Hawkland Ecological Architecture & Construction design and deliver sustainable building projects. Initially a two-man operation focussing on the South West, partners Chris Hawker and David Copeland have over the past six years expanded their client base nationwide. However, the slow-down in the industry during the pandemic resulted in a backlog of projects. They needed to deliver while securing a stream of new business and that meant expanding their team.
David explains: “The pandemic gave us time to think about what we were doing and why. We set up the business to grow and scale and help the construction industry provide better sustainable solutions, but we needed support to take the next step, that’s when we turned to the Growth Hub.”
David took advantage of free business mentoring: “It’s invaluable, my mentor Rick encourages me to voice my ideas, then challenges them, acting as a steering rudder to chart a sensible route, prioritising what we need to focus on.”
Hawkland believe they have solid foundations on which to build growth. Through the Workforce for the Future programme, they are investing in their leadership skills, enrolling on a mental health and wellbeing course: “We work in a physically demanding, tough, dirty and dangerous industry so the welfare of our staff is of paramount importance. We want to support our workers mental health and ensure they have a good work/life balance.
“Signing up to the West of England Good Employment Charter was a valuable process for us, we ticked nearly all the boxes which we found really empowering, reaffirming we’re on the right path.”
What’s next? Well, Hawkland have just joined the Tech for Growth programme where they’ll get support to use tech effectively to communicate who they are and what they do to grow the business further.
David says: “We’ve learned so much and have lots to do but this is a really exciting journey. We’ll spend the next few months solidifying what we offer and use our invaluable Growth Hub experience as a springboard to increase volume and deliver a high-quality job from start to finish.”
