1.
STORIES
An innovative hub inspires people
to work in new ways
Investing in
changemakers

2.
Copyright © 2022 Accenture. All rights reserved
Making change
happen
In recent years, Accenture has
recognized that change and
adoption is the linchpin to
better business outcomes.
And while technology is an
accelerator for business
transformation, it can only achieve
those outcomes when it has the
commitment of the hearts and minds
of the people using it.
For this reason, we set up our
dedicated, award-winning Journey
and Change Management Center
of Excellence, not only to action
our technology change and adoption
strategy, but also to help influence
a new generation of changemakers
across the business.
A typical siloed, project-led approach
to technology change and adoption
doesn’t take into account people’s
experiences. We decided to reinvent
how we tackle change. We believe
the best way to draw value from
technology and to make business
change happen is to put people first.
We flex mindsets by focusing on
how technology can support the
individual, not the other way around.
And we bring together and align the
workforce with digital technologies,
tools and training, alongside
leadership and cultural support, to
enable our organization to gain
digital fluency.
Supported by our change leaders
who serve as dedicated, strategic
partners, we help Accenture people
to adapt their behaviors, work in new
ways and gain the most benefit from
the technology we offer to realize
their full potential.
Accenture Global IT
has created a human-first
approach in the center
of excellence to inspire
Accenture people to
embrace change, adopt
new behaviors and
use technology to
deliver value.
SARAH DUGAN
Managing Director – Global IT,
Journey and Change Management
Lead, Accenture
Call for change

3.
Copyright © 2022 Accenture. All rights reserved
Centered on
Community
Before we set up the center of
excellence, our change and adoption
efforts were directed from individual
technology and project leads; there
was limited consistency and an
absence of standard practices in the
approach. Without a formal
organization structure and
centralized oversight, career model
and skill development opportunities
for change practitioners in Global IT
were unclear.
What’s more, change activities
focused on transactional services,
such as communications and training
development, with services
introduced at the tail end of the
project. Due to a piecemeal
approach, based on tactical
deployment, technology investments
were not fully realized as people
failed to understand how to work
differently to drive more value.
Leading practices in change
management have identified that
projects with excellent change
management produce as much
as six times better outcomes
than those with poor change
management As a result, Global IT
leaders pinpointed change as a
strategic priority for how we deliver
technology across the Accenture
enterprise—and decided that
management of that change
should be elevated to become
an integral part of our IT strategy
and operating model.
When technology meets human ingenuity
By creating a formal center of
excellence, we could:
Bring the latest thinking, innovations and
experience to our technology projects
through a human-centric approach.
Establish a home for change talent (build
community and engagement, share
learnings, develop skills and provide
career paths).
Provide central governance,
standardization and the latest
innovative tools for change work.
Manage the financial impact
of change management and
adoption work.
Involve and immerse our change
experts in the right projects in a
timely way.

4.
Copyright © 2022 Accenture. All rights reserved
When technology meets human ingenuity
How we approached establishing a journey and change
management center of excellence:
Year 1
Establish
Create a small core team. Define how to run the center and what support is required.
Establish the people strategy and which services are required.
Year 2
Grow
Increase the core team. Put the strategy into practice and advance and
adjust the approach to people and services, as appropriate.
Year 3
Achieve
Engage a full core team. Share the capability and strategy with others. Maintain the
people strategy. Partner with other corporate functions to manage enterprise change.

5.
When technology meets human ingenuity
We defined a clear operating model
We identified an operating model and organization structure that accounted for the
different types of change work we do and the various customers we serve. We
partner with every internal corporate function at Accenture to deliver change,
including Sales, Marketing, Finance, Legal, Procurement and Human Resources.
We put in place dedicated capabilities to run the center to drive continuous
innovation and development of methods, tools and frameworks. Our organization
structure aligned closely with the Global IT team so that dedicated change
oversight and support is available for each service area. With this strategic
partnership across Global IT, change and adoption efforts are now recognized and
integrated early on in project work and grounded in change strategies across the
business that drive desired outcomes.
We made progress possible
We defined formal job families and career paths for our change practitioners to
provide clear progression points and growth trajectories, while also specifying the
services and products that articulated the center’s scope of work. We introduced
standardized tools and frameworks, developing a Journey & Change Management
playbook to equip change practitioners with the templates, tools and techniques
needed to kick-start change initiatives.
We built a community
A structured onboarding process including an onboarding “buddy”—integrates new
joiners quickly and helps them feel welcome, informed and part of the community.
We initiate regular meetings and forums, including center of excellence townhall
calls and regular leadership connects. Task forces of volunteers in the center drive
talent strategy, community engagement, curriculum development, market outreach
and innovation initiatives. We run platforms for community updates and
engagement, including Microsoft Teams chat or Yammer, and established a
monthly “Human Hour” to talk about non-work topics. Regular learning sessions
share training and information on key topics to help people
learn from each other.
We collaborated with our client-facing teams
We align with the Accenture Talent & Organization team to share what we do and
better understand their projects with clients—so we can all benefit from lessons
learned. By joining forces with the Talent & Organization team, the center can stay
up-to-date with the latest technology, learning, testing and using innovative platforms.
And we enable the Talent and Organization team to use our internal work as a
credential in their work with clients.
We laid the foundations
We secured the backing of our leadership, identifying our vision and a three-year
plan to establish and grow the center. Our change team united around a common
purpose and values developed through multiple design thinking sessions to
articulate the center’s mission, vision, value and belief statements (see Figure X).
Figure X. Example of multiple design thinking sessions
Copyright © 2022 Accenture. All rights reserved

