Christmas Spotlight: Jacob Hill

If ever there was a year when we need some festive cheer, it’s 2020. So, for our annual advent calendar of Q&As with the region’s businesspeople, we’ve tried to focus on what brings you joy.

Every day in December, we’ll invite someone into the Christmas spotlight, with 10 quickfire questions…

Next up, it’s Jacob Hill, founder of community interest company, Offploy.

Complete the sentence: “If there’s one thing 2020 has taught me, it’s…”

… that you can’t control everything, in fact, you can only control very little. So, plan for the end of the world and find ways in which to grow in the most adverse of situations.

I have found incredible opportunities for personal and business development during lockdown and have been extremely grateful for the reflection time. Self-evaluation needs to be constantly sewn into your working lifestyle, to ensure there’s enough of you left for the important bits at the end of the day.

If you could give a one-line shout out to your team, for how they’ve handled this year, what would you say?

Technology can be scary, but you’ve adapted to new ways of working, to help more people than ever. I am so grateful and so very proud of each of you. Thank you for driving our mission forward.

Were you guilty of any lockdown splurges?

I definitely consumed more during lockdown – more wine, more takeaways, and even found myself spending days staring at the TV. I really enjoyed watching six seasons of Silicone Valley back-to-back, over two weeks.

However, the biggest splurge I had was obsessing over learning how to develop programmes on a neat customer management tool called Salesforce.

I have easily spent 200 hours fascinated by its capabilities, and building our organisation’s system in the hope it would be used post-lockdown. Thankfully, it was!

In fewer than 50 words, summarise three things your business has to look forward to, in 2021

a.Completion of two major projects to help over 295 people with convictions overcome their barriers in securing employment

b.Exploring amazing countries to see Offploy’s service help more people across the world. This includes Portugal, Brazil, Singapore and Fiji!

c.On Friday 28 May, we will celebrate turning five!

Which business do you think has gone above and beyond, this year?

For us, it has to be ‘ink’ www.designedbyink.co.uk. Matt and Nicole are a young ‘power couple’ responsible for our brand. The duo – based at the University of Huddersfield’s 3M Buckley Innovation Centre building on Firth Street – have developed Offploy’s identity over the years, from concept right through to actualisation.

They have consulted on, and designed, our outwardly-facing materials, including our website and user-friendly content for our candidates – who can sometimes find it difficult to read. Throughout lockdown, they have helped to get our digital message out there even more, and I am also pleased to see they have gone on to secure design work with government organisations, and other businesses, during these testing times.

What’s your oldest Christmas memory?

“OH, I WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS, EVERYDAYYYYY” is the song of the season etched into my memory which seems to stitch all my Christmases into a patchwork quilt that has no distinct beginning or end!

I remember the house being full of love during the festivities, and the kitchen was always packed with friends and family. Inside it was warm – almost humid – while outside it was crisp and icy, calling for a bobble hat as standard! I think I even remember it snowing on Christmas day a couple of times! Those were the days.

What’s the one thing you could never be without, on your Christmas dinner plate?

I’m the worst type of guest for Christmas dinner… a vegetarian! However, I cannot be without two types of potatoes – roast and mash – greedy, I know! I’m rather particular through, and the mash must be almost puréed with plenty of butter and little bit of pepper before being doused in some lacklustre veggie gravy – which is never as good as the real thing, but does the trick!

What’s your favourite Christmas tipple, film and tune?

The drink has to be Bailey’s – a classic. I love to watch It’s A Wonderful Life, but always in black and white, rather than the remastered colour version. It’s even better if you take a trip to see it at the Rex cinema in Elland, with a cup of tea and a mince pie. For the song, it’s got to be Fairytale of New York by The Pogues.

What are you most looking forward to, about Christmas 2020?

I think that now, more than ever, it’s the idea of being close to my family – despite the lockdown and social distancing.

I’ve taught Nan how to use Facetime, meaning I get no end to the video calls at the moment, and there’s no reason we couldn’t leave the video running all day – to check in on her bubble with my mum and auntie in Halifax. Myself, Emily and her dad will be spending the day in Selby. It will be an odd little Christmas but certainly one to tell the grandkids about in the years to come.

And a message to your friends, family, colleagues and peers as they welcome in 2021?

You made it. You really did. Now is the time for grace and gratitude. Yes, our Christmas day might not be as we expected but we’re still able to communicate and have a future to look forward to.

Five years ago, I spent my Christmas in prison. We decorated the wing, made paper chains, sat together as inmates in what would have been a cripplingly isolating time away from loved ones. I was lucky that I could pick up the phone, speak to all my family who were in festive cheer, read their amazing letters, and know that we would all be together again.

This lockdown isn’t much different – but with the added benefit of unlimited video calls. So, use them. Ring a loved one, spend too much time on the phone, and look forward to the future when we will all be together again.
To end, I would like to give a quote from Babette’s Feast, an amazingly cosy film, about Grace:

“Grace, my friends, demands nothing from us but that we shall await it with confidence and acknowledge it in gratitude. Grace, brothers, makes no conditions and singles out none of us in particular; grace takes us all to its bosom and proclaims general amnesty.”

Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen), Babette's Feast and Other Anecdotes of Destiny.