Shooting the messenger has become a popular sport in customer service

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Chairman’s spotlight on… Jo Sherwood, director of Sherwoods

So many of the nation’s small businesses hold fascinating stories just waiting to be told. One of these is the history of Sherwoods, which has become one of the most admired

Your customer’s success is everything

What can you do today to help your customer be more successful tomorrow? I have spent my whole life building businesses and my obsession with my customers has been the

What do we want? More women on the tools. When do we want it? Now.

Where are all the female apprentices? Why are so few attracted to jobs in the trades? These are the questions I posted two weeks ago. Thank you to everyone who shared and

I stand with my colleagues in Ukraine

Like many of you, I have spent the past week glued to the news, desperately trying to make sense of what is happening to the people of Ukraine. For all

Why we need more female apprentices

Not many schools nowadays invite carpenters and plumbers to their careers days to talk about the value of vocational apprenticeships and jobs in the construction trades – and even fewer

Chairman’s spotlight on… Paul Van Heeswyk

Paul Van Heeswyk is known as “Dutch” to most people, even though he’s actually more Irish than Dutch, and has an accent that’s pure Leeds. I met Dutch four years

Where are all the jobs for the disabled?

Here’s one thing I know for a fact. Meaningful work is fundamental to a happy life. Whether you’re 25 or 55, able-bodied, disabled, if you have special needs, or you

The deal that opened a new chapter

On the 4th of February 2021, I embarked on one of the greatest adventures of my professional life so far.

Help your stars to shine

I’m obsessed with career development. I have always said that people are your greatest asset in business. Helping those people to thrive and rise through your organisation is a particular

Chairman’s spotlight on… Steve Cardwell, founder of Generator Power

Last year, I introduced the “Chairman’s spotlight on” series to celebrate some of the incredible people I have met on the BigChange journey. There are too many unsung heroes in British industry:

Would you slash sick pay for the unvaccinated?

This week, IKEA and Wessex Water have made headlines for taking a controversial stance on unvaccinated employees. They have announced cuts to sick pay for unvaccinated staff who must isolate

2021: a year of innovation and ambition, laying the foundations for growth

It feels like yesterday that I was writing our year in review for 2020. What a whirlwind the last 12 months have been. You think that when your business comes

Chairman’s blog: Every entrepreneur needs a first-rate lieutenant

I first met Andrew Scully when he was six years old. His brother James was good friends with my eldest son, Ben, and our two families went for a walk

The leaders taking BigChange into an even brighter future

When you surround yourself with talented, driven people, wonderful things happen. That’s always been my experience, anyway.

A night to remember

Last night, the whole company came together for the first time in two years. Almost 200 team members gathered in Aspire Leeds, the former site of the Yorkshire Penny Bank,

The right to disconnect leaves founders high and dry

This month, Portugal passed a law making it illegal for employers to contact their teams outside of official working hours. Any bosses found breaking the law could be subject to

How many awards have you entered this year? If the answer is, ‘None’, this post is for you.

This week, BigChange has had the pleasure of attending four awards ceremonies. We didn’t win prizes at all of them, but it was enough to be nominated.

How are you planning to reach net zero?

World leaders have now gathered in Glasgow to debate and agree a united response to the climate emergency. There is a lot riding on COP26 – the fate of the

Come on Rishi, let me reward my hard-working team

After all his promises, this week’s Budget was something of a damp squib. Rishi Sunak tinkered with a few minor reforms and introduced a temporary boon to the hospitality, retail

Dear entrepreneur, has the virus changed your priorities? If not, why not?

The world in 2021 looks very different to the landscape in 2019, doesn’t it? Things that used to denote success and financial freedom – fast cars, luxury clothing, holidays homes

The start-up culture conundrum

One thing that keeps every founder awake at night is: how are we going to maintain my company’s culture and momentum as the organisation grows? If you Google “How to

There is plenty of work out there but are you profitable?

“Turnover is vanity. Profit is sanity.” Most entrepreneurs will have heard these words at some point in their careers. It’s a cliché but, here’s the thing about clichés, they are

The American dream

In 1986, I went to New York to work for a German bread bakery business. I was just 24. I fell in love with the Big Apple, with America, and

September – time to put the pedal to the metal

September is here, and that means one thing: just four months to go till the end of the financial year for many businesses.

Chairman’s blog: There’s luxury and then there’s LUXURY

For me, the thing that truly defines a luxury brand is exceptional customer service. When you have a Leeds accent and you walk into a department store in London and they treat you as though you’re the most important customer in the building, that’s a luxury experience.

