With theĚýĚý1H 2026 release,Ěýwe’reĚýdeepening those connections across the HR lifecycle. This release focuses onĚýfourĚýcore priorities:Ěýconnected,Ěýsuite-wideĚýAI; unified experiences that adapt to how organizations work;Ěýprocesses designed for clarity, accuracy, and compliance; and stronger foundations for skills and long-term growth.ĚýTogether, these innovations help organizationsĚýanticipateĚýneeds earlier, reduce friction in daily work, and move forward with greater confidence.Ěý

Connected AI that works across HCM

AI in HR delivers the greatest impact when it works continuously across the entire workforce lifecycle—not as isolated features, but as connected capabilities that share context and insight.

The 1H 2026 release expandsĚýsuite-wideĚýagentic AIĚýacross 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions, helpingĚýemployeesĚýget clearer answers, act sooner, and keepĚýwork movingĚýacross roles and responsibilities.ĚýA connected network ofĚýĚýnow supports areas such as recruiting, workforce administration, payroll, learning, performance, and talent development—working together behind the scenes to helpĚýanticipateĚýnext steps and surface relevant guidance.

This release also introduces a growingĚýworkforce knowledge network, bringing trusted external expertise and research directly into the flow of work through Joule.ĚýTeams can now access expert-backed global employment guidance andĚýresearch-drivenĚýinsights without leaving their workflows—supportingĚýfaster, moreĚýconfident decisions.

ToĚýfurtherĚýsupport learning in the flow of work,Ěýintelligent Q&A inĚýĚýnow helps employees find information more easily. AIĚýcan deliver instant,Ěýcontext-awareĚýresponses drawn directly from an organization’s learning content,Ěýalong with relevant links and resources,Ěýso employees can get answers quickly without searching through courses or documentation.Ěý

Unified experiences that adapt to how work gets doneĚý

As HRĚýtasksĚýbecome more embedded inĚýday-to-day work, experiences need to feel intuitive, connected, and responsiveĚýwherever work happens. In the 1H 2026 release,Ěý51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions continue to unify experiences across the suite, giving employees, managers, and HR teams what they needĚýinĚýthe moment.Ěý

• Connected recruiting and onboarding:ĚýNative integration betweenĚý solutions, , andĚýĚýcan bring AI-enabledĚýrecruiting, core HR, and onboarding together into a single, continuous experience, helping hiring teams move faster whileĚýmaintainingĚýconsistency from candidate through new hire.Ěý

• Tailored experiences,Ěýbuilt faster:ĚýThe newĚýextensibility wizardĚýcan provide guided, step-by-step support for creating custom extensions onĚýĚý(51ˇçÁ÷BTP) directly withinĚýSAPĚýSuccessFactors solutions, making it easier to adapt experiences to unique business needs while preserving governance.Ěý
• Simpler, clearer employee moments:ĚýA redesigned, configurable 401(k) experienceĚýinĚýĚýfor U.S.Ěýemployees helps simplify enrollment and management by clearly explaining employer contributions and guiding deferrals and beneficiary setup, helping employees make informed decisions with confidence.Ěý

Processes designed for clarity, accuracy, and complianceĚý

In the 1H 2026 release, 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors introduces new capabilities that help organizations bring greater clarity and rigor to pay practices.

WithĚýpayĚýtransparency insightsĚýin the , organizations can analyze compensation patterns and potential pay gaps, supporting transparent, data-driven pay practices in-line with evolving regulatory expectations,Ěýincluding in the EU.Ěý

Skills governanceĚýfor sustainable growthĚý

Preparing forĚýwhat’sĚýnext requires trusted, consistent skills data that organizations can rely on across HR, talent, and workforce planning.

In the 1H 2026 release,Ěýwe areĚýstrengtheningĚýtheĚýĚýwith enhancedĚýskills governance, providing a centralized interface to help manage skills, apply governance standards, and ensure alignment across 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions and partner applications. This helps organizations improveĚýskillsĚýdata quality, maintain consistency at scale, and make more confident,Ěýskills-basedĚýdecisions.Ěý

A connected foundation for the future 

ThisĚýreleaseĚýreinforcesĚýSAP’s continued focus on an intelligent, connected HCMĚýfoundation—one designed to evolve with your organization and support confident decisions at every stage of work. By bringing together data, AI, and experiences across the HR lifecycle, theseĚýenhancements help organizations reduce friction today whileĚýlayingĚýthe groundwork forĚýtomorrow.

