Accenture is said to have begun monitoring employees' utilization of its AI tools and will factor this into decisions regarding senior promotions, as the consulting firm aims to enhance the adoption of the technology among its staff.
According to an internal email reviewed by the Financial Times, the company informed senior managers and associate directors that to be promoted to leadership positions, they must "regularly adopt" artificial intelligence.
The consultancy has started gathering information on the weekly log-ins to its AI tools from certain senior staff members.
Accenture previously reported that it has educated 550,000 of its 780,000 employees in generative AI, an increase from just 30 individuals in 2022, and has declared it is extending training to all employees as a component of its yearly $1bn (£740m) investment in learning.
Among the tools that are said to be observed is Accenture’s AI Refinery. CEO Julie Sweet has stated that this will “provide opportunities for businesses to rethink their processes and operations, explore new working methods, and implement AI solutions throughout the organization to facilitate ongoing change and generate value.”
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The company's strong move into AI indicates a broader industry trend of organizations employing machine learning tools to accelerate specific tasks, allowing them to redirect resources to other areas.
Accenture announced results for its first quarter in December that exceeded expectations, driven by strong demand for its AI-powered services.
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Its recent action connecting the use of AI tools to promotion opportunities follows just months after the New York-listed firm started referring to its workers as “reinventors” to establish itself as a frontrunner in artificial intelligence. The action was condemned by certain individuals as a demonstration of corporate jargon.
The reinventor label emerged during a significant reorganization at Accenture last June, when it combined its strategy, consulting, creative, technology, and operations divisions into one entity named “Reinvention Services.”
In September, Sweet informed investors that the company would “let go of” employees struggling to adapt to using AI in their jobs.
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Typically, older and higher-ranking employees at major professional services firms are viewed as less willing to adopt AI tools in their work, whereas younger and less experienced staff tend to be more open to them.