What are our new Abbey Quarter residents most looking forward to when they move in? We chat to three people leaders about their hopes and ambitions for the new HQ

Tom O’Keeffe

Head of Finance Business Partners, Ingredients and Agribusiness

Can you please tell us what your role entails and what teams / how many people work under you?

I lead a team of finance professionals who partner with the Commercial teams to support via insight and analysis on performance and risk management.

Delivery against all our business objectives – PAT, milk price, value add, COVI and cashflow are our key performance indicators and we drive performance day to day via insight and challenge through our S&OP planning process and execution of those plans.

Previously, I supported our Ingredients and Consumer Commercial teams but with the recent changes in our Executive Leadership Team (ELT) responsibilities, our Agribusiness commercial teams fall  into my remit under the consolidated leadership of Sean Molloy. Going forward, our team will include 14 people.

Where were these teams previously based?

The teams were previously based in Ballyragget and Purcellsinch in the main. During Covid, we have been predominantly working from home, though return to offices in recent months has gradually changed this.

What are you most looking forward to when it comes to getting people under one roof again?

I’m most looking forward to the informal chats, whether it’s over a coffee, or just bumping into someone in the office. And building relationships again – not just professionally, but personally. Listening to a good joke and having some laughs with colleagues and friends. There is no doubt in my mind, however, that at a professional level, there’s lots to be gained for us all from a more blended working environment beyond remote working. I’m also looking forward to lots of coffee and cake in nearby cafés and restaurants!

Do you envisage all your teams will be together frequently?

As I said above, our team is changing to align behind the ELT changes. Now, more than ever, it’s important that we get together as a team and get to know each other so that we can support and work together better. I’d like to see us evolve to having a set day each week that we all expect to be in Abbey Quarter and then work towards blended working that suits each individual, the team collectively and the wider colleagues we serve.

How do you see Abbey Quarter enhancing collaborative tasks? Do you have any examples of what these might be?

From what I’ve seen to date from the various communications and indeed during a sneak peek of the building a couple of months ago with the Ingredients team, I’m really looking forward to getting the Glanbia Ireland team together in one space. It’s designed with blended working and collaboration in mind, so there is as much space dedicated to collaboration and meeting spaces as there is desk space. I’m looking forward to using the informal collaboration areas for brainstorming and sharing ideas over a coffee. Equally, some of the meeting rooms are specifically designed to ensure remote participants feel as much a part of the meeting as the physical participants. The latest technology solutions will help to ensure the blended working arrangements work for us all.

In terms of the future direction and ambitions of NewCo, do you feel AQ will help us achieve these?

Change and the pace of change is here to stay. When we look backwards, there has been so much change in the last five years relative to the previous 10 years. Our ambition as a Co-op will see that pace of change continue – but our principles and values will be steadfast. Working together, respecting each other, living diversity and inclusion are all founded on strong personal connections across our teams. The Abbey Quarter, bringing so many people together every day, will help cement and strengthen those relationships and equip us all for success.

Robert Shortall

Director of Supply Chain and Operations

Can you please tell us what your role entails and what teams / how many people work under you?

My role entails leading the Ops&Sc team, with eight people reporting to me directly who collectively look after operations for our nine sites, third party manufacturing, transport, logistics and warehousing, capital projects management, integrated planning and GPS operational excellence.

My own role has a mix, it involves a certain amount of site visits which I enjoy. For the most part however, it involves meetings and collaboration with my immediate team and peers in other functions. Of the nine of us in our team, most will be regular residents of Abbey Quarter and the same is true of my regular peer group who will mostly be based in Kilkenny and so to that end, Abbey Quarter should be the ideal location.

Where were these teams previously based?

It varies. Our three Heads of Operations, along with Eoghan O’Regan in Logistics, travel a good bit from site to site and I imagine that will continue for the most part. The rest of the team have been, like me, balancing a mix of home base and various locations from Danville, Purcellsinch and Citywest to Ballyragget. For this group, Abbey Quarter will become their main base.

