CEO’s roadshows conclude at Roncesvalles Carhouse

CEO Andy Byford wrapped up his Employee Town Halls at Roncesvalles Carhouse on Feb. 26. Since the first Corporate Plan roadshow at Wychwood Barns last spring, more than 80 sessions were held for nearly 6,500 employees across the property.

Introduced in 2013, the TTC’s inaugural Corporate Plan maps out what the TTC will do over five years to modernize equipment, processes and overall culture. The town halls brought that message straight to frontline staff as well as managers and support personnel.

“The hardest part of any business transformation isn’t buying shiny, new vehicles and equipment. The hardest part is transforming the culture. It’s about making the customer feel valued, and it’s about making the employee feel involved, inspired and motivated,” Byford told his audience.

One of the strategic objectives that the CEO stressed in his final roadshow was People – an empowered, customer-focused workforce that values teamwork, pride in a job well done and an organization that actively develops its employees.

“We’re going to look at our organizational structure so that you have opportunities to progress your careers and reach your full potential. We’re going to re-invigorate the reward and recognition strategies to recognize good performance. And this fall we’re going to conduct an employee satisfaction survey similar to those we’ve been doing with customers.”

Every town hall started with a video that depicts a typical day in the life of the TTC. Byford then described the seven strategic objectives (Safety, Customer, People, Assets, Growth, Financial Sustainability and Reputation) before opening up to the floor for a question-and-answer session with the Chief Executive and local management.

“If we all pull together and deliver this Corporate Plan, we can silence our critics, dumbfound the skeptics, delight our customers, and get the TTC back to where it once was – the jewel in the crown of North American transit,” Byford said. “There’s a lot of pride in this company, and we do an amazing job performing miracles on a daily basis to keep our aging equipment going.”

Byford concluded his final roadshow by reminding crews that next year Toronto will host the Pan/Parapan Am Games.

“North and South America will come to Toronto and the eyes of the world will be on us. If we pull together as a team we’ll put on a great show,” he said. “We can meet our vision of a transit system that makes Toronto proud.”