: to drive efficiencies.
But to really drive growth, you need a solution that goes beyond that. With features like job tracking, real-time GPS tracking for engineers, automation and more — you can really start to drive cost reductions. This is everything from customer booking reminders, fuel cost reduction, and booking in more jobs, through to redirecting nearby engineers in a crisis.
The bottom line is the right software for gas engineers will pay for itself very quickly. Plus, it will improve customer experiences like never before.
Why Shacklocks, Celsius and Heatforce choose BigChange
Trusted by 130+ UK plumbing and heating businesses, BigChange’s paperless gas engineer software is specifically designed to enable business growth.
Say goodbye to chaos and hello to a boost in productivity 🚀
Our software for gas engineers gives plumbing and heating companies the power to do more, guarantees operational compliance and delivers winning customer experiences. (More on this in our brochure).
Ready to put BigChange to the test? Book a free demo here today to see how BigChange can help you grow stronger.
Human beings are social creatures. We need to spend time with one another to feel, well – human. BigChange may be a technology company, but we pride ourselves on our humanity – there is always a person at the end of the phone if you need us, our people are unfailingly kind and considerate – and all are excellent problem solvers.
To reward this outstanding team, we host a special seasonal get-together every year. After a long hiatus for Covid, we brought it back last year. I’ll never forget the incredible atmosphere in the room as colleagues who had interacted solely online for two years met and danced the night away.
Last night, we held this year’s BigChange Awards and Thanksgiving party (we are part-owned by an American company, after all) and it was just as wonderful as last year’s bash. A glass of bubbly, and a proper sit down dinner, followed by dancing. A token of our appreciation for our people’s hard work in recent months.
Most of us are back in the office for at least a day a week now, but the event brought together more than 200 people from across the whole of BigChange’s international operations. Nothing beats meeting IRL [in real life] for raising the spirits.
The event was held at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. It was a privilege to be surrounded by such incredible exhibits – slices of British history. BigChange is about to celebrate its tenth birthday, so the moment was even more meaningful.
But on to the highlight of the evening: the awards. The ceremony was a little different this year. The categories this year were all aligned with BigChange values.
Here’s a little roundup of who won what.
The “Big on Ethics” award went to business development manager Eli Sufrin. This is the second time Eli has picked up an award at our winter event. A true team player, he is always fair, authentic, and puts customers’ needs first.
He was not the only person to win over two consecutive years. Fellow business development manager George Dibb, who picked up the CEO award in 2021, won the “Big on Change” category this year, for his ability to help those in the plumbing, heating and electrical contracting sectors to adapt and thrive.
Sarah Cox, our Customer Success Director, won the “Mission Award” this year, reflecting her ability to generate brilliant outcomes for customers while upholding our values. Tansy Sheehy, a fellow Customer Success Director and productivity queen, claimed the Purpose Award.
Our scrum master Catriona Faulds is our “Big on Energy” champion this year as a result of her dynamic and vibrant approach to recruitment and promoting women in technology. HR advisor Maisy Hampton won the “Big on Inclusion” award for her refreshing approach to talent acquisition.
BigChange’s green champion, Installations Co-Ordinator Fatimah Fellah won our “Big on Sustainability” award for her work helping customers to slash emissions and dramatically reduce waste. Lee Wilkinson picked up the “Green Flag Award” for consistently providing an exceptional customers experience through his role as Network Customer Experience Director.
Richard Warley was hard pressed to choose a winner for the CEO Award this year, so he chose two! Lead Software Engineer Joe Woodhead and Senior Product Manager Andy Knight (who also won an award last year) both impressed Richard with their technical skills, vision, and ability to execute complex projects.
And finally, it was a great privilege to give out my own Chairman’s Award again this year. Huge congratulations to Andy Davenport, our tireless Technical Support Manager, who picked up Employee of the Year in 2021 and remains passionate, committed, and totally irreplaceable.
Many congratulations to all of you. These awards are very well deserved. Thank you for all you’ve done for this company and your teams. What a treat to spend time with all of you – with no screens in sight! I hope you enjoyed the party.
Traditionally, job management was symbolised by three things: a pencil, a sheet of paper, and T-cards.
However, as technology and customer expectations evolve, field service businesses are making the move to job management software.
