The Accenture Metaverse — New Frontiers in Work

The metaverse is transforming how we work, opening up a completely new digital space with endless possibilities. Traditional ways of doing business are being redefined, raising questions about the future of work and how we can be a part of this exciting shift.

The Accenture Metaverse

Accenture has a unique, connected view of the metaverse. It proposes the following:

“We have a distinctive perspective: that the metaverse is a continuum, a spectrum of digitally enhanced worlds, realities and business models. It will revolutionize nearly all aspects of life and business in the next decade, allowing collaboration in virtual spaces, augmented physical places and a blend of both.”

Why is this significant? This includes a cohesive view of the metaverse, one that offers an enhancement of existing physical spaces. It also suggests that the way the interfaces will work can allow for exciting, dynamic and interconnected ways of working.

There is great potential for new careers within the Metaverse, and perhaps Accenture is a good place to start — take it from someone who used to work there.

In the author’s own opinion, Accenture offers a collegiate, fast-paced, challenging and interesting workplace. There are many different industries, functions as well as geographies, with Accenture boasting over 721,000 employees globally. It attracts top talent and requires an excellent track record. The Metaverse presents a brand new chance to get involved, so read on for just a selection of the options available.

Careers in the Accenture Metaverse

Paul Daugherty, Group Chief Executive - Technology and CTO at Accenture states:

“While we are at the early days of the metaverse, it will advance very quickly. If companies don’t act now, they’ll find themselves operating in worlds designed by, and for, someone else.”

Plenty of employment opportunities exist and will continue to grow within the metaverse space. We’ll explore what these jobs are, how much they pay, where they are based and what you can do.

The Metaverse Continuum, aptly named, will offer jobs ranging from Strategy, Learning and Shaping, Building and Operating as well as Sales and Delivery. They have built a platform called the ‘Nth Floor,’ which is a virtual space where different stakeholders can meet up to collaborate across geographies.

Fortune has written about Accenture’s initiative, describing it as a “corporate metaverse” — with digital twins of offices all around the world. In the context of the Great Resignation and the prevalence of new-fangled ideas about employees — shock horror! — being just as important as their employers, there is a renewed interest in employee satisfaction, and with retaining top talent.

Specific Roles

When perusing the Metaverse Careers site at Accenture, there are a variety of roles within the categories described above. A particularly eye-catching Strategy role is titled Technology Innovation Manager — Responsible Metaverse. It seems that Accenture is taking its commitment to making the “Continuum” concept a reality. More on the ethical connotations of this, below.

Design roles include Business Designer, Design Researcher and Senior XR Creative Technologist. Other Strategy roles include illustrious titles such as XR Design Lead, XR Senior Engineer and Digital Assets, Sustainable Finance Associate Director.

There are Project Management roles such as Studio Account Lead and Metaverse Studio Operations Lead — and more, no doubt, are due to follow. In the exciting new frontier of the metaverse, there are jobs abound.

Onboarding at Accenture Metaverse

A fascinating fact emerges about the Accenture metaverse and its onboarding process. This year, there are a reported 150,000 new recruits experiencing a Day 1 induction into the metaverse. Accenture hopes to create a more immersive experience for its new recruits, thereby embedding them quickly within the culture and offering ample opportunity to get to know their colleagues.

This may be an effective strategy, as it turns out. Fortune writes:

“The first few days as a new employee are crucial to talent retention. However, a Gallup poll found only 12% of employees reflected favorably on job onboarding experiences — and that was prior to the pandemic. These experiences are crucial to shaping the path forward for an employee.”

Accenture boasts that it provides realistic settings for virtual meetings — a big part of the appeal of such metaverse-backed initiatives. How realistic are such settings, and how important is this?

Metaverse Environments

The metaverse is not a singular construct. Simply put, no one tech player has rights to it. Check out this article by AI Authority for more on what this means and why it might be a good thing that “there is not (yet) one singular metaverse.” Of course, the way any one player’s digital environment is rendered, how it looks and feels, will affect how that environment is experienced and perceived.

Realism

The Accenture Metaverse has deployed Oculus glasses to its staff members, in a bid to immerse them in the Metaverse Continuum, thereby making the experience as true to life as possible. Different environments have different levels of rendering fidelity, however, leading to varying degrees of … convincing-ness.

Think Minecraft or Halo — there are the more pixelated environments and the more advanced ones.

Fashion, in particular, has seen a demand for more realistic renders. Apps such as Idoru have attracted pre-seed funding to fuel their ideas about an inclusive fashion platform where clothes and people are rendered more authentically than on existing platforms. See for yourself an image from the Idoru app below.

Trust, Security and Integrity

“As the line between people’s physical and digital lives further blurs, organizations have the opportunity and obligation now to build a responsible metaverse — addressing issues like trust, sustainability, personal safety, privacy, responsible access and use, diversity and more. The actions and choices they make today will set the stage for the future.”

So says Daugherty, the aforementioned CTO of Accenture, in an article by Computer Weekly. Clearly, if we are to build an equitable Metaverse, issues that are relevant in the existing physical world — pertaining to questions of ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic parity — must be tackled head-on.

Luckily, efforts are being made to address inclusivity, trust and safety within the Metaverse. The Accenture Metaverse, in particular, is addressing this with their Continuum concept. Daugherty continues:

“Our vision of the metaverse as a continuum challenges prevailing, narrower views and highlights why organizations must act today, or find themselves operating in worlds designed by, and for, someone else.”

Recommendations

The Metaverse is here to stay. To stay competitive, it makes sense to be an early adopter. Accenture is focusing on the moral implications of the metaverse, ensuring it is designed for all who may participate in it. Naturally, as the digital twins of their workplace environments will reflect the physical workspaces that they represent — so, too, will cultural, intellectual and social elements follow. There is a need to keep these issues top of mind, even as we forge ahead into the brave new future.

The metaverse uses the latest in VR technology. If you are interested in employing this technology in your business, have a look at some Pangea vendors that offer these services. These include Z1, Tooplox and Codeus.

If you are looking for ideas on how to use virtual technology in your workplace, a Pangea article on hosting a remote Christmas Party might be just the topical thing.

Finally, the search tool on the Pangea website is to be found here — you may just find your next collaboration partner.

FAQs

Q1. What is Accenture metaverse?

The Accenture Metaverse is aptly named the Accenture Continuum. The reason for this is that there is a view of the metaverse as a contact point between physical and digital realms. This allows for new, innovative approaches to workplace collaboration across geographies.

Q2. How do I get a job at metaverse?

Applications can be made directly through the Accenture Careers website, but alternatives exist in the form of recruitment agencies as well as LinkedIn connections — if you’re lucky and if you’re looking for some insights to begin with. As with anything, put your best foot forward. Jobs in the metaverse are likely to be competitive, since it is a new, sought-after area and there will be many qualified candidates for a select few positions.

Q3. What jobs will be in the metaverse?

As mentioned above, there are jobs ranging from Design to Strategy, including such titles as XR Design Lead, Design Researcher and Senior Engineer, to name a few. This is likely to grow as the Metaverse becomes increasingly ubiquitous and shapes the way we do work. Whichever role is most suited to your experience, make sure to stand out from the crowd — the competition is likely to be fierce.