Still Standing

Wayne Murphy’s calling in life was always loud and clear. For as long as Wayne could remember, he wanted to be a mechanic of some sort.

Early in his life, this passion was split between cars and trucks but growing up right across the road from a Patterson Cheney Isuzu dealership in the suburb of Keysborough, Victoria, swayed him  somewhat.

“I always wanted to do what they did at Patterson Cheney,” Wayne recalls.

“I was set on it, so I applied for work there as soon as I could.”

This application was years in the making. Wayne nurtured his dreams by watching the dealership at work throughout his childhood and completing work experience there while in high school in the early 1980s.

Once he officially graduated in 1984, he wasted no time in applying for a truck mechanic apprenticeship. Needless to say, he got it and hasn’t looked back in the 42 years since.

For a long time, he looked up — constantly learning and working, rising through various roles and ranks before earning the title of Service Manager in 2003, a role he still proudly holds today.

From this perch, his perspective has since shifted, and he now finds himself looking out — onto a transport industry that has undergone some fundamental shifts.

“I think the biggest change I’ve seen during my time in the industry has been the accessibility to people,” Wayne says.

“Back in the early days, there were no mobile phones to speak of. People would have to ring the business up on a landline and arrange a time to drop a vehicle off way in advance. Nowadays, that booking can be done automatically, at any time of the day, and contacting people is instantaneous. The amount of change on that front has been incredible.”

While this change hasn’t been immediate per se, it has certainly been relentless. Keeping step with it has redefined Wayne’s role to some extent.

“I think this change of pace has definitely impacted the work I do to a degree,” he adds.

“I think one needs to be switched on much more consistently than they might have been years ago, because so much more can be fit into each day. Once upon a time, having any sort of meeting involved travel, letters, and more time in general. In the modern era, I can do three or four of these a day.”

Advances in technology have certainly created efficiencies within the daily operations of industry, but the effect on its people and culture may still be up in the air.

To Wayne, a tenet of the transport sector laid in its ability to bring people together and form a community. Today, this sense of community has seemingly been traded in for a sense of urgency, as people move faster to meet deadlines and keep businesses running.

“In the early days, dealing with the customer base was a lot more personal,” he says.

“There was more emphasis around understanding people’s business, having relationships or friendships with customers. You knew where they went for holidays, you might know their families. It was a real people business back then.”

The speed with which people are now accustomed to completing business tasks also compounds the need for efficiencies so that it detracts in other ways.

“Today, people are more inclined to drop off their vehicle, receive a service, pay their bills, say thank you and out the door they walk,” says Wayne.

“There isn’t as much time to cultivate relationships. People want to go on to the next thing.”

Amid a seemingly perennial effort to reduce and refine industry processes, Wayne has worked hard to keep the personal touch at the forefront of his Service Manager role at Keysborough’s Patterson Cheney Isuzu dealership.

This effort extends to both customers and his employees.

“I’m spending a lot more time supporting staff, both up-skilling and supporting their wellbeing,” he says.

“I’m really trying to fit everyone who works with me into one group and getting them to really gel. There are lots of different nationalities, personalities and abilities. So, it’s my job to put them all together and try to get the best out of each individual so we can then help customers as much as possible.”

Getting this balance right is as crucial to Wayne’s role as the other day-to-day business operations.

Having a people-first approach has paid dividends in creating both strong work culture and positive customer experiences.

Wayne was recently honoured among the top three service managers for 2024 in Isuzu Australia Limited’s national dealership network, as part of the company’s prestigious Team Elite program.

This marked Wayne’s second consecutive win of the award, a track record which he holds dear.

“While on some level I’d like to be number two or number one at some point, I’m very happy that my performance has been consistent,” he reflects.

“I do think that in a lot of cases, it’s just as difficult to be consistent as it is to win. Being recognised among the top three Service Managers in the country for Isuzu — that’s something I’m very proud to hold onto.”

Ultimately, to Wayne, it was never about acclaim. As a man who lives and breathes trucks, Wayne’s greatest achievement, in his eyes, has simply been his ability to do what he loves for as long as he has.

“My survival in the business has truly been my greatest accomplishment,” Wayne says. “I’ve been a Service Manager for 22 years, and that’s quite a feat in the industry. I think my ability to move with the times is what I’ve gotten out of my career the most.”

He has seen off several significant challenges during his time from the fallout of the Global Financial Crisis to the more recent COVID-19 crisis.

“I was here for all of those. I adapted and changed with the business to keep moving forward and we’ve been doing well,” says Wayne.

“If there’s anything I’ve tried to pass on in my role, it’s the resilience that I’ve exercised.”