In this blog, we’ll walk you through seven ways to improve job management in 2023.
But first, let’s get into why improving job management is so important for field service businesses.
Challenges of field service management
Efficient, seamless, and quality field service management isn’t always easy. Aspects that negatively affect the customer experience include:
Long waiting times
Poor customer communication
Lack of information for field service engineers
As well as leading to unhappy customers, these challenges can also increase the need for costly return visits and leave your team feeling stressed.
The global pandemic has changed field service management for many organisations. We’re seeing a spike in businesses adopting new solutions to improve job management and future-proof their businesses.
So, how do you keep customers happy, and help field engineers perform at their best? Below, we outline our top seven tips.
7 ways field service teams can improve job management in 2023
In short, the primary purpose of job management software is to assist field service businesses to run a more efficient and profitable business.
In this respect, job management platforms have numerous advantages.
Uniting job scheduling, resource management, team collaboration, finance and billing, job tracking and reporting, you can quickly and easily manage projects from quote to invoice.
Here’s the top seven ways to improve job management in 2023 and a walkthrough of each benefit individually:
Route engineers more efficiently
With pump prices at an 18-year high and not set to significantly fall anytime soon, fuel costs can quickly run up the bill.
That’s why it’s in your best interest to ensure engineers take the fastest and shortest routes to site. The right job management platform can map the most efficient route to reduce travel time.
Job management software solutions can also help you to react faster to urgent jobs by finding the nearest resource to a specific location. Real-time updates also let you know when a worker finishes a job and can take on a new job.
Keep on schedule
In the past, customers were happy enough to wait hours or days for an engineer or piece of equipment to arrive. Today’s customers expect you to value their time – which means you can’t leave scheduling to chance.
Modern job management tools ensure you assign the right engineer, resources, and parts to the right job – all while keeping your customers fully informed. Likewise, keeping track of vehicles can help with maintaining your fleet.
Gain real-time information
Real-time information is helpful for all involved in a field service job, from engineers, to finance, and, of course, the end customer.
For example, an increasing number of consumers want to see modern technology with ‘Amazon-type’ features like real-time updates, the engineer’s location, and two-way communication.
It also acts as a real-time link between the office and the fieldworker, meaning that you can send images and documents with a customer on-site. Plus, it allows job cards to be sent immediately after the job is completed.
Optimise resource management
Good resource management can help make significant savings with the costs of machinery and vehicles.
In contrast, increased downtime and inefficient use of assets eats into profit margins.
But by tracking assets, you can fully optimise their use, whether it’s ensuring that vehicles are regularly serviced or that certification and industry credentials are kept up to date. In fact, 96% of companies that use fleet tracking find it beneficial and users reported a positive return on investment six months after implementation.
Job management tools also reduce the need to have more than one engineer on-site to solve an issue. Through cloud storage, engineers can access previous service history and vital documents to perform tasks better.
Improve time management
Historically, managers have had a hard time managing field service teams and monitoring the quality and punctuality of their work.
With the right software and improved scheduling tools, you can cut admin time by 60-70% – and view precise locations and whether the job started on time via job tracking.
You can make job and resource allocations faster and make it easy for all employees to know what to do, when, and where.
Reduce manual work
Manually keying in work orders, customer information and tasks to separate systems takes time and is prone to human-error.
Instead, your workflows could be automated and integrated.
Plus, not only can job management be automated, but also reports, certificates, and customer documents can be created automatically.
Improve cash flow
In today’s day and age, it’s more important than ever to keep tight control of the financial reins, whether via excellent reporting or tighter control of stock and preventative maintenance scheduling.
The good news is, financial documents can be created straight from a job’s information, resulting in improved cash flow – and no un-invoiced jobs.
The future is digital
Businesses across all industries are undergoing digital transformation, and a similar process is underway for field service management businesses.
Every day, we’re seeing more and more field service businesses make the switch from traditional manual methods and legacy systems to more modern integrated job management platforms.
Whether you’re in the market for job management software or are looking to make the switch to a complete end-to-end solution, the team at BigChange is here to help.
In short,digital job management solutions can have an immediate effect on your profitability, efficiency, and customer experience.
