Want a Promotion at Accenture? Use AI Tools Regularly

Accenture has started tracking staff use of its artificial intelligence tools and will factor this into promotion decisions for leadership roles, according to a report by the Financial Times.

The newspaper reported that the company informed senior managers and associate directors that promotion to leadership positions would require “regular adoption” of artificial intelligence, citing an internal email.

The consultancy has also begun collecting data on weekly log ins to its AI tools by some senior staff members, the report said.

Accenture has previously said it trained 550,000 of its 780,000 employees in generative AI, up from 30 people in 2022. The company has said it is rolling out training to all employees as part of its annual 1 billion dollar spend on learning.

Among the tools whose use will reportedly be monitored is Accenture’s AI Refinery. Chief executive Julie Sweet has said the platform will “create opportunities for companies to reimagine their processes and operations, discover new ways of working, and scale AI solutions across the enterprise to help drive continuous change and create value”.

The move reflects a broader industry trend of companies deploying machine learning tools to speed up tasks and reallocate resources.

Accenture reported better than expected results for its first quarter in December, supported by demand for AI driven services.

The development comes months after the New York listed company began referring to employees as “reinventors” as part of its artificial intelligence positioning. The terminology drew criticism from some observers.

The branding followed a reorganisation in June last year, when Accenture merged its strategy, consulting, creative, technology and operations divisions into a single unit named “Reinvention Services”.

Sweet told investors in September that the company would “exit” employees who were not adapting to the use of AI at work.

The Dublin headquartered company has previously said that employees for whom “reskilling, based on our experience, is not a viable path for the skills we need” would be shown the door.

In December, Accenture announced partnerships with OpenAI and Anthropic to expand its AI offerings.

A spokesperson for Accenture said: “Our strategy is to be the reinvention partner of choice for our clients and to be the most client-focused, AI-enabled, great place to work. That requires the adoption of the latest tools and technologies to serve our clients most effectively.”