CEO’s Blog – 9 secrets for building a happy, engaged team

Posted on 3 June 201917 June 2022 by Martin Port

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

CEO’s Blog – Why I embrace distractions

Posted on 2 June 201917 June 2022 by Martin Port

My working week is demanding. I wake at 5am to get through all my urgent emails before the office opens, and I now work five and half days a week.

As managing director of BigChange, I also have to attend a lot of meetings, which take up a lot of time. Despite all this, I have decided to throw two new distractions into the mix.

I have become a member of a local charity and was recently voted on to its executive. Two weeks ago, we also got a nine-week-old golden retriever puppy. I can’t tell you how much these two developments have impacted my life. I thought I was pressed for time before….

The puppy

For the past couple of years, we have been looking after guide dogs. We typically have them for up to four weeks, and then they go to a new home. But then we were boarding a golden retriever called Taffy and loved him so much that we decided we wanted one of our own. Three out of four of our kids have moved out the house; Joseph is still at home, and Mandy and I so we decided Brodie would fit in well, and to help me train for the marathon. I’m hoping all those dog walks will improve my fitness.

For the first couple of weeks – before Brodie had all his jabs – he was at home all the time. It’s full on from 7am to 11pm. I can’t check my emails in the room I usually use because I’ll wake the puppy. And if I keep my laptop charging in there, he will chew the cable. It’s a complete change of pace and lifestyle for me.

The charity

A while ago, I blogged about my plans to get more involved with charitable organisations and to help them operate more like businesses https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-you-remembered-martin-port/ It’s the first time I’ve done anything like this, and I’m determined to help the charity to achieve big things. But the first time I got an email about a project, I got quite emotional. This organisation, like many charities, is run so differently from a for-profit.

The puppy and the charity have both forced me to re-evaluate my working week. Both threaten to take up all my time, if I let things get out of control. Luckily, Mandy loves Brodie and takes him when I’m maxed out. But he forces me to make time for walks, which is important for my health, and gives me valuable thinking time.

I’ve decided not to check any emails from the charity until after 6pm each day. It means I can compartmentalise the work I’m doing for them, and prevents me from being distracted when I’m at BigChange.

Some may think I take on too much but I’ve found that bringing distractions into your life can be so rewarding. I make more time for the things that really need my attention, and having all these different facets to my life brings me balance.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

CEO’s Blog – BigChange – a four-day working week by 2021

Posted on 26 May 201917 June 2022 by Martin Port

Why did human beings develop machines, computers, and – ultimately – artificial intelligence? To reduce the work that had to be completed by us. Yet here we all are, working harder than ever.

In Britain, we work longer hours than any other country in the European Union. We work two hours more than the average European – and yet our productivity lags behind many other nations. I want to take action. I want to reverse this trend, and boost productivity while slashing down the hours my people have to work.

This may sound like wishful thinking but I have a plan. Machine learning and automation are the future of BigChange. We are actively using big data to make decisions for us. If necessary, we will take out the human element completely. Our technology lets users’ book jobs on the platform but there still can be a human element. I want to retrain those people and move them into more important roles while letting a computer do it automatically.

This is just the beginning. There is a whole layer of people who can move up into more challenging roles while machines analyse all our past data to work out the outcomes and answers we need to push the business forward. This is so exciting for the business but it also means that I can pass the benefits on to my hard-working people.

They will make the same money but will be given the tools to do their jobs in four days, not five. That means more time to relax, spend with their families, and exercise. They will take fewer sick days and experience less stress. And when people come to work, they will be fresh and engaged; how many people turn up to work on a Friday and are only running at 50% productivity because they are already exhausted? Doing less for the same salary is the dream, so I believe this step will also help us to recruit the industry’s best talent.

The four-day work week is already being employed by other organisations. A string of smaller firms have made the move and now even the Wellcome Trust has announced its commitment to the four-day week.

Back in the 1930’s, the economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that we would be working just 15 hours a week by now. My plan to get to 32 hours isn’t quite there, but it is a step in the right direction.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

BigChange Brings Real-Time Visibility to SYNETIQ Transport Operations

Posted on 22 May 2019 by Martin Port

SYNETIQ, the largest vehicle salvage and recycling company in the UK, has introduced a high tech system from Leeds-based BigChange that provides real-time 24/7 visibility of its collection and delivery operations.

