Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year: International Finalists

Four nominees in the international category of the Ernst Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, in association with The Irish Times, Enterprise Ireland, InterTrade Ireland and Newstalk, are profiled today

FRANK AND ADRIENNE Dolphin established Rigney Dolphin in 1990, and in the intervening 20 years, the company has grown to be one of Ireland’s leading indigenous business process outsource partners, providing solutions to domestic and international clients.

While the firm had a strong focus on the telecommunication sector, in recent years it has expanded into the healthcare market – with a particular focus on the US – and specialises in the provision of innovative and value-added contact centre solutions to a number of blue-chip organisations and State agencies.

In the health sector, the company provides nurse-on-call triage and patient management services, and has engaged in a number of collaborative projects to develop technology for alarm monitoring services, knowledge management services, diagnostic flow systems, and quality management software.

As a business process outsourcer, Rigney Dolphin offers clients an end-to-end solution: from recruitment and training to customer service delivery and support, assuming direct responsibility for the level of service delivered to customers on behalf of their clients.

With 22 years of experience, the Dolphins and their experienced team of management and industry professionals continue to provide clients with unique access to knowledge and best practice in the provision of contact centre solutions. This affords clients the opportunity to increase their cost effectiveness and achieve any necessary system and quality improvements in the process.

The company has 600 direct employees but numbers vary significantly based on contracts and the insourcing of some clients’ staff from time to time. Services are provided by Rigney Dolphin contact centres in Waterford and Derry, as well as from a development office in Cleveland, Ohio, and on its various client sites. The company achieved turnover in excess of €34 million in 2011.

Services:

Rigney Dolphin’s comprehensive and diverse portfolio of service solutions includes customer management services, CRM programmes and tele-health services, operating as a virtual extension of the client’s business, and mirroring the culture and values in customer interactions.

Customers:

Clients of Rigney Dolphin include Airtricity; Vodafone; 3; BMW; Hyundai; Postfone; Gift Voucher Shop; National Consumer Agency; and

the Environmental Protection Agency. Those within the health sector include the HSE; The Cleveland Clinic in the US; and the Casala Project which delivers assistance and quality care in the home through the use of technology.

Describe your progression from start-up to current status?

“The business was originally set up as a management consultancy, with an emphasis on change management and organisational psychology. This developed into recruitment, which in

turn evolved in to the provision of contract staff and outsourcing. Our Derry office enables us to compete for all-Ireland business and provides additional access to the UK market, and in recent times, our collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic is opening opportunities within the US.”

Are there any interesting or unusual circumstances surrounding the inception of the company or its evolution?

“In 1990, not many companies recognised the need for the services of a psychologist, particularly one with a background in health and education. Our involvement in the areas of training, market research and recruitment simply came about as a way of keeping business flowing, so it’s ironic that our skills in consultancy and healthcare have given us an opportunity in the American market 20 years later.”

EDMOND HARTY

Dairymaster

DR EDMOND HARTY is the technical director of Kerry-based Dairymaster, a leader in the development and manufacture of dairy farm equipment.

A mechanical engineer by profession, Harty joined the family business in 1998, while studying for a PhD in UCD where he focused on the area of milking performance. This focus on in-house RD, manufacturing and the application of advancements in engineering technology has remained core to the business’s international success, and has enabled the company to be at the cutting edge of product innovation while retaining jobs locally.

Dairymaster’s innovative product range encompasses five key areas: milking equipment; automated feeding systems; hydraulic manure scrapers; cow fertility monitors; and milk cooling tanks.

By milking each cow an average of one minute faster than the competition, Dairymaster’s state-of-the-art equipment delivers 5 per cent more yield in scientific trials. In turn, this superior milk-out, natural milking and a focus on automation allows the dairy farmer to make smarter management decisions.