A spotlight on… Jen Flitcroft

Jen is based in our Salford office, working on sales for Cadence Marketing. She’s been with the company for over seven years, seeing BiP take on the Ingenium brand in 2016 and moving to the Media City office in 2017.

In what capacity did you join BiP? What role did you start in and what role do you have now? 

I joined back in 2015 prior to the BIP acquisition as a BDM. Went off on maternity leave in 2016 and came back to a new company and a new office! I have since progressed through a couple of role changes to become a Senior Account Manager. My role is to seek out organisations that want to increase their reach into the public sector through targeting marketing campaigns, persuade them to have a meeting with me, and show them all the amazing ways we can help them to achieve their business goals 😊

What takes up the most amount of time in your day-to-day?  

It’s a really varied role, which is why I love working here – generating leads, prospecting, onboarding, account management, firefighting – but the majority of time is spent cold-calling and holding meetings with new prospects.

Are there any changes or initiatives you’d like to implement into BiP?  

I’d actually love a ‘bring your kid to work day’ as I’d love my little boy to spend a day seeing what Mummy does when she’s not at home! There’s quite a few of us with little ones and it would be lovely to have them all in here together (not sure how Stu McAndrew would feel about that though, ha!).

What are the biggest challenges you have in your role – how could your colleagues help?

Fitting everything into the day! I personally struggle with time management – getting all of my admin done, making enough prospecting calls, ensuring my current clients are happy, lead-sourcing, etc. There have already been quite a few changes to the structure of the Cadence team lately which is taking a lot of the client management and delivery away from us, which massively helps, but I could really use my own admin assistant!

What do you like most about your job?  

I love speaking to so many different people and learning about their businesses, really getting under the skin of what they need and then being able to actually help them, seeing a job well done.

What do you like most about working at BiP?  

I’ve made some great friends here, some lovely long-standing relationships and we’re a very tight-knit team, which makes all the difference on a bad day!

What does a great day at work look like? 

Everyone being in a great mood, a buzz in the air with everyone on the phone, having really good conversations with new prospects, getting them excited about what we do, and of course, closing some nice big deals!

Do you have any unusual hobbies?  

Not necessarily unusual, though possibly a bit ridiculous given my age (I’m 41, not 8) but I have a serious and rather expensive Lego habit – (Hey Jen, no judging it’s ages 4 to 99 on the box!) I also sing back-up in a band/duo and I am trying (and failing) to write a book!

Blow your own! … what do you excel at?

Workwise, I think my biggest strength is getting people to talk and open up to me. In my personal life, I’m going to say I think I’m a pretty awesome mum – the best in the world according to my six-year-old!

Quick fire:  

  1. Coffee or tea - tea
  2. Book or film - book
  3. Cat or dog - cat
  4. Hot or cold - cold
  5. Salty or sweet – salty
  6. Tattooed or not - not
  7. Night out or night in – night out
  8. Email or meeting – meeting
  9. Teams calls: video call or audio? video
  10. Eating: al-desko, break room or break out altogether - prefer the pub, but it’s al-desko usually!
  11. Mountain or beach – mountain (sand gets everywhere!)

A spotlight on… Aimee Crawford

This month’s spotlight falls on our new scrum master, Aimee Crawford. Having joined the business in August Aimee is working hard with our tech teams on developing BiP tech and keeping up with the latest developments.

If you caught the knowledge sharing session earlier this year, you’ll have an idea of how she fits into the BiP family – but what does a Scrum Master really involve? And has it got anything to do with rugby?

Thanks for joining me, Aimee, first off:

What does your job as Scrum Master entail

My job is a bit of a mix of things and fortunately for me, doesn’t involve anything to do with rugby! I work to remove any impediments from the development teams, help them become more productive and efficient. Capacity planning and stakeholder management is key. It’s often compared to the work of a Project Manager. However, I’m also responsible for coaching and training in agile ways of working. Ideally, not just in IT, but across the whole business.

What are the biggest challenges you have in your role – how could your colleagues help?