SYNETIQ operates over 16 sites around the country and processes in excess of 100,000 vehicles per year. The new system combines mobile apps and vehicle tracking software integrated with SYNETIQ’s own salvage IT systems.

SYNETIQ, which was formed following the merger of Motorhog, Car Transplants, DH Systems and Fab Recycling. The Doncaster-headquartered company works with a number of Insurance companies, police forces and fleet management companies to collect and process written-off and unroadworthy vehicles from around the UK operating a fleet of 97 car transporters with 20 vans for transporting parts.

SYNETIQ now owns its specialist IT system, Frontier, and this is being enhanced with the mobile computing and real-time communications provided by JobWatch, the BigChange 5 in 1 mobile app.

Jason Cross, Business Development Director at SYNETIQ, says:

“With various company acquisitions and our growth plans for the business we knew our transport management system needed an overhaul as it was just not flexible enough to meet our needs,”

“It soon became clear that BigChange offered the best solution – not just through the very flexible JobWatch platform but also as a company willing to engage with us and provide integration with our Frontier IT system.”

SYNETIQ drivers run the JobWatch app on their smartphones and details for collections and deliveries are received on their phones. The app completely eliminates paperwork with on screen data entry of vehicle safety checks, vehicle collection appraisals and customer sign-offs. SYNETIQ particularly like the fact that JobWatch is an all-in-one system that can be easily adapted as their particular requirements called for a bespoke solution.

Tom Moore, Transport Manager, SYNETIQ, says:

“JobWatch makes it much easier to manage our often complex transport operations and the integrated live tracking and paper-free reporting has transformed the way we work,”

“The ease with which JobWatch can be adapted is particularly impressive. We can now simply drag and drop jobs into routes upfront or on the fly and driver check reports can be easily customised for our mixed fleet.”

As SYNETIQ’s customers include major insurance companies accurate, consistent reporting is crucial. JobWatch has been configured to handle vehicle appraisals, both those undertaken on collection and more detailed appraisals on arrival at the SYNETIQ yard. The JobWatch app includes the required damage diagrams and record-linked photographs.

Cross explains:

“We needed to provide our insurance customers with a perfect solution and BigChange gives us that important capability. JobWatch makes it much easier to manage the business; it’s easy to track our vehicles, add and remove jobs on the fly and get up to the minute images and signature of vehicles and parts being delivered,”

Crucially, we can further integrate with Frontier for seamless working across both vehicle collection logistics and parts delivery logistics and it is all backed up with a fast and efficient service from BigChange.

In terms of tangible benefits SYNETIQ is already seeing important returns according to Cross.

“JobWatch certainly allows for better visuals on safety for drivers – working hours, breaks and mileage for example – and we have been able to track average delivery costs and try and reduce by smarter routing and utilisation; ultimately it will make us more efficient and safer.”

CEO’s Blog – A great start to the year

Posted on 19 May 201917 June 2022 by Martin Port

We’ve started 2019 on a high here at BigChange, with growth up 65% year-on-year in the first three months. This is an incredible time for the business. We recently acquired two businesses, which shows how mature the company has become.

We have successfully brought them into the fold and it’s another step on our journey to becoming a much larger organisation. I’m so excited and delighted by the progress we’ve made, and 2019 has only just begun! Here are some of BigChange’s highlights from the first quarter.

A boost to growth

The major milestone is that we have now hit 1,000 customers. That’s an amazing achievement and a credit to our incredible teams. Our two acquisitions have been an overwhelming success. Back in January, I blogged about buying Labyrinth Logistics Consulting, an award-winning supply chain, logistics and compliance consultancy, and Trace Systems, a creator of fleet, garage and workshop management software https://www.martinport.com/news/my-2019-scale-up-secrets-revealed/

Between them, these companies have added around 100 customers to our roster, and BigChange won 100 new clients independently. Overall, this represents £5m in new contract wins and brings our total number of users to 35,000. More than half of these are mobile workers, so we are having a major impact on the gig economy, which was one of my big goals for this year.