--> 2nd September 2021 - There’s luxury and then there’s LUXURY. What really defines a luxury brand? Is it all about heritage? Is it about price? Store location? For me, the

Have a little patience

26th August 2021 - People sometimes ask me what it takes to be successful in business. Of course, there is no simple answer to that question, no magic bullet. But

Don’t lose your humanity in the race to automate

17th August 2021 - I’m on holiday this week. Yes, I actually did it! I took some time off. I’m down in London because my wife Mandy bought me a

My first week as chairman

5th August 2021 - First of all, I'd just like to express my thanks to all the people who have sent well wishes over the past week. As any CEO

Let’s do it. Let’s save the world

22nd July 2021 - What do you do when you want to solve an impossible problem? Give it to an entrepreneur.

Meet two brilliant young tree surgeons, James and Lloyd

Leeds, 16th July 2021 - Meet two brilliant young tree surgeons, James and Lloyd

BigChange wins 170 customers in stellar start to 2021

15th July 2021 - UK technology company secures contracts worth £12.5 million for revolutionary mobile workforce management platform in the first half of 2021

BigChange half-year results: Supporting the UK’s post-crisis recovery

BigChange half-year results: Supporting the UK’s post-crisis recovery Last month, the CBI revealed that Britain’s hard-working companies are powering an extraordinary recovery, taking the economy to pre-pandemic levels by the

In football – and in business – you have to stay hungry for success

June 30th 2021 - When I woke up this morning, the world looked different. Brighter. Full of promise. Why? Because the night before, England had pulled off a triumphant defeat

Time to motivate

25th June 2021 - This is it. Employers across the UK are gearing up to welcome some – if not all – of their employees back to the office. Freedom

Building technology today that will stand the test of time

18th June 2021 - As every tech founder knows, it is almost impossible to create a new piece of software that is capable of supporting hundreds of thousands of users

Don’t fall into this customer service trap

3rd June 2021 - Whenever I see a company offering different levels of customer service based on the size of spend, I feel incredibly frustrated.

What is a business without vision?

27th May 2021 - Without a visionary at the helm, a business cannot succeed. It may have the best product in the world and the best team in place but

I guess the party’s cancelled

21st May 2021 - When Boris announced that the UK would begin its slow emergence from lockdown this summer, I had hoped to bring the whole team together for a

The first 100 days

12th May 2021 - Four months ago, Joe Biden was inaugurated, becoming the 46th President of the United States. At the same time, I was preparing to announce an American

Here’s why you need a holiday…

7th May 2021 - How are you feeling? No, really. If you’re being completely honest, where are you on a scale of one to 10? Don’t worry. I haven’t become

Nic Hamilton and his brother Lewis Hamilton

Why Nic Hamilton?

Back in 2017, a young man arrived at the BigChange office in Leeds to give a Motivational Monday talk. He wowed the team here with his story. Born with cerebral

Are you part of the Smart Data Revolution?

22nd April 2021 - Back in 2016, we entered a new industrial era: the digital revolution. Two years later, the buzz was all around the next technological trend - the

I want to create more millionaires than Microsoft

15th April 2021 - Have you heard the story about the guy who cleaned floors at Microsoft? He landed some share options, and then retired a multi-millionaire a decade later.

Meet my new ally in the fight for gender equality

9th April 2021 - It’s no secret: technology as an industry is predominantly male. As the CEO of a fast-growing technology business with ambitious aims to become the biggest mobile

Strong start for BigChange as customer numbers surge in 2021

1st April 2021 - All across the country, lockdown restrictions are beginning to ease. Families are finally reuniting in parks and gardens. Schools have welcomed back students.

Don’t just wow. KitKat wow.

25th March 2021 – Quick question for you. How many flavours of KitKat are there?If you think you can count them all on your fingers, starting with the Chunky and

It’s time to stoke the ambitions of young people

18th March 2021 - When I was 11 years old, my father would take me to work at his auctions. We travelled all over the UK and the hours were

The goal-setting strategy that took Google to $1trillion

12th March 2021 – It’s a strange quirk of history that John Doerr isn’t a household name. Technophiles, entrepreneurs and management experts have heard of him, but otherwise he remains

You’re never too old to learn – or are you?

4th March 2021 – Diversity in the workplace is a big topic right now and when it comes to gender, racial and cultural diversity, many British companies are committed to

Keep the taps running, Rishi

26th February 2021 – With just a week to go until you announce your Budget, like many business owners, I am worried that a move into austerity might derail the

Now is the time to go big on people

19th February 2021 – They say it’s darkest before the dawn. I think that right now, in the UK, we are at that point, waiting for the sun to rise.