Accenture reworks salary hikes to include more employees: Splits base pay and one-time lumpsum — Here's what changes

Multi-national information technology services major Accenture has reworked its salary hike formula in order to include more employees in its June 2026 cycle, as per a PTI report today, citing an internal memo at the company.

The tweaks allow the company to “significantly” expand how much of the workforce gets a raise, rewarding more staff while managing payroll amid the current macroeconomic environment, the report added.

Notably, this comes after the company implemented a period of limited “stay-at-level” increases in 2025, the memo showed, as per the report.

Accenture reworks salary hikes — Here's what changes

According to the report, Accenture has decided to equally split the June hike between base pay and a one-time lump-sum payment. Here's what has changed under the new compensation structure:

• Talent and group leads will determine an overall percentage increase for eligible employees, which will then be divided into two equal parts.
• This means: If the talent lead decides to provide an individual a 3% hike, that will result in a 1.5% increase each towards basic pay and lump-sum payment.
• The company's memo noted that this dual approach provides employees with immediate cash — a benefit many have expressed they value — while allowing the firm to extend base pay increases to a larger portion of its workforce without overburdening its overall payroll.

• The exception to this 50:50 split structure are employees receiving promotions. The report noted that for increases tied to promotions, the memo said that these will continue to be delivered entirely through base pay.
• Further, standard bonuses awarded during the December cycle will continue, and the one-time lumpsums will not replace this practise.
• Both the base pay increase and the lump-sum payment will be factored into an employee's eligible earnings for the year, thereby counting towards the calculation of their FY26 bonus.
• The lump sum will also be subject to standard percentage deductions for employees enrolled in the Voluntary Equity Investment Program (VEIP) or the Employee Share Purchase Plan (ESPP), it added.

Accenture pushes AI adoption

The company is reportedly monitoring staff's use of its artificial intelligence tools as it encourages employees to use AI more actively in their daily work and increase overall uptake of the technology across its workforce, The Guardian reported in February. It added that Accenture plans to factor this into top promotion decisions.

Accenture's senior managers and associate directors have been informed that "regular adoption" of AI would be mandatory for promotion to leadership roles, the report said, citing an internal email. Further, the consultancy firm has already started collecting data on senior staff members' weekly-log ins into AI tools.

Previously, Accenture's Chief Executive, Julie Sweet, said that this will “create opportunities for companies to reimagine their processes and operations, discover new ways of working, and scale AI solutions across the enterprise to help drive continuous change and create value”.

(With inputs from PTI)