Accenture has closed a hugely successful 2006 by being named the worldwide leader in HR outsourcing by analysis specialist IDC.
The outsourcing company was described by IDC as “ahead of all competitors in the ability to gain share”.
Accenture signed a seven-year contract with Unilever earlier this year to transform the consumer goods giant’s HR function across 100 countries and 200,000 employees.
This deal was widely seen as a seminal moment in HR outsourcing, and helped Accenture to win the Provider of the Year title at the HR Outsourcing Association Europe awards in November.
IDC programme manager for HR, Lisa Rowan, said this month: “Overall, based on global reach, momentum, market awareness, employees served, and transformational capabilities, Accenture has emerged atop the leader board.”
HR outsourcing is the faster-growing segment of HR services, according to IDC, which forecasts that the market will grow at an annual rate of 16% to reach $26.5bn (£13.4bn) worldwide in 2010.
Accenture managing director of HR, Christian Marchetti, said: “The HR business process outsoucing market is growing fast and Accenture has firmly established its leadership position during the past 12 months.
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“The market opportunity is tremendous and we plan to build upon our leadership by delivering innovative, differentiated, value-driven solutions, reinforcing our commitment to help our clients become high-performing businesses.”
Accenture has about 140,000 employees in 48 countries, and generated revenues of $16.7bn (£8.5bn) for the year ended 31 August 2006.
