In April 2021, Wigan Council brought its leisure services back in-house and created the Be Well service, this marked an opportunity for Wigan to reinvent its service delivery with a digital-first, consumer-centric focus.

Stuart Holden, Be Well Services Manager - Strategy & Innovation, with over 22 years in Wigan’s leisure sector, led the charge to modernise Wigan’s services. Partnering with Gladstone, Wigan adopted a comprehensive cloud-native suite—including Gladstone 360 for operators and GladstoneGo for consumers—equipping them with the tools needed for a seamless, efficient, and accessible service.

Challenge
Taking back control of leisure services highlighted Wigan’s need for modernisation. Recognising the demand for self-service and mobile-friendly options, Wigan sought a transformation that would simplify access for customers and create efficient operations. With clear end goals, they partnered with Gladstone to implement an integrated system that placed consumers and convenience at the core of their approach.

The Solution
Working closely with Gladstone, Wigan’s Be Well team launched the entire Gladstone solution, including multiple integrations from the Gladstone Marketplace, in one go. Stuart noted, “Gladstone’s support during our soft launch was invaluable and going live with the complete suite enabled a smooth transition for our team and members alike.”

With Gladstone 360, Wigan has centralised its operations—managing membership renewals, class bookings, and facility access through a single platform. GladstoneGo empowers customers, providing them with convenient mobile access for bookings and payments. The suite's reporting, payment processing, and analytics capabilities offers a robust framework, enhanced by additional functionality through Gladstone’s Marketplace integrations.

Results & Improvements
Enhanced Customer Journey
GladstoneGo provides members with round-the-clock access to join, book and manage their activity via the user-friendly interface including the added benefits of the mobile app.

Integrated Control
Gladstone 360 enables Wigan to manage everything from class scheduling to facility usage seamlessly, creating a centralised and data-driven approach to resource allocation and customer engagement.

High Uptake and Smooth Transition
Launching with the full product suite and integrations at the same time allowed for a seamless transition, with a strong consumer adoption.

Data-Driven Decision Making
Real-time data insights allow Wigan to understand usage patterns and member preferences, helping optimise resource allocation and improve customer satisfaction.

Future-Ready Integrations
By integrating with Gladstone’s Marketplace partners, Wigan ensures that their system is adaptable and scalable, ready to meet future needs.

Improved Staff Productivity
Gladstone 360’s streamlined processes are reducing admin tasks, enabling staff to focus on members. Automated scheduling and reporting is improving efficiency and morale.

Company Profile
Wigan Council’s Be Well Service is a comprehensive health and wellness initiative managing seven leisure centres across the Wigan borough alongside Parks , outdoor adventure centres and extensive Wellbeing and Health improvement services.

The service offers modern facilities, including gyms, swimming pools, fitness classes, and outdoor spaces, supported by various membership options to encourage accessibility. Dedicated to inclusivity and community health, Be Well also delivers targeted programmes for schools, sports teams, and individuals with specific health needs.

As part of Wigan Council’s new era strategic direction, transforming through technology and addressing health inequalities is of primary concern. Be Well prioritises a digital-first approach to enhance customer experiences through online booking, self-service options, and seamless mobile app integration. By embracing innovation, Be Well ensures its services remain accessible, user-focused, and aligned with the council’s wider health and wellbeing goals.

GladstonePay Direct Debit Solution
Sheffield City Trust was looking for a Direct Debit Solution which would allow them to manage their payment processing in-house. While they used Gladstone Software for their membership management, they outsourced their Direct Debit collections to a third-party payment processor.

It was time to say goodbye to outsourcing their payments and hello to GladstonePay which would enable them to manage their Direct Debits in-house, improving their data integrity and increasing the level of service delivered to customers.

Challenge
Although the third party was brought in to reduce administration, they found that admin time increased as they dealt with a lack of visibility and control over their data. Customer feedback suggested that the service was falling short of Sheffield City Trust's service standards. Its "open to all" philosophy was at risk of being tarnished by the third party and its customer service team.

Other challenges included:

• Uncertainty around data security and integrity.
• A restriction on bulk updates during Covid Lockdown.
• Out-of-date and unintuitive user interface.
• Limited self-serve Direct Debit options for customers.

Solution
GladstonePay Direct Debit collection service provides automated signing and BACS Submissions with an improved customer workflow to streamline rejection management and member communications.

