Lucy Campbell, CEO
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Lucy Campbell | CEO, Right at Home UK"Almost every day I hear heart-warming stories from our Franchise Owners about the care their teams are delivering to Clients. There’s nobody at Right at Home for whom this is ‘just a job’."
When I was little, I wanted to be an actress or a lawyer. Looking back though, I think it would be fair to say my legal ambitions lay more with being a barrister confidently holding court in a glamorous wig and gown, than behind a desk surrounded by mountains of paperwork! I worked hard at school, but drama was my favourite subject. Even back then I was very driven to always give something my best try, so I went to theatre school at the weekends and attended auditions, and actually landed extra work on shows like Brookside and Hollyoaks.
As much fun as all that was, my sensible side always made sure I was pushing myself academically too, so went to university to study Business and Information Management. This was where I realised that I was actually more passionate about pursuing a career in business than I was in acting. I found that project management was an area I excelled in, so the first job I applied to after graduating was with a community regeneration project in my hometown of Liverpool.
The project was in the Toxteth area. Not many people have been there, but most people have heard of it, largely because of the riots back in the early eighties and the associated poverty. Unemployment was extremely high all across the country, but Merseyside was one the worst hit regions and Toxteth was one of the worst hit districts in Liverpool. So I was probably not the only person to visit the area for the first time with low expectations.
What I found was an incredibly close-knit, hopeful community who rallied around each other in a way I had never experienced growing up in a more affluent part of the city. With each week I could feel a growing sense of purpose in what I was doing, which was combining teamwork with business sense and management principals, to create not just wealth, but a host of social improvements that made an everyday, real-world positive difference to people’s lives.
What started with creating a beautiful community hub, led to projects focusing on employment, digital inclusion, the environment and tackling anti-social behaviour. And perhaps the biggest lesson, was understanding that the most effective way of delivering change wasn’t for a group of people to swoop in on some kind of charitable rescue operation; it was about empowering people to help themselves. I’m so grateful to have had that defining experience so early on, because it set me on a clear career path of using my business ambitions for social good – a path I’m very much still on.
I went on to work on a series of similar projects, at a more senior level. I found being in a leadership role really rewarding and my confidence grew as I gained experience. As the projects became more varied, so too did the people I was working with. Whether it was people in the communities or experts drafted in to help, I started to become fascinated with entrepreneurs, most specifically with their ability to turn a small idea into a brand-new business or service with a big impact. I could also see the hurdles they often had to jump over to get things moving and growing, whether it was raising finance or just getting practical support and advice.
It was around this time that I started learning about franchising and realised its power to not only help an entrepreneur expand a great business, but also to create a means by which ambitious people could get into business ownership for themselves, with a reduced risk verses going it completely alone. I became involved with a social enterprise called Franchising Works, which ignited such a passion in me, I ended up Chief Executive. The organisation was set up to help tackle unemployment, redundancy and career transition by helping create new businesses and jobs through franchising. It was whilst working on the set up and mobilisation of a quasi-equity fund in collaboration with the banks that I met a great guy called Colin Chadwick from NatWest who really opened my eyes to the potential of the UK franchise industry and through him I met a lot of incredibly inspiring franchisors and franchisees. One such person, who had gone from very successful franchisee to very ambitious franchisor, was Ken Deary.
Right at Home UK was in its infancy then, but already had an impressive reputation and was widely considered to be ‘one to watch’. During my time at Franchising Works, I became increasingly aware of Right at Home and indeed the successes achieved by Ken himself, seeing me develop a growing fascination in the business. In terms of Ken, I really admired his passion for the care sector and his determination to become the most ethical and effective provider in that industry – it felt like Ken and Right at Home completely embodied everything I had come to love about franchising. When an opportunity to join the team coincided with my own desire to take a career step into something really long-term and challenging, it didn’t require a lot of soul searching. Right at Home felt like where I was meant to be.
To be sitting here seven years later as the newly appointed CEO is nothing short of a dream come true. I can’t tell you how proud I am of what we have achieved already or how excited I am about the future. The joy in receiving our first Outstanding CQC rating still hasn’t gone away. That’s an amazing story because it was the wonderful Ben Selby, who joined our National Office support team because of his passion for standards in care, and then went on to become a Franchise Owner himself, who led by example to become the first of our offices to get that ultimate accolade. This is the magic of franchising in action - enabling great people to do great things with a far-reaching positive impact.
Almost every day I hear heart-warming stories from our Franchise Owners about the care their teams are delivering to Clients. Sometimes the comments of gratitude and appreciation that come from Clients and their families can leave you beaming from ear to ear. And we all feel the same way. Every member of the National Office team, all the Franchise Owners and their amazing CareGivers who go above and beyond to maintain the standards that I feel set us apart in the industry – they know the value they bring to people’s lives, and it drives them on. There’s nobody at Right at Home for whom this is ‘just a job’.
This couldn’t have been more evident during the worst of the pandemic and lockdowns. Right across the organisation everyone stepped up and delivered, and nobody needed to be prompted or pushed. That only happens when everyone’s ethics and motivations are aligned, and at Right at Home, that is to offer outstanding as standard. That’s why I’m here, and that’s why I care.