Lorna Keogh, Operations Manager at Sage
Lorna has worked for Sage for almost 18 years, currently in the role of operations manager. She has experience in customer service, sales, business development and marketing and has previously been awarded the Irish Digital Sales Champion award.
She is a qualified Coach and Riding Instructor. She is a keen amateur equestrian competing at dressage and eventing and runs her own equestrian blog Equestrian Reality.
Lorna lives in Kildare by the side of the bog of Allen with her husband, dog Chica and horse Sammy and outside of her work for Sage, she looks after the admin and office for their family livery yard and riding school business.
“Start thinking of your work in terms of processes and solutions. I believe you can take a solution-based approach to anything and improve it. Reach out to managers and colleagues involved in the area you want to work in and build relationships and get involved.”
Lorna Keogh
Tell us about your current role and what you like about your career and areas of focus.
I work as an operations manager for Sage with a focus on our cloud-based suite of software – Sage Business Cloud Accounting. My role is predominately problem-solving, and I enjoy this as it is a challenge, and I am someone who is solution minded.
Often as part of my role, I need to take time to pick through and understand the root cause of an issue, and this appeals to my attention to detail. Much of my work involves working with and understanding data which I really enjoy.
I work with our accountant teams on billing and with our product managers and technical teams on process design and implementation to maximise our resources and find new ways of doing things. As the degree I studied focussed on both business and system development I am often a bridge between our commercial and technical teams as I can bring both sides together.
What inspires you, motivates you, helps you to make each day count?
I work with various people within Sage who both interest me, challenge me and support me. Finding like-minded colleagues has allowed us to explore and solve issues together – the whole really does become more than the sum of the parts.
Outside of your professional work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
I am a keen amateur equestrian. I enjoy many adventures onboard my chestnut gelding Sammy. We compete at dressage and eventing, and he is a true teammate – always giving his best. I have ridden since childhood and find it such a benefit to mental health.
When it comes to your life chosen career, is there a phrase, quote, or saying that you really like?
“Luck is years of preparation come across a day of opportunity”. I apologise as I don’t know the author of this phrase in order to give them credit, but it has always stuck with me. So many times it is easy just to assume that luck is just a random happening, but I believe that through hard work, training, preparation and dedication we can prepare ourselves for the challenges ahead, achieve goals, take every opportunity that presents itself and therefore make our own luck.
What are you most proud of in your life?
My integrity. I am always honest and always try to do the right thing. I have never been afraid to speak my mind and to stand up for what I believe is right.
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
I wish I knew my own strengths. I have worked for Sage for almost eighteen years and worked in several different roles from customer support to sales to business development. While I was accomplished at these roles, I never felt I had found my true calling.
I was lucky enough to end up having not one but two fantastic mentors, the first of whom sat me down and advised me to change my career path. In essence, he believed from working with me that I would excel in a role that involved processes, data analysis and operational work.
He also told me that I had the heart of an entrepreneur and an understanding of small business and start-ups. He was right, and I have not looked back. My second mentor was my first manager within an operational role – she was unafraid to challenge me and to push me out of my comfort zone. I still reach out to her when I need advice as I know she will be honest even if the truth hurts.
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles?
I have huge admiration for a friend of mine who started a small business at her home in Ireland, which has grown from strength to strength. Janni Bars were started because Janni wanted to reduce waste by producing an eco- friendly, plastic-free and preservative-free alternative to bottles of shampoo, shower gel, exfoliators and body lotions using only natural ingredients.
Her range evolved to include handmade candles, an equestrian range and a dog range. More recently the company went into partnership with a hotel chain to provide plastic-free toiletries for their rooms. Showing her dynamic ability to evolve Janni recently diversified into creating homemade hand sanitiser which is locally available, plastic-free and includes essential oils to soothe chapped hands. Watching a company grow from concept to competitor has been fantastic.
What companies, brands or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
I am a big fan of Holland Cooper and the brand founder Jade Holland Cooper. Jade’s sense of country style is beautiful, and she has put her own contemporary slant on tweed and wool coats, capes and equestrian wear with impeccable finishing. In interviews, Jade comes across as driven and passionate and as a business owner who fully immerses herself in her own brand.