Field service businesses, large and small, juggle many jobs, tasks, and people. Having the right solution keeps everything and everyone organised and able to run jobs in a way that is accurate, efficient, and profitable.
In fact, field service management software is probably the single most useful tool in making you more competitive and setting you apart from the rest of your industry.
How BigChange provides a strong competitive advantage
At BigChange, it’s our mission to make our customers successful by accelerating growth and sustainability in our community.
In fact, our approach is revolutionising an under-resourced but critical part of the UK economy. For the first time, these businesses can be truly scalable.
We’ve even won awards for it.
We are extremely proud to celebrate winning The Business Enabler of the Year at the Lloyds Bank British Business Excellence Awards, the UK’s most prestigious national awards honouring the innovation, success, and resilience of British business. (And we are proud to be the first job management software company to do so.)
Why did we win this award? The win recognises our contribution to helping SME field service businesses transform operational efficiency, productivity, and customer service – and for using our position to promote best practice, safer driving, and compliance with field teams.
Speaking of best practice, in this blog, we’ll walk you through seven examples of how we’re helping BigChange customers to gain a competitive advantage, starting with one of the key benefits of job management software – effortless scheduling.
Example #1: Effortless Scheduling
Intelligent scheduling allows customers to schedule jobs, see if resources are on schedule, and send and receive automated messaging.
By the same token, not only can customers schedule and reschedule jobs quickly and easily, but so too can field service engineers.
Take MEDLEC, for example. The electrical contractor boosted worker productivity by 40% thanks to engineers being able to self-allocate jobs.
“As jobs come in, they are instantly available to our engineers. It means we can be more reactive and efficient with our time, therefore we’re around 40% more productive, allowing us to take on more work with the same resources.”
If you haven’t considered job management software before, you can see how easy it is to schedule a job below.
You can simply drag and drop a job onto the schedule – and send it straight to your mobile workforce.
Example #2: Paperless Operations
It goes without saying, going paperless is one of the hallmarks of a good job management process.
You can’t gain efficiencies when you spend so much time double-keying the same information into several systems, writing up job sheets, and using T-cards.
Going digital reduces admin time, plus overall job time – and human error.
With all your key information stored digitally, your team can access it from anywhere in an instant. The increased efficiency will mean you get more work done – with the same amount of people.
It’s good for the planet too. 🌍
Look for an all-in-one cloud-based solution that can link up with Sage 50, Xero and more.
But don’t just take it from us, see what plumbing and heating firm, Celsius, said:
“The new link between BigChange & Xero is now seamless and instant no delays. We only have to enter data once and that cuts hours off our admin time. Now anyone can raise an invoice we don’t have to rely solely on the accounts team. This system automation will allow us to grow without increasing our back office headcount.”
Example #3: Easy To Use Mobile App
Even those with job management software in place can fall short without a mobile app.
Your workforce is mainly on the road, so it’s critical they have everything they need on the go.
A mobile app reduces job time, improves first-time fix rates, and more. Specifically, jobs can be sent to field workers in real-time allowing for urgent changes to happen instantly.
In fact, everything you want your field workers to have can be made available on a customer-by-customer basis, from site maps to manuals, forms and worksheets.
What makes BigChange the best job management software for many clients is its integration with vehicle and job tracking. This allows vehicle locations to be displayed on a secure, web-based mapping system. This real-time tracking provides instant visibility of technicians, as well as traffic conditions – reducing customer wait times and travel costs and emissions.
Talking about the solution, Danny Fuller, Operations Director, at LDF said:
BigChange handles our job management brilliantly, linking site history, alerts and client access rules seamlessly,” he continued. “The function for multiday work, grouped jobs and the allocation of purchase orders is also fantastic and being able to link multiple teams, and multiple jobs to the same address has been a godsend.”
BigChange is also saving LDF customers time and money, evidenced by 86% of its business coming from repeat customers.
Example #4: Accurate Job Tracking
Accurate tracking means complete visibility of your field based teams, vehicles, and assets with real-time updates.
Knowing exactly where your field workers are at all times, means you can reroute them if necessary or divert them to pick-up van stock from the nearest supplier or colleague.
You can also plan and reduce fuel costs with smart routing between jobs.
