Michelle Howley, Head of Operations & Customer Experience at Transdev Perth, last week celebrated a significant milestone – 24 years of service with Transdev Australia. Her growth from Receptionist to managing a team of over 700 is testament to her ability, ethos and of the opportunities we all have as Journey Makers. Read her story below and congratulate her yourself when you next see her.
Starting as a receptionist at the age of 22, she’s worked her way up through the fleet administration department and recently gained a promotion to become a Business Support Manager.
Michelle brings a knowledge of the public transportation industry that is second to none. It’s a real asset when you consider that the nature of her work can change on any given day.
I support the business in many different aspects – from operations to communications, and payroll to producing documentation for tenders. Colleagues regularly ask me for my input and advice and I’m happy to help. And likewise, people here are always eager to share.
In an organization that’s focused on business improvement, the role of technology has become ever important. “Data plays a big part in my role – I enjoy using it to find the root cause of issues. In doing so I know that I’m playing my part in making Transdev a more successful business.
And whilst technology is helping, Michelle knows that good communication and relationship management is what matters most.
We need to feed changes through to the front line. After all, our customer-facing teams need to know what our passengers are thinking. And we’re helping them with technology too. From apps to digital route planners, we’re aspiring to make journey planning as simple as possible.
Her scope of work is expansive, but Michelle appreciates that it’s not all about the day job.
There’s a high level of diversity, responsibility and initiative required in my work. But I also get the flexibility to give back to my community too.
Michelle drives our Workplace Giving program. And it’s this combination of hard work and going above and beyond that has seen her nominated for 2 Golden Star Awards, the Australasian employee recognition programs.
We invite local charities to showcase their causes in our depots; the team is eager to get involved and give generously. It’s rewarding to organize events that give back to charities in the communities we serve.