To explore what’s included in this release, check out the or watch the overview .

Bianka Woelke is group vice president and head of Application Product Management for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors.

But new research from 51ˇçÁ÷and Wakefield* suggests a different reality is emerging. AI isn’t making early talent irrelevant. Instead, it’s accelerating how quickly they become productive, reshaping the earliest stages of work, and raising expectations far earlier in the employee lifecycle.

According to the findings, 88% of CHROs say AI is making early-career talent role-ready faster. This acceleration raises the stakes on both sides. While organizations benefit from faster productivity and earlier impact, early‑career employees are entering roles with heightened expectations and fewer traditional learning buffers—forcing leaders to rethink how success is defined and supported from day one.

AI as an accelerator of readiness

Entry-level roles have long relied on repetitive, lower-stakes tasks that helped new employees learn how work gets done. Today, AI automates much of that foundational execution.

This shift is increasingly common: 79% of surveyed CHROs report that their early-career talent receives enterprise AI tools within their first month on the job. Additionally, 87% expect new hires to be comfortable with AI on day one or learn the tools immediately after joining.

With AI absorbing traditional tasks, early-career talent is stepping into meaningful work sooner—and CHROs are already seeing the impact, with 56% reporting improved confidence and 55% citing increased productivity among those using AI.

This acceleration reflects themes we first explored in the 2025 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Future of Work Predictions , where we examined how AI might reshape entry‑level roles. As foundational tasks continue to be absorbed by AI, the question becomes not whether early‑career roles will exist, but how organizations can redesign them to build capability in new ways.

When productivity accelerates, expectations follow

As early talent ramps faster, the expectations placed on them are rising just as quickly. Several structural factors are contributing to this shift: organizations are hiring fewer early-career talent, and those who do join are expected to take on more complex work earlier in their tenure. Our upcoming research from our makes this clear, as one research participant summarized, “Entry level roles used to be focused on mundane tasks—what should they do now? They bring an incredibly unique perspective; we want to hire early talent to challenge our norms and help us find better ways of working.”

But with AI removing the mundane work, it may also remove many of the gradual, hands-on learning moments that once helped new hires build experience over time.

With these rising expectations, it’s easy to see how the cognitive load of entry level roles could increase substantially. CHROs report heightened performance pressure and increased mental effort as new hires try to keep pace with AI-accelerated work. Some researchers refer to this dynamic as “,” the cognitive strain that comes from managing rapid, AI-driven workflow.

Together, these shifts create several risks for both employees and organizations:

• Shadow AI use rises: 56%of CHROs say early-career talent turns to unsanctioned AI tools when formal guidance is unclear. This behavior may reflect entry-level hires trying to keep pace rather than intentionally breaking policy.
• Inconsistent enablement creates talent risk: 44% of CHROs say uneven access to AI tools increases attrition risk, especially for early talent who may feel unable to live up to new performance expectations without tools to automate routine tasks.
• Foundational skills may erode: Even as AI boosts productivity, 38%of leaders worry early-career talent are not building long-term skills like communication, critical thinking, judgment, and collaboration. That concern is echoed in qualitative feedback from HR leaders as well. As one noted, “We’ve observed gaps in professionalism in business settings for entry‑level talent, from collaboration and stakeholder management [to] ownership and accountability.”

Rethinking the first step into work

As traditional early‑career learning pathways narrow, organizations must now redesign how those learning moments happen. Our research points to several areas where HR leaders can intentionally strengthen the early-career ramp:

1. Build foundational skill development intentionally.

As repetitive tasks disappear, organizations have the opportunity to deliberately create new ways for early talent to build communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and decision-making skills. This can include structured, project-based experiences, clearer decision-making frameworks, and more frequent coaching that focuses on judgement and prioritization, not just task completion.

2. Design entry-level roles around higher-value work.

Early-career employees are capable of contributing more strategically when roles are designed with the right balance of scope and support. Redesigning entry‑level positions to include clear ownership—supported by explicit expectations, mentoring, and well‑defined guidance for decisions and escalation—helps early‑career talent build confidence while managing risk.

3. Establish AI governance from day one.

Without clear guidance, early talent may struggle to understand how to use AI responsibly. Introducing AI expectations during onboarding, reinforcing role-specific best practices, and normalizing manager-led conversations about AI use can reduce shadow AI and build trust in new technologies early on.

