Category: Leadership

Two years ago, Larry Fink, the chief executive of investment giant BlackRock, shocked the business world when he published an open letter to his fellow business leaders, calling on all of us to make social purpose our top priority.

“To prosper over time, every company must not only deliver financial performance, but also show how it makes a positive contribution to society,”

he wrote.

“Companies must benefit all of their stakeholders, including shareholders, employees, customers, and the communities in which they operate.”

His words resonated with me: I have always been passionate about creating businesses that generate more than profit, and create lasting positive change in the wider community and through the charities they support.

This is why I am absolutely delighted to announce my new appointment to the board of Business in the Community for Yorkshire and the Humber. It is an honour to be a part of such a brilliant organisation, and I will work tirelessly to support its future success.

I have been a member of the charity since 2008, when I joined as the founder of Masternaut, my previous business. I saw first-hand the power of grassroots organisations like BITC, whether providing emergency aid after floods, or ensuring disadvantaged young people stay in education to get the vital skills they need to prosper.

I stayed an active member, even through the start-up years of BigChange. It is extremely important to me that business works in tandem with local communities to build a better world.

This isn’t blind altruism. There are many benefits for businesses that choose to partner with the BITC. The team here wants to work for an organisation that cares, and BITC’s benchmarking programme helps to showcase our successes in areas such as sustainability, philanthropy and employee welfare. That boosts both staff retention and our ability to hire great people.

I am humbled to join a group of heavyweight industry veterans on the board, from the likes of KPMG, Deloitte, Asda, Aviva and Eversheds. I will be flying the flag for small businesses and helping BITC to connect with more entrepreneurs like me.

This is a proud moment for me, and I look forward to building on BITC’s success. At BigChange, we are committed to driving positive change, both through our JobWatch platform, which eliminates paperwork, manages compliance, health & safety, and cuts carbon emissions, and as a charitable partner, donating all we can to good causes. I look forward to making even more progress on this shared mission over the coming years. If you would like to get involved, please leave a comment or drop me a line. We need you!

When you need to fill a role at your company, it may be tempting to bring in an outsider. You may think that newcomers bring skills you haven’t seen yet, insight from competitors, or new ways of tackling problems.

Over the years, I’ve learned that, while hiring from outside the company can be beneficial, it’s often a much better idea to look closer to home.

Here’s why:

At BigChange, our people know the business and our customers inside out. They know my priorities, as a leader. For me, customer experience is paramount. It takes time for new arrivals to understand our culture, and time is something fast-growth technology companies don’t have a lot of.

When you bring in big names from outside the business to fill senior roles, it demotivates the team. When you promote from within, everyone sees the potential to grow and pursue a long-term career at your organisation.

There are people here who started in Roadcrew and have then gone on to take senior roles. They are inspirational figures, helping junior members of the team to dream big!

Hiring through recruiters is expensive and I feel that money is better spent incentivising our people to keep growing and learning new skills in bigger, better roles.

The big promotion

We recently filled a senior position with an internal candidate, and it’s been a major coup for BigChange.

Last January, I bought a company called Labyrinth, creator of an award-winning cloud-based logistics compliance tool (now the BigChange Audit feature).

The company was co-founded by Jo Godsmark and Ruth Waring , a logistics and supply chain specialist. I’m delighted to announce that I have now appointed Jo the Chief Operations Officer of BigChange and Ruth will become Managing Director of BigChange Advisory Plus the former Labyrinth business.

I’ve known of Jo for a while. She is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport (CILT) and the chair of the board of trustees for Transaid, a charity I am passionate about. She comes from a big business background – she’s held roles at Mars and Ford.

Seeing the impact she had within Labyrinth, I knew she would be the ideal COO of BigChange. She’s entrepreneurial, empathic, and is highly technical – she’s a chartered engineer.

She is already driving efficiencies here at BigChange, helping our hard-working teams to get the resources they need to keep improving service. She is also as passionate about corporate social responsibility as I am.

