This week, we’re celebrating a huge milestone at Trafalgar – John Harris’s 25th anniversary at the Company!
To mark his quarter-century, we caught up with John to ask him about his time at Trafalgar over the last 25 years and his ambitions for the future.
John began his journey with Trafalgar on 31st March 2000, after spending time travelling around Australia and New Zealand. Fresh from his adventures, he joined the team in their central London office and quickly found his stride in the world of payroll.
“I remember being interviewed in the old London office and accepting the position,” John recalls. “I was drawn to the payroll side, but I really loved getting to speak with many of the people we paid each week,” said John.
When John arrived, Trafalgar was in the early stages of establishing itself as a trusted provider of accounting solutions and umbrella company services. John was just 25 when he joined the Company, and was appreciative of the firm’s family feel, which remains a key part of Trafalgar’s make up today.
“We’d usually go out once or twice a month after work for a social, and that created a really strong bond,” John said. 25 years is a long time to be part of any organisation, particularly these days, and that’s something John certainly didn’t contemplate when he started. “Many of my colleagues had already been with the company for years, but I never thought I’d make it to 25 myself!”
John’s role began in payroll before he sought a well-placed opportunity in sales. “We had some large, London-based, financial services clients who wanted payroll and tax support for their clients, and I had the knowledge in payroll, so I moved over,” he remembers. John has since settled in a specialist Sales role, excelling thanks to his depth of knowledge and understanding.
In 2015, Trafalgar joined the Danbro Group, and John played a central role in the successful merger. Reflecting on the merger with Danbro, John commented on how positive it was for the team and the growth of the company since.
“We were like a close family, and so joining Danbro was like a continuation of that. I’d say that’s been one of the best parts of the job.” He gave a special shoutout to other long-serving colleagues – Charlotte, Ula, Zoe, and Malin – who, like John, stayed with Trafalgar after 2015 and continue to be a vital part of the team to this day. “If you get committed staff who do a good job, the company will thrive, and we can see that with the business today.”
A particular highlight of John’s time at Trafalgar was his role in the Umbrella Company’s addition to Deloitte’s PSL (preferred supplier list), a major player in our sector. He said, “after about 6 face-to-face meetings, presentations, and numerous calls, they said they wanted Trafalgar to be added to their PSL for the very first time.” This opened many other doors to London’s financial services market, and was a real catalyst for Company’s success thereafter.
We asked John what he thinks has been key to Trafalgar’s longevity in such a competitive market. He responded, “through a strong offering and excellent customer service, we’ve kept ourselves on the PSLs of the outstanding clients such as Deloitte, Momenta, Davies, Hazell Carr, TCC, BDO, etc., which really is Trafalgar’s base. And as contractors come and go and get contracts with the different agencies, they can continue to use Trafalgar – a name they can trust – and don’t want to leave us to join a different umbrella company.”
Hear, hear, John. Congratulations on an incredible 25 years – here’s to the next quarter of a century!