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New Possible’s British Recruitment Awards sets out to discover and celebrate the organisations that are truly passionate about recruitment’s role in building a thriving organisation.
In our ‘Sharing Success’ series, we interview British Recruitment Awards Winners to shine a light on the inspiring projects that are improving workplaces across the UK and beyond. In this article we interview Amanda Adeleke at Accenture, Winners of the 2024 ‘Employer Brand of the Year’ category.
Introducing Amanda Adeleke
Amanda has been at Accenture for almost three years, where she leads candidate marketing for Early Talent and Experienced Hire recruitment in the UK. Amanda's focus is to position Accenture as the employer of choice for top-tier talent, ensuring their target audiences know who they are, what they do, and why joining Accenture is a transformative career decision. Amanda’s role involves creating compelling campaigns, leveraging data-driven strategies, and championing Accenture’s talent brand to resonate with diverse audiences.
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with 774,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world’s leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. Our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360° value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360° value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at accenture.com.
Accenture Song accelerates growth and value for our clients through sustained customer relevance. Our capabilities span ideation to execution: growth, product and experience design; technology and experience platforms; creative, media and marketing strategy; and campaign, commerce transformation content and channel orchestration. With strong client relationships and deep industry expertise, we help our clients operate at the speed of life through the unlimited potential of imagination, technology and intelligence.
Accenture’s Innovative Approach to Regional Graduate Recruitment
In 2023, Accenture took a bold step in reshaping its graduate recruitment strategy, responding to the evolving expectations of Gen Z and addressing the need to invest in regional talent. The company’s goal was clear: to hire fewer graduates in London, significantly increase hiring in Scotland, and add five times the number of roles in Newcastle. However, Accenture faced a challenge - less than 10% of graduate applications were coming from its offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Newcastle, meaning the company needed a fresh approach to attract candidates to these regions.
Recognising that today’s students have different expectations from previous generations, Accenture sought to engage Gen Z in a way that would resonate with them. The solution? The Accenture Careers Hub, a unique, Netflix-inspired streaming platform designed to offer an authentic, behind-the-scenes look at life at Accenture. This innovative approach replaced traditional marketing methods with engaging content that felt personal and relatable.
When asked why increasing regional talent and social mobility is important for Accenture, Amanda commented: “As a business, we’ve expanded our footprint across the UK with offices in Bristol and Glasgow, alongside growing our presence in cities like Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Newcastle. Focusing on regional talent allows us to tap into new, diverse pools of skills and perspectives, aligning with our commitment to innovation and inclusivity. Social mobility is equally important—it’s about breaking down barriers and providing opportunities to individuals from all backgrounds. By creating meaningful career paths in these regions, we not only support local economies but also foster a workforce that truly reflects the communities we serve.”
A Revolutionary Careers Hub
The Accenture Careers Hub was built to be an immersive, on-demand experience, filled with fresh, unscripted content. The platform featured videos, stories, and interviews with real Accenture employees, designed in a jargon-free, accessible format. One of the highlights of the hub was Accenture Live, a new series that evolved from the company’s previous webinar format. This series brought TV-quality episodes with live interviews, office tours, and career advice, all designed to engage students with a casual, yet professional, tone. Interactive features such as live subtitles, Q&As, and direct links to job applications made the experience even more inclusive and engaging.
What set this campaign apart was its student-driven approach. Rather than relying on external agencies to create the campaign, Accenture involved students in the process through panels and workshops, compensating them for their time and input. This not only ensured the content was relevant but also fostered a sense of ownership and connection with the target audience.
The results of the campaign were impressive. Within the first month of launch, over 5,000 students registered on the platform, and more than 3,500 tuned in to Accenture Live. The campaign also led to a significant 20% increase in graduate applications from regional locations, marking a major success in engaging candidates who had previously been underrepresented in Accenture’s hiring process. In total, the campaign reached students at more than 100 UK universities in just four weeks—an achievement that would have been nearly impossible to replicate through traditional in-person events.
Feedback from the Gen Z audience was overwhelmingly positive. The campaign achieved an impressive Net Promoter Score (NPS) of +73, with 98% of attendees expressing satisfaction. Additionally, 93% of viewers said they were more likely to apply to Accenture after engaging with the content, highlighting the campaign’s effectiveness in promoting the company’s talent brand and increasing its appeal among future graduates. Accenture’s use of innovative tools in recruitment mirrored the very work candidates could expect to do at the firm. One student from Newcastle University remarked, “This is unlike anything I’ve seen by other firms. It was so cool to engage with the host and guests during the show. It shows how technology is used at Accenture.” The campaign not only attracted top talent but also showcased Accenture’s commitment to using cutting-edge technology in all aspects of its business.
When asked what a Gen Z audience expects when searching for a graduate role and how expectations changing, Amanda said:
“Gen Z expects authenticity, transparency, and purpose. They want to work for companies that align with their values, offer meaningful work, and prioritise well-being and development. They also seek clear career progression, work/life balance, a commitment to diversity and inclusion, and opportunities to make a real-world impact. Their expectations are evolving with technology - they expect high class digital experiences and clear communication and personalisation throughout the application process.”
When asked what key challenges Accenture faced in building the Accenture Careers Hub, Amanda mentioned:
“Building the Accenture Careers Hub came with several challenges. Crafting a seamless user journey was a key priority - guiding students smoothly from our website to the hub and back to the application page required careful planning to ensure a smooth and positive experience. Additionally, we needed to analyse and leverage data effectively, such as tracking registrations for live events and replays, to identify engaged candidates and strategically promote open roles. Collaboration across teams, ongoing user feedback, and a focus on data-driven decision making allowed us to address these challenges, maximising the campaign’s impact and delivering a cohesive, engaging experience for all candidates.”
Overall, the campaign marked a significant milestone in Accenture’s graduate recruitment efforts, successfully tapping into regional talent pools and appealing to the next generation of workers through a blend of technology, authenticity, and student engagement.
The judges praised the ‘human' approach to onboarding, that's ‘thorough, far reaching and robust’.
What advice would Amanda give to other organisations looking to create a similarly innovative initiative?
“The key is to know your audience. Invest time in research to uncover what truly matters to them and design any solution with their needs at the heart of it. Authenticity should underpin everything you do; your messaging and initiatives must reflect the genuine culture and values of your organisation – people can tell when somethings off, so be transparent and genuine. Leverage data and analytics to measure the effectiveness of your efforts, change what’s not working and double down on what is. Finally, be bold—embrace creativity and innovation to stand out in the ever-evolving talent landscape.”
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