Driving the technology agenda

Meet Reshma, a Service Delivery Manager within Consulting at EY in London, who leads clients and teams through technology transformation and innovation to transform their operating and business models to enhance user experience. Reshma is passionate about Women in Technology and believes now is the time to break down stereotypes and make a mark in the industry. Read her story below on driving the technology agenda and the culture at EY.

I have a bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Telecommunications and further qualifications in Business and have spent over 12 years leading purpose-led transformation programmes across many facets of Cloud and Emerging Technologies to deliver positive outcomes typically by focusing on purpose, vision, strategy, people and performance. Prior to joining EY, I worked in management and technology consulting firms and led numerous purpose-led, technology and digital transformation programmes over the course of my career. 

In my current role, I deliver complex transformation programmes and lead teams with a prime focus on Government-related entities (GRE) sector. I spend much of my time advising FTSE 100 organisations and governments on how to navigate change and implement innovative technologies to thrive and sustain in a world of increasing disruption.

Why EY

There is a multiplicity of contributing factors which enabled me to transition from another Big 4 to EY especially. The most prominent was its very ‘purpose’ to build a better working world and the opportunity to be part of this to positively impact the lives of millions of people through getting involved in global transformation initiatives by harnessing the global reach and scale of customers.

I’ve been personally involved in the ‘one shared’ vision for Corporate Responsibility, EY Ripples Programme and playing a key role in it to positively impact the lives of one billion people by 2030.

The other factor that stood out for me was its very own people and sustainable diversified inclusive growth supportive environment, where one can really be the best version of oneself and can have the power to uniquely tailor one’s own transformation career path and growth. This exceptional supportive culture is fantastic where there are rooms to grow and learn at the same time and all this coupled with great people where you have fun to work with. I mean what else someone can desire more.

When I joined EY, two things that touched my heart, first, the very fundamentals i.e. its inclusive belonging culture where one has freedom to be their own self and can have their unfiltered version switched on! The little things like ‘Applause’ wall, ‘Rewards and Recognition’, ‘EY Benefits package’ etc. that goes above and beyond, focusing on one’s wellbeing both physically and emotionally to ensure one feels included and belonged.

Secondly, seeing every single day, EY is taking steps and putting commitment to Building a better working world into action by continuously revisiting and adapting the approach to activate the purpose to serve the communities and positively improve the lives of millions of people through multiple initiatives.

I’m incredibly proud to be associated with this organisation where its Leaders and Partners are seen to be deeply committed to their people and are engaged across all the levels of the organisation genuinely.

My role

In my job as a Service Delivery Manager, I get to role-play multiple hats.  As a trusted advisor to my clients and individuals I work with, I fuse my business insight with emerging technologies to collaborate with the key decision-makers to help them make better choices to transform my client’s business to bring immediate, long-term economic and societal value. Over the last few years, I’ve spent a considerable time working within the Local Public Sector and advising FTSE 100 organisations and senior stakeholders how to navigate change and implement innovative technologies to thrive and sustain in a world of increasing disruption to achieve real business value.

I take pride on being a buddy, mentor, coach and to have the opportunity to build and shape skills in many of the focused competency groups and be part of their exceptional career journeys. It is quite a humbling experience indeed to be able to make such a great impact.

I also get involved in various EY Foundation and Ripple initiatives to positively impact the young entrepreneurs and scholars either through virtual mentorship or online coaching classes. I get myself involved in various business development related activities to boost sales opportunities and optimise revenue along with collaborating across cross-functions EY Engagement Partners to develop and activate strategies for mutual growth in terms of connecting with and in the market to boost sales opportunities and revenue targets.

Transformational projects

The beauty of my job is that I get to be part of my client’s transformation journey and see them transition from their current state to their desired target state. Success to me is seeing those milestones achieving together every single day and having missions accomplished – it’s such a fulfilling experience for me personally.

I’ve been fortunate to have led several innovative initiatives for Governments and supported through their refreshed strategy for the welfare of the community. I have seen clients embracing digital transformation and emerging technologies and making them the centre of their workforce strategy to give the end users a pleasant experience. For instance, I led the digital transformation programme for Human Capital Management (HCM) and Security workstreams for one of the top 100 universities in the world successfully for over 6,000 employees across 250 departments. 

