How do consulting giants operate in the AI era? Accenture's new positioning: the preferred "restructuring partner" for enterprises
Faced with a slowdown in the consulting industry, Accenture is redefining its nearly 800,000 employees as "Transformers." This move is part of a significant restructuring aimed at positioning itself as the "preferred transformation partner" for enterprise AI transformation. However, this internal branding effort faces risks, with experts warning that such corporate jargon may backfire and provoke ridicule and skepticism from the outside, rather than establishing a professional image
In the face of the impact of the artificial intelligence wave and the slowdown in the consulting industry, consulting giant Accenture is empowering its nearly 800,000 employees with a new identity of "reinventors" through an internal brand reshaping, aiming to redefine its value in the era of transformation.
According to the latest report from the Financial Times, this New York-listed company has begun to promote the widespread use of the new label "reinventors" to refer to its nearly 800,000 employees. The company's CEO, Julie Sweet, has used the term multiple times in public, demonstrating senior management's support for this initiative.
This change stems from a significant internal restructuring announced by Accenture in June of this year, which integrates multiple departments such as strategy, consulting, creative, technology, and operations into a unified business unit called "Reinvention Services." Accenture's ambition is to become the "preferred reinvention partner" for clients adopting AI tools.
This move comes at a critical time when the consulting industry is facing growth pressures. Accenture's market value has fallen from a post-pandemic peak of over $260 billion to about $150 billion. Julie Sweet has previously warned that if employees cannot adapt to the demands of the AI era through retraining, they may face the risk of layoffs amid slowing demand for consulting projects.
The Birth of "Reinventors"
The concept of "reinventors" is a concrete action taken by Accenture in response to the challenges posed by AI. In a financial report conference call in September, Julie Sweet repeatedly referred to employees as "reinventors" while discussing the company's restructuring.
According to insiders, the company has even established a trial version of an internal human resources website, where employees' identity labels have been changed from "workers" to "reinventors." This signifies Accenture's hope to root the concept of "reinvention" in the identity recognition of every employee from a cultural perspective.
Market Pressure and Expert Skepticism
Although Accenture hopes to boost morale and signal transformation to the market through the new label, this move has also drawn cautious observation from the outside.
André Spicer, a professor of organizational behavior at Bayes Business School, pointed out that the use of terminology in the consulting field is sometimes to display professionalism without having to invest in core capabilities, but it may also "increase confusion, undermine trust, and breed a sense of corporate absurdity."
Deborah Cameron, a former professor of language and communication at the University of Oxford, also stated that using terms that are far removed from the public's perception of the company may invite "misunderstanding or ridicule." She believes that the term "reinventors" may be in this dangerous zone.
Accenture declined to comment on this. Historically, it is not uncommon for companies to create new words, including Accenture's own name (derived from "accent on the future") and PwC's brief renaming of its consulting division to "Monday" in 2002