It’s been a real joy to bring Jo up through the ranks of BigChange this year. When we bought Labyrinth, we did it because of its brilliant product and people but also because of the cultural fit between our two companies. When looking for a new COO, we could have tried to poach someone from a rival but Jo ‘gets’ BigChange: she gets our mission, she gets the company dynamic, and she gets me.

The next time a senior position opens up in your company, don’t automatically call your recruiter. There may be someone in your organisation that would be perfect for the role.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

I was in France last week, meeting the BigChange French team out there. We discussed our progress so far and made plans for the future and then the conversation moved on to the differences between the UK and France.

They have wine with lunch over there, and the break lasts almost two hours so it was a lively debate!

I am a Francophile. I love the food and the culture. But when it comes to working practices, the gulf between the French and us is really striking.

No one can rival the UK for health and safety. We are number one for compliance in Europe, if not the world. We set the standard. My French team told me that France is the opposite: there is simply no understanding of best practice, and compliance is an afterthought rather than a priority.

According to the Health and Safety Executive, the UK has the lowest rate of fatal injury in the European Union at 0.5 per 100,000 employees. In France, that number rises to 3.3. If you look at the number of employees with long-term, work-related heath problems, again, the UK is the best performer, compared to France where more than 5pc of its workforce is affected.

It is clear that France is ready for a big change. We are going to help French companies to build compliance, health and safety, and best practice into their business models in an easy and pain-free way, while becoming more efficient. It’s a no brainer for them.

My team in France also said that customer service levels are nowhere near the high standards we have grown used to in the UK. They told me that when someone comes along with “wow!” customer service, it is really noticeable – new business floods in. We pride ourselves on always putting the customer first.

Of course, there is a lot that we can learn from the French: they are brilliant at complex infrastructure projects and some of the biggest construction firms in the world are based in France. It is also a nation full of highly-skilled workers, especially in areas such as software engineering. Britain is crying out for that kind of talent.

But it fills me with confidence, amidst all the uncertainty around Brexit, that we still clearly have so much to offer. Even after Britain leaves the European Union (if it happens), we have skills and abilities that countries like France desperately need and vice-versa.

It’s only 27 miles between Dover and Calais but France and the UK are worlds apart. I look forward to learning from our French cousins, and bringing all our experience to bear to help French companies thrive.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

Back in June of this year I announced that we were bringing in a 4.5-day week in anticipation of moving to a four-day week by 2021.

I’m really passionate about this idea. We live in a modern age powered by automation. We should all be working less, taking better care of our mental health and spending more time with friends and loved ones.

Lots of people told me I was crazy. I said that we would see an uptick in productivity and employee engagement, and no decrease in service. They told me it was likely to put more stress on managers, and that lots of people wouldn’t take the extra half-day.

It turns out: I was right. And you were also right.

Today I walked around the office and spoke to people across every department about our Flexi Friday initiative. I wanted to know if they were taking the half-day, what they were doing with it, and how the system could be improved.

Overall, it’s been a success. People across all teams say it’s a major bonus of working here. New recruits told me it was a factor in their choice to work at BigChange. They couldn’t wait to finish probation so that they could also benefit from the extra time off.

“It feels like I get a proper weekend now,” said our HR director, Sonal. “It’s a big advantage of working here,” Julie from credit control told me. “The extra time off is more valuable than money,” said Isaac, 23, who joined us straight from university.

My straw poll today really brought home the dedication of my team. Tom, who works in commercial, said: “It encourages me to keep on top of things during the week but, if there’s work to be done, I won’t always take it.”

Sonal is meeting with all the managers next week to get a full report but said anecdotally that Flexi Friday has been well-received and there have been no complaints so far.

But there are issues with the new system. I worried that some of the customer-facing teams would struggle to take half days every Friday. That has been the case. Instead they take a half-day at other times in the week but it’s not the same.

Not everyone is able to go flexi. My head of professional services said that he’s told all his friends about it and they’re jealous – but he’s yet to actually take an extra half-day because he has too much on.

BigChange is growing so fast that some teams have just enough people to handle the workload. They simply can’t spare anyone on a Friday. Managers are handling the extra work of allocating resource admirably but there’s no doubt the extra employees absences put pressure on them.