Women in Technology

I’m an active member of the Women in Technology network and I’m humbled to be an ambassador of supporting and providing guidance and career advice to many young women to choose technology as their career choices, especially who have a passion and fondness for innovation and emerging technologies. Recently I attended The Women in Technology World Series Virtual Conference (worldwide) to support young tech professionals across the globe with their career choices and answering their tech related queries.

Navigating clients through technology innovation

An exciting technology project I’ve worked on is being involved in some of the most ambitious and complex transformation programmes and outcomes for Public and Central Governments. Currently leading a diverse multi-disciplinary team to help solve their complex challenges for nearly 900 civil service staff in seven offices across 50 Government Departments and Public Sector Bodies.

My approach starts with empathy for the user, adopting a people-centric strategy and ensuring change management is embedded right at Day 1 of any Transformation Programme, ensuring end users are included across key areas such as strategic planning, business value proposition through business process re-engineering, service design, innovative target operating model, stakeholder analysis, policy advisory and execution.

I ensure the key decision makers are informed of the technological latest functionalities and features available in the work product as I uniquely tailor them to form personalised solution design and integrity.

I take an innovative approach by combining practical insights, forward looking and pragmatic advice to my clients with an ability to make them understand and articulate what change needs to happen to make firms fit for the next decade.

Evolving in my role

I joined EY purely from a Technology Delivery Manager perspective to implement and deliver transformation initiatives for the GRE sector, but my role has evolved since then and fulfilling to see myself equipped to doing multiple things successfully. In addition to performing my core duties, I’m also leading teams, playing the role of ‘buddy’ for new team members to getting myself involved in my competency growth strategy to boost sales opportunities and revenue. This is simply great as it gives me the opportunity to widen my network to connect more people across different pillars of the EY business areas, allows me to push limits and go beyond my own functional team to learn/share various new techniques for mutual growth.

I think the proudest experience/moment is I get the opportunity to rise to the challenge each day and get to execute and involve in my client’s strategy, determining their culture (new ways of working through adoption of emerging and innovative technologies) and every day serving as an ambassador to my clients and communities. 

Belonging at EY

Diversity is a number, but inclusion is a choice. EY encourages diverse notions and perspectives to kindle innovation, creativity, organisational agility in this disruptive era. I’ve taken numerous external interviews and as part of that I ensure that we bring in people across different backgrounds, culture, states etc. so we have the best diverse ideas represented in the table and an inclusive culture is built in.

Personally, having lived in four countries and travelled to 60, my travelling enables me to be sensitive to cultural differences and helps to develop an inclusive culture in which timely, authentic feedback and coaching are provided.

Connecting in the current climate

It’s no surprise that, COVID-19 has challenged the world and it continues to impact everyone, everywhere. This has forced us to re-think holistically about operational continuity considering technology, security, productivity, wellness, and engagement.

I’m currently leading a team covering different time zones. Staying connected and together is key during the current climate. It’s amazing to see how every team member is considerate to each other and supportive to appreciate as we strike the balance between personal and professional lives working in the remote environment. We remain connected through daily stand-ups, informal ad-hoc catch-up session, hosting virtual tea/coffee meetings for non-work-related discussions, giving time to each other where needed.  In conjunction to this, we use online video and chat tools and techniques to remain connected.

Learning and development

EY has been a gateway to many aspects – giving an environment to me to not just fit in, but feel like I belong. The working environment is really good as there is help anywhere and everywhere. It has allowed me to reinvent myself every day, truly!

There are numerous things, a dedicated counsellor to help shape and nurture my talent. EY's badge programme has equipped me to have the right skills to prepare me for the future. The very culture of innovation at EY has embraced me in everything I do from applying new technologies to making existing processes better. It has truly unlocked my full potential to experiment new things and at the same learn, grow and make a difference!

There is a plethora of both business and technology related training courses available through EY's Badge programme, and it’s truly amazing to see EY investing to empower people with the right skill-sets and resources to navigate what’s next. This really helps to create an agile and engaged team to deliver exceptional service and create long-term value to our clients and society.

My advice to anyone considering EY

At EY, you will find more than just services – you will have opportunities to transform the ways the clients operate and communities we serve to bring immediate, long-term economic and societal value. If you’re someone who loves technologies and has the courage to lead, then join us to get inspired, feel valued and make more of an impact than you ever believed possible. All this coupled with coaching and feedback from some of the most engaging colleagues, and opportunities to develop new skills and progress your career with the freedom to plot your own career growth graph.