An Interview with Nic Hamilton

In anticipation of the upcoming racing season, Big Change sat down with Leaders for Life ambassador Nic Hamilton.

Nic is the first disabled athlete to compete in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) and a committed partner with BigChange in promoting road safety. Nic story isn’t just inspiring, its life changing.

BigChange: Tell us a little bit about your background; where are you from and what got you into racing?

Nic Hamilton: I’m a race car driver by profession and a BigChange ambassador. I’m the younger brother (by 8 years) of 5 time Formula One World Champion, Lewis Hamilton. We grew up very working class in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, to parents who worked on the railway. I was born two month premature with cerebral palsy.

When we were little, my parents got Lewis a go kart, and he started racing on the weekend. As Lewis got older- by 13 – our family became very race focused. So it was a very natural progression to join the sport. In 2007 Lewis became first black formula 1 driver and that really pushed my interest into a different gear. Wheelchair bound for 16 years, Having an operation at 4 years was certainly difficult but by 2011 I had broken into racing myself.

BigChange: What was your family’s reaction to your commitment and dedication to racing?

Nic Hamilton: My Father never treated me any different than a able bodied person. At 7 years old we started working back and forth on a go kart. I had a bunch of crashes, and went down a 6 foot drop which really gave my family a scare.

After that, I always had a love for racing games, and even became British champion in video game.

After 10 years (at the age of 17), I convinced my father that we had some difficulties many years before but that wasn’t going to get in my way. I would say my parents were cautious but supportive. It really helped when the motor sports association initially declined application. But after much perseverance and a ton of monitoring, I got my racing licence. Eventually I started in a motor sport feeder series and was followed by the BBC in a documentary viewed by 50 million people.

BigChange: How have you made your mark (on and off the track) outside of your brother’s success on the track?

Nic Hamilton: Being a Hamilton in motor sports, without a ton of money backing the process, it’s not easy. To many people it may be hard to step out of Lewis’s shadow but I try to ignore the connection and show how my personal story and dedication to the sport is amazing in its own right. Training and maintaining racing for able body form is very difficult. Realizing how many people are inspired by having a role model with physical limitations in motor sports has really helped motivate me the process. After 6 years of battling hard and forming strong partnerships, learning to do a ton of PR, I think I’m respected in the sport and can stand on my own accomplishments.

BigChange: How has racing enabled you to overcome adversity?

Nic Hamilton: There is always negativity, but you have to push through to achieve your goals. I’ve learned that the way to become well accepted and respected in the industry is through hard work. If you show the dedication to the sport, you’ll be seen as one of the guys and almost overlook what every limitations may be.

BigChange: What were the core values that helped you in your drive for success on and off the track?

Nic Hamilton: Not taking no for an answer. Having a goal and allowing yourself to make mistakes to achieve it. Keep on pushing. The best way to be successful is by learning from mistakes. Never forget the Importance in believing in yourself and ignoring negative criticism.

BigChange: How long have your partnered with BigChange & why do you value your relationship with BigChange?

Nic Hamilton: I’ve partnered with BigChange for the past 2 years. I met BigChange, and its CEO Martin Port, though a motivation speaking engagement for their monthly motivational Monday event. At first it was just another talk, nothing out of the normal. But soon I realized that BigChange was genuine and family oriented. The event at the time was only 20 people. It was a very casual and relaxed atmosphere.

The whole event reminded me of what I really care about, that business is not just about money, its more about the relationships. After speaking with the BigChange team, and hearing Martin’s story I was very impressed by his generosity. Martin offered to sponsoring my racing as a partner and it really blew me away. Also as BigChange is growing as a brand, my career is progressing as well so it really is the perfect partner and (to be honest) like a second family.

BigChange: Why do you support the Leaders for Life Campaign?

Nic Hamilton: With BigChange’s desire to help others and prevent the dangers associated with road safety it seemed like a natural connection to partner in this program. As a race car driver its only logical to promote safe driving behaviour is important. Personal accountability is critical to saving lives.

BigChange: How has your commitment to road safety grown through your partnership with the Leader for Life campaign?

Nic Hamilton: I’ve always been in the mindset that safe driving is essential. The race track is for speed. On the road you need to be aware of all the other dangers. There is no need rush. You need to be responsible. If you can save just one life then you’ve done your job. So being an ambassador for the program really reinforced by already strong commitment to road safety.