Our fast-growing customer base means that BigChange is on target to hit £18m in turnover this year. We have expanded internationally, establishing a company in France, and a reseller covering Cyprus & Greece. The US is next on the hit list, and we have now registered our trademark over there.

Maximising efficiencies

I’m very proud to say that BigChange has achieved BSI ISO 9001, which means we’ve made significant improvements to our products and services, and we’ve ensured that our business model is as resilient as it can be. We are also proud to be a certified Platinum Partner to Sage, the accounting giant. These kinds of certifications are important because they show that we are doing all we can to keep building efficiencies into our model and striving for excellence in all things.

A great way to show that you’ve made your business as lean and innovative as it can be is to apply for awards. We’ve been lucky enough to secure quite a few already this year. We came ninth in the Tech North Top 50 fastest-growing technology companies in the North of England. BigChange has also featured in the Tech Nation Future Fifty Awards for the second year running . We were recognised as one of the Maserati 100 – a ranking of the UK’s most innovative entrepreneurs, published in The Sunday Times. Finally, BigChange was dubbed one of Yorkshire’s Most Exciting Company by Ian Leech, editor of Insider Yorkshire Magazine.

It’s all about the people

One of the new developments that will have the biggest impact over the next few years is the BigChange Network, which launched this year. We’ve signed up the impressive Kevin Keegan OBE, former England manager, as Network Ambassador, and he will be giving his invaluable advice to our customer members. In June, a new network director will be joining the business too, and will be developing the network globally for the first time.

My colleagues are the lifeblood of this company. BigChange now employs 120 people. It feels really good to be growing fast and bringing in new talent, while encouraging long-serving employees to keep developing their skills. To help my colleagues reach for the stars, we have continued with our “Motivational Mondays” series in 2019, bringing in people like TV personality and businesswoman Michelle Dewberry and former football coach Lawrence McMenemy MBE.

One of the other ways we make sure people feel that BigChange is a great place to work is through charitable giving. This year, we will give more than £200,000 to good causes. I am personally planning to raise £50,000 for Brake and Transaid over the next 12 months first activity is a half marathon in October.

These are just a handful of the great things that have happened over the past three months. Share your 2019 business successes with me in the comments below.

https://www.bigchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/BigChange-Company-Introduction.pdf

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

CEO’s Blog – I’m not the CEO of my company. Here’s why

Posted on 12 May 201924 June 2022 by Martin Port

These days, everyone is obsessed with titles. They want something grand on their business card. There’s an idea that one’s self-worth gets a boost simply because you have the word “chief” in front of your job title. But fancy names don’t impress me.

First of all, the term “chief executive” is an American invention. I’m not from the States – I’m a Yorkshireman. In this country, the boss has always been the managing director. That’s one reason why I’ll never call myself CEO of BigChange.

But there is another explanation for my choice to remain MD, even as the business grows internationally (one day, we hope to be trading in the US). The fact is that chief executives tend to be one level removed from the shop floor of any business.

In my experience, chief executives tend to have fewer reports – maybe two or three people. An MD runs various teams and can have many more people reporting to them. I have seven reports. Managing directors get their hands dirty. I like to stay closer to the daily workings of my organisation.

I am still the founder and the leader of this business. That means that my role encompasses strategy and funding and culture – things that are typically assigned to the CEO. But I am honest about my strengths and my weaknesses, which is why I buy in expertise every time I need to go outside my comfort zone. I call these people my “coaches”, although I suppose the old-fashioned term is “consultants”. Right now, I have a coach helping me hone my three-year plan.

I could write this forecast on my own but this coach has a vast amount of experience at companies of all sizes – some that generate billions in revenue. He has also worked across many industries. He brings a new perspective, a skillset that goes beyond my own; I’ve never worked in a big corporation so I have never made plans that suit a really large organisation – I hope that BigChange will be one of these before long.

Over the years, I have seen many private equity firms appoint specialists like these to help their acquisition companies to grow. Who says you need to wait until you’re acquired? I’m going to find and absorb all the knowledge I can.