4. Ensure equitable AI access across teams and managers.

As expectations rise, uneven access to AI tools can quietly increase workload pressure and stress for early-career employees. Providing consistent access, training, and enablement helps ensure new hires are equipped to meet accelerated demands without increasing burnout or attrition.

The bottom line

AI isn’t eliminating early-career talent from the workforce; it’s reshaping the path they take to become effective and increasing the value of the work they contribute. While entry-level roles may be fewer, expectations for impact are higher, placing greater importance on pairing AI fluency with strong human skills. For new graduates, developing both will not only help them land a job but also enable them to contribute quickly and build lasting capabilities.

When early‑career talent becomes productive sooner, companies can move faster, innovate earlier, and operate more efficiently, but only if that speed is matched with structure, coaching, and intentional development. Organizations that navigate this transition successfully will ensure early talent doesn’t just ramp up faster, but also builds the judgment, collaboration, and critical‑thinking skills that AI can’t replace.

To stay on top of more upcoming research on the impact of AI on entry-level roles, visit our .

Lara Albert is chief marketing officer for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors.

*The 51ˇçÁ÷AI Talent Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com) among 100 US CHROs (or CPO equivalent) at organizations with a minimum annual revenue of $500m where employees are using AI-enabled tools in their day-to-day responsibilities, between February 19th and March 2nd, 2026, using an email invitation and an online survey.

“When we give, we gain” is this year’s , and in the workplace, giving can take many forms: mentoring, advocacy, visibility, resources, and transparency.

For organizations, pay transparency is one of the most tangible ways to “give” in service of gender equality. When employees better understand their compensation, historically underrepresented groups gain clarity and fairness. And when organizations commit to equitable practices, the benefits ripple across the business—from greater trust and engagement to stronger talent outcomes and overall performance.

Transparency starts with accountability

Many organizations are still earlyĚýinĚýtheir pay transparency journey.ĚýAt SAP,Ěýthis has been aĚýmulti-yearĚýeffortĚýgrounded in data, accountability, and action.ĚýEach year, we conduct global internal pay equity analysesĚýcomparingĚýemployees in comparable roles, levels, andĚýgeographiesĚýto ensure compensation is fair, market-aligned, and internallyĚýconsistent. When outliers areĚýidentified, centrally funded adjustments bringĚýpayĚýin-line.

This reflects SAP’s fair pay philosophy: equitable compensation that is transparent and free from bias, forming the foundation for performance-based differentiation.

Technology is central to this approach. 51ˇçÁ÷operationalizes fair pay throughĚýĚýandĚý, embeddingĚýpay analysis, job architecture, and range guidance, so managers can consistently apply structured, explainable decisions during hiring and annual cycles.

Today,Ěýover 99% of 51ˇçÁ÷employees worldwide have transparency into their payĚýrange throughĚýa compensation assistantĚýtool built on (51ˇçÁ÷BTP). This toolĚýintegrates 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors data to display salary ranges across career levels, whichĚýcan replaceĚýguesswork with confidence and can give employees clear insight into their value, career progression, and how pay decisions are made.

From compliance to strategic intelligence: the EU Pay Transparency Directive

The shift from voluntary transparency to regulatory mandate is already underway. For European Union member states, the EU Pay Transparency Directive is driving change by requiring salary range disclosures in advance of the first interview, employee access to pay information, and gender pay gap reporting, with corrective action mandated when unexplained gaps exceed 5%. As implementation timelines approach, HR, legal, and finance teams across the EU are racing to operationalize new transparency requirements, making pay governance a board-level issue for many organizations.

“One of the most meaningful shifts introduced by the EU Pay Transparency Directive is giving employees clearer tools to understand their own compensation. With capabilities like individual pay transparency reports generated through 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Employee Central, employees now have a self-service way to see how their pay compares within their role and organization. That level of visibility is a major step forward for pay equity because it brings clarity to something that historically has been difficult for employees to question or address.”

Anita Lettink, Future of Work and Pay Expert

Compliance is just the starting point. Organizations that embed transparency into everyday HR processes ensure pay decisions are consistent, equitable, and aligned with skills, performance, and business priorities. 51ˇçÁ÷is already preparing customers for this shift, with tools designed to help meet these new requirements confidently.