What are you most looking forward to when it comes to getting people under one roof again?

For me, the thing I look forward to most is simply having a more regular base. Since things have opened ‘post’ Covid, it’s been a mix of MS Teams meetings and various trips here and there to meet and connect with people. Having a central location for collaboration with all of the functions will be very welcome.

I think it will bring greater efficiency also. While the ‘Teams world’ has some benefits, I think the power of the five-minute corridor catch up has been much missed and the new location will hopefully facilitate a lot more informal, impromptu but productive meetings that we haven’t had that much of lately.

I’m also looking forward to seeing the new space. I haven’t been there yet but by all accounts, it will be very nice.

Do you envisage all your teams will be together frequently?

Yes, certainly more so than today. We all try to stay connected even when we are working remotely but for sure, our new home will lead to us being together more frequently. I’d intend to embrace the blended work model, combining days in Abbey Quarter with trips to sites and the Citywest office with the odd day working from home as well. Hopefully we can make it an inclusive environment where everyone across the business, be they resident or occasional visitor, will always feel very welcome at AQ. I’m sure it will be.

How do you see Abbey Quarter enhancing collaborative tasks and do you have any examples of what these might be?

I’m a fan of an open space office environment, especially when equipped with adequate breakout rooms and spaces so that’s a positive to start with when it comes to effective collaboration. I would be very optimistic about the informal time in an open plan area; certainly my experience of these environments is very positive and leads to a much greater level of real time problem solving and innovative thinking.

In terms of the future direction and ambitions of NewCo, do you feel AQ will help us achieve these?

I think it has to really. It’s ideal timing with New Co announcement too, so exciting times ahead and much to look forward to.

Jill Davidson

Head of Talent Acquisition

Can you please tell us what your role entails?

As head of TA, I look after all things recruitment related for GI (New Co!) and spend the majority of my time working directly with people (internally and externally) to identify and bring new talent into GI that ensures continued business success and continued growth as well as candidate growth for the future.

How many people are part of your team?

We are currently a team of four in Talent Acquisition. Susan Queally has recently joined me as a Talent Acquisition Specialist, coming from the PLC where she spent six years working on the graduate programme. I also have two interns supporting us, Leonie and Rory, who will sadly be leaving us at the end of this month to return to college. Hopefully we’ll see them again next year as they have been great support.

TA is part of the wider HR team and we work collaboratively with our HRBP’s and hiring managers across the business when it comes to hiring to ensure we are supporting them and successfully securing talent from across all functions of the business.

What are you most looking forward to when it comes to getting people under one roof again?

It’s an exciting time to move into our new collaboration hub. Seeing colleagues and being able to pop over to someone’s desk without having to take an hour out of their diary for a meeting is invaluable. It will be great to network in ‘human form’ again and whilst MS Teams is great, it is always great to get in front of people, especially during interviews / team meetings etc.

I think it will be great to get back to face to face interviews again where possible. Virtual interviews certainly have their benefits, but you can’t beat in-person interaction with a potential new hire.

And let’s not forget the new location – it’s an added bonus to have the lovely Kilkenny on our doorstep and get out and about during lunchtime for walks or after work socially. I’m looking forward to having a gym onsite too!

How do you see Abbey Quarter increasing collaboration?

In terms of collaboration, I think we’ve all learned to handle this very well virtually over the past couple of years, but that sense of being present in a room with colleagues is so beneficial and a lot of work can take place ‘informally’ when people are in the same space.

In terms of the future direction and ambitions of NewCo, do you feel AQ will help us achieve these?

Yes definitely, it’s great to have one space for us to join up and to come together and work collaboratively.

From a TA perspective, we are often the first point of contact for the majority of our new joiners, during interview stages and beyond. As the saying goes, ‘first impressions count’, so I think having the opportunity to bring potential new talent into the AQ building for interviews will be an extremely positive experience for them.