Responsibilities:

Change Management
Agile Leadership

Sydney, Australia

Role: Operations Manager

Challenge

Australian Local Search (currently trading as True Local) was a young, dynamic online business taking on a giant. We carved out space in a monopolized market and were developing products on the fly.

With media conglomerates vying for acquisition and demand for services outpacing initial capacity, the globally spread leadership was stretched thin.

The company was outpacing waterfall methodology that developers and senior leadership initially adopted.
Traditional recruitment avenues proved inadequate in keeping pace with our staffing needs.

I was brought on as Operations Manager to build ballast - a network of systems and policies to navigate rapid growth without capsizing.

Solution

We prized adaptability and speed over predictability. Recognizing this, I implemented an agile and highly human centered approach to protect momentum.

I also drew on past success and partnered with Mission Australia to address our intense staffing needs. We offered employment and bespoke training to 150+ long-term unemployed Sydney-siders.

Results

Competitors were converted into partners, the suite of services expanded quickly and the company grew from around 20 staff to 200 in less than a year. Solutions came from a range of voices and the product suite grew quickly to directly meet clients’ identified needs.