With EU Pay Transparency Insights, a new capability within the , organizations can:

• Identify structural pay gaps and outliers before they become systemic issues.
• Connect compensation data to job architecture, skills, and performance to inform decisions and governance.
• Generate directive-aligned, ready-to-use reports without heavy manual effort.
• Turn transparency into action, guiding adjustments, equitable promotions, and workforce planning at scale.

These insights complement established fair pay practices—such as structured job architecture, peer-based analysis, and centrally funded adjustments—enabling customers to implement transparent, equitable pay practices while meeting regulatory requirements.

Giving to gain: the leadership opportunity

This International Women’s Day, transparency should be treated as a strategic priority, not a compliance task. Clear, consistent pay practices help employees understand their value and help leaders make smarter, data-driven workforce decisions.

Pay transparency is accelerating, and organizations that act now will be the ones that lead. Don’t miss our upcoming webinar, EU Pay Transparency: Turning Fair and Equitable Pay into Your Strategic Advantage, where Future of Work and Pay expert Anita Lettink will break down the latest regulatory expectations and share best practices for building fair, equitable, and motivating compensation structures. .

Maryann Abbajay is chief revenue officer for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors.

Today, we’re announcing that is now integrated with , working to deliver a unified experience, connected data, and integration with AI companion and to embed intelligent assistance directly into hiring workflows to help teams move faster, make better decisions, and deliver better candidate experiences. This integration, following SAP’s acquisition of SmartRecruiters in September 2025, establishes the foundation for a fully connected talent architecture, where hiring decisions, skills intelligence, and workforce planning can operate as one system.

Advancing intelligent hiring with SmartRecruiters for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors

The solution can deliver a consistent, end-to-end hiring experience designed to meet the scale, speed, and intelligence requirements of modern organizations. By combining intuitive workflows with embedded AI, recruiters can eliminate repetitive administrative tasks and focus on higher value interactions, while candidates move through a streamlined, personalized journey from first touch to offer.

The integration with 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM builds on these capabilities by connecting hiring processes to the full employee lifecycle and the broader business, helping to ensure that every hiring decision is grounded in real-time data and organizational context. Designed for scale, SmartRecruiters for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors helps set the foundation for a complete intelligence layer across hiring and HR, with people, job, and organizational data flowing seamlessly between 51ˇçÁ÷and SmartRecruiters.

Organizations can gain a more predictable hiring process with streamlined workflows, consistent tools, and shared real-time data across each hiring stage. They can expect:

• Single login: one entry point into 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors and SmartRecruiters for recruiters, hiring managers, and approvers
• Unified navigation: a seamless experience across 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors and SmartRecruiters to help reduce complexity and speed up adoption
• Aligned data: synchronized people, job, and organizational data that flows between systems, helping to ensure accuracy and consistency end to end

In practice, core organizational data like job families, cost centers, and locations can flow automatically from 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors into SmartRecruiters, helping to eliminate manual entry and inconsistencies. New roles open with these attributes already applied, and user management is just as smooth: recruiters, hiring managers, and approvers created in 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors appear in SmartRecruiters with the right permissions, helping to reduce errors and keep approval flows and reporting clean. As integration deepens, hiring becomes fully connected to core HR and workforce systems, creating a unified, trusted foundation for talent decisions across the enterprise.

With the enhanced benefits of SmartRecruiters for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors, simple and flexible integration paths are now available for customers currently using the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Recruiting solution. 51ˇçÁ÷will continue to honor all contracts, and customers will not be required to migrate.

Integration that activates enterprise‑ready AI

With SAP’s continued investment, SmartRecruiters for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors is evolving quickly, bringing AI-driven innovation to every part of the hiring experience. High-volume hiring can become high-quality hiring through AI-assisted workflows, including intuitive applications, automated scheduling, intelligent matching, and streamlined interview feedback.

Beginning in 2026, Winston and SAP’s generative AI solution will work together as connected agents. Additionally, new protections such as fraud detection, enhanced consent management, and applicant data transferability will help embed trust in the hiring cycle, strengthening both system integrity and candidate confidence.

From talent acquisition to talent readiness

As organizations look beyond filling roles to building future-proof capabilities, intelligent hiring becomes just one part of a broader talent strategy. The power of integration delivered by SmartRecruiters for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors extends beyond hiring, creating a connected, AI-enabled talent experience across the entire 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM suite and, ultimately, . This is how organizations become skills-ready: hiring decisions tied to outcomes, and employees supported with clear paths to grow and contribute.

