East2East unlocks business growth with Cotality Contractor Workspace
LOCATION: West Midlands, UK
FOUNDED: 2023
INDUSTRY: Restoration
East2East Claims Solutions, a property repair specialist based in Stoke-on-Trent, is led by 25-year industry veteran Gary Briggs, and boasts a ten-person team that completes around 25 jobs per month. Since founding the business in 2023, Gary’s primary goal has been to serve people effectively “in ways that incur the least amount of stress for the customer,” and he aims to expand his business without sacrificing that standard of excellence.
To set the stage for expansion, Briggs deployed Cotality’s Contractor Workspace™, the purpose-built all-in-one solution for job management.
The challenge
Before considering expansion, Gary knew he had to deliver operational improvements throughout his business.
A lack of real-time site visibility created inefficiencies. When information did come back to the office, Gary’s team found themselves wasting time double-handling, dealing with miscommunications, and fixing misunderstandings.
“We didn’t have any solutions that facilitated quick, effective decision-making,” explained Gary, and his trades had noticed the issues, too.
Compliance was also challenging due to a lack of streamlined, consistent procedures, and Gary also wanted to get more customer feedback once jobs were completed.
After evaluating various options over the past decade and deciding that it was time to make a change, Gary decided to switch to Contractor Workspace, explaining that he knew “there wasn’t really anything that could match it.”
The solution
Contractor Workspace provided East2East with centralised job management, in-depth insights and streamlined operations. As Gary explained:
“Things get done faster, more accurately, the first time. There’s no more confusion.”
The implementation of Contractor Workspace took just six weeks, with East2East working alongside Cotality to build customised and automated workflows.
This step improved consistency, accuracy, and efficiency by eliminating inefficient paper-based systems and manual checklists.
Instant insights for quick, accurate decision-making
For Gary, maintaining customer service standards was vital.
“I pride myself on being accessible when a client or policyholder calls. No matter how busy things are, I want to give them my attention.”
With Contractor Workspace serving as a centralised location for trades to upload notes, photos, and data, he can easily get a comprehensive view of any project.
“Instant visibility was the biggest change for us,” explained Gary. “We get real-time information from sites, so we’ve eliminated double-handling, and I have accurate updates. It makes life far easier for our trades, administrators, and leadership teams.”
Configurable dashboards highlight jobs that need attention, improve financial oversight, and provide managers with maps of jobs, trades, team members, and resources.
Meaningful customer and insurer interaction
By deploying Contractor Workspace, Gary has kept his focus on policyholders with customised, automated interactions that ensure they remain as the focal point of projects – and automated surveys that gather crucial customer feedback.
The platform uses sentiment analysis to interpret the tone of text, email and phone communications from customers, and East2East staff used icon-based mood-tracking to inform how they approach customer interactions.
East2East has also been able to give insurers relevant access to job progress updates thanks to smooth integration between the new Contractor Workspace solution and the firm’s existing Claims Workspace™ deployment. This has helped Gary build trust and expand relationships with insurers.
“That access ensures transparency, which means faster approvals and fewer delays,” Gary explained. “By having consistent, documented communication, we’ve strengthened partnerships with insurers while keeping our focus on client wellbeing.”
The results
Since implementing Contractor Workspace, East2East has improved operational efficiency and accelerated their expansion objectives, with:
- 20% more jobs completed per month, a figure expected to rise
- 30% reduction in time spent on administrative work
- 50% reduction in time spent on compliance tasks
- An estimated revenue increase of between 5% and 10%
“We’ve increased capacity because we can identify opportunities, address bottlenecks, and reduce repetitive administration work,” said Gary.
“Contractor Workspace gives us total visibility, automation where appropriate, and oversight where needed. It means we’ve got more time to focus on customer value-add activity.”
Looking forward
Gary plans to expand East2East all the way to East Anglia so the business can live up to its name.
“The solution has helped us build an even stronger foundation for people-first service delivery,” enthused Gary, “and it’s given us confidence to grow. We aim to become a true “east to east” business, and Contractor Workspace forms a crucial part of our plans.”
Cotality Contractor Workspace features mentioned in this case study:
- Dashboards – manage trades, resources, milestones and resources effectively
- Automation – streamline job progress, communication and data entry
- On-site updates – instant photos, forms and approvals for visibility and progress
- Data-driven insights – track profitability to refine strategies and optimise operations
Ready to transform your business like East2East? Discover how Cotality Contractor Workspace can help you master the jobs that matter. Click here for a free demo.