These efficiencies can translate into big profits, as illustrated by J W Hinchcliffe (Tanks):
“Since we went live with BigChange around 2 years ago, we have increased our turnover by around 35 per cent.“BigChange has freed up my time to run the business rather than it running me. This has allowed me to invest time in other areas of the business, such as the website, advertising and customer care, which has undoubtedly contributed to our growth.”
Example #5: Robust CRM Database
In today’s world, how you manage customers matters.
With a CRM system built for field service businesses, you can improve customer satisfaction through instant communication. Customers can log into a customer portal, track job progress, leave feedback, and directly communicate with your business.
Plus, field service operations become easier to manage. With full customer history, you can send reminders for recurring jobs, such as servicing of machinery and scheduled PPM (planned preventative maintenance). And you can also see full financial history with a customer as well as associated images, attachments, and contracts.
Of course, the real value of a CRM comes when it is integrated with your job management software.
As an example, before BigChange, Omnia Plumbing used a standalone diary system, separate accounting software, and no CRM – which meant countless phone calls and lots of wasted time. Talking about the switch to BigChange, Omnia’s owner, Alastair Barton said:
“Since implementing BigChange, our customer interaction has vastly improved with automated ETAs and updates, and project-specific information available wherever and whenever it’s needed. The vehicle tracking also means we never miss billing a job which saves us literally tens of thousands of pounds every year!”
Example #6: Strong Network and Partnership
Another way to gain competitive advantage is through a strong network and partnerships.
In a nutshell, a strong network allows you to offer yourself as a contractor/subcontractor or look for contractors/subcontractors safe in the knowledge they are trustworthy partners.
At BigChange, we are huge advocates of a partnership approach. We even have an entire team dedicated to it.
The BigChange “Network” provides the ideal platform for collaboration between customers.
To see how it works in practice, watch our overview video, below.
Example #7: Critical Business Intelligence
When evaluating job management software, it’s easy to focus on ease of job scheduling, and all those other important elements to improve efficiencies. While all of this is important, we sometimes forget to consider business information.
Access to business intelligence insights can highlight opportunities to not only improve efficiency but also forecast cash flow management.
With ‘at-a-glance’ dashboards, you gain improved insight into your business. You can set-up KPIs and track job completion stages, financial reports with details on work in progress, and much more.
It’s so important that everybody, from engineers to back-office staff have access to the right information, as Adam Redgwick, from Warmaway, points out:
“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.”
Award-winning field service business: NWCE
What’s even better than winning awards ourselves is seeing our clients win them.
NWCE Foodservice Equipment has recently won a Catering Insight award in the category Distributor of the Year Digital Initiative.
Powered by BigChange, the food service equipment company is now able to save 31.4 miles in a day, saving roughly 31 minutes of driving time with live traffic forecasting.
This converts to a massive reduction of 1.5 tons of CO₂ per van, per year!
See for yourself👇
Gain competitive advantage with BigChange
As you plan for next year, take the time to consider what’s best for your field service business and how you can maximise efficiencies and improve cash flow to scale and grow.
If we have you convinced that job management software is the way to do it, start here with a demo to find out if BigChange could work for you.
I have lived with acute hearing loss for most of my life. Over the past year, my hearing has deteriorated – I am now profoundly deaf to high frequency sounds. Amazing technology exists that helps me live a full and hassle-free life, and there are new developments all the time. But I do sometimes wonder whether I would have had the successes I’ve had if I were born in a different century.
Beethoven may have composed many masterpieces after losing his hearing, but he is one of very few stories where a disabled person triumphs against adversity. In Beethoven’s case, he lived in almost total isolation once he lost his hearing.
It’s timely to chew over these ideas. The 16th of November marked the start of UK Disability History Month. It was created to celebrate the achievements of people living with a disability and raise awareness of the challenges they continue to face. Yes, the world has become a much friendlier place for those living with disabilities. From tactile paving to hearing aid induction loops, assistance for those with sensory impairments is widespread. But there is still a long way to go.
Earlier this week, my investment company Port Growth Partners partnered with the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) to help put on a little quiz night. John Bishop, the comedian, hosted the quiz – his son has an autoimmune disorder that causes deafness, and he is very passionate about the cause. We had some great supporters in the room – the likes of Sir Rocco Forte our host – and we raised £50,000. The RNID is a crucial champion in the battle for equal rights and support for the deaf – there are 12m of us in the UK alone.