Currently my biggest challenge is learning what is going on in here! I’m still pretty new. I need to learn more about how our products are built and what the future looks like for us. However, that aside, I guess the challenging aspect of this role can often be communicating with stakeholders. Often you have to bridge a gap between the development world and the wider business. I think the best was for colleagues to help is to be open to learning about other people’s roles within our company. A better understanding of what each other do, and what impact it has, will bring people together and communicate better.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​

What do you like most about your job?

While the communication side of things can be challenging, it is also my favourite part. I like to work with all different areas of the business as well as my team. I also like working with a variety of personalities and finding ways to make them all work together more effectively.

Who/what has had the most positive impact on your career?

This can sometimes be a hard one to talk about, but I truly believe that this is the case…my Dad passing away when I was 18, has and continues to have the greatest positive impact on my career. I am more determined, ambitious and empathetic. I proved to myself some things I didn’t think I was; resilient and brave. It’s given me a different outlook on life and continues to make me want to work hard to achieve my dreams, while not losing who I am.

With IT and software changing before I can comprehend them, what major developments do you think are on the horizon?

I really do feel like anything is possible and things are changing very quickly as you say. Technology has developed extremely fast over the last number of years, and I feel this is only set to increase. Over the next few years, I think there will be greater use of machine learning and artificial intelligence. I also think we will see more companies moving to a distributed infrastructure model and heighten their attention to cyber security.

Achieving a more diverse workforce in some areas, such as tech and construction, has been a priority for government and sectors for a number of years, can you tell me what led to your career in tech?

I was always interested in technology and engineering from a young age. I do think it was heavily influenced by my parents. After university, I was offered a dream job in Woking but I knew I wasn’t quite ready to leave home. So, I looked around at what was booming in central Scotland, with good opportunities and quite literally thought, that sounds interesting, I’ll give it a go. I was fortunate to get the opportunity to try many different roles within the IT/Digital sector and now I’m here!

Are there any changes or initiatives you’d like to implement into BiP?

I’d like to help bring more women into our IT workforce for sure. I’d also like to help the business as a whole move to more agile ways of working and promote knowledge sharing.

What initiatives could make tech a more appealing career for women?

I actually think a lot of perspective starts very early in life. I fortunately grew up knowing I could give anything a go, but many young girls believe maths and other subjects alike, are ‘boys’ subjects. I recently was part of an Empowering Women to Lead Digital Transformation course where we done some primary school level research, and this view really came through. I remember feeling so shocked and disappointed. So, we must let our young women know that nothing is out of their reach! I also believe in showcasing the female talent we have and how they got into their current role, sometimes it’s not a path you would have expected. I think encouraging women to take up a career in tech could be helped with something as simple as talking about and celebrating the women already there.

Quick fire, choose one option:

  1. Coffee or tea – Tea
  2. Book or film – Film
  3. Cat or dog – Dog
  4. Hot or cold – Hot
  5. Salty or sweet – Sweet
  6. Tattooed or not – Not, not brave enough!
  7. Night out or night in – Night in
  8. Email or meeting – Meeting
  9. Teams calls: video or audio? Video

A spotlight on…Simon Inman

This month finds our spotlight back on Media City and part of our Senior Management Team, as we have a chat with Simon Inman, our Head of IT Operations.

Simon was a fairly new face to the old Ingenium business when BiP Solutions bought the company. He has since made himself an invaluable part of the team – and not least because he keeps the Media City office in coffee and loo roll! (We’re very grateful, Simon!)

He’s also an i-serve master and knows how to fix computer problems with witchcraft – he tells me it’s a ‘picnic’ issue?

Simon was also a winner at this year’s annual awards, coming joint ‘Manager of the Year’ – a popular and well-deserved choice for this accolade.

In what capacity did you join BiP?

I joined BiP on the first day back from Christmas of 2017, in a cosy, unglamorous office in Stockport as “Web Development Manager”, with a team of just me. Although it felt like I’d already been there some time after having my interview a few months prior and stealing Donnys ticket to attend the Christmas party.

What does your job as Head of IT Operations entail?

This month finds our spotlight back on Media City and part of our Senior Management Team, as we have a chat with Simon Inman, our Head of IT Operations.

Simon Inman, Head of IT Operations at BiP.