One thing is clear: we need to recruit a lot more people. We can’t expect managers and teams to wholeheartedly embrace Flexi Friday without extra hands on deck. That is now a priority for me: there needs to be cover for every role. That’s the only way to make 4.5 days truly workable.

We are coming towards the end of 2019 and hurtling towards the New Year. I don’t have long to iron out the kinks before we move to a four-day workweek. But we are making progress, and there has been no detrimental effect on service or delivery. Hats off to the team for making this bold idea a moderate – if not runaway – success. And thank you to all the doubters for keeping my feet on the ground. If you have any advice on getting over these last few hurdles, get in touch.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

It’s not often that I attend an industry event and leave feeling as though my eyes have been opened to something completely new.

But at the recent Women in Logistics conference organised by its founder BigChange Director Ruth Wearing, I was completely bowled over by one speaker: Jennifer Swain.

She works for Clipper, one of the UK’s leading logistics companies. Clipper, like many British companies, is likely to be hit by staff shortages in the wake of Brexit. Unlike many companies, it decided to take decisive action. However, the action it has taken is truly extraordinary.

Clipper has created a Fresh Start programme to widen its talent pool and help support long-term unemployed people into work. The initiative was created in partnership with several charities, all supporting vulnerable, excluded, or disabled people who have struggled to find work elsewhere. Clipper has teamed up with the likes of MenCap, the charity for people with special needs, Scope, which helps those with physical disabilities, Tempus Novo, which works with ex-offenders, and Emmaus, a charity for the ex-homeless, to name but a few. These charities represent around 11m people between them: an extraordinary talent pool that has been almost entirely untapped.

Fresh Start is an incredible example of what’s possible when you marry corporate social responsibility with smart business strategy. It’s inspiring how they have tackled an issue – finding great people to do manual work – but done it in a way where everyone benefits.

It’s not easy to run a project like this. You need to make sure your offices are completely accessible to those with disabilities. You need to make sure you are able to support those with mental health issues or special needs. You need champions on the ground to mentor and guide new recruits. You need to be completely flexible, and allow people to work when they can. Clipper has achieved a Disability Confident Committed award for its approach.

There are a few firms out there doing great work like this. Timpson, the cobblers and locksmith chain, was a trailblazer in employing ex-offenders. Recycling Lives, the waste management company, a BigChange customer is another amazing business that supports the homeless, ex-offenders and the long-term unemployed into meaningful work.

Clipper has now employed many capable staff through Fresh Start. These people are likely to be incredibly loyal and long-serving because they have been given the opportunity to forge a career with a great company. I take my hat off to Clipper.

This has spurred me on to think of how we can do more to help people who have struggled to find work into a rewarding job here at BigChange. I have a vested interest in making this work: as the father of two children with special needs, it’s a cause close to my heart. They are wonderful young adults one does work for BigChange in a software testing role and my other son works on a care farm.

This country needs innovators like Clipper, who take a problem and find enduring and ingenious solutions. Let’s all join the charge.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

I’m not surprised that so many Silicon Valley technologists have become advocates of the digital detox. The developers behind the likes of Facebook and Google have seen the impact that gamifying apps has had on the average phone user.

We are all addicted to our phones and we use them for everything, from email to photos to social media.

There’s even a new organisation, which was founded by ex-techies, called the Centre for Humane Technology, which is calling for the software giants to stop competing for our attention, and instead devote themselves to helping consumers achieve “Time Well Spent”.

I’m not going to wait for the tech giants to design an app to help me enjoy life. I’ve decided to take control.

I recently went on holiday to Cyprus. As readers of this blog will know, I usually struggle to switch off – even when I’m away with the family. So this time I started locking my phone away in the hotel safe. At 10am, it was gone, and I wouldn’t allow myself another look until 6pm. It stays in the room when we have dinner too.

As digital detoxes go, this was pretty ‘lite’ but I noticed it had a profound impact. I have been fully focused on my family. The conversation has been flowing. My wife and I have had a chance to properly unwind (although she’s still been using her phone, despite my best efforts).