Sheffield City Trust worked with Gladstone's Professional Services team to migrate their Direct Debit data to GladstonePay. Using the fully integrated solution from Gladstone meant that they had a single point of contact for any queries. This gave confidence back to Sheffield City Trust regarding the resilience of their Direct Debit processes, knowing that they were fully supported by Gladstone.

Results & Improvements
Reduce Time & Effort
Keeping the whole process within Gladstone, our Portal allows files to be generated by the user within a matter of minutes. Once the process has run, the submission is fully automated.

Automated File Management
All rejection files are automatically downloaded and sent to nominated users to advise when new files have been found. These files can then be downloaded from the Gladstone Solution, where automated actions are applied based on their Direct Debit rules & preferences.

Fast Member Communications
Emails are fully integrated to automatically send to customers advising them of rejected payments, with URLs embedded to allow them to make the payment online.

Greater Payment Security
Access to a future-proof system that guarantees payment and data security. Sheffield City Trust now has an insight into all steps taken to ensure the customers' data is protected.

Improved Customer Service The customer service vastly improved as customers went directly to Sheffield City Trust's customer hub team, removing the previous barriers that made it difficult for them to keep their accounts up-to-date.

Cost Effective
Whilst Sheffield City Trust had to create additional resources to manage an in-house process, they still found that it was more cost-effective than the fees associated with using a third-party.

Why Choose Our Direct Debit Solution?
Prior to moving to GladstonePay's Direct Debit Processor, Sheffield City Trust offered its customers multiple Direct Debit dates. Whilst they were still able to do this with the Gladstone solution, moving the process in-house provided them with an opportunity to migrate all customers to a single date, vastly improving their reporting capabilities and streamlining their processes.

Searching for other reasons to move to Gladstone Pay Direct Debit Processor?
• Reduce the complexity of your Direct Debit runs as you perform the entire process within the Gladstone system.
• Streamline the process with no reliance on your Finance Department to manage a separate BACS transmission process.
• Get automated EFT rejection notifications with no requirement to check on a daily basis.
•Automatically keep customers in the loop with member communications that are fully automated.
• Manage your members' arrears in-house and give your team the power to be flexible to your customer's individual needs.
• Improved data security. Our integrated payment solution is held securely within the GladstoneGo Cloud.

Company Profile
Sheffield City Trust is a not-for-profit leisure organisation that has been bringing physical health and well-being services to the people of Sheffield for over 30 years.

With 15 leisure & entertainment venues, they offer gyms, swimming, golf and other activities to over 4 million people per year.

Their "open to all" philosophy ensures that their activities and facilities provide for everyone in communities across the city.

Why Highlife Highland is Moving to the Cloud:
For years, Highlife Highland has relied on our on-premise solutions to manage their leisure services. Now, they’re taking an bold step towards digital transformation by adopting our full cloud-based product suite, including GoLearn. This move is all about boosting efficiency, supporting sustainability, and delivering a better experience for their members.

So, What’s Driving their Move?

1. Improving Efficiency and Sustainability
Managing 28 sites is no small task, and reducing waste, both in time and resources, is a big priority. Switching to the cloud means automating manual processes, freeing up staff to focus on what matters most: creating great experiences for members. Plus, this change supports their environmental goals by cutting down on inefficiencies.

2. Unlocking New Growth
The shift to the Gladstone cloud isn’t just about doing things better; it’s about doing more. By modernising their systems, Highlife Highland opens opportunities to generate revenue across all their services, not just memberships.

3. Delivering a Seamless Member Experience A smooth online experience is crucial for today’s members. With tools like GoJoin and the app, members will enjoy an easier, faster joining process, and the team will be able to track improvements like fewer clicks and quicker sign-ups.

4. Building on a Strong Partnership
The move to the cloud is built on a long-standing relationship with Gladstone, one founded on trust and collaboration. This shared vision makes this next step feel like a natural progression to them.

5. Making Payments Simple with RCP
Recurring Card Payments (RCP) bring a modern, subscription-style payment system to the table. It’s flexible, secure, and exactly what today’s members expect, while also streamlining operations for the team.

6. Smarter Decisions with Sisense Dashboards
With Sisense dashboards, data becomes a powerful tool. Reports that used to take hours will now be ready in moments, helping the team make informed decisions and focus on strategic goals.

7. Expanding Swim Lessons with GoLearn
GoLearn is set to roll out to 10 locations, making swim lesson booking system easier for both staff and parents and the Parent Portal ensures families can manage lessons effortlessly. We are excited to kick off this next chapter with Highlife Highland. The team is ready to support them at every step of the journey and we will share updates here as the project progresses.