Our Evolution? A Blog written by Our MD Liz Brewster

I wanted to write this blog to tell others ‘my dream, my story’, of how Craven has evolved over the last few years.

The Beginning

So, let’s start at the beginning, a 29 year old single mum who by chance was given an opportunity.  Never in my wildest dreams, did I think I would end up running my own business. Even though I was strong minded and wanting my own way most of the time, it never crossed my mind I would be “the boss”.  But here we are 18 years later, totally unemployable now, thank goodness, employing a great team of women and now offering an array of Health and Safety, HR and Training Products and Services; including up to date software options.

Back in October 2006 I met Stan.  What a top bloke Stan is, as without him seeing potential in me,  I would never be where I am today.  We literally got on like a ‘house on fire’.  He soon put me through my paces, training me on all aspects of H&S, challenging me when needed; and completely pushed me out of my comfort zone. This is something I harp on about with my team quite a bit, “do those videos”  even though we all hate it, “do that public speaking” even though you won’t sleep because of the nerves, nothing is ever as bad as you think it is going to be.

2011

Fast forward to 2011 after qualifying, gaining lots of knowledge and experience, challenged more and more and pushed even further ‘out of my comfort zone’ and becoming a Director.  I purchased the business from Stan who was keen to retire and put his foot up (he won’t mind me saying that, he has one leg, he has a wicked sense of humour)!  So, what now, I am the proud owner of a H&S business which to be honest was struggling financially. Most of our clients were Construction and they were dropping like flies. You learn to become very resilient in situations like this, I could have walked away when Stan retired and thought well, I gave it a go but that stubborn streak struck again, and I was absolutely determined to make it work, plus I really didn’t want to work for someone else!  I worked all hours with 2 small children to diversify into different sectors, I got myself a mentor, Andy who really helped me focus on the financials, and with a team of two, we worked hard to obtain new clients and get through difficult times.

For quite a few years our client base steadily grew and we were well known in the area as the ‘go to H&S company’.  I worked incredibly hard with pure determination to succeed, I did lots of early morning and evening networking. Our excellent reputation meant that clients were recommending us to their contacts, and we were naturally growing; but I was getting a bit restless and then the dreaded lockdown hit.

I still wanted to run the business with that ‘small and friendly’ feel to it, I never wanted to take over the H&S industry, nor did I want to be the next big Consultancy Company, but I also knew that if I sat back, I would never build the business into what I dreamed it could be; and also I am a pretty determined & stubborn individual which you probably know by now.

Like everyone in lockdown I was eating and drinking too much and doing lots of zoom quizzes, but as well as that it gave us all plenty of thinking time.  I had an idea;  to add HR services onto the business, just an idea which soon escalated. Before I knew it I was on the phone to Dee, an experienced HR professional, who was recommended to me by our cousin. After two conversations,  I took the leap with no HR clients in sight. I offered the job to Dee; and now the hard work begins to build an additional service and client base from scratch, let the fun begin!

I think I was a bit naïve at first, that or lockdown was getting to me, I just thought this is going to be easy, add it the website, contact all my H&S clients, who of course will want a HR retainer and boom there you go.  How wrong was I, as we started to develop the service, we were coming across obstacles like the reception I got from my H&S clients wasn’t the one I wanted.

Many of our clients as small businesses can be reactive naturally and at the beginning HR wasn’t on their agenda. Thankfully as the business has evolved, we have positively moved forward.  We now work in partnerships with many businesses to provide advice, guidance and support; to help build solid foundations to enhance and ensure business compliancy and risk mitigation. To put it in the simplest possible terms: businesses have started to understand that HR is important because it sets up your employees, and therefore your company as a whole, for success.

We re-branded; changed our  Company name, website, as this wasn’t the right image for what we had become.  Dee and I worked tirelessly on transforming the business, with lots of sleepless nights and long days.

This exciting journey of transforming the business has made us streamline how we do things, change needed to happen, we couldn’t keep the same old systems and make it into the business it needed to become.  Fast forward and we have a new company name Craven Consultancy Services incorporating, Craven Safety, Craven HR, Craven Training Services and Craven Networking, a new brand, logo, website and up to date systems which have revolutionised the way we all work.

Change is never easy and at times can be a very scary prospect, I mean “why change it if it isn’t broken?”  but with that attitude things can become quite stagnant, and you may well get left behind in a fast-paced business world.

I soon realised that maintaining that ‘small and friendly’ feel, didn’t mean that we had to avoid growth or innovation. This change really ‘kick started’ when we appointed Dee to the business,  who I have worked closely with ever since (she can be a pain), she is my ‘side kick’. We may not always agree, but we have worked hard to positively build and transform the business and we have a great relationship which helps, plus we laugh a lot.

After taking a holistic approach to restructuring our business design and structure, through the use of process mapping and strategic management tools, the transformation began.  Dee’s expertise in change management helped us to achieve a people structure and systems framework which supported our companies’ strategic goals.

Our focus is and will always be; continuous improvement, this is of course a mindset and a strategic approach that allows us to evolve, stay relevant, and achieve long-term success in a rapidly changing world. It fosters innovation, drives efficiency, enhances quality, and engages employees, ultimately leading to improved performance and competitive advantage.

2023

So, as we look back and are getting near to the end of 2023, I can safely say the business has successfully evolved, we have a HR client base now, our new E Learning platform is fast becoming a success and I have recently set up Skipton Expo an exhibition and networking conference in the heart of Skipton for local businesses, our first event March 2024.

Our small but well-formed team (Dee, Tonie & Megan) are amazing.  I am so proud of the team and the business, we are always moving forward with new opportunities and we are all looking forward to seeing what 2024 brings.