I am also incredibly proud to work for an International company that puts its employees first. I have worked from home for five years which saves me from spending hours in traffic each day, reduces costs such as petrol and allows me an amazing work-life balance. Through the use of available technologies, Sage has enabled me to stay in constant contact with colleagues and managers and to have all the content and support I need instantly available.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
I worked for an inspirational lady who told me to take feedback but to never allow anyone to treat me without respect and dignity.
What drives or motivates you each day in a work environment?
When I solve a problem, it helps my colleagues, their colleagues and our customers. I keep this at the forefront of my mind whenever I am working on something.
I use a traffic light system for myself for progressing issues from receipt to work in progress to complete, and there is something very satisfying about changing many things to green.
What are your thoughts on the future of social media?
I think social media will continue to evolve through different channels with growing levels of customisation and interaction. As people, we have a basic need to communicate, and we have gradually reached a stage where physical distance is no issue.
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
I love Facebook. In my spare time, I look after social media and marketing for our family equestrian business and have had huge success in using Facebook to interact with current clients and prospects. Using Facebook in conjunction with quality content on our website and the Instagram account has produced great results and greatly reduced advertising costs.
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever been a mentor to anyone?
Yes, I have been lucky to enjoy advice from several mentors in my career. I still reach out to one of my former managers for advice at times as she is fantastic for giving impartial and honest feedback and support.
When I was growing up, my father and grandfather and uncles had a family business supplying and servicing plant machinery. I was always inspired by how hard my grandfather worked and I learned many valuable business lessons from him that I still value today.
One of his beliefs was to always take the time to talk to customers, suppliers and other business owners and to listen and take note of what they were saying, their likes and dislikes and their name.
His CRM system back in the 80s was a notepad he always carried with him to make notes, and he prided himself on never leaving any business without having the name of a contact he could reach out to in the future. He was such a charming and charismatic person, and I am proud today to hear people speak fondly of his years after he passed away.
How do you network? What is your preferred way to network?
I have worked from home for five years now which has been incredible for my mental health and work-life balance. One of the challenges of course of working from home is the lack of face to face interaction with colleagues. This has taught me the value of conversation.
If I am working with someone new, I like to get talking to them, to find common ground and to develop a strong working relationship. I like to get on the map of colleagues to try and understand better their point of view. I think when the physical presence and body language are removed, the art of conversation and the ability to listen become more important and heightened.
Outside of work, I use social media such as Facebook and Instagram to network and to bring people together. I am the admin of a popular dressage based Facebook group in Ireland and also have my own equestrian based blog, Equestrian Reality which has a great interactive audience.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work?
Start thinking of your work in terms of processes and solutions. I believe you can take a solution-based approach to anything and improve it. Reach out to managers and colleagues involved in the area you want to work in and build relationships and get involved.
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
Lack of support, a loss of belief, and losing sight of the goal. We all feel lost sometimes and need someone to help us back on track. I think it is important to have support networks both inside and outside of work – colleagues who can give honest advice and feedback, friends who you can trust, people who have achieved at what you are trying to do.
I am part of a fantastic online business network, Small & Supercharged, which is run by Rhea Freeman PR. It’s an amazing group for small businesses and start-ups with real advice from peers for anyone struggling with an issue from Social media to sourcing suppliers.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience?
I like to think of success as an outcome, of bringing something to a conclusion. We learn when we succeed, we learn when we fail – we don’t learn when we stagnate or stop working towards a goal.
What skills do you feel have helped you to become successful?
I have never been afraid to speak my mind even if my opinion differs to others, and I think that is important as unless we think and act differently, nothing changes. I have always been a detail merchant. I like to get into the thick of things and to understand them intricately. I used to see this as a negative in the past because I felt unable to see the woods for the trees and unable to focus on high-level detail and future planning.
What I have learned is everyone is valuable – in any business, you need detailed focus as much as high-level strategy, you need people to be proactive planners, but we also need reactive problem solvers. I work in a role where my attention to detail and reactive problem-solving approach benefits my colleagues, our customers and the business itself.
Would you like to finish this interview with a good message to the audience?
Many people are working from home now. My advice is to surround your workspace with photos and mementoes from happiest times and with quotes or things that inspire you. That way on a bad day, when you look up you will remember the good times and feel inspired.