Make the difference hub › Our People › Belén Díaz
“The key is to listen to the environment, see what is happening around the world to analyze what the best are doing and be brave to adopt new ideas, think out of the box and invest to develop new solutions.”
Belén Díaz works with diverse, multidisciplinary teams to help transform support functions.
In this interview, Belén talks about how the right technology, combined with the right people, can successfully transform support functions.
Please describe your role at KPMG and the kind of work you do.
Belén Díaz: I lead the Corporate Services Transformation practice for KPMG in Spain, which includes all transformation services the support functions provide, including Finance, People & Change and Procurement. On a daily basis, I stay very close to our clients, listening to their needs to identify what technology solutions we have to develop and support the teams to be able to do that.
What do you love most about your work?
Belén Díaz: I’ve been working in Consulting for more than 25 years, so there are many things that I love. If I have to highlight something, I would say two things:
1. The main one, is to see how the team members can evolve along their careers, especially when you get to promote one of them to a partner. When you have very good professionals and very good human beings, it’s a pleasure to be able to say, “You have been promoted to a partner.” So, this is one my favorite moments.
2. The second one, I would say is when you see that you are able to solve the issues and problems that your client has. When they ask for a proposal, and you mobilize a team and at the end you see that you have solved the issue, is fantastic. Particularly when they call you back again and again and you are doing more projects in a successful way. This is the way to create trusted relationships, and everything works, you have motivated teams, and you have very happy clients.
These are my favorite moments.
What are some of the challenges clients face when they undertake digital transformation?
Belén Díaz: The reality is that the world is changing very fast and the challenges clients are facing are becoming more complex. The key for us is to be able to innovate and deliver technology solutions that can make the difference, approaches that can help solve the issues and the problems the client has.
From my point of view, the key is to listen to the environment, see what is happening around the world to analyze what the best are doing and be brave to adopt new ideas, think out of the box and invest to develop new technology solutions. Sometimes that means KPMG professionals have to assume risks because we will have to do things in a different way, and we will have to deliver an approach for the first time. This will be crucial to make the difference in the market. For that, we need diverse teams, and we need multidisciplinary teams working together and be able to deliver these pragmatic and innovative strategies.
The people aspect of transformation is critical to success. How do you ensure people feel supported and involved in the change process?
Belén Díaz: Digital transformation is not a matter of fashion, it is a real need for being successful and competitive in the future. So, I would say that the main challenge that our clients have is to ensure they are maximizing the return on investment. We have the responsibility within KPMG firms to advise our clients about where, when, and how to perform these investments. The reality is that they need to ensure they are achieving the real goals that they were expecting when they started this journey.
Digital transformation is not only a matter of pure automation, it means that the client needs to be open to rethink the way in which they are doing their processes. Other important engagement is about people. Sometimes we think that digital transformation is only about technology, but if we don’t have the teams and the people understanding why these changes and transformations are needed, it’s impossible to be successful. So, it’s a combination of good decisions, good technology and good teams, motivated and understanding why this change is required.
When you are asking someone to make a big change or be part of a big transformation, the key is to ensure that people understand why it’s important for them and why it’s important for the company. KPMG firms have the ability to engage People & Change professionals that can help us define a good communication plan, a good change management plan and to have these ingredients included in the delivery of the project.
What advice would you give someone seeking a career at KPMG?
Belén Díaz: KPMG brings a huge opportunity to learn, to work with multidisciplinary teams not only in Spain, but also across the global network of member firms and to work with different kinds of professionals.
Not many organizations have this wide scope of activities that you can choose along your career. This is the basis, but if you want to be successful you have to provide your motivation, to be brave to assume the challenges that life, the environment and clients put in front of you, to be open to working with different and diverse teams and to be convinced that you will be successful. This is the key.
