Flip Reviews

How the big. bechtold-group brings together 3,000 employees in one employee app

The big. bechtold group, one of Germany's leading family-owned building services companies, faced the challenge of digitally connecting over 3,000 employees at eight locations and in more than 30 companies – from facility technicians and security personnel to engineers in the big office or at customer sites.

Until now, 2,100 operational employees had no reliable digital access to company information and were unable to communicate with each other. With the introduction of the big. app – based on the Flip employee app – big solved this problem in just seven weeks together with the Flip project team and created a central cornerstone of its digital transformation strategy.

Flip employee app advantages

Blue outlined rocket icon, symbolizing rapid digital workflow or process acceleration.

The challenge

Reliably reach over 3,000 employees in three business areas – security, engineering and facilities – across eight locations. The existing solution did not offer push notifications and required a cumbersome login process. Paper-based processes such as notices and emails reached the operational teams late.

Two blue chat bubbles icon, symbolizing frictionless digital communication and collaboration.

The solution

Introduction of the big. app – powered by Flip – as a mobile-first platform, accessible via mobile, stationary, private and company-owned devices. After an intensive preparation phase of just under seven weeks, the app was launched at the management event in Karlsruhe in front of more than 100 executives.

Two hands clasped in a handshake, symbolizing proactive teamwork and collaboration.

The result

28 value-adding use cases were identified and implemented, and all executives surveyed clearly expressed their support for the solution in advance. Internal communication is measurable for the first time, paper-based processes have been replaced by digital channels, and the big. brain knowledge database consolidates all information in one place.

About the big. bechtold-group

The big family of services has a long tradition

The big. bechtold group was founded in 1981 by Bernd and Gisela Bechtold as an engineering company in Karlsruhe. Today, the family business is run by Daniela Bechtold, the second generation of the family, and offers over 100 services internationally in more than 27 companies. The range of services is divided into three business areas: big. engineering services, big. facility services and big. security services – supplemented by the big. academy for training and further education.

The company motto ‘big. family of services’ stands not only for networked service solutions, but also for the values of a family-run company: trust, transparent communication and partnership.

Industry
Building services

Size
3,000+ employees (2.100 of whom are operational)

Use Cases
Bi-directional communicationDigitised weekly information
Knowledge database big. brain
Training & onboarding
Damage reports

'As a family business, appreciation is not just a word for us – the big. app now gives us the opportunity to directly involve and highlight each individual. And our managers have clearly spoken out in favour of this solution – which shows how great the need for a central platform was in our group.'

Daniela Bechtold Managing Partner, big. bechtold-group

Before Flip

Lack of digital reach and paper-based processes

The core challenges:

Platform without reach: The previously used solution did not offer push notifications and required a cumbersome registration process – two key reasons why it was hardly ever used.
Paper-based processes: Notices, emails and manual weekly updates were the norm. Information reached the various locations and companies in different ways and at different times – there was no uniform communication across all 27 companies.
GDPR risks: Without a centralised, data protection-compliant platform, there was a risk that employees would resort to using insecure messenger services.

'What pleases me most is that employees start interacting with each other via the app after just a short time. They share pictures of their work and their innovations. That's what makes this collaboration so special and helps us to be successful together.'

Christian Land Group CMO, big. bechtold-group

The experience with flip

Flip as a digital control centre

In September 2025, the big. app project was launched with a clear goal: to create a digital employee platform for the entire big. bechtold group – accessible via mobile, stationary, private and company-owned devices. As part of the evaluation, expert interviews were conducted with specialists and managers from various departments.

After an intensive preparation phase of just under seven weeks in close technical partnership with the Flip team, the big. app went live in November 2025. The official launch took place at a management event in Karlsruhe, where the app was presented to more than 100 managers from all locations.

The three key success factors for the rollout were accessibility, well-prepared training material and the emotional go-live event, at which executives and influencers were specifically involved as multipliers.

Overall, the following value-adding use cases for the app were identified and implemented:

Bi-directional communication: Three times a week, company news is shared via the personalised news feed – and for the first time, it really reaches all employees, whether they are in the office, at a customer site or on a construction site.
big. brain – the knowledge database: The integrated knowledge database gives all employees access to important documents, processes, forms and instructions at any time – all in one place.
Ask AI: This AI-based feature already reduces the manual effort involved in sharing internal information – employees ask questions and immediately receive reliable answers from the company's big data repository.
Onboarding: The app is an integral part of the onboarding process for new employees and ensures that everyone has access to all relevant information from day one.
Training & damage reports: Digitised processes replace paper-based workflows and make communication measures measurable for the first time.
AD integration (single sign-on): Seamless connection via Active Directory was a must-have requirement and a decisive factor for rapid acceptance.

'big. brain is our knowledge database. All information is available in one place for all employees. For me, that's a game changer.'

Christian Land Group CMO , big. bechtold-group

Conclusion

Digital transformation enters the next phase

For big., the new employee app is not just a communication tool, but a key cornerstone of its digital transformation strategy, which brings the corporate value of ‘togetherness’ to life in the digital world.

The next steps in 2026 will focus on the systematic implementation of workflows and the creation of additional value-added functions.

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