The week The Edge host Ben Fewtrell chats with Michelle Ferbrache the 2020 Paint & Panel Bodyshop Award swinner for operational excellence. Click here to listen.
This week we speak to someone who’s doing incredible things in the industry, who came from a totally different background. Michelle Ferbrache is the co-founder and Director of Essendon Panels: a multi award-winning repair shop based in Victoria. When Michelle and her husband went all-in to set up Essendon Panels, she had absolutely no experience in the industry. Her background was in air traffic control and aviation safety investigation, so it was very interesting to hear how she took the rigorous safety standards from her previous life and applied them to smash repair. Ferbrache also shared the secret to Essendon Parts’ success.
In this week’s episode you will learn:
- How Michelle somehow managed to win an award during COVID
- How Michelle took safety standards from aviation and applied them to cars
- What “a team of diverse staff” really means
- How Essendon Parts developed a strong company culture
- The importance of mindset over skillset
- How Essendon Parts reduced their staff turnover
- How mentorship helped Michelle
- How Michelle overcame her fear of failure
- Why it might be an advantage for a leader to not be a tradesperson
- How Essendon Parts is automating their process
- The importance of interacting with online reviewers