Meet Michael, our new Director of Development

Today’s fun fact: did you know that almost one in every five Payworks employees is part of our talented Development team?! Yep, it’s true – and when it comes to creative problem-solving, a keen eye for details, and bringing the most user-friendly, efficient workforce management solutions to our customers, we know they represent the very best of the best.

That’s why the latest addition to our Development crew’s leadership team feels like such a good match! In March, we welcomed Michael Markowski as our new Director of Development, after Derek Ward assumed a new role as Payworks’ Director of IT Strategy & Innovation (congrats, Derek!). Since then, Michael’s jumped headfirst into the day-to-day of Payworks’ Development projects, goals and strategies.

Getting to know Michael

This curiosity and enthusiasm should be no surprise to anyone who’s known Michael since his early days.

“When I was a kid, I’d always tinker around and take apart computers and build them back together,” he shares. “My dad and his friends were interested in it as a hobby, and it was a fun way to spend time with them – and I quickly realized ‘wait, computers are cool!’ And then when I got into the programming side, everything clicked.”

These formative experiences led Michael to complete his Bachelor of Computer Science degree at the University of Manitoba, as well as certification in Agile Project Management through the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies. From there, he went on to spend almost 20 years honing his development and leadership skills in in-house and consulting roles across a wide breadth of industries before joining Payworks.

Michael lights up when he talks about his approach to leadership.

“Servant-model leadership really is the gold standard – so the first question I’m asking is ‘how can I support my team?’” he explains. “I trust them, and want to help them keep excelling and thriving in their roles. My goal is to empower them to prioritize and focus so that they can really dig in and do their best work. And I’m naturally a people person, so it’s really rewarding to me!

“I’m lucky to have joined a mature, talented group with a great culture. Payworks has been doing a lot of things right – obviously, to have grown to the point we have! – and I’m just here to use my skills, experience and perspective to help us do it even better for our customers and their employees all across Canada.”

Photo: A Development team meeting in one of our Head Office’s “Dev collab” spaces.

Getting to know the team

Under Michael’s leadership are a mix of different teams, including several squads working to continuously enhance our Payroll, HR and Applicant Tracking, Absence Management, Time Management, Workforce Analytics and Self Service offerings, plus integrations with third-party solutions like QuickBooks Online (among others!).

Michael also leads the folks who develop the internal tooling that helps us continually improve how we serve our customers, those who are always finding new ways to keep our customers’ data even more secure, and those who help us stay ahead of the curve on the latest technology.

And they’re not alone! In addition to overseeing Michael and his team, our Vice President of Development Andrew Stevens also leads groups focused on database administration, research and development, Development team operations, quality assurance, business analysis and enhanced product support – all to make sure we’re well-positioned to help our clients manage their workforce quickly and easily so that they can get back to the rest of their day.

Interested in joining this dynamite crew? When it comes to great people, there’s always room for one more. Find out why our people choose to invest their time and talent here: https://www.payworks.ca/about-us/careers.