I’ve been told this is an unusual strategy: buying in CEO smarts, as and when I need it. Coaches are expensive, they say. Well, even £2,000 a day or above is cheaper than taking on a new member of staff to do the job. And with these experts, there’s no downtime. It’s an intensive process and usually you see immediate ROI.

Most people also don’t like to admit they have gaps in their knowledge – or are desperate to secure the coveted title of CEO. I prefer to stay humble.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

Thetford International Disposes of Paper with BigChange Tech

Posted on 9 May 2019 by Martin Port

Thetford International has deployed a mobile service management system equipping field service engineers with tablets connected in real-time to central management systems.

The cloud-based system from BigChange has allowed the Norfolk-based manufacturer of waste compactors to switch to paperless working to improve efficiency, productivity and customer service.

Established for 50 years, Thetford International is a founder member of CHEM, the Container Handling Equipment Manufacturers Association. The company has become a market leader in the design and manufacture of all types of compaction equipment, supplying to a diversity of sectors, from the print industry and supermarkets to industrial complexes, recycling centres and refuse transfer stations.

Thetford uses JobWatch, the BigChange solution for managing mobile service operations using live-connected mobile devices running a multi-functional app to replace all paperwork, integrated with vehicle tracking to monitor the fleet and drivers. As well as replacing nine A4 carbon-copy installation and service forms, the JobWatch 5 in 1 app is also used for engineer time sheets, risk assessments, driver vehicle checks and the management of parts.

Thetford carries out routine maintenance of compactors but the majority of work is reactive and requires a fast response due to the safety concerns of potentially dangerous equipment. Job details are sent to the assigned engineer to complete with JobWatch managing the entire process from start to job completion.

Andrew Goddard, Service Manager, Thetford International, says:

“We had been on the lookout for a suitable system for a numbers of years but nothing seemed to exist that really combined the tracking and field service reporting needs,”

“The BigChange solution is very flexible and adaptable and we were able to tailor it to meet our needs.”

JobWatch has been integrated with Thetford’s own bespoke IT system called Onsite providing asset register synchronisation and the seamless interchange of data between the systems. According to Thetford, the biggest benefits are financial and in particular with regard to invoicing.

Goddard explains:

“Previously it could take up to 3 weeks to raise an invoice. Now we do it next day and potentially we could do it the same day,”

“JobWatch ensures invoices are accurate and are in line with what the customer is expecting and as they are received soon after the job, there are many fewer queries and payment is always quicker.”

Thetford’s engineers cover the UK working from their homes. With vehicle tracking fitted to the fleet of Ford Transit vans, BigChange provides an automated ‘clocking in and clocking out’ system. With van often stocked with thousands of pounds of parts, it also offers added security and driver monitoring and rating has also encouraged safer driving; important as engineers travel as much as 40,000 miles a year.

JobWatch has also been developed to manage Thetford’s stock control with engineers using their tablets to record parts used. With around 400 individual parts, the system automatically replenishes stocks with deliveries to engineer collection points.

Goddard adds:

“Previously the vast majority of information was held in people’s heads and by introducing BigChange we have brought all that knowledge into one place. It all works very well and seamlessly with our other systems. The whole service operation just runs a lot more smoothly and our customers – and the company Accountant – are a lot happier!”

CEO’s Blog – Ditch the department before it drags you down

Posted on 7 May 201917 June 2022 by Martin Port

I’ve abolished departments at BigChange. There will be no more divisions within my business. Instead, I’m creating teams. Some of these teams will be assembled according to specialty, such as RoadCrew customer service, but others will reach across different areas of the business.

This may seem like pure semantics – a change in name only – but it’s not. Language is important. When you think about departments, you envisage physical walls between different sections of your business. You think of the IT department in one part of a building, and sales over on a different floor. Teams, in contrast, have no boundaries. Teams share a common purpose. Team members support one other and work well with other like-minded groups – that’s why it’s called “teaming up”.

There is good reason for this change. When I started BigChange, we were just a few people working out of a single room in Leeds. Everyone knew everyone, and each win was celebrated by the whole company. Now that we are so much bigger, it is easier for colleagues to operate in silos where the needs of the department feel more important than those of the business as a whole. Departments lead to territoriality. This is the opposite of the culture that I want to foster at BigChange.

