Orlagh Tuite, a partner specialising in financial services consulting with Deloitte, consistently brings design thinking into her work – constantly seeking innovative problem-solving strategies. She mainly focuses on technology-driven business transformations within her field.
With Danish roots influencing her mindset, and a wealth of experience from dealing with global banks in the UK, Tuite offers a unique international perspective combined with a design thinking method – consistently prioritising the experiences of the end-user to ensure a smooth process.
Tuite always challenges her clients to consider the end user from the very beginning, whether they will be an employee or the customer. These are the individuals who will ultimately reap the benefits of the digital transformation, she explains. Tuite’s zeal for her work is apparent in how she depicts what she does – she places great importance on the long-lasting and meaningful relationships that she develops with the entities she collaborates with. “I am personally invested in my clients’ success, both on an individual and organisational level.”
Regarded as a transformation architect, Tuite started her career in technology and subsequently spent two decades as a consultant in the financial services industry, where she interacted with numerous top-tier global banks, fintech, and market infrastructure providers. Her singular focus has been to converge technology and business. The term ‘transformation architect’ was initially suggested to her by a client a few years ago during a discussion about their programme mobilisation – an idea that resonates with her urge to bring creativity into her work.
Drawing out the metaphor, Tuite likens her working style to that of an architect who designs functional, sustainable elements of a building, prior to inviting the construction professionals, or in Tuite’s case, retaining her technology, data and organisational design colleagues, for the implementation phase.
“My job is to assist companies in drafting a plan for reaching their objectives via digital transformation. Each company has a business, process, data, and technology architecture at its core, all of which are influenced by digital transformation. I can navigate these four components and incorporate the necessary specialist knowledge for a company’s transformation.”
The field has long been engaged in the discourse on digital revolution, with Tuite noting her earliest encounter with the term in the banking sector roughly 14 years back. Despite the longevity of its relevance, digital transformation continues to rank high on intending discussions, made more pertinent with the emergence of generative AI (Gen AI).
Reflecting on her undertakings from a decade ago, Tuite recounts the implementation of mobile and online channels as well as the formation of digital banks as a part of the then digital revolution. Presently, however, deployment of digital technology extends to aspects like compliance and operations units.
With the rapid evolution of technology, businesses need to keep their digital transitions abreast of these advancements. Moreover, the digital revolution isn’t merely confined to enhancing customer experiences and conforming to escalating customer expectations. Current emphasis extends to appeasing employees, shareholders, and the market as well.
Though Gen AI presents vast prospects, Tuite advises leaders to take lessons from history and prevent the creation of succeeding outmoded technologies. She advocates for careful assessment of new technologies’ roles in supplementing or replacing existing procedures, tools, and technologies. Working with her team, she assists clients in conveying how scalability can yield enterprise values.
This economic motivator depends on the bank or organisation’s unique challenges or opportunities and the banking market’s prevailing cycle conditions.
In the previous years’ progression stage, Tuite was engaged in helping her clients deal with competition from digital-led banks and ameliorate customer experiences, predominantly through augmenting mobile and online banking channels and erecting digital banks. However, this approach is in transition, as per her assertion.
Insights from Deloitte point towards a weakening global economy that, in combination with the contrasting economic terrain, is predicted to bring in renewed hurdles.
Heading into a future where several disruptive elements including elevated interest rates, diminishing money supply, stricter regulations, climate change and geopolitical discord are prevalent, the sector’s capacity to yield revenue and handle expenditures will be tried in unconventional ways. With digital transition, companies are aided in sketching, and carrying out the blueprint necessary in realising their objectives.
While banks stand on stable grounds broadly speaking, their income structures will face challenges, triggering a need to cut costs, boost productivity and generate capacity, observes Tuite.
Seen by many as a transformation guide, Tuite is often approached by clients plagued by issues that require unravelling. Assisting clients in overcoming obstacles gives her immense gratification. Her knack for crafting significant resolutions stems from her success mantra and insatiable curiosity to understand individuals as well as the myriad ways to address a conundrum. Evaluating past resolutions, identifying the appropriate individuals and experts to attend to problems form the cornerstone of her solution-finding strategy.
Understanding the meaning of success in the coming times, and the most effective ways to gauge it, is critical, particularly given the pervasive nature of digital transformation, Tuite advises. One significant barrier to digital transformation is that, although clients are aware of its importance and the necessity of digital investments for business growth, they typically find it hard defining and quantifying the benefits and achievements, she comments.
Tuite helps businesses broaden their view of the advantages of digital transformation. In recent years, aspects like purposefulness, social ROI, sustainability and inclusivity in the workforce have all joined the line-up of crucial KPI metrics, she notes.
To her, success is simply described as helping businesses break down the obstacles to value realisation. Indicators of a well-executed job, for her, include reduced reliance on outdated systems, increased digital competencies, and the emergence of more tech-savvy leaders. As a transformation designer, she looks forward to the progression of the next stage.
In the ensuing years, Tuite foresees a strong drive for digital change initiated from the grassroots as a generation acquainted with digital technology rises through the ranks of organisations. She believes discussions on digital transformation will continue for an indeterminable future given the relentless pace of technological advancement and consequent work needed; paving the way for exhilarating times ahead.
Visit Deloitte.ie for more insights.