When we went out for dinner in the evening, I noticed just how many people were absorbed in their phones. They would sit in silence, or speak in short sentences. That could have been us this holiday.

I realise it’s not easy to attempt a digital detox, especially as a entrepreneur with a growing company. But there are a few things you can do to make the process easier.

1.) Do it during the summer holidays

Have you noticed the volume of email dropping right down? That’s because a lot of people are taking time off to be with their children. Take advantage of a quieter August and plan your detox to coincide with school holidays.

2.) Get a PA

There is no way I would be able to detox without my PA. She handles everything urgent on my behalf. You need to be able to put down your phone, knowing that someone you trust can field emails and calls.

3.) Build digital detoxing into your company culture

You need to show your team that they are not expected to check their emails on holiday. Start by cutting communications in the evenings and on weekends. Lead by example, and don’t send emails out of hours. If you can delegate, other people will too. When someone goes on holiday, make sure there are processes in place that mean they don’t need to check in. When anyone is out of the office, there should be another person who can pick up the slack.

4.) Enjoy the detox

There’s no point locking away your phone if you’re going to hate every minute. Prepare yourself for the experience, and enjoy unplugging from technology. Take the time to have conversations with real people, and to notice the world around you.

I’ve become a digital detox evangelist on this holiday. When I see people round the pool on their phones, I’ve been telling them to put them down. They have had their revenge: when someone saw me writing this blog on my phone, they told me off.

Steve Jobs famously wouldn’t let his kids near the iPad. Bill Gates says his family has strict rules on screen time. If the world’s most famous technologists feared the impact of too much screen time, we should too.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

The UK public sector employs more than 27m people – nearly 20pc of Britain’s population. This enormous patchwork of institutions, from local councils to central government departments, has a total spend of around £800bn.

When you are dealing with organisations of this size, it is natural that there will be inefficiencies. A single local council needs to cover hundreds of different disciplines, from pruning trees to special needs education, gritting roads to pest control. Each of these individual disciplines is likely to have its own IT system and operational platform. This means that a single council can run more than 70 different systems, none of which talk to one another, each linked to a separate budget.

As an entrepreneur, this model frustrates me. Silos are counterproductive: you can’t pass on best practice, share resource, or collectively problem-solve when you operate in a bubble.

There is another issue: the way that government budgets are allocated completely destroys any incentive for councils to unify operations or work with other departments. When the government slashed local council budgets a few years ago, the austerity measures meant that salary increases were stopped and any budget left over at the end of the year was reclaimed. Local councils now rush to spend their entire budget or risk losing it. Different departments are in competition with each other, which prevents them from working for the greater good. It’s quite perverse and the opposite of a pro-efficiency mindset.

At BigChange, we work with several local councils. Unlike many of their peers, these councils are battling these pressures and are trying to change. They have brought in the digital transformation specialists and business improvement executives and are actively looking to modernise.

Our platform typically takes out up to five legacy systems in one go, replacing them with a seamless, cross-discipline platform that unites the tree surgeons, special needs teachers and gritters alike. It’s incredibly exciting to see the savings that we can generate. And these councils shouldn’t have to lose their budgets; they should be able to funnel the savings into other under-funded projects, such as help for the disabled.

This would be a revolutionary change to the outmoded model but one that is sorely needed. There is huge potential for us, and others like us, to help councils and other government departments but progress is slow. It’s not down to the people – most councils employ brilliant and committed staff. It’s the system that is flawed.

One of the main reasons that there has been a huge push for government to do more business with small firms like ours is so that the public sector can benefit from our innovation and speed of delivery. But the government must do more: it must take the bold step of incentivising the public sector to make the big changes.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

Many bosses pay lip service to the importance of looking after their people – but often that’s as far as it goes.

It’s easy to say, ‘employees are the lifeblood of my business’ but if you really, truly value your team, and want to ensure your employees are happy, healthy and engaged, you need to work at it.