BigChange: What are you most looking forward to in the coming racing season?

Nic Hamilton: Well, this coming season will be my first full year in British touring cars. It’s a fantastic opportunity to have a full shot at motor sport and channel my skills in very prestigious venues worldwide. Competing against seasoned professionals, and being the most inexperienced is tough. ‘I have a great team, car and partners behind me so when I’m in my car I recognise that I’m representing everyone behind me. Without their support I wouldn’t be able to achieve my dream. And I know the harder we work the more well grow together.

BigChange: What lessons could you give to kids with physical or intellectual limitations about achieving your goals, overcoming difficulty and becoming a role model to others?

Nic Hamilton: The only people’s opinions who matter are your family and self. Everyone will say you can or can’t do certain things, but you’re the only one who can make that choice. And sometimes you need to learn from your mistakes, never be afraid to fail. Always continue to push through every barrier and realise what you can achieve. I wouldn’t have changed what I did to get me here, because my failures have helped me get to where I am today. Success doesn’t always come so fast but with patience it comes in the end.

BigChange couldn’t be more excited to partner with Nic Hamilton in his quest for motor sports success. As a inspirational person, dedicated driver and strongly committed member of the road safety community, Nic represents exactly what hard work, drive and never giving up can achieve. We look forward to sharing in Nic’s upcoming races and support him and the Leaders for Life community in promoting road safety and driver accountability.

To see Nic in action, and event register to win tickets to his upcoming races please like our posts on social media and go to https://www.bigchange.com/about-us/meet-bigchange-ambassador-nic-hamilton-win-tickets-to-the-british-touring-cars/

At BigChange, we’re always looking to provide better and more comprehensive services for our customers.

We feel that by providing the best product for your business we can simplify operations, and remove the hassle of excess paperwork, to help you do your job more efficiently.

In our quest to meet the needs for advanced business advisory solutions, BigChange recently acquired Labyrinth Logistics Consulting Limited and their highly capable staff. With Labyrinth’s history of customer success, innovative solutions and pragmatic approaches to complicated problems, we are thrilled to integrate their best practices into how we help our customers reach their collective goals.

To help our customers and the service sector understand how this acquisition will enable BigChange to better support customers’ needs, we recently sat down with Jo Godsmark & Ruth Waring. Ruth and Jo are Directors of the BigChange Advisory Plus unit.

BigChange: Could you tell us a little bit about your background, industry experience and previous accomplishments?

Ruth Waring: I have 30 years’ experience working in different roles within the transport industry specialising in UK road freight as well as the logistics and transport community. In 2008 I set up the voluntary organisation Women in Logistics UK which is a point of personal pride. I was honoured to be recognised from 2016 to 2018 as a member of the “Logistics 100” top influencers in the Logistics Industry, winning the overall “Top Influencer” award in September 2018.

Before BigChange’s acquisition, I had spent the previous 17 years at Labyrinth directing all aspects of transport cost management, transport compliance and Health & Safety for the organisation. Along with Jo [Godsmark] and our Labyrinth colleagues we developed SilkThread®, a compliance audit tool with evidence hosted in the cloud. SilkThread® is being rebranded as BigChange Audit and is available to BigChange customers to help them manage compliance.

Jo Godsmark: I started my career in manufacturing engineering, at Ford and Mars, culminating in the build of a greenfield sugar factory in the Czech Republic, before moving into supply chain design and logistics procurement at Mars. For ten years I was privileged to head up Labyrinth’s Supply Chain division. In this role I was responsible for, building up a strong base of clients across a wide range of sectors including the aviation, industrial, food, construction and charity logistics sectors. I was voted a member of member of the “SHD Logistics 100” top influencers in the Logistics Industry, in 2018.

In my philanthropic work I am the chair of Transaid, the international development organisation working on transport solutions in Africa. BigChange is one of Transaid’s corporate members and I am delighted to be able to continue this role with BigChange’s support. I am also the Chair of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport’s Outsourcing and Procurement Forum, looking at best practice related to outsourced logistics, initiating research and promoting networking and discussion in this area. I am currently co-authoring a book on logistics outsourcing, using insights from this group.

