Simple strategies lead to big success

Jim Darragh took the helm of Totalmobile in 2016 and this year was named alongside Datel’s Alan Simpson in LDC’s Top 50. I spoke to him recently about the factors that made 2020 one of Totalmobile’s best years ever.

Totalmobile is a technology company delivering mobile workforce management technology. Founded in 1985, the company has gone through many iterations driven by creativity and a focus on their core service. The nub of their business is unique software made to help field workers in health and social care, government, facilities management, transport and utilities and social housing projects manage their jobs remotely. It was simple and practical, and produced efficiencies that could be replicated in other organisations that had complex field operations.

Stick to what you are good at

When Jim joined, the potential the company had was abundantly clear. He saw they had great technology and a strong customer base, however they were too Northern Ireland focused, and were using an old software model. They swiftly moved over to the cloud and delved into how they could enhance the capability of the field worker.

“In an early session it was clear we needed to keep to our core product. If it's not about mobile workers driving efficiencies - forget it. The best strategies are often the simplest”

By sticking to doing what they do, and doing it very well, the company has seen great success. Totalmobile’s software is now trusted by many industries including health care, construction, government and transport.

The challenges seen in 2020 have not phased Jim. Rather than weathering the storm, they decided to work twice as hard, increasing their marketing, products and acquisitions. Jim explains, “The April, May, June, quarter was one of the most intense periods of work I think we'd ever done. And it was bizarrely the third biggest quarter in the company's history.”

Internal communication driving staff satisfaction

Jim adds that the culture of the company has an influence on their success; “Every other Friday we pick a component of the strategy and talk the entire company through it. Why do we do this and what it means for you, and really try and give people a level of transparency around the decisions that are made.” Jim believes that this clear communication is a factor leading to their impressive average staff tenure, with many employed over 20 years.

As we looked beyond 2020, we asked Jim what he thought the future has in store for Totalmobile, and for him it was about maintaining their momentum;

“The forward strategy is to keep growing, keep adding new customers. If we remain customer centric and respond with urgency to their needs, we will be stronger for it.”

Totalmobile has been a Datel customer since 2019 and uses Sage X3 as part of their tech strategy.  Read about why they adopted the solution here.