Accenture CEO says employees need to learn to use AI tools if they want promotions

Accenture CEO Julie Sweet says employees who want promotions must learn to use AI tools as the company makes AI central to its workflow. She also said entry-level hiring continues as young graduates bring strong AI skills.

In Short

• Accenture CEO Julie Sweet says AI usage now influences promotions at the company
• Sweet says employees must "work in the way we work" as AI becomes core to operations
• The company says entry-level hiring is rising as graduates are "much more AI fluent"

AI is rapidly becoming part of everyday work across large technology and consulting firms, and companies are increasingly expecting employees to adapt. At global consulting firm Accenture, the leadership says the use of AI tools is no longer optional for workers hoping to grow in their careers. Speaking on the Rapid Response podcast, Accenture CEO, Julie Sweet, explained that the company has gradually integrated AI into its workflow over the past few years. As a result, employees are now expected to use these tools as part of their normal work routines. According to Sweet, learning to work with AI is increasingly tied to career progression within the company.

Accenture CEO says using AI tools is now part of promotion criteria

Sweet said Accenture has spent billions of dollars training its workforce in AI, but employees must also take responsibility for learning the tools if they want to move ahead.

"There’s been a lot of investment in the AI itself. There hasn't been as much investment by companies in the training. Companies have to do more," she said during the conversation.

When asked about reports that the company tracks employees' use of AI tools while evaluating promotions, Sweet said the expectation should not be seen as pressure or coercion. Instead, she compared the situation to earlier technological transitions that changed the workplace.

"Well, I don't think it's coercion in any sense of the world," Sweet said. "When we introduced computers, right no one would have said that requiring someone to use a computer is coercion, right? It's how the companies were going to get work done today." She explained that AI has now become central to how work is carried out at Accenture. "AI at Accenture is how we do work," she said.

According to Sweet, the company did not immediately link promotions to AI usage. The transition has taken place gradually over the last three years as employees became familiar with the tools and systems.

"We didn't go from zero to you won't get promoted like in a month," she said. "It's over a three-year period of getting used to the technology and then saying, 'Hey, this is Accenture and how we operate. So if you want to get promoted, you've got to do the things that we do in order to operate Accenture.'"

Sweet also noted that many younger employees entering the workforce already expect companies to use AI tools widely.

"College graduates come and say, 'What do you mean you're not using this?' because they want to be at the company that's actually using it," she said.

Entry-level hiring continues despite AI concerns, Accenture CEO reveals

Even as companies invest heavily in automation and AI systems, Sweet said Accenture is still increasing hiring for entry-level roles. She pointed out that there is a widespread assumption that AI will replace junior jobs, but she believes the situation is more complex.

"You know, a lot of people ask me about entry-level jobs and why are they going," she said. "We're hiring globally in all our major markets more entry-level jobs this year than we did last year."

According to Sweet, one of the main advantages new graduates bring is their familiarity with AI technologies. Many students already use such tools during their education and are comfortable working with them.

"The number one advantage for the college graduates we're bringing in is that they are much more AI fluent than someone who's even been here two or three years,” she said. “Because they're using it in their education. They're using it every day."

Sweet also described the belief that entry-level roles will disappear because of AI as exaggerated. "And the idea that we hear about that sort of these entry-level jobs are going to be replaced by AI you kind of think that's a myth," she said. Instead of eliminating these roles, Accenture has redesigned them. The company is analysing which tasks can be automated and which require human skills, and then building new job roles around those capabilities.

"So we’ve reconstituted jobs," Sweet said. "We understand which tasks and jobs should be automated and then we've recreated new entry-level jobs with the skills that are not going to be replaced."

She added that the company has also changed its training approach for new hires, with more focus on communication and productivity skills so that employees can contribute to client work more quickly. Sweet said the strategy is not just about technology adoption but also about long-term workforce development.

"If you don't have anybody entry-level, how do you create the next generations?" she said, adding that maintaining these roles is important for both business and the wider community.

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