BigChange: What will your role will entail at BigChange?

Ruth Waring: As Director of BigChange Advisory Plus my role will be to combine the three stands of expertise: Transport industry intelligence, BigChange Audit and JobWatch functionality to provide a one stop shop for the logistics industry. My role will involve business development as well as managing the team.

Jo Godsmark: My role at BigChange is Director of Advisory Plus, the new consultancy arm of BigChange. Together with Ruth Waring I will be building this new service within BigChange to support both existing BigChange customers and new customers. My particular focus will be on supporting customers with strategic reviews and business change. We will also be using JobWatch data to target efficiency improvements and support transport modelling.

BigChange: How does BigChange’s acquisition of Labyrinth’s tangibly help customers?

Ruth Waring: It is a fantastic synergy; we already had meetings with a number of our customers and it is clear that there is massive potential for cross-selling and benefits for all. In practice, I view BigChange’s acquisition as a real meeting of minds, bringing our expertise to a market segment that BigChange had, until recently, not actively pursued. In bringing Labyrinth’s experience with industry-leading, blue chips and our truly hands-on approach to providing practical solutions combined with our real-world understanding of the logistics industry, I think we can significantly expand the services BigChange provides, particularly in the area of compliance and risk management.

Jo Godsmark: BigChange’s acquisition of Labyrinth tangibly helps its customers by offering them broader business support to help them transform business performance. For JobWatch customers we can use data in the system to pinpoint improvement opportunities. However, unlike other BigChange support services, the Advisory Plus team can also tackle business strategy outside the scope of JobWatch. This might unlock the savings potential from JobWatch, but will also deliver savings unrelated to the product.

BigChange: Why are you excited to work at BigChange?

Ruth Waring: Working with Martin and the team is a bit of a rollercoaster at the moment but we are loving it. Additionally by offering this new service (Business Advisory Plus) BigChange are able to work more strategically with their client base and unlock barriers to achieving greater improvement. We are also able to take insight from our consultancy to relentlessly improve the product, which in itself is a really exciting prospect considering the high quality stature the BigChange platform already stands in.

Jo Godsmark: I’m excited to be joining the BigChange team and to be part of such a dynamic and industry disruptive team. I hope that I can play a role in transforming how BigChange’s operational data is used to inform and target business performance improvements through insights gained through our strategy work. Martin’s vision and drive to achieve that vision is inspiring and I’m delighted to be part of BigChange’s journey.

BigChange, the mobile workforce management technology company, today announced the it has appointed Sonal Sidpara as the company’s first Head of HR and People Culture.

Sidpara, who has relocated to Leeds from London, will take charge of HR activities at BigChange, which has expanded rapidly in recent years. The company created 40 new jobs during 2018 and recently acquired Labyrinth Logistics Consulting and Trace Systems to accelerate its scale-up plans. It will open its first international offices in France and Israel this year.

Sonal Sidpara comments:

“I am delighted to be joining such an exciting and successful businesses. BigChange is growing fast and moving rapidly into new territories, but it still recognises the importance of putting people first and looking after them properly. I’m really looking forward to working with everyone at BigChange and helping the company achieve its full potential.”

Martin Port, founder and CEO of BigChange, comments:

“Sonal is a fantastic addition the BigChange team. As the business expands she will help put the structures in place that larger businesses require, while ensuring that BigChange remains a place where people are inspired to come to work every day and feel they can make a real difference.”

Contego, the nationwide pest control company, has turned to the latest smart mobile technology to underpin ambitious business expansion within the UK.

The 5 in 1 system from BigChange has transformed Contego’s business, replacing existing systems and eliminating paperwork. Called JobWatch, the mobile workforce management solution has replaced over 100 paper forms with a series of simple apps running on mobile devices used by the company’s field technicians.

Contego is one of the UK’s largest independent pest control companies and a respected leader within the industry; recently shortlisted for British Pest Management Awards Company of the Year. The Durham-headquartered firm operates a four hour fast-response service 365 days a year and the BigChange system is seen as an essential element to support planned expansion in 2019 and beyond.

