No AI, no raise: Accenture links promotions to tech adoption

Accenture has reportedly begun monitoring how employees use its artificial intelligence (AI) tools and plans to factor this into promotion decisions, as the consulting firm seeks to boost use of the technology across its workforce.

According to The Guardian (citing the Financial Times), senior managers and associate directors have been told that moving into leadership roles will require “regular adoption” of AI.

An internal email underlined the message: “Use of our key tools will be a visible input to talent discussions,” noting that AI engagement will be reflected in performance and talent reviews later this year. The FT also reported that the consultancy has started tracking weekly logins to its AI platforms by certain senior staff.


The development follows Accenture’s decision in September to lay off 11,000 employees worldwide as part of cost-cutting measures linked to its AI transition. Chief executive Julie Sweet told analysts at the time that the company is “exiting employees” in areas where reskilling is not possible.

Accenture CEO at the AI Summit

Speaking at the Summit in New Delhi, Sweet said AI would ultimately expand the IT services industry and generate more jobs for companies able to reinvent themselves and harness the technology effectively.

“We used RPA (robotic process automation) to automate thousands of jobs. We also embraced digital and classical AI and created many more jobs,” she said, and added that businesses which adopted automation were able to free up investment capacity for new technologies and future growth.

Accenture has grown significantly over the past decade, from about 275,000 employees and $29 billion in revenues in 2013 to a staff of more than 750,000 and $70 billion in revenues today.

The Guardian reported that Accenture has trained 550,000 employees in generative AI, compared with just 30 people in 2022. The company has also said it is extending this training to all its staff as part of its $1 billion annual investment in learning and development.

Among the tools being monitored is AI Refinery, which Accenture says helps organisations “turn raw AI technology into useful business solutions.” Certain groups, including staff in 12 European countries and teams working on US federal contracts, are excluded from the tracking policy.

The new requirement has received a mixed response. Some senior employees have questioned the value of the AI tools, with one describing some of them as “broken slop generators.” Another said they would “quit immediately” if the rule applied to them.

The resistance reflects a wider challenge for professional services firms. While consultancies promote AI transformation to clients, senior leaders are often slower than junior staff to adopt new technologies. Industry observers note that older managers can be “less comfortable with technology and more wedded to established working methods.”