My role at BiP covers our network infrastructure, desktop support, Cyber Essentials, and our organisation’s quality and information security management. My team and I ensure our products remain live and on modern, secure systems, our colleagues have the technology and support to do their jobs and that our organisation is continuing to improve with effective quality management.

I also change the odd toilet seat, which I like to roll out at dinner parties when my partner’s trying to impress people.

With IT and software changing before I can comprehend them, what major developments do you think are on the horizon?

IT and software are growing massively every day, with offensive and defensive developments in information and cyber security but also in more at home areas like artificial intelligence. The growth of AI, is beginning to take away manual effort and user error from many everyday tasks and we will see this really take off to automated intelligent workflows, predictive services supporting report and content writing and even intelligent defences. Roll on Skynet!

Are there any changes or initiatives you’d like to implement into BiP?

We’ve changed so much in the past couple of years and are in such a better place than when I joined Ingenium, we have our innovation day coming up and I think if we’re really able to grow that, it could be spectacular.

When are you at your most productive?

Definitely at the start of the day after a couple of coffees.

What’s your favourite thing to do outside of work?

Swift half with Stephen Donlan (DCMC) to break up our magical commute, catch up on any of the days gossip, or just simply talk about the up-and-coming town of Stockport. That, or I’ll be often found on away missions with some chums drinking Romulan ale. So… In the pub or in a different pub.

Quick fire:

  1. Joggers or Jeans – Jeans
  2. Ties or T-shirts – Ties
  3. Coffee or tea – Coffee
  4. Lager or ale – Ale
  5. Book or film – Film
  6. Football or rugby – Rugby
  7. Cat or dog – Cat
  8. Hot or cold – Cold
  9. Salty or sweet – Salty
  10. Tattooed or not – Tattooed
  11. Night out or night in – Night in
  12. Janeway or Picard – Janeway

A spotlight on: Courtney McCusker

This month we say hello to one of our newer employees based in Glasgow HQ.

Courtney McCusker joined BiP as part of our HR department earlier in 2022, working alongside HR Director Alan Mathie.

In what capacity did you join BiP? What did your previous job entail?

I joined BiP as a HR Advisor, my previous role was HR Coordinator for an Energy Company.

Why did you choose to join BiP?

I chose BiP as after my three (yes three!) meetings with Alan I got a nice feel for the place. It seemed like a really nice place to work, and I wasn’t wrong! Everyone has been lovely, and I feel like I have been here forever already 😊.

Also, stability was a big thing for me due to losing my previous job when the company unfortunately collapsed. So, I am here for the long run…

How has your BiP journey been so far? Is there anything we could do differently to welcome new colleagues?

I am loving it so far, three months down the line and I still want to come back every day, haha! Honestly though, I am enjoying every minute and still learning new things every day which is keeping me on my toes. At this point I wouldn’t change anything.

This month we say hello to one of our newer employees based in Glasgow HQ. Courtney McCusker

Courtney living her best life in Hoi An – Vietnam

Can you sum up what your job involves?

My role involves being first point of contact for dealing with all HR queries, managing the HR system with any updates, compliance, new starts, leavers etc. I also support with the delivery of Talent Acquisition so any CV’s interviews, job offers etc.

The BiP One Programme is also a main part of my role so the overall engagement with the wider business is something I work on daily.

How is working at BiP different to your previous roles (company and position)?

It is very different. My previous position allowed me to build a lot of knowledge and experience around dealing with complex HR queries that I maybe wouldn’t have been able to do elsewhere, so now I am at BiP I am learning a whole new side to HR that I am loving.

When are you at your most productive?

Definitely the morning.

What’s your favourite thing to do outside of work?

Being in a different country, eating nice food and drinking nice wine

Quick fire:

  1. Football or rugby – Neither (football if I HAD to choose)
  2. Cat or dog – Dog
  3. Hot or cold – Hot
  4. Joggers or Jeans – Jeans
  5. Ties or T-shirts – T-shirts
  6. Coffee or tea – Coffee
  7. Lager or ale – Neither sorry!
  8. Book or film – Film
  9. Salty or sweet – Sweet
  10. Tattooed or not – Not
  11. Night out or night in. – Night in

Spotlight On: Vivien Chan

This month our spotlight falls on Media City again as we talk with one of our newer faces, Vivien Chan.