Michael Taylor, CEO of Contego says:

“Our aim is to become the biggest independent pest control operator in the UK and to do that we knew we needed to invest in the very latest and best technology available,”

“Since making the move to BigChange we’ve already increased the business by over £1million as we scale up within new regions, next year we have ambitious plans for a 50 per cent expansion in the business and we aim to become the largest independent pest control operator in the UK.”

Established in 2004, Contego has always been an industry innovator and had implemented earlier generation mobile systems and vehicle tracking. The company’s specialist Falconry Response services utilises specially trained falcons and hawks deployed to control bird pests.

Taylor adds:

“A rogue pigeon loose in a food factory or warehouse can mean the entire operation shuts down. Dealing with the problem quickly and effectively is pretty vital.”

Taylor comments:

“We are always looking for new ways to challenge traditional methods of pest control and we see new technology as fundamental to changing the industry; I like to think we are regarded as the industry innovators. As an independent operator we can adapt quicker than big corporates, deploying new technology and techniques to react to changes in the market.”

Taylor continues:

“BigChange is all about having real-time and visible information and it has certainly given us a competitive edge,”

“The visibility extends to our customers and it has allowed us to boost our service levels with real time data including photographs for treatment recommendations and proof of job done, backed by geo-referenced signatures. It has also virtually eliminated invoicing queries; one of those management benefits that has made my job a lot easier.”

The system handles everything from the initial service request through to completion. This includes job scheduling, live tracking, completion of risk assessment and other compliance related forms including vehicle safety checks, treatment forms, signature capture, invoicing and full management reports.

Taylor adds:

“The key is better visibility – for us and the customer. We can better assess service delivery and advise our customers of the best treatments and ensure money is not wasted doing unnecessary work. The system can generate very useful management reports; something clients love. The system also allows us to keep ahead of compliance which is very important in our business.”

With recent dramatic technological advances and the rise of millennials in the mobile workforce (more on this topic in the coming weeks, stay tuned), new software solutions have become an essential element in helping businesses save money, contractor time and improve customer satisfaction.

Advanced CRM systems fill the ever-growing need to find cohesive and simple to use systems to organise numerous contractors, suppliers, invoices, their related costs, and the resulting paper trail.

Where traditional methods of managing a mobile workforce often involved a dizzying array of papers and phone calls; missed appointments and a less than ideal first-time fix rate, new fully mobile systems, like BigChange’s JobWatch, can make a significant impact on these critical factors driving customer retention and satisfaction.

CRM software is the process which brings all these parts together.

Through the integration of CRM platforms, such as BigChange’s JobWatch, service providers gain a new level of system-wide transparency never previously possible.

A holistic approach to field service management must include features which give customers greater access to time-sensitive updates, transaction history and detailed inventory of service calls, while also enabling the back-office to quickly create invoices and detail service reviews for billing.

With a range of CRM options out there it may be difficult to determine which one best meets your organisational needs and goals. Some important questions to think about in choosing the right platform for your unique service requirements include the following.

Do you need a system which includes features such as, Job Scheduling and Mobile Apps which provide greater visibility to back-office personnel?
Would it be valuable to have tracking for drivers and field operatives connected in real-time to cloud-based operational management software?
Do you need a customer portal to provide additional service updates, inventory records, and complete transaction histories?
Is it valuable to have a built-in navigation function which alerts customers and back office in case of delay?
Would your business’s operational cost decrease through comprehensive driver behaviour analytics and individual feedback?

If you have answered yes to these questions, it is very likely that a dynamic CRM system, such as BigChange’s JobWatch, could save you upwards up 8 hours of back-office time, per mobile worker per month, as well as a 10% reduction on fuel costs and a significant reduction in time to produce and process invoices.

If you are interested in learning more about how BigChange can assist your business to plan, manage, schedule and track your mobile workforce please go to www.bigchange.com.

Here at BigChange we are truly committed to improving road safety. We feel the that setting a good example for our customers, employees and the community starts with us.

That’s why we’ve partnered with two Charites, Brake the Road Safety Charity and Transaid – Road Safety in Africa, as part of our corporate and social responsibility campaign “Leaders for Life”, to make the biggest difference we can.

Leaders for Life brings together a group of influential and inspirational CEOs and senior executives who together will create a ‘movement for good’ through raising awareness of the importance of road safety and highlighting this in the workplace by sharing their own driving habits transparently.