At BigChange, we have worked really hard to be an inclusive organisation, which welcomes people from all walks of life. We actively recruit those with disabilities and have programmes in place to support neurodiverse colleagues. We believe that by having a truly diversified team, we create better, more considerate technology.
For most of my life I have tried to hide my deafness. I have shied away from wearing visible hearing aids. You worry that people make certain assumptions about you when they see those clunky gadgets tucked behind your ear.
UK Disability History Month has been an opportunity to reflect on that approach. I no longer want to hide my disability. There is no shame in my hearing loss. People wear glasses without embarrassment – they are a fashion accessory!
Life was actually easier for me – in some ways – during lockdown. We all communicated via Teams, which meant I could wear a headset and hear every word. It’s only now we’re back in the office and meeting customers that I’m reminded how little I can hear in ordinary life.
Elon Musk’s attitude to innovation is brilliantly controversial. Anything he’s already invented; he sees as ancient history. At Tesla, all his patents are available to analyse – he’s a fundamental believer in open source. Rumour has it he now wants to make all of Twitter’s algorithms publicly available too.
In June 2014, Musk issued a statement that announced: ‘All Our Patent Are Belong To You’. He said that “in the spirit of the open-source movement”, Tesla would not “initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology”. He doesn’t care if people borrow or build on his past ideas. In fact, he invites it.
I love this approach.
It basically shows that you don’t care about competition. You are so sure of your position in the market and confident in your ability to come up with the “next big thing” that you give rivals easy access to all your technology. It’s genius.
He also proves his commitment to industry-wide change and innovation. He wants to change the world by helping to promote sustainable transport and move away from our reliance on fossil fuels and his open-source philosophy supports that mission.
The proof is in Tesla’s growth rate: revenues in 2022 are likely to rise 50% on 2021’s results, and 2021 turnover was up 70% on 2020.
Of course, not all businesses can operate in this way. Elon Musk is a billionaire genius, after all – he can afford to be confident, almost arrogant, in his approach to innovation. But I do think that most leaders could benefit from taking a leaf from his book.
It’s never a good idea to spend too much time watching your competition. Firstly, you won’t mean to, but you will be influenced by their business model and product suite when perhaps you would have been better off coming up with a brand-new approach or creating products that are completely novel.
You will be distracted from your own growth plans because you’ll be so concerned with theirs.
If today’s leaders put 50% of the effort they expend watching their competition into inventing new products and services, they would probably become the market leader.
Instead of analysing your rivals, just ask your customers what they need. That is a far better route to success. Your competition might get something wrong, misinterpret a need, and then you’ll just reproduce that same mistake. By going to your customers – direct to the source – there will be fewer mistakes, fewer rewrites of your tech, and more growth. Plus your customers will love the fact you’re listening to them, rather than telling them what they need.
In business, you are your own competition. You are only as good as your last invention, your latest review, your most recent hire. That’s the best way to stay on top of your game. Don’t live in the past – or even the present – keep reimagining your business for the future.
BigChange, the job management software company, is celebrating victory at the Lloyds Bank British Business Excellence Awards, the UK’s most prestigious national awards programme honouring the innovation, success, and resilience of British business.
The company picked up The Business Enabler of the Year Award, which celebrates outstanding businesses that help their customers to increase sales and profitability and gain a competitive advantage over their rivals. BigChange is the first job management software company to win this award.
The award recognised BigChange’s contribution to helping its small and medium-sized business customers transform operational efficiency, productivity and customer service and for using its position to promote best practices, safer driving and compliant ways of working with field teams.
BigChange has won 300 new customers since the start of 2022 and is now used by 1,900 organisations worldwide in sectors including building maintenance, fire and security, plumbing and heating, waste management, and electrical contracting.
Richard Warley, Chief Executive Officer at BigChange, comments:
“We are absolutely thrilled to win such a prestigious award. The judges recognised the role we’ve played transforming how thousands of trades businesses manage jobs and mobile workers, and the huge positive impact it has made to their productivity, profitability and customer experience.”