Vivien joined BiP as part of our DCMC and Cadence Marketing services in August 2021, she has quickly established herself as a vital part of the survey team – bringing some great new ideas and problem solving skills, along with some amazing baking skills and Chinese dumplings to the team!

She was also nominated for our New Employee of the Year award – a thoroughly deserved nomination.

In what capacity did you start at BiP?

Research Executive

What did your previous job entail?

Project management – meaning I had to be organised and detail minded, with a good pair of eyes!

Why did you choose to join BiP?

I like the market proposition of Cadence and it’s good that I can continue working in a research related job role.

This month our spotlight falls on Media City again as we talk with one of our newer faces, Vivien Chan.

Vivien Chan, Research Executive at Cadence.

How has your BiP journey been so far?

Exciting, I’ve been working with various clients on different research topics, and I’ve been given great the support by all my lovely colleagues.

Is there anything we could do differently to welcome new colleagues?

A team welcome tea break in the pantry? ​​​​​​​

Can you sum up what your job involves?

Understanding a client’s research needs, and transforming that into a survey which will engage the target audience. Then it’s a case of analysing that data collected and turning it into a meaningful research report/whitepaper for the client.

How is working at BiP different to your previous roles (company and position)?

In terms of the target audience, it is quite different. In my previous role, the projects were more related to commercial/consumers/employees. Now it is more focused on public sector audiences.

When are you at your most productive?

Morning time is the best.

What’s your favourite thing to do outside of work?

Baking, cooking and enjoying delicious food!

Quick fire:

  1. Joggers or Jeans – Jeans
  2. Dresses or T-shirts – T-shirts
  3. Coffee or tea – Coffee
  4. Lager or ale – neither – cider please if you’re buying!
  5. Book or film – film
  6. Football or rugby – neither, haha
  7. Cat or dog – cat
  8. Hot or cold – hot
  9. Salty or sweet – sweet
  10. Tattooed or not – not
  11. Night out or night in – night in

Spotlight On: Amy Bourne

This month our spotlight focusses on our Salford office, and a stalwart of the sales team there, Amy Bourne.

Amy began her BiP journey in 2013 starting as an Account Development Manager with what was Ingenium.

It was back in 2016 that the BiP family expanded with the acquisition of the public sector marketing specialist to help boost the BiP brand.

Now, six years on and an evolution of the department has seen our Cadence brand embed itself into BiP, with its direct engagement of the public sector reaping rewards. As SME spend becomes ever more crucial to government procurement, the department helps facilitate early engagement of buyers and suppliers, bringing new innovations to the public sector market.

amy bourne

How would you sum up your job at BiP, Amy?

New business management is the main aspect of my role, supporting clients with external marketing activity, I also help train any new staff that join the team.

When did your BiP journey begin?  

Through the acquisition of Ingenium.

In what capacity did you start? Why did you join BiP? Why did you stay?

I started as an Account Development Manager, worked my way through to Sales Manager, then back to a full time portfolio management role with an added training function.

I joined Ingenium originally because I saw how much Sam Gilding enjoyed the role and wanted a new challenge outside of the world of customer service. I had dabbled in sales and marketing a little in previous roles at BHS and Direct line (B2C), following the acquisition I stayed in the role as not too much changed at first – same people, same product. I’m still here now because I like the client engagement and both the internal and external relationships I’ve built up over the years.

It’s a completely different organisation to the one I joined, but I like to think that I’ve adapted to the change and continue to apply my knowledge and experience to the business.

When are you at your most productive?

Definitely in the morning (I should say all day, right?)

What are the major differences you’ve seen between Ingenium as was and becoming part of BiP?

With a few exceptions, a completely different team in the Manchester Office, it was a very informal office. BiP definitely has more ambition to grow the business unit and there are more progression opportunities now, which is a positive.

What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in sales and marketing throughout the years?

There’s been a big shift in process. Everything has become far more processed driven for onboarding clients and raising PO’s and measuring performance metrics.

What’s your favourite thing to do outside of work?