This month’s winner of most improved driver goes to Stuart Lawlor of Corporate Road Solutions. We recently got the chance to catch up with Stuart to talk about the impact the Leaders for Life program has made on his driving habits. We couldn’t be prouder of Stuart’s commitment to safe driving and Corporate Road Solutions desire to partner with BigChange on improving road safety and driver behaviour.

BigChange: Could you briefly explain your background and industry experience.

Stuart Lawlor: I have over 40 years’ experience in the transportation and logistics industry. I began my career as a Driver for White Arrow, then moved onto Woolworths and then Argos where I was employed for twenty-seven years, fifteen of these as a Transport Manager.

BigChange: How long have you worked with BigChange & how has this partnership impacted your business?

Stuart Lawlor: Corporate Road Solutions began its partnership with BigChange in the past year and has had a big impact on the business, both from an efficiency and motivational point of view. We have been able to make savings in areas like fuel consumption. We have also had very positive feedback from our drivers and may implement our own Driver of the Month recognition.

BigChange: Why are you committed to being a leader for life? Why do you value improving road/ driver safety?

Stuart Lawlor: I am committed to being a Leader for Life as I believe its principals, values and what it stands for are key for improving and advancing the transport industry. Improving road and driver safety has to be at the forefront of everyone in the industry’s mind – it is that important.

BigChange: Why should other business and industry leaders participate in Leaders for Life/ road safety campaigns?

Stuart Lawlor: Other business and industry leaders should participate in Leaders for Life/ road safety campaigns because of the benefits it can bring to the industry, fewer accidents, fuel savings, more motivated staff and also less vehicle emissions.

In honour of Stuart’s achievement BigChange will be making a donation of £500 to Brake and £500 to Transaid on his behalf. For more information on how you can become a leader for life, please visit https://www.bigchange.com/leadersforlife/

High and Low Voltage Electrical Engineering company Sinewave Energy Solutions has boosted its field installation and service operations with a 5 in 1 mobile workforce system from BigChange.

The cloud-based JobWatch solution combines mobile apps and real-time tracking, connected seamlessly to back office software including job booking and scheduling, CRM and invoicing. Sinewave is already saving 2000 hours of engineer time annually by replacing paperwork with digital data entry on BigChange tablets.

Swindon-based Sinewave is involved in power distribution connecting infrastructure to the electricity network and undertaking the work needed to provide power to anything from an office, to factory or sports stadium. Established in 2015 and growing rapidly, doubling in size for each of the last three years. The Swindon-based company offers a complete end-to-end solution from design to network connection, construction, testing and commissioning and ongoing maintenance and servicing.

Keith Irwin, Business Development Manager, Sinewave Energy Solutions says:

“With our rapid growth we knew we needed a system that could allow us to freely expand but also be very easy to implement and use,”

Irwin adds:

“We undertook an extensive review of systems on the market and BigChange was clearly the best solution for us. It was really the only properly interconnected system, giving us everything we need in a single, easy to use solution.”

Adam Woodley, Sinewave’s Managing Director says:

“The other thing we really liked about BigChange was that the company’s forward-thinking and ambitious growth outlook was similar to our attitude and that provided real empathy. It is clearly a company going places and we couldn’t help feeling other providers – although longer established and bigger – were not fuelled by the same ambition or commitment,”

The JobWatch system has been implemented, initially within Sinewave’s Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Division. Previously largely paper-based with data held on various spreadsheets, the entire process has now been automated with jobs booked and scheduled, routed, completed using the BigChange tablets connected in real time to the back office applications.

Sinewave operates in high risk environment and as well as providing electronic job sheets and time sheets, JobWatch provides apps for everything from site risk assessments to near-miss hazard reports, before and after work photo capture and vehicle inspections. BigChange also handles purchase orders and invoicing, with seamless integration to Sinewave’s Sage 50 accounting software

Woodley adds:

“BigChange really has revolutionised the way we work with apps for every conceivable job and it provides real time visibility of the operation. We’ve only really just started with O&M the first division to benefit. Here it is saving 4 hours a job but eliminating the extensive paperwork and data entry. With 500 jobs of this type a year that amounts to 2000 hours – a saving of 250 working days a year is pretty impressive!”

