Global IT and professional services giant Accenture has announced a one-time bonus for employees, in recognition of their exceptional contributions and dedication towards clients through a challenging year, said a company statement. Applicable to employees below the Managing Director cadre, the bonus will be equivalent to one week of base pay. Presently, Accenture claims to have an employee count of 5,37,00, serving clients in more than 120 countries.

The second quarter of fiscal year 2021 ended February 28, 2021, on a promising note for Accenture, with revenues of $12.1Bn - a jump of eight percent in US dollars and five percent in local currency in comparison to the same period last year, the company said in a statement.

Commenting on the progress and performance over recent months, Accenture CEO Julie Sweet, said, “With our outstanding second-quarter financial results, we have returned to overall pre-pandemic growth ahead of expectations while continuing to take market share faster than before the pandemic.”

“We have seen another quarter of strong, broad-based demand for our services across geographic markets and industries, and delivered record new bookings as well as excellent profitability and free cash flow,” she added.

Stepping up for employees, particularly in India, earlier this month Accenture also announced that it will cover the cost of COVID-19 vaccination for all of its 2,00,000 employees in India as well as their dependents who are enrolled on the company’s medical benefits programme.The bonus announcement comes as a welcome step from Accenture to boost the confidence and appreciate the tireless efforts of employees in the challenging times that to a great extent continue today. 

After a rather turbulent and unprecedented year that demanded employees to up their game, it is now time for employers to demonstrate the acknowledgement, recognition and appreciation for employees as the dust begins to settle. How employers now work towards strengthening their employee experience and prioritize employee well-being, especially as industry reports indicate a dip in physical and emotional well-being on account of burn-out, will determine their ability to retain talent and bolster their people strategy.