In this Team TPS spotlight post, we have John Hacker. John is Team TPS’s longest member, with 20+ years under his belt and for good reason too!
Find out more about John below…
What is your role at TPS and how long have you been here?
I’m a Director at TPS, having joined the business in 2003. I’ve therefore crept past the 20-year mark, which makes me feel very old indeed!
As part of my role I’m still heavily involved in project work, which I juggle with business/team management responsibilities, and business admin.
Whilst I’ve been involved in most areas of our work over the years, more recently the project related part of my role has been focused upon managing our growing number of Travel Plan projects within the residential sector, supporting and working with the wider team.
What do you get up to on a typical day at work?
Working as a Director in an SME means that in any one day I typically end up wearing lots of different hats. Juggling the management of a growing business with project work means that I can jump from managing business finances, to checking a report, to speaking with a client, to supporting team members, to fetching milk … you name it, and at some point in a week I’m probably doing a bit of it.
Currently, the nature of my role means that I am usually office based, but I do like to get out and about and see people when able. But, being involved in so many elements of the business can mean lots of emails and lots of different little tasks to get over the line.
Tell us something that your connections might be interested to know about you?
Well, my mates call me ‘boring John’, so that isn’t a great start 😊.
In a work capacity, it was my dad who set up TPS (formally Travel Plan Services) back in 2000, and I joined him having spent just one year as an accountant after University. Back then it was your usual story of working out of a room in my dad’s house, from where we slowly progressed to the glamour of a converted garage, before taking the leap to get a ‘proper’ office and start building a team. Rob Bettison was the first person to join us, and still runs the business alongside me today. After the passing of my dad in 2010 it was a case of sink or swim for what was still only a very small business, but he must have done a pretty good job of setting Rob and I on a good path, as we’re still here and growing today.
Outside of work, a recent achievement was building a new house, which took lots of time, caused lots of stress, and meant carrying lots of bricks. This is the first summer with a (nearly) completed garden, which we’re looking forward to enjoying (if the rain ever holds off).
What’s your favourite thing to have worked on in the last month?
The nature of my role means working on lots of different things all at once, which can be a challenge but is also rewarding in equal measure. In the last month, we have been working on our Growth Strategy for the business, which is something that I enjoy as it involves plotting a future path for the team as a whole. We’ve also been kicking off our 2024 residential Travel Plan activities in what will be our busiest year yet, and it has been great to see the team get collectively stuck in. The delivery of our residential Travel Plan workstream is a real team effort, with different people having different but equally important roles. That sense of working as a team is something I’ll always get real satisfaction from.
How do you wind down outside of work?
I know I’m not alone in this, but being on holiday in the sunshine is where I feel I can really unwind best. We are fortunate to have a family home in Portugal, and spending time there with family and friends is top of my list (roll on the summer).
On a more day to day basis, my son currently plays with the Sheffield United Academy, which means a fair bit of time being a dad taxi, but is something that I really enjoy watching him enjoy.
Want to learn more about the rest of our team? Check out our other spotlight posts here.