Nicolas Hamilton, the BigChange backed British racing driver, will rejoin the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship in 2019, for his first full assault on the series at the wheel of a ROKiT-sponsored Motorbase Performance Ford Focus RS.

Leeds-based BigChange, which provides mobile workforce management technology, is one of the sponsors that is supporting Hamilton’s BTC bid. Hamilton is an ambassador for Leaders for Life, BigChange’s campaign to turn business leaders into role models for road safety and reduce the number of people killed on Britain’s roads by people driving for work.

Hamilton, the brother of five-time world champion Lewis, contested 12 rounds of the UK’s premier motor racing championship in 2015 at the wheel of an Audi S3. The 26-year-old, who competes with cerebral palsy, will race a specially modified Ford Focus RS in the full 30-race BTC programme this year.

Martin Port, founder and CEO of BigChange, comments:

“Nic is a fantastic ambassador for our business and our road safety campaign, and we are delighted that our support is helping him to race in the BTCC this year. We are proud to support Nic and wish him all the best for the season ahead.”

Nicolas Hamilton comments:

“I am very proud that I finally get this chance to have a full crack at motorsport and to be doing it in the BTCC, driving for a competitive outfit such as Motorbase Performance, is unbelievable. As well as having ROKiT on-board, each specific relationship I have with my additional partners is very personal to me. I am delighted to be supporting the Leaders for Life campaign and I would urge all business leaders to sign up and play their part in reducing risk on Britain’s roads.”

David Bartrum, Team Principal at Motorbase Performance, comments:

“I’m looking forward to Nic joining us in the BTCC. He brings a different type of journey for us to go on with him. He also brings with him a steely determination, a willingness to learn and a craving to succeed.”

Hamilton will join former BTCC Independents Trophy winner Tom Chilton and Ollie Jackson in the three-car Motorbase Performance team. The new Kwik Fit BTCC season kicks off at Brands Hatch in Kent on April 6th.

Established in 1997 in Sheffield, DP Doors is an industrial door specialist serving a nationwide blue-chip customer base. The business was founded by husband and wife team Alan and Kathryn Bolsover who have grown the business to the multi-million pound operation it is today. They have a team of 42 employees, including 23 field based engineers.

DP Doors offers a total solution for clients including the manufacture, installation, maintenance and repair of fire doors, roller shutters, steel security doors, PVC strip curtains and crash doors.

Customers include brewer Molson Coors, Tata Steel, Moy Park poultry, Forgemasters and McLaren construction. The company has also fitted doors at the world famous Gherkin building at St Mary’s Axe in London. Projects come in all shapes and sizes, including huge doors that are 14m high and 6m wide.

The company prides itself on delivering the highest levels of service and response. Industrial doors are mission critical for customers including food companies who need to separate frozen and chilled areas and maintain the integrity, safety and security of their products.

Why dp Doors chose JobWatch from BigChange

DP doors were looking for a mobile workforce system to address two key issues within their operation. One was to achieve higher first-time-fix rates, something that is critical to meeting the needs and expectations of customers and also for maximising profitability. Secondly the business wanted to eradicate the excess paperwork that was hindering productivity. The company chose JobWatch after careful comparison against two other solutions.

How has JobWatch made a big change for DP Doors?

The company used to take several sheets of paper to every single job (a method statement, risk assessment, vehicle check and job card). In addition drivers had to visit the office to collect job information, adding extra travel time to each day. JobWatch has simplified the workflow at DP Doors, replacing paper job cards with electronic worksheets on rugged mobile tablets; engineers access job information instantly wherever they are. They can now travel from home straight to the first job of the day.

“At times we were were overwhelmed with paperwork and the manual admin that goes with it. It’s time that we could be spending selling, marketing and developing the business. Admin isn’t adding value.”

Alan Bolsover,
Managing Director at dp Doors & Shutters LTD.

Smarter scheduling has eased the challenge of planning work for the 23 engineers to locations nationwide. It’s maximising billable time, avoiding unnecessary travel and making the back-office team far more productive. Real-time visibility is avoiding multiple calls to the mobile team to check on status or location.

JobWatch is also helping DP Doors to maintain the highest levels of Health & Safety, an area that’s crucial in this industry and at the top of the agenda for blue-chip clients.

