Smart50 Workplaces 2023: FONZ

Founder: Michelle Nazzari
Headquarters: Sydney, New South Wales
Year founded: 2010
Employees: 5-20
Industry: Automotive
Website: fonzmoto.com

To help its supportive culture, FONZ, a Sydney-based manufacturer of electric motorcycles and scooters, rejects the typical ‘workshop’ culture of automotive industries. “With a female founder at the helm at FONZ, the dynamic is automatically shifted away from a traditional automotive setting. There is no traditional ‘workshop’ culture, and open, honest and regular dialogue is welcome.”

As automotive is a male-dominated industry, social expectations and traditional gender roles can mean that “men are less likely to seek help for their mental health challenges.” In its culture and support, it aims to view staff members as holistic individuals whose performance is impacted by what happens at home and at work, and conducts regular check-ins with its people.

It’s safe to say FONZ faces many challenges. Firstly, it faces an intense workload of supplying custom-made motorcycles to its clientele — each vehicle sold is bespoke to its owner. Add to that a skills shortage of qualified motorcycle mechanics, the under-representation of women and non-binary people, and a wide gender pay gap, all of which affect the industry. Michelle Nazzari is out to challenge all of this at her company. And that’s not to mention the fact the electric motorcycles are out to provide environmentally-friendly transport and are manufactured in a new carbon-neutral operation in Alexandria, which has been “a source of immense pride for our employees, who can really see the company vision come to life.”

Culture and values at FONZ

At FONZ, we strive to be a part of a more sustainable world and our team regularly engages with government, not-for-profits and industry to champion the transition to sustainable transport in Australia. We work with and support organisations aligned with our values such as WWF, Climate Council, Sustainable Salons, 1 Million Women, AEVA (Australian Electric Vehicle Association) and other NFPs. We aim for transparency and believe as a company we can be a positive force for change to build respect and dignity within our team and community.

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