Maureen O'Rourke - An Post
Maureen O’Rourke is the Head of Digital Transformation Programme in An Post. She has previously held senior Digital positions in Oracle, Bank of Ireland, eir & O2. Her focus in An Post is on driving transformational digital change across the companies Digital assets. Recent innovations have included Digital Stamp & AI Greeting cards.
Tell us about the Digital Transformation Programme at An Post.
The Digital Transformation Programme in Post has been running for more than 5 years. Initially, the focus was on consolidating all of our digital assets as we had a very disparate set of websites and apps. We brought everything under the AnPost.com umbrella and, from there, launched a new online shop, a new labelling service called ‘Click & Post,’ & redesigned both the AnPost.com and the An Post Money Apps. Our customers can use one single account to log in across our website and apps as we want to give our customers a simplified and consistent experience. Sending a parcel or using a Current Account are very different experiences, but it’s important for us that our customers have a coherent experience across the board. We still have more work to do in this area, but we’re making good progress. We’ve also worked to elevate the customer experience through innovations such as the Digital Stamp and our recent AI Greeting cards trial. It’s a dynamic and exciting place to work where there is a real desire to innovate and deliver for our customers. We set ourselves very ambitious targets and have consistently delivered growth.
How did you get into this role and how has your position changed within An Post over the past few years?
I started out working in e-Commerce for O2 and then led a project to redesign the website. From there, I continued to work in Digital Transformation in various other companies such as Meteor, eir & Bank of Ireland. I enjoy the opportunity to transform an experience for the customer, and I find great satisfaction in seeing the results of change. I have also been very lucky to work with brilliant teams – the An Post team is very motivated and hardworking. Digital technology is constantly changing, so there’s always something new to learn.
Do you think there is a fear within the general public about using their details online and how can this be alleviated?
I think it depends on the audience. For Digital natives, it is just how things are done, and I don’t think there is much fear there. However, there are a lot of people who are cautious and rightly want to ensure that their data is safe. I think it’s important that companies are transparent about how they use data and the security that they have in place and work to reassure customers. Transparency is key.
How has AI affected your business or not?
AI is going to affect everyone’s business – I think that’s inevitable. In An Post, we are seeing AI as an opportunity. We’ve been exploring how it can help bring efficiency into our processes across the wider business, not just within Digital & IT & also how it can and elevate the customer experience. In March, we launched a trial on AnPost.com using of Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI, where our customers could generate a unique St. Patrick’s Day image using AI, add in a poem generated by Chat GPT or write their own and then we produced this as a high quality card and posted them all over the world for €4. It was very well received, and we are taking on board customer feedback to inform new product development. As a team we learned so much during the trial and it was also really fun for everyone to work on.
What are the main challenges and opportunities facing people working in tech in Ireland at the moment?
I think there are huge opportunities for people in tech as the industry is so vibrant, and it’s possible to work at world-class tech companies, so there are great learning opportunities there. On the challenge side, it can be difficult to find experienced people, but thankfully An Post’s reputation, purpose and ongoing, exciting Transformation attracts great applicants. The pace is very fast, so it’s important to have a good work-life balance. I think there is a rush to explore the opportunities of AI as an emerging tech, so there is a risk of companies losing focus on their strategy. Technology, AI included, is an enabler and not a strategy in itself.