Before becoming a mum, I would have answered with socialising, spending time with friends, day drinking, having a good laugh. Now its spending time with my daughter, watching her develop into a little character and teaching her new things. Of course, the other stuff would be nice but I’m still finding my feet post lockdown.

Quick fire:

  1. Joggers or Jeans – Jeans
  2. Ties or T-shirts – T-shirts
  3. Coffee or tea – Coffee
  4. Lager or ale – Lager
  5. Book or film – film
  6. Football or rugby – Football
  7. Cat or dog – dog
  8. Hot or cold – Hot
  9. Salty or sweet – sweet
  10. Tattooed or not – Tattooed
  11. Night out or night in – Night in​​​​​​​

Join us next month for our spotlight on Software Developer – Alvaro Sanchez.

Spotlight On: Eddie Regan, PASS Procurement Consultant

Eddie Regan is one of BiP’s longest serving employees and a font of procurement knowledge

Starting at the company in 1984 as a salesman, Eddie is now our PASS Procurement consultant, sharing his experience in and knowledge of government procurement with clients and colleagues alike.

How would you sum up your job at BiP, Eddie?

I suppose a bit of a “Jack of all Trades” would be a good description. I deliver training, consultancy, webinars, occasional blogs, speak at conferences, judge the GO Awards, assist sales when they need my input, work with the Events Team, annoy IT Dev and generally try to keep out of trouble.

When did your BiP journey begin?

In 1984, back before many of our colleagues were even born. I saw an advert for a salesman, came for an interview and Ron and Leslie decided to offer me the job and the rest, as they say, is history. From sales, I moved into production and eventually into delivering training and consultancy.

Why did you stay?

I like the job, my colleagues, the variety of my role and the challenges it presents. Over the years, when you catch up with some of the people who’ve left, they often tell you how much they enjoyed BiP.

When are you at your most productive?

When given a challenging task and a deadline, just like most people I suppose. The thing about my role (and a shout out to Phil here as well) is we’re often up against deadlines and that’s probably when we enjoy it most.

We have all heard the tales of the legendary Portakabin® where BiP was born, but what was it really like?

Just that, a cold draughty Portakabin® on a Building Merchant’s site. One long room, with three small offices off it, with one of them containing the equipment we used to publish Contrax Weekly, the great grandfather of Tracker and everything else.

What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in the company and in procurement over the years?

In terms of the company, it’s grown beyond comprehension. From the Portakabin® all the way to our Glasgow and Manchester offices and from half a dozen people to currently around 140 people. It’s also been one hell of a journey.

In terms of procurement, no-one understood it in the early days. We would get letters and calls from public authorities threatening legal action against the company for publishing their notices, as they didn’t want suppliers from all over the country bidding for work. Thankfully, buyers and suppliers are a lot more attuned to the regulations these days and I think it’s fair to say that BiP played a major role in opening up the public procurement marketplace.

Are there any major changes in procurement on the horizon we should know about?

There are major reforms coming in England and Wales in the next 12-18 months and Scotland and N. Ireland will probably, at the very least, tweak some of their current regulations. However, procurement never stands still, which is one of the interesting things about my role.

What’s your favourite thing to do outside of work?

Spending time with my wife Roseann and walking Mac, our Westie.

Quick fire round:

  1. Joggers or jeans – Joggers for lounging about the house, jeans for weekends
  2. Ties or t-shirts – Love my t-shirts
  3. Coffee or tea – Tea, but only first thing in the morning, then it’s usually water
  4. Lager or ale – Lager, but only craft or imported – British lager is awful
  5. Book or film – Book every time
  6. Football or rugby ‒ Football
  7. Cat or dog ‒ Dog
  8. Hot or cold – Hot, but not too hot
  9. Salty or sweet – Savoury for me
  10. Tattooed or not ‒ Nope
  11. Night out or night in – Night in mostly

In our next spotlight we will be chatting with Amy Bourne in our Media City office about her role in BiP.

BiP Solutions Limited is a company registered in Scotland with Company Number SC086146 and VAT number 383030966 and having its registered office at Medius, 60 Pacific Quay, Glasgow, G51 1DZ.

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