At BigChange, we invest heavily in the wellbeing of our people. This week, I thought I’d share some of the initiatives that have worked really well for us – many of these strategies are cheap or free, yet we see an incredible response from the people. It’s not just about the great feedback we receive – the numbers speak for themselves: employee retention rates stand at 97%.

Have a huddle

We have a “huddle” twice a month. These informal meetings start at 9am and involve every member of the team; even remote workers out on the road dial in to take part. During these huddles, we talk about how the business is doing, and share any milestones or announcements. This is also where we introduce new hires or work experience people. But our huddles aren’t boring and staid. They are noisy, boisterous affairs, with lots of banter, laughter and applause.

Party hard
As well as our annual Christmas party, we also have a summer party in July. BigChange lays on all the food, drink and entertainment, and it’s a great way to bring people together. We have a small office in France, and we fly over those employees so they can spend time with their UK colleagues.

Motivational Monday
On the first Monday of every month, we invite amazing, interesting people who have overcome some kind of challenge, or have faced adversity, to share their stories. Tomorrow, Bob Champion is coming to talk to us about beating cancer and going on to win the Grand National. Everyone in the company is invited to attend, and it’s an incredibly motivating way to start the month. We invest significantly in these monthly events.

BigChange birthday

Everyone gets an extra day off on their work anniversary. It’s just a little gesture that shows people we care.

Fit and healthy folk

It’s really important to me that my team feel well at work. That’s why BigChange pays for a gym membership for all our employees, and brings in a massage therapist twice a month to give head, foot, or back and neck massages. We also encourage people to take a walk at lunch time, and stretch their legs – there’s now a regular walking club. But it’s not all about exercise, we try and help people to eat healthily too, providing fresh fruit and healthy snacks each day, and offering subsidised, calorie-controlled meals to anyone who wants them. That said, we don’t force people to eat like gerbils. Each Friday, we order in Italian for the whole team. If they want to have pizza, they can have pizza!

Stars of the week

People thrive on praise and I like to create opportunities to tell people they’re doing a great job. Each week, employees vote for the person they feel has gone above and beyond at BigChange. There’s no financial incentive. It’s simple recognition of a job well done. You’d be surprised by how much joy our ‘star of the week’ initiative brings to winners. I think it helps that the prize doesn’t come from me, but from their peers.

Employee of the year

At our Christmas party, we announce the Employee of the Year – the person who has contributed the most to the success of the company, and is most appreciated by the team. The winner gets £1,000 and the runner up receives £500, so it’s a nice thing to win. We also award prizes for Department Employee of the Year and Team of the Year. Our most recent Employee of the Year is Joe Goiti. Here’s what he had to say about his win: “With the employee of the year being voted for by colleagues, it really is the proudest moment in my professional life to have won it. I am very fortunate to work alongside such fantastic colleagues and friends who continuously support and push me to do my very best and also to maintain the highest standards possible.”

Family days

Every year, we invite our employees to bring their partners and kids for a fun day out. Last year, we went to Flamingo Land and 100 people came along, this year we are going to Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster. I want BigChange to feel like a big family, so I really enjoy meeting people’s loved ones.

Charity days

This year we’ll give £100,000 to charity. I think that my team really value working for a company that wants to give something back. And now we’re moving beyond donations towards a model whereby employees can give up a day to help a charity and receive a day off in lieu. Today, we went to Living Potential Care Farm, an amazing place where people with disabilities can connect with nature. We planted trees and cleared the ground to make way for a new orchard. It was a fun and worthwhile day out for all of us.

All of these initiatives are for nought if you don’t create a positive culture around them. We let people be themselves at BigChange and embrace all kinds of personalities and quirks. I have an open-door policy, which means that anyone can come and chat to me if they have a question or a comment. And we always promote internally when we can, giving people the chance to grow and flourish. Employee incentives never work in isolation. It’s only when you put all these small efforts together that you create a powerful culture.

I hope you’ve found this post inspiring and useful. If you have come up with some great ways to motivate your people, please share them below.

