Moving forward : How to use technology to drive business performance, increase agility and build resilience

To say that the past 18 months have been busy would certainly be an understatement. When I joined Wilson James, it was just before the global pandemic and lockdown affected us all. Everyone was impacted in some way, from our employees to our clients and partners. Yet, within this, there was the opportunity to leverage technology to make our business, our service, and our culture better. A core element of this was understanding the technology we used and the processes around it. 

A pivotal role as CTO

As CTO, a major part of my role is assessing, advising and investing in the best technology solutions to drive business growth and meet business objectives. However, although this may seem logical on the surface, experience has taught me that it often isn’t a process that’s common place in many large organisations. Instead, technology is often purchased and projects implemented without clear goals or outcomes in mind. 

Before joining Wilson James, in my previous role as IT Director at Chubb Fire & Security, I helped implement a culture where there was close alignment between technology and the business strategy. Projects were signed-off and managed in such a way as to guarantee delivered ROI within 12 months. 

Likewise, at Arriva UK Bus, I initially joined as Head of Transformation (later Head of ICT) tasked with consolidating and maturing its IT services delivery across eight different operating companies. After a trial run with the London entity, this model of engagement was rolled out across the estate.

Now, Chief Technology Officer at Wilson James, I am excited to build on my previous roles and leverage this past experience for the benefit of colleagues across our sectors and client partners.  Business transformation and culture enhancement is really the crux of what I’m passionate about, and the last year has offered plenty of opportunity for both! 

The impact of Covid-19

Like every other organisation, we have experienced accelerated change in the wake of COVID-19. Unlike many organisations, we have been able to use the disruption in positive ways that will outlive the current circumstances. 

We have changed how our people work and improved efficiencies across our hiring, communication, collaboration, payroll and more. The first few months of 2020 were really spent preparing for lockdown. We bought laptops and trained people in how to use and secure them from home (no small feat given some employees had used office-based desktops for over 30 years). We migrated most of our processes to Office 365 and began holding meetings remotely. We assessed our processes for improvements and invested in new cybersecurity tools to make remote working not just doable but safe. We’ve also started using automation to create further efficiencies. In summary we have and continue to review the technology for all of our businesses processes – from hire to retire – in order to maintain our excellent level of service throughout the pandemic. However, there always remains more to do.

Future plans

Going forward, our aspiration is use technology to help Wilson James become the best version of itself. To bring stability in supporting the company and its customers, to become more sustainable, agile, and efficient in the use of technology, and to simplify its usage for every stakeholder. I’m also looking at ways to increase Wilson James’ and its customers’ resilience against future unexpected events. 

We know that internal investment is not just for our benefit, but enables us to provide a streamlined and improved service to our clients. With the acquisition of TSG late last year, Wilson James faces a pivotal opportunity to shape how we drive data and technology integration to become a competitive advantage for the company and for customers. 

Technology to drive growth

Technology will influence every facet of Wilson James’ long-term growth. Like every CTO, my focus right now is to advise and invest in the right technology to take the business forward, changing the processes around it and making work simple for our people. It isn’t enough to simply replace technology. The culture and activity around the solution must also adapt to the modern-day.  Together we enable ourselves to make efficient, responsive and lasting adaptations to change.

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