6.
Copyright © 2022 Accenture. All rights reserved
Skilled in
innovation
Today, the center has more than tripled in size and helps
our organization make change happen. With such rapid
growth, it has been critical to take a “white glove”
approach with our new joiners, to get them onboarded
and familiar with how we work, quickly and effectively.
With our focus firmly on people and the many
different types of engagement activities they undertake,
we now have around 150 dedicated change practitioners
deployed to the center.
We also tap into a fluid and agile workforce across
our organization, supplementing the skills of our core
team for a total of more than 250 change practitioners
across the full range of Accenture businesses. For
instance, we can access the expertise of our strategy
and consulting teams, our delivery centers and a globally
diverse workforce.
Our international group now represents change
practitioners from more than 10 countries across North
and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia—
enabling change for Accenture employees worldwide.
A valuable difference

7.
Copyright © 2022 Accenture. All rights reserved
We conduct satisfaction surveys
among our team members in
the center every six months,
attaining consistently high rates
of satisfaction. Reponses are based
on Likert scale questions in five
categories—career opportunities and
growth, belonging and engagement,
training and skills, Center of
Excellence operating model and
vision and new joiner satisfaction.
Our annual customer satisfaction
survey issued to IT leaders using
the center’s services saw 100% of
respondents not only agreeing that
they would highly recommend the
Journey and Change Management
Center of Excellence, but also that
it is a critical part of the success of
their area.
We also use ThoughtExchange as
a platform for real-time discussion,
assessing overall team sentiment
and seeking ideas for improvement.
Our Journey and Change
Management playbook, developed
to house our processes, guidance
and templates, has received
more than 1,400 unique visitors,
supporting change and adoption
work across Accenture.
These metrics have been achieved
with a laser focus on value. We
prioritize changing mindsets first.
Data-led adoption means we’ve been
able to use information to shift our
approach based on what’s working
and what’s not.
A valuable difference
Here’s what we’ve learned is
important when establishing a
center of excellence:
Educate IT leaders ongoing about
change and value it brings.
Reinforce clarity around the center’s
products and services, including work
that change practitioners do not do.
Structure the center to provide targeted
services and points of contact by area.
Collaborate with business partners
to help define clearly how the technology
aligns with the business strategy to
drive outcomes.
Structure the center to provide targeted
services and points of contact by area.

8.
Copyright © 2022 Accenture. All rights reserved
We’re a close-knit team where
collaboration has broken the barriers
of our organizational complexities
and time zones to serve our global
footprint. In addition, we partnered to
keep our change journey moving
forward, continuously assessing
change maturity and opportunities
and working hard to give the same
level of service and experience
internally as we deliver to our clients.
Above all, we look at where change
is needed most, mapping the top
Accenture priorities to our own. And
our work is being acknowledged in
the industry. The Journey and
Change Management Center of
Excellence digital worker website
design has won the coveted
Platinum awardin the 2022 Hermes
Creative Awards competition.
Further expansion of the scope of
services plans to accommodate
different types of change
management work with diverse
customers. As the center grows,
we will continue to share our story of
how we made the Journey and
Change Management Center of
Excellence happen to help others
build similar teams and capabilities.
And we will keep pace with key
technology innovations, such as
digital adoption platforms, virtual
reality (VR) and gamification, to
maintain services that are fresh
and relevant.
A valuable difference
674K+
Accenture employees given
the opportunity to get the
most from technology
>250
change practitioners
75+
projects/programs run by
the center are driving
change and adoption
>24K
monthly visits to our internal
digital worker site that helps
our people use technology
most effectively
>3,600
Microsoft Yammer Community
Forums before new tech or
tools are launched

9.
9
Meet the team
Sarah Dugan
Managing Director – Global IT,
Journey & Change Management
Jason Pucker
Director – Global IT,
Corporate Technology, Journey &
Change Management
Amy Kempiak
Director – Global IT,
Journey & Change Management
Blogs
How we empower people to use technology for value. Our dedicated
Journey & Change Management Center of Excellence (CoE) helps Accenture
people know how to use our technology to achieve
business objectives and outcomes.
Why your tech rollout should start with the end in mind. Explores
how to entice users to jump in and start using new technology.
Why adoption could be the most important part of IT deployment.
Adoption doesn’t end when the new technology is deployed. It starts after the
technology is rolled out and needs to continue for some time.
Why giving more support means your people get more from your tech.
Happy users evangelize more reluctant users—and bring greater overall
stickiness for the technology for the longer term.
Changing minds, accelerating adoption. How we help our people and
business to make the best of Microsoft Teams.
Copyright © 2022 Accenture. All rights reserved