Engineers were failing to complete or return their daily driver checks to the office. The JobWatch mobile app now makes it easy for drivers to do their checks at the beginning of each day – and the app won’t let them start work without it. Faults or defects can be logged instantly, ensuring that the maintenance manager is alerted to manage them to resolution. In addition JobWatch is ensuring that risk assessments and method statements are just a click away on the mobile tablet.

According to Managing Director Alan Bolsover, the integrated invoicing is invaluable. It enables jobs to be invoiced as soon as they are completed. Engineers can capture photos on-site for proof-of-service and can be shared with customers.

“We were waiting days for job cards to come back. If a job was on a Monday, we wouldn’t get the paperwork back till Friday. This could have a real knock-on effect on cashflow. With JobWatch we don’t have to wait for anything to be returned to the office – there’s no documents that could get lost. Plus we’re able to bill accurately for time spent on site. We’re also looking to start using JonWatch for our invoicing too.”

Finally, JobWatch is helping DP doors to reduce their fuel use, one of the highest costs incurred across the entire business. Drivers are receiving a tailored de-brief at the end of each working day, with friendly encouragement towards safe and responsible behaviours. Line managers can see which drivers are achieving the best MPG and can reward the team accordingly.

People often assume that I am a disruptor and rule-breaker because I’m an entrepreneur. But here’s the thing: I have a huge amount of respect for rules, and have always seen the value in process and order.

When I was a young entrepreneur, I used to be obsessed with the present. How’s business right now? Are we hitting our targets? Have we solved immediate challenges?

But, having built several businesses, and listened (Audio) to hundreds of books on business and entrepreneurship, I’ve learned the error of my ways. To be truly successful, you need to look beyond the now. You need to have a vision.

Your vision is more than a goal or target. It’s an aspiration that seems so far away that you may never get there. It’s a bold plan that most rational people will scoff at, or say is impossible. Crucially though, it’s a vision that has a clear path to achieve it. And you have to believe you can get there within five years.

At BigChange, I decided on my vision very early on. I wanted to create a platform that would allow service and transport companies anywhere to collaborate and win more business.

I knew that it was just the right level of ambitious because when I told people, they either didn’t get it, or told me it wasn’t possible. Yet here I am, just a few years later, and I’m so proud to announce that we have actually achieved that vision.

BigChange JobWatch Network platform is a seamless environment where two companies can work together to win more customers and deliver brilliant service. It enables our users all over the UK – or even the world – to work together on contracts, share work, and find partners. It’s a truly collaborative tool that creates a powerful network effect. Ultimately, it helps other entrepreneurs to be more successful. You can read more about JobWatch here. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/bigchange-collaboration-marketplace-martin-port

This platform was finally launched on Thursday night, and within 48 hours, we had over 50 requests from our customers.

I have realised my vision. It feels amazing.

What happens after all your dreams come true? You have to come up with the next vision, even bigger and bolder than the last.

I want BigChange to become the market leader in our industry, providing the technology that underpins the global service and transport industry. The number one choice for any gig economy business or firm that uses a mobile workforce. Making every economy we work in stronger through innovation and world-class service.

It’s a big ask, but I truly believe that we can do it.

You have to have vision if you want to be successful. Importantly, you have to shout about your vision so that customers, colleagues and partners all buy into that plan and that mission. I have signage all over my offices that explains where we’re going and how we’ll get there. I’ve done that at all of my businesses, and find that it focuses everyone’s mind on the task at hand.

To achieve my new vision, we have to leverage the sole trader. We have to tap into the gig economy. We have to reassure consumers that we will provide them with a better level of service than they’ve experienced before. We need to disrupt our target markets. We also need to create a deeper connection between the work that needs to be done and the order jobs are completed, while boosting efficiency.

All of the world’s most successful companies have vision. If I say, who wanted to build the world’s supreme search engine? Or become the market leader in flat pack furniture? Or build the biggest consumer technology company in the world? I bet you can name all three.

I hope that, in three to five years, I will be able to post that we’ve achieved this latest vision.

In the meantime, please share your vision for your business. Let me see if I can help you on your way.

martin.port@bigchange.com

Martin Port
Founder & CEO