In a dynamic business landscape, the ability to adapt to evolving workforce demands is critical for organizational success. Recognizing this, Accenture and Workday, Inc. have announced an enhanced collaboration aimed at empowering companies to swiftly embrace skills-based talent strategies. This strategic partnership seeks to propel businesses towards greater agility and unlock their untapped potential.
The global business environment is witnessing a paradigm shift in how organizations approach talent, with a growing emphasis on skills as a catalyst for enhanced business agility and performance. Recent research from Accenture indicates that Chief Experience Officers (CXOs) identify skilling and workforce development as the primary challenges impeding organizational growth over the next 12 months.
The collaboration leverages Workday Skills Cloud, an advanced and interconnected AI skills intelligence foundation. Accenture and Workday are working together to help organizations comprehensively understand the skills and proficiencies within their workforce. This includes identifying the skills required for future growth and revealing reskilling opportunities that can have a meaningful impact on business outcomes. The innovative offerings from Accenture, utilizing Workday Skills Cloud, facilitate the rapid implementation of skills-based talent strategies, reducing the timeline from years to weeks. This is achieved through a pre-built worker skills journey that consolidates skills analysis, insights, and actionable steps.
Penelope Prett, Senior Managing Director and Workday Business Group Lead at Accenture, emphasizes the importance of organizing work around skills. She states, “To enable the workforce of the future, companies need to begin to organize work around skills, where skills are the currency that enable people to learn new things, change roles, find projects, and grow their careers.” Prett underscores the collaboration's role in helping organizations become skills-driven by decoding the complexities of skill identification and utilization.
The key components of the collaboration include:
Accenture’s Skill Proficiency Calculator: Built on Workday Extend, this tool uses native and non-native Workday data along with Workday Skills Cloud to identify and validate the skills and associated proficiency of employees.
Integrated Skills Accelerator: Utilizing Workday Learning, Workday Journeys, and Workday Prism, this tool, preconfigured with Accenture talent transformation capabilities, supports closing workforce skill gaps.
Consulting Services: Accenture offers consulting services to help organizations understand industry-relevant skills, sources of skills, and leading practices for skill transformation.
Exclusive Software and Services Bundle: An exclusive joint bundle streamlines customer adoption by offering a cohesive and agile journey.
David Somers, Group General Manager, Office of the Chief Human Resource Officer Product at Workday, highlights the significance of the expansion. He notes, “This expansion is an exciting step in our ecosystem partnership with Accenture and the skills-focused solutions we’re offering. By combining data from Accenture’s skill proficiency calculator with the AI in Workday Skills Cloud, we’ll help customers upskill and prepare their people for the future of work.”
As part of Accenture’s commitment to becoming a skills-driven organization, the skill proficiency calculator underwent testing on its diverse global workforce of over 733,000 employees. Workday is actively participating as an early adopter, prototyping the Accenture solution in conjunction with Workday Skills Cloud to support its skills-based talent strategies and evolving business needs. This collaborative effort marks a significant stride towards reshaping how businesses approach talent development in an era where skills are the currency of the future workforce.