By creating teams that are focused on projects, it is easier to build fluidity into the business. People naturally do tasks that they are suited to, rather than just sticking to the typical activities of their department. As a business grows, sometimes people need to move into different roles. A team structure will allow me to make sure that everyone is in the right place at the right time.

The wake up call that prompted me to make the change came earlier this year when a valued colleague decided to leave. She missed the start-up feel of BigChange and, after two years, had become to feel disenfranchised. I never want to encounter that problem again, so I’m focused on implementing new ideas that all people to grow, and unite us all.

The idea of ditching the department and embracing teams isn’t original. I borrowed it from Microsoft. Its unified communications platform is called Microsoft Teams – and I imagine that many clever people and many thousands of dollars went into deciding that brand name. I don’t have millions to spend on a re-branding exercise but I can stand on the shoulders of corporate giants and learn from them.

I announced the change to the structure of BigChange at this week’s huddle. I noticed, even at that meeting, that people were standing with colleagues from their own department. Let’s hope that at future huddles, we’ll see cross-departmental “teams” grouping together instead.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

CEO’s Blog – Bridging the generation gap

Posted on 22 April 201917 June 2022 by Martin Port

The Brexit vote divided young and old. People who had already made their money, bought property, and perhaps even retired, were much more likely to vote Leave, while students and those on the first rung of the career ladder wanted to Remain.

When I started reading articles about the backlash – young people saying they wanted to deny older Brits the vote, claiming they were out of touch and selfish, and older people calling Millennials “snowflakes” – it worried me.

We need to bridge the generation gap. I’m in my fifties, and I am in no doubt about the talent and contribution of young people. BigChange could not thrive without them.

My kids are young – they range in age from 18-33 – and they have given me some incredible ideas for the business. When I said I wanted to call my new product “The Marketplace”, my daughter said, “Don’t do it”. She works in digital marketing and she explained that “marketplace” sounds like a place to hawk products or advertise, whereas what I’m building is a place where like-minded entrepreneurs can team up and help one another. She convinced me to call it the BigChange Network instead. She may be young but her advice was sensible and I listened.

When my son was at school, he used to rave about a concept called Golden Time. When kids did great work, their teacher would reward them with an hour of fun activities that they really wanted to do. I was inspired by the idea and have offered Golden Time at my business. My colleagues get their BigChange birthdays off to celebrate the way they want, and we give them extra time off as a reward for great ideas or going the extra mile. I call it Golden Time.

It sounds like a cliché but young people are the future. They are more technologically minded, they have fresh ideas and they are more adaptable. Listening to them makes me more adaptable too. I may be at the Saga stage of life but I don’t want to turn into a dinosaur who can’t change or try new things.

And this is a two-way street. My kids listen to me (at least sometimes) and my colleagues at BigChange listen to my ideas and experience because I respect theirs.

The young and the mature should not be at war. We should be listening to each other and working together to build great businesses – and a world – that we can all enjoy.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

CEO’s Blog – The journey of an entrepreneur

Posted on 15 April 201916 June 2022 by Martin Port

I have been in business since I was 11 years old. I started out working for my father, an auctioneer, before growing my own bakery business in my twenties.

Now, aged 56, I run technology start-up BigChange. I don’t know many entrepreneurs who have experience across such varied industries, so I thought it would be a good idea to share all the lessons I’ve learned over the years.

If I can help any other business owner avoid mistakes I’ve made, and help them build on strategies that have worked well for me, then it’s been worth all the hard work putting pen to paper – I’m dyslexic, so it’s not easy for me. The following book is a compilation of blogs I posted on LinkedIn over the past couple of years. They range from management advice to updates about my fast-growing firm to my take on topical issues.

If you take one thing away from this, it’s to place the needs of your people and customers above everything else in business. It is also to appreciate your family and understand the power of your network. I hope that you enjoy my posts – and my unusual take on the world. I truly believe that the best way to get ahead in business and in life is to help others. That’s the ethos behind BigChange, which succeeds only by making others successful.

Click here to download my Blog Book

Martin Port
Founder & CEO