‘Hello, RPC. Tina speaking’ It’s time to say goodbye to retiring Operations Director, Tina Johnson

We are approaching another milestone in the history of RPC as we prepare to say a very fond farewell to Tina Johnson after 24 years at the heart of the business.

Tina has been the heartbeat of RPC since even before the official start, joining her brother Pete Gable as Employee Number 2 in 2002. At that point, Pete was still running Primavera training courses from his converted garage and Tina’s part-time help at the weekend allowed him to concentrate on delivering the training and growing the business, whilst she took care of the paperwork. When RPC was formed and took possession of our premises on the edge of Guiseley a few years later in 2008, Tina recalls the three of them – Pete, Tina and Keith Hogben by now too – sitting down on moving in day and marvelling at the space. And wondering how on earth they were going to use it!

Over the years since then, Tina has been quietly and reliably helping to steer the ship as the company has grown to 27 permanent staff plus our two long-serving trainers. RPC has branched out to become not just a training organisation, but an award-winning tech consultancy with a mission to create and deliver Oracle project controls solutions that empower project teams and enable our clients to build a better future for everyone. We’ve transitioned into employee ownership, seen an evolution of management as Keith and Pete retired, won the Oracle Global Partner of the Year award, completely gutted and refitted the office and Tina has remained calm and unflappable throughout it all.

Tina’s role has evolved over the years as the company has grown. In fact, ‘Check with Tina’ is the default answer to most questions in the office. She once described her job as, ‘I sort of sit in the middle and dole things out to the right person elsewhere in the office and make sure everyone else has got everything in place. Plus, finances. I deal with all the finance.’Capturing everything she does on a daily basis and putting people and systems in place to do that once she’s gone has made ‘Project Exit T’ a monumental task that we’ve been working on for six months or more.

‘Tina basically holds the place together,’ says Managing Director John Lister. ‘She’s not just coordinated our training business for decades, she’s also masterminded the running of the office, chased down late payments, kept a tight hold of the purse strings – believe me, I’ve been on the wrong end of that a few times! – and been the go-to office agony aunt for a million different problems over the years.’

Chris Callaghan, now our longest-serving member of the team, agrees: ‘I have always wondered how she managed to juggle so many tasks, phone calls, people, trainers, training courses, paperwork and emails day to day. And, even when she was completely rushed off her feet you knew your expense claim would be completed in a matter of minutes!’.

We quickly realised that one person would not be a sufficient replacement! So over the past few months we’ve been delighted to welcome Nick Woodrow to the business to take on the Operations Director role and Damian Ransome to take the reins as Head of Training Services.

‘Tina should never underestimate the part she has played in RPC’s growth and success.’ Nick observes. ‘The culture at RPC is testament to her and that is a legacy she should be rightly proud of.’

Her unfailingly friendly Yorkshire welcome makes her the absolute master when it comes to building a rapport with clients, training delegates and anyone who meets her either on the phone or in the office.

Damian recalls his first visit to RPC Towers for his final interview: ‘Tina was outside the back door getting some fresh air, so as I was a little early, we stood and had a chat. That and the hug that she insisted on after the interview went a long way to convince me that the RPC team would be a great people to work with. Thanks, Tina for your warm welcome and gracious support while handing over the training operation. I promise to look after it and ensure that I always get a PO.’

That initial impression from Damian captures the two most repeated attributes quoted by the whole RPC team when asked what things they most associate with Tina. She is notoriously tenacious in her pursuit of a purchase order – now immortalised in the office artwork – and much loved by the team for her legendary hugs.

‘The nicest and kindest boss I’ve ever worked for’

‘Just a joy to work with’

‘Legend!’

‘Always friendly and happy and welcoming’

‘She made me do a curtsey on my first day!’

‘Genuine and caring’

‘Retirement won’t know what hit it’

To say we’ll miss Tina is an understatement, but she’s certainly earned a long holiday somewhere sunny (though traditionally Tina takes the rain with her when she goes away) and we all wish her a very happy retirement.