Observing Veterans Day

On this Veterans Day in the United States, I’d like to take a moment to express my gratitude to lead a team that includes veterans. My uncle, William T. McLarty, was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army and served in Vietnam. He was a beloved man of high integrity, and I learned a number of valuable life lessons from him. He died in 2015, but those of us whose lives he touched forever honor his memory. Inclusion and diversity is important for me personally and a strategic priority as part of my role as CIO for Accenture.

Of course, Accenture’s commitment to Inclusion & Diversity would not be complete without embracing the talent and skills gained through military service. Respect, leadership, dedication and teamwork—these are the qualities veterans bring and ones we at Accenture value.

To support veterans in making the transition from military to civilian employment, Accenture has an end-to-end commitment to the veteran community, working with different parts of the veteran ecosystem to focus on skilling, hiring, retention and giving back. This is something I’m particularly proud to actively support.

Skilling

Creating an inclusive future of work is a priority for Accenture and we invest in skilling programs that are specific to veterans. Through programs with Mervis, NS2 Serves, Institute for Veterans and Military Families and Four Block Foundation, we provide training, certifications, skills and mentoring to support veterans in the transition to the civilian workforce. These and other skilling programs enable Accenture to benefit from the many talents our veterans contribute who become our employees.

One of these individuals on our global IT team is Todd Cook who reflects on his transition and two-decade journey at Accenture after time in the US Marine Corps Reserves:

“The diversity, the knowledge, the life experiences of each of those around you brings a collective alliance that brings your chance of success to a much higher degree of certainty. And being here at Accenture within the global IT team, it’s obvious to me that we all have access to such a large assemblage of the most talented, diverse and knowledgeable IT staff around the world.”

Employment and advancement opportunities

Accenture has a dedicated military recruiting program. I am proud to highlight that Accenture is number 9 on the Military Times 2020 list of best places for veterans to work. We are intent on hiring and retaining veterans. In 2015, Accenture set a goal to hiring 5,000 veterans, service members and military spouses. This year, we achieved that goal—and are excited to keep going.

To help veterans onboard into Accenture and transition into corporate culture, Accenture has implemented an effective Veteran Integration Program. In some cases, such as with Nate Lockrem, Infrastructure Tech Arch Team Lead with global IT, the transition was logical:

“My experience in the Army gave me the basis for troubleshooting and workstation support. In dealing with all types of users from all parts of our company, I feel like I am able to understand and relate to these users better, in part because of my time in the Army. In the military, much like our global IT team, there are always new obstacles to overcome. This environment is continually changing and challenging and makes for a positive place to work.”

Giving back

Last year, Accenture global IT hosted a Military ERG workshop to promote the type of work we do for Accenture and provide additional support for our veterans. Greg Gabriel, a program and project management manager on the CIO Now team, is involved in the military ERG program for Chicago. He notes:

“My experience in the Marine Corps was working with a lot of people with different backgrounds and from different parts of the country. Learning how to adapt to different communication styles, geographic locations and cultures really prepared me for a career in global IT. Most veterans will find that working in global IT can be exciting and would like the fast-paced, fun and engaging work environment.”

We all benefit when we bring a great diversity of talent to Accenture and to our clients. It is essential to innovation and our business success. And it’s the right thing to do.

 For more information, please visit Accenture.com.