Sydney Metro Customer Service Recruitment Case Study

Delivering Exceptional Customer Service Teams for Sydney Metro’s Historic Opening

When the Sydney Metro City and Southwest line officially opened on 19 August 2024, it transformed public transport across NSW connecting Chatswood to Sydenham through six brand-new underground stations and 15.5 kilometres of new rail.

To ensure a smooth and safe experience for more than 100,000 daily commuters, Transport for NSW (TfNSW) partnered with McArthur to design and deliver a large-scale customer service recruitment and workforce solution. Working across 17 Metro stations, McArthur’s teams provided front-line commuter assistance, multilingual support and data-led reporting during the city’s largest rail transition in decades.

Recruitment Challenges Across Sydney’s Metro Network

Recruiting and deploying skilled customer service teams for such a complex, high-volume network presented several challenges:

• Sourcing and mobilising over 250 customer engagement staff across 17 Metro stations and interchanges
• Recruiting professionals with strong customer service, communication and problem-solving skills
• Coordinating rosters and coverage across key hubs including Chatswood, Victoria Cross, Waterloo and Central
• Managing last-minute shift changes during pre-launch testing and peak periods
• Delivering inclusive commuter engagement across Sydney’s multicultural communities

McArthur’s Customer Service Recruitment Strategy

As a trusted Sydney recruitment agency with a strong record in government and transport staffing, McArthur designed a tailored strategy to meet TfNSW’s customer experience objectives:

• Targeted customer service recruitment campaigns focused on people with prior public-facing and hospitality experience
• Local recruitment across Sydney’s North Shore, CBD and Inner West, ensuring teams were familiar with local commuter needs
• Diversity and inclusion focus, recruiting multilingual staff fluent in 26 languages to enhance accessibility
• Rapid onboarding and workforce mobilisation, enabling teams to be operational within tight pre-launch timeframes
• Performance and sentiment reporting, providing TfNSW with weekly insights to improve commuter engagement

Results Delivered Across Sydney Metro

McArthur’s customer service workforce played a key role in ensuring a positive commuter experience during Sydney Metro’s launch. Outcomes included:

• 12,873 total staffing hours completed across 17 Metro stations
• 2,902 shifts filled with 96% attendance across all rosters
• Over 54,000 commuter interactions managed by trained customer engagement teams
• Support delivered in 26 languages, reflecting Sydney’s cultural diversity
• Real-time data reporting that informed future TfNSW operational planning

Why Employers in Sydney and NSW Partner with McArthur

This case study showcases McArthur’s capability in delivering customer service recruitment and workforce solutions for large-scale government and transport projects. Employers choose McArthur because we provide:

• Expertise in frontline customer engagement recruitment
• Proven experience in public transport staffing across Sydney and NSW
• Access to diverse, multilingual customer service professionals
• End-to-end recruitment management, from candidate sourcing to performance reporting
• A trusted partnership model for government and infrastructure workforce delivery

Follow the link below to find out more about the project, our solutions and outcome for the Sydney Metro Opening.