My Job: You must look at periods of disruption as an opportunity

Keara Geary on helping firm to navigate change 

Keara Geary, Transformation Delivery Consulting Partner, EY Ireland

MY JOB

Name: Keara Geary

Occupation: Transformation Delivery Consulting Partner, EY Ireland

Background: Experienced in project management roles and delivering large-scale transformational change to organisations in Ireland and internationally.

Keara Geary describes her role as understanding where businesses are at, where they are hoping to get to, and providing insights and advice on how such goals can be achieved. 

“This could entail providing a steer on strategic initiatives, advising on industry best practices, regulatory changes or, as has been the case more recently, supporting organisations and their leadership amid the huge and ongoing technological evolution.” 

Business is grappling with a particular period of disruption at present, due to technology advancements and Artificial Intelligence, she says. “Without a doubt, rapid advancements in technology, particularly in Artificial Intelligence, automation and machine learning, are transforming how businesses operate. AI is maturing and its capabilities have increased significantly, in particular with the advent of publicly available Generative AI tools and Large Language Models over the past couple of years.” 

The businesses and individuals who are embracing the capability of AI will yield its maximum potential in the future, she adds: “I advise my clients to consider periods of disruption as an opportunity and ultimately a case for change.” Pre-Covid, flexible working was non-standard, but that change happened overnight for many organisations. “Now, I see companies adopting a more balanced approach to hybrid working with many organisations encouraging teams to return to the office whether on a part- or full-time basis. Ongoing geopolitical uncertainty is impacting all organisations, whether via the potential impact of tariffs, potential knock-on effects in the domestic economy or as a result of the disruption to global supply chains. There is a complex disruptive landscape at present where organisations are having to assess and navigate with agility and a strategic foresight.”

Bringing a fresh perspective to organisations is all in how you engage and approach any discussion, she explains. “If you have built or are building a respectful relationship and one focused on trust, I find clients are open to innovative ideas and new perspectives. Access to industry benchmarks and market insights obviously brings credibility but it’s how you engage with an organisation’s leaders and people that delivers the most impact.” Listen to where they are coming from, she says, understand what the ambition is and provide support and insights that add real value, oftentimes in ways they were not expecting. “Most leaders want to be challenged; they want to hear what others in their industry or in other regions are doing - bringing ‘outside in’ perspectives. The benefit of having external advisors is just that, we are independent to the organisation and the structure which enables us to ask better questions on why things are operating the way they are.” While every business is different, there are some key success factors which are universal for organisations looking to accomplish their goals. “Strong clarity from leadership at the outset is key; setting out the why, having a clear vision and understanding of what the desired outcome is in the form of performance metrics. We help organisations take an approach which we describe as a ‘Future Back’ approach – which means considering where you’d like to be and work back from that point. This approach works best when key stakeholders are engaged from the start and there is a culture of transparency amongst teams.” Keara adds that fostering a culture which embraces change, innovation and collaboration helps build trust across transformation programmes.

As to the warning signs that transformation may be on the wrong track, Keara cites a lack of clear vision and objectives - without which efforts may become unfocused and ineffective. “Often, I see a resistance to change from employees, which indicates that the transformation and its objective has not been clearly and effectively communicated. If employees are disengaged or if there is a lack of buy in it will likely hinder the progress and adoption of the change.” A failure to track or measure progress can mean it becomes increasingly difficult to determine whether the transformation is on track and may not meet its objectives. Issues may go unnoticed until they become significant problems. “The benefit of bringing in outside expertise is having a partner who has

insight and experience from other transformation programmes and who can offer an unbiased viewpoint on the opportunities and challenges the organisation is facing. Sometimes this fresh perspective can really help identify issues that an internal team may overlook. It can also be easy to get lost in the details; our approach is to always keep the end goals in mind and work back from there.”

Keara points to three elements that create the value in any transformation - placing humans at the centre, embracing the need for change, and establishing a clear vision for the future. “If you can get your people involved from the start, it creates that belief in the change and increases the chance of success.” Research conducted by EY and the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford revealed that the human element plays a crucial role in any transformation, increasing performance and success by up to 12 times. “The technology and the processes need to be well designed and well implemented, but ultimately, it is the people in your organisation who will determine whether a transformation is successful and fully embedded. When leaders fail to take a human-centric approach, they are 1.6 times more likely to under-perform and 3.5 times more likely to leave workers experiencing negative emotions, such as anxiety, fear and apprehension towards future change.” Being witness as she is to the ambitions and challenges of business across the country, Keara Geary is generally upbeat on the overall health of ‘Ireland Inc’ in these turbulent times. “I am optimistic and there is evidence to back this cautious optimism. Irish companies have dealt with more than a decade of disruption, including Brexit, Covid-19, the energy shocks resulting from the War in Ukraine and the global economic fluctuations. In response, Irish businesses have become more resilient having to pivot their strategies, embrace technology/digital transformation and find innovative ways to thrive. Our economy is built on strong fundamentals – a skilled workforce, favourable business environment and a thriving tech sector.” Ireland continues to attract Foreign Direct Investment, particularly from multi-national corporations locally here in Munster, which bolsters economic growth. She also highlights a vibrant startup ecosystem with a spirit of entrepreneurship essential for fostering economic dynamism and creating jobs. “That’s not to say there aren’t challenges – geopolitical uncertainty, an uncertain trade and tariff landscape, inflationary pressures and the ongoing requirement for investment in our infrastructure are just some of the headwinds we are facing. However, as businesses and as a nation, we have demonstrated our ability to navigate these pressures.”