All the best

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

I don’t have to read the FT to know that M&S’ sales are in trouble. You can judge the health of any business from its shop floor.

I don’t have to read the FT to know that M&S’ sales are in trouble. You can judge the health of any business from its shop floor. So when I visited the M&S flagship store in Marble Arch and found myself in the dirtiest, dingiest changing room I have ever seen, I knew that the chain was struggling.

I had gone in to buy a suit and was shocked by the state of the place. I talked to a sales assistant and asked why the changing area was so filthy. She apologised but was clearly not too fussed about the issue. So I found a manager and asked him what was going on. He was appalled and promised the issue would be sorted.

There was a massive disconnect between the management and the shop floor staff at that branch – and the business has suffered for it. Lo and behold, when M&S published its annual results back in November, clothing sales were down.

When was the last time you spent some time on your shop floor? You don’t have to physically own shops – this just means spending time with your frontline employees. I run a clinic, where I spend 20 minutes with people from all over the business. Some days I’m with customer service, another day sales or software development.

There is absolutely no substitute for speaking to these colleagues. They will tell you things that your managers can’t or won’t. It’s the only way to truly judge what’s going on at the coal face and understand what your customers see when they interact with your company.

I have spent a lot of time in many departments sitting with team members and helping to identify bottle necks, improvement opportunities and also ways of streamline activities. You can have the best technology, but you must complement this with humans. Take everyone on the journey with you get everyone being leaders.

The key to generating insights – insights that could ultimately make or break your business – is to formalise the process. Host clinics like mine every Friday – that’s the day when most people like to unwind before the weekend, so they’re more chatty than usual. Be respectful of people’s opinions – hear them out. Most importantly, promise confidentiality. People won’t talk to you if they think you’ll reveal your conversations to their colleagues.

Do this, and believe me, you’ll save yourself hundreds of thousand in consultancy fees. As your business grows, this process will also help you keep your feet on the ground and your mind focused on what’s important. What are you waiting for?

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

BigChange is a technology company, so many people assume that my colleagues and I come to work in jeans and a hoodie. We don’t. This isn’t the West Coast of the US and I am not an 18-year-old coder who lives on Huel and Pop Tarts.

In fact, I’m still a stickler for the suit. If any of my colleagues in sales or customer service are meeting clients or attending any kind of external meeting, I expect them to dress formally. A suit or smart outfit is mandatory; ties, for men, are optional.

Just one in 10 men now wear a suit to work, according to research by Travelodge. That’s an enormous shift from the 80s and 90s when every professional I knew wore one. This study said that 70pc of respondents felt more comfortable in their own clothes. I get it: suits are more confining than a t-shirt and chinos. But, in my opinion, it’s worth it for the gravitas that comes with wearing a suit.

I realise this may make me sound old-fashioned but I believe dressing smart is a way to show respect – respect for your customer, your company, and yourself. Things got a bit out of hand here recently when I realised people were wearing t-shirts and jumpers to meet customers. I don’t care if the person you are meeting runs a plumbing firm and turns up in overalls. You are my representative when you go to meetings and you will be suited and booted.

I am in the minority these days. The FT recently reported that even Goldman Sachs has relaxed its dress code, and allows its people to wear smart/casual attire.

It is getting harder and harder to police my dress code rules. Many of my colleagues aren’t based in the office full-time – they are on the road, selling. I’m thinking of asking every remote worker to submit a time-stamped selfie every morning to prove they are dressed to impress. Overkill? Sure I don’t mind if people wear smart casual clothes to work if they aren’t meeting clients… But then what about the times that last-minute meetings are scheduled? Or when you find yourself sitting opposite a prospect on the train and you’re in old jeans? That is just unacceptable.

‘Casual Friday’ is an American import and it looks like informal work attire is the latest trend that we’ve adopted from the US – but this isn’t America. Can you imagine if they relaxed the dress code at Wimbledon and allowed players to wear jogging bottoms in any colour? Those tennis whites denote professionalism and respect.

Am I the only one who still believes the suit belongs in the workplace? Let me know what you think, leave a comment below.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO