Accenture established its Salesforce practice in the Philippines in 2012 with a small team of CRM specialists. Today, the practice comprises 1,900 employees who work across Advanced Technology Centres in Cebu and Manila. It has also been awarded the highest number of accredited practitioners within the country.
I met with the team to discuss the development of the practice and how they are driving customer and employee success. Here are the key takeaways, including best practices for building and maintaining Salesforce talent.
Practice achieves 44% increase in Salesforce certifications
In 2023, Accenture’s team in the Philippines increased its number of Salesforce certifications by 44%. The number of certified individuals in the practice has also increased by an average of 24% year on year over the last four years.
Salesforce and Accenture have worked closely together to upskill the team and build new capabilities. Our joint Salesforce Days are just one example.
The most recent event saw more than 200 people come together for learning and inspiration. We discussed our roadmap, priorities for growth, and new opportunities for collaboration. We also presented a deep dive on our AI-driven solutions and shared product demos.
Accenture also held onsite certification exams during the event with 115 consultants taking part and a high number passing their exams.
In addition to Salesforce Days, we’ve partnered with Accenture to run several industry-specific enablement sessions. These sessions have been aligned to Accenture’s key practice areas, including education, financial services, public sector, and utilities.
On top of all this, Accenture launched the first Salesforce Developer Group in the Philippines back in 2016 and it has continued to host learning sessions, meetups, and campus programs for those interested in sharpening their Salesforce skills.
Growing a diverse pipeline of talent
Bringing net new Salesforce talent into its business is just as important as upskilling existing talent. That’s why Accenture works with universities to teach students Salesforce and other job-ready skills.
The business has established the Accenture Technology Academy which is open to students at several universities in the Philippines. The academy not only enables students to learn new skills, but fast-tracks their applications to join Accenture after graduation. More than 800 students from across different universities have participated to date, with around 25% going on to secure placement within Accenture.
Another program designed to nurture new talent is Accenture’s Near Hire Training (NHT) program which helps marginalised and unemployed individuals become entry-level voice and data encoding agents. A free training program, NHT is designed to give everyone an equal opportunity to build new skills and gain employment in a call centre or business process role.
Accenture is also a proud supporter of the For the Women Foundation which helps upskill and secure job placement for working mums and other women.
Through all these initiatives, Accenture has been able to grow its pipeline of talent and create a diverse and inclusive workplace.
Capturing new opportunities onshore and offshore
Accenture’s practice in the Philippines has largely existed to support customers in other regions. However, local demand for Salesforce skills is growing and presents an exciting opportunity for consultants to work with customers face to face.
To capture these opportunities and grow onshore and offshore, Accenture is continuing to expand its capabilities. Building generative AI skills is a particular focus as it will help Accenture deliver more value for customers in areas like customer service and business process outsourcing.
Marvin Bonifacio, Cebu Tech Lead and Salesforce Technical Architect at Accenture in the Philippines, has also become the first in the country to be certified as a Sales Champion for Salesforce. This represents the team’s ongoing commitment to its partnership with Salesforce and helping more businesses harness the benefits of the platform.
