Accenture: An insider guide - Gymkhana
Accenture: An insider guide - Gymkhana Accenture: An insider guide - Gymkhana
Workplace Diversity Accenture has spent a lot of time trying to recruit and make working conditions amenable to people of color and other minority groups. The diversity program focuses on themes such as mentorship, recruitment, career counseling, schedule flexibility for parents, and retention of women and minorities. Accenture’s Chief Diversity Officer Kedrick Adkins has created the Diversity Advisory Council, a group of leadership partners with representation across all segments of the company. This group is instrumental in setting strategic direction and implementing key initiatives. The Workplace In terms of recruiting, Accenture offers internships, jobs, and scholarships through INROADS, the National Society of Black Engineers, and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. Once employees start working, Accenture offers a sponsorship program in addition to its recruiting program. Sponsors work with others on the employee’s behalf, particularly when it comes to salary increases or promotion discussions, and the company’s diversity unit is pushing to get women and minorities strong sponsors. “We are spending a lot of time working with our senior leadership. That’s not to say that we didn’t have their interest and visibility before, but I spend the vast majority of my time working with our senior executives on diversity-related opportunities, such as recruiting and promotion,” says Adkins in a recent interview in The Black Collegian. “I report directly to our CEO, Joe Forehand, which speaks volumes to the importance our company places on diversity.” In addition, the firm offers diversity training. Some highlights include a 3-hour instructor-led course that demonstrates the importance of appreciating and 30
valuing the dynamics between men and women; the “diversity principle,” a 1-hour course that underlines that diversity in the workforce is a key company priority and shows how stereotypes can contribute to a nonproductive work environment; and “the diversity principle in motion,” a group workshop on recognizing inappropriate behaviors related to differences in the workplace. As far back as 1994, Accenture was named one of the “100 Best Companies for Gay Men and Lesbians” in the Ed Mickens book of the same title. Among the seven networking groups that comprise its Local Office Diversity Program is one for gay and lesbians. Plus, Accenture extends domestic partner benefits to U.S. personnel in same-sex relationships under its medical, dental, and dependent life insurance plans. The plans and their benefits are the same as those available to spouses of married personnel, wherever it is legally possible to do so. Children of same-sex domestic partners can be covered under the same rules as those for children of married personnel. Opportunities for Women Like the consulting industry as a whole, Accenture has relatively low female representation among its very senior management. At last count, three of its 21 management committee members were female. Still, the number of women in top positions at Accenture has steadily increased over the past decade. The percentage of female senior-level executives rose from 5.8 percent in 1994 to 10 percent in 2002. However, in 2002 (most recent available) women only accounted for a little more than 14 percent of all promotions to partner status globally and 19 percent of all promotions to partner in the United States. The Workplace In general, insiders report plenty of women in the workforce, though some areas attract more than others. “There are quite a number of females, but it’s very polarized. It’s often in testing and functional design, and less in 31
- Page 1 and 2: Accenture 2005 Edition WetFeet Insi
- Page 3 and 4: Insider Guide Accenture 2005 Editio
- Page 5 and 6: Table of Contents Accenture at a Gl
- Page 7 and 8: Accenture at a Glance At a Glance H
- Page 9: Estimated Compensation, 2004 Underg
- Page 12 and 13: Overview The Company Accenture has
- Page 14 and 15: The Company With a brighter busines
- Page 16 and 17: Industry Position The Company Accen
- Page 18 and 19: Where MBAs Want to Work The Company
- Page 20 and 21: Nine service and solutions lines su
- Page 22 and 23: The Company Consultant teams do mos
- Page 24 and 25: Analysts On the Job Analysts at Acc
- Page 26 and 27: • Assess existing technology •
- Page 28 and 29: Consultants After a couple of years
- Page 30 and 31: A Day in the Life of a Strategy Con
- Page 32 and 33: Lifestyle and Hours Analysts and co
- Page 34 and 35: Culture Accenture is a company on t
- Page 38 and 39: technology,” says one insider. An
- Page 40 and 41: Travel Most of Accenture’s work t
- Page 42 and 43: Vacation In September 2002, Accentu
- Page 44 and 45: usiness language, so cross-group (o
- Page 46 and 47: Opportunities for Undergraduates Un
- Page 48 and 49: valued properly,” adds the inside
- Page 50 and 51: it. They seem ready to spend a litt
- Page 52 and 53: Get Out and Mingle Almost from day
- Page 54 and 55: The Recruiting Process Accenture ha
- Page 56 and 57: “I would suggest that you pick a
- Page 58 and 59: Interviewing Tips After the first r
- Page 61 and 62: For Your Reference For Your Referen
- Page 63 and 64: For Further Study For Your Referenc
- Page 65 and 66: Et Cetera For Your Reference Recrui
- Page 67 and 68: WETFEET’S INSIDER GUIDE SERIES JO
- Page 69 and 70: Who We Are WetFeet is the trusted d
Workplace Diversity<br />
<strong>Accenture</strong> has spent a lot of time trying to recruit and make working conditions<br />
amenable to people of color and other minority groups. The diversity program<br />
focuses on themes such as mentorship, recruitment, career counseling, schedule<br />
flexibility for parents, and retention of women and minorities. <strong>Accenture</strong>’s<br />
Chief Diversity Officer Kedrick Adkins has created the Diversity Advisory<br />
Council, a group of leadership partners with representation across all segments<br />
of the company. This group is instrumental in setting strategic direction and<br />
implementing key initiatives.<br />
The Workplace<br />
In terms of recruiting, <strong>Accenture</strong> offers internships, jobs, and scholarships<br />
through INROADS, the National Society of Black Engineers, and the Society<br />
of Hispanic Professional Engineers. Once employees start working, <strong>Accenture</strong><br />
offers a sponsorship program in addition to its recruiting program. Sponsors<br />
work with others on the employee’s behalf, particularly when it comes to salary<br />
increases or promotion discussions, and the company’s diversity unit is pushing<br />
to get women and minorities strong sponsors.<br />
“We are spending a lot of time working with our senior leadership. That’s not<br />
to say that we didn’t have their interest and visibility before, but I spend the<br />
vast majority of my time working with our senior executives on diversity-related<br />
opportunities, such as recruiting and promotion,” says Adkins in a recent<br />
interview in The Black Collegian. “I report directly to our CEO, Joe Forehand,<br />
which speaks volumes to the importance our company places on diversity.”<br />
In addition, the firm offers diversity training. Some highlights include a 3-hour<br />
instructor-led course that demonstrates the importance of appreciating and<br />
30
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