They say stepping into a new job is like starting a new book. Well, I certainly needed to write a new chapter, dare I say it, even with retirement not too far off. After 26 years with Capita working as Head of Product for the Revenues & Benefits software, I knew I needed to make a change, and fortunately for me, Govtech offered me the right role at just the right time!!
My story
Without deconstructing so much of what had changed in my previous employer over the previous 5-10 years and, of course, this covers the period of COVID (and I was actually working offshore in India when the outbreak occurred and shutdown was about to be enforced) suffice to say I had become disillusioned with my workplace and what I had become; increasingly, it had become more difficult to balance my professional and personal reputation with the demands of my role.
My employer had over the previous 3-4 years worked on new functions to automate processing of transactions. Clearly this was what customers wanted and were demanding to address the increasing challenges they faced with resourcing and funding traditional manual processing. Several customers had invested significant time and resource in testing this automation to deliver a viable solution that would provide a return on investment. Sadly, it didn’t live up to expectations and my attempts to prioritise a business case to try to address this situation were rejected. In terms of expectations, I felt we were in danger of overselling what we could do.
In my role I was aware of Govtech’s emergence into the Revenues and Benefits automation market and had been tracking its growth and apparent success within the NEC customer base. However, things changed post-COVID when it started to make progress in selling into the Capita customer base. When it successfully signed two of Capita’s flagship sites in Leeds and Manchester, I realised the momentum was shifting quite quickly and a traditional software approach could not compete with Govtech’s unique Cloud-based service.
I had to become a part of the buzz
So, when the offer from Govtech came along, I knew I had to move to this exciting company, focused on Revenues and Benefits automation. I really liked the thought of moving out of a huge corporate into a small, almost family-like business of 40 people, including 4 Directors who managed the different aspects of the company’s affairs. Notwithstanding the excitement of working with a tried and tested automation service delivering consistent volumes of revenues automation of at least 80% to all customers, the thought of working with delighted customers, who are genuinely enthused, engaged and all prepared to be reference sites, was a hugely different proposition to where I’d found myself.
Being able to visit prospective customers, attending many more diverse events to engage and network with current and prospective customers was hugely appealing and was the part of the job I have always most enjoyed.
Now, I particularly enjoy witnessing a demonstration of the revenues automation services we provide, where you see the surprise of attendees when they understand how we do what we do and just how sophisticated and innovative the end-to-end automation is. I look forward to the follow-up calls to review and discuss our revenues business case calculator, showing the return on investment… all based on published automation statistics from other councils. It almost seems to sell itself - and why wouldn’t it when you see the figures!! And this approach is also rooted in Govtech’s sales philosophy: “If it isn’t true, don’t sell it. Don’t say it if you can’t prove it.”
Part of the family
Govtech is well organised and structured and, joining as a Business Development Manager (BDM), I was assured that the company is totally focussed on supporting customer engagement; anything required by me would be provided without question. This includes first class technical support, skills and subject matter expertise through to comprehensive functional and systems-based documentation. The customer is always at the centre of what we do and that partnership and collaboration is important to Govtech because there is a mission to ensure that every customer achieves maximum, optimal automation levels (which, in my experience, also go well beyond the expectations Govtech initially sets).
As you would expect, learning about the new company and the services provided was an initial challenge but partnering with another BDM and working closely together on all new business engagements has helped to accelerate my learning. I really do feel that I am now a part of the close-knit Govtech family.
So, what excites me at Govtech?
- Seeing the quarterly statistics for webCAPTURE published to customers with details of the overall automation levels and the separate league table for Moves automation – the consistently high percentages achieved are particularly impressive for me because I know from my previous role that legacy R&B software just isn’t capable of this.
- Automation Reporting. Reporting of automation was not even possible from the legacy R&B system that I managed. Govtech customers see exactly what was automated but also what was not automated and why. The visibility provided by standard and ad hoc reporting means customers are fully in control of their automation and far better informed about what their resources are doing.
- Working with existing customers who are genuinely very content with the service being delivered and positive about Govtech – whereas in my previous role (as some of you already know and may have mentioned) I was all too often spending much of my time dealing with the opposite!
- Seeing new Govtech customers being implemented in as little as 12 weeks, just by filling out a spreadsheet which Govtech uses to configure and control the automation, before the customer tests it. Seeing the benefits of automation realised from the first day it is switched on. I had previously worked with ‘early adopters’ of automation who were still not getting any return on their investment, nor any encouragement from the levels of automation they were seeing, after 2-3 years! And who had no reporting whatsoever from their system to help them to understand the rate of progress.
As somebody new to sales it feels as though the whole business is there to support you and provide whatever you require. Everybody wants to help you succeed. From an IT perspective, everything works, is secure and complies with all security standards required for a business providing the services that we do.
The first 9-months have gone by in a flash and, as we look to the new financial year, I really am excited for what’s to come.
