The Hindu Business Line : Accenture bullish; on hiring spree

ACCENTURE, the $12-billion (fiscal 2003) global IT consulting and technology services major, is bullish on India and is rapidly expanding. It has made Hyderabad its fourth major centre.

The Head, India Geographic Services, Accenture, Ms Rekha Menon, outlined Accenture's India plans to Business Line — big time recruitment and Hyderabad centre ramp-up. In India, Accenture works for seven of the top 10 business groups, six of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies, three of the top five paper companies and five of the top 15 textile companies. Excerpts.

Accenture is recruiting big time in India. What are your plans?

Accenture considers India as one of its largest developing markets. It continues to tap into India's high-calibre workforce. A wide variety of services in our India-based delivery centres is currently driving the growth from IT services such as applications development and maintenance, as well as various business process outsourcing (BPO) capabilities, including call centre services.

As a leading multi-national company with a strong and well-recognised global brand, Accenture is able to offer a broad range of career opportunities to its people while providing competitive compensation and benefits.

How big is Accenture in India across four centres?

Accenture has been operating in India since 1987. As of 2003, we had 4,300 people in India across disciplines of consulting, applications development and maintenance and BPO.

We expect to hire about 10,000 people by 2004. Today, the company serves more than 100 clients through its operations in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

You have acquired additional space in Mindspace. What are your plans for Hyderabad?

Accenture centre in Hyderabad is an integral part of our delivery process. We see a strong demand for our technology and BPO capabilities.

We are also employing people to work internally as part of our business enabler functions to help effectively manage and operate Accenture's business and support our domestic client service professionals in areas such as human resources, marketing, legal, finance and administration functions.

How is the BPO centre doing in India?

We handle BPO work out of Bangalore (process delivery and contact centre) and Mumbai (contact centre).

Our India centres are integral to Accenture's global sourcing strategy, enabling the company to provide clients with seamless delivery of services from multiple geographies, with 24x7 coverage.

Our facilities in India provide exceptional environments to build and advance careers. People are our most valuable asset and we invest more than three per cent ($400 million) of our global revenue annually to provide on-going training that builds upon and extends professional, technical and management skills in all areas.

Does Accenture have a hard time retaining mid-level employees?

At Accenture, we have been able to attract and retain a large number of employees at the middle management level.

Our strong image as an employer of choice is attributed to the differentiated value-proposition we offer — the opportunity to learn leading technologies and processes, to work with global clients, as well as excellent career growth opportunities, and world class training and professional development.

Is Accenture having difficulties in attracting talent?

No, because we provide an exceptional environment to build and advance careers.

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Accenture bullish; on hiring spree