See SmartRecruiters for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors in action:ĚýCatch theĚýĚýof our March 5 webinar – “The Future of Intelligent Hiring” – to explore how 51ˇçÁ÷is redefining hiring, talent orchestration, and long-term workforce strategy.

Lara Albert is chief marketing officer, 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors.
Rebecca Carr is CEO of SmartRecruiters, an 51ˇçÁ÷company.

The IDC MarketScape for Worldwide Talent Intelligence evaluates vendors using the IDC MarketScape model, which incorporates quantitative and qualitative factors to assess vendors’ current capabilities and future road maps for delivering value to customers seeking talent intelligence. According to the report, 51ˇçÁ÷was recognized for strengths in “unified and integrated skills framework, embedded AI and analytics, and an open data ecosystem.”

Chasing innovation: powering the skills-based enterprise

At SAP, we have made consistent and strategic investments in skills, talent intelligence, and AI-driven workforce planning.

The talent intelligence hub is a unified skills framework embedded across the entire . It empowers HR with an AI-driven, consistent skills foundation to help optimize talent processes, enrich personalized employee learning experiences, and accelerate skills development—enabling organizations to build an agile, future-ready workforce.

Building on this foundation, skills and intelligence capabilities can be leveraged across multiple product areas. helps transform career growth, internal mobility, and success into a single, AI-powered, skills-based solution, helping to give leaders clear visibility into workforce capabilities while guiding employees to personalized opportunities, so you can build, retain, and deploy the talent your strategy needs to win. (generally available in 1H 2026) can enable optimized shift planning in manufacturing and production by helping to ensure the right people with the right skills are in the right place at the right time to help prevent the costly impacts of understaffing or overstaffing.  And the can bring together people, skills, and business data, from 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions and beyond, into actionable insights that help leaders make more informed people and business decisions.

We are also accelerating innovation with new Joule Agents to help automate repetitive tasks, guide employees with real-time, context-aware support, and enable accuracy across core HR processes, so that HR can focus on strategic people initiatives. The , now generally available, and the upcoming Career and Talent Development and People Intelligence Agents (both planned for 1H 2026) will deliver AI capabilities to help manage performance reviews, compensation planning, skills distribution, retention, personalized development, and succession. And with SAP’s acquisition of SmartRecruiters, we are strengthening our talent acquisition capabilities to deliver an even more unified, intelligence-driven hiring experience.

These innovations help organizations close skills gaps and empower employees with meaningful, data-driven growth opportunities, helping them thrive in an ever-changing workplace.

Customer insights: real outcomes from skills transformation

Our customers say it best when it comes to the impact of our skills-based innovations.

• , a global business and technology partner, is building a skills engine to support the employee lifecycle. “Skills are at the core of our company, as they support both clients and employees. Our promise to ‘get the future you want’ means thinking about future client needs and employee skills and career development. 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM is key in our skills-first approach to our people experience transformation,” Jihane Baciocchini, vice president and head of Talent Acquisition, Capgemini, said.
• , one of the world’s leading pump and water solutions companies, is utilizing the talent intelligence hub functionality of 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions to create a single source of skills information, enabling it to connect people and business needs in new ways. “There’s a consensus that what got us here won’t get us there: we need new skills and capabilities. And that’s where the talent intelligence hub in 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions comes in. It’s helping us build one skills foundation that feeds into critical decisions on talent—and transform skills into something we live and breathe every day,” Mads Kidmose, head of HR Technology and Data Foundation, Grundfos Holding A/S, said.

What’s next

This is a critical moment for HR leaders, as talent intelligence platforms are transforming how organizations hire, develop, and retain their workforce. Looking ahead to 2026, our focus remains on expanding skills-based capabilities and delivering AI solutions that can empower every organization to grow with confidence and thrive.

ReadĚýĚýreport.

Lara Albert is chief marketing officer for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors.

is a next-generation HR help desk and ticketing system, purpose-built for HR. It helps organizations break through those barriers by connecting AI, trusted data, and intuitive experiences to help transform HR service delivery from reactive support to proactive, human-centered impact.

From HR help desk to human impact

51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management gives HR teams a unified HR service delivery platform to help manage service requests, automate workflows, and deliver consistent, guided interactions that can build trust and compliance. By moving beyond a reactive “ticketing” mindset, HR can anticipate employee needs, operating with speed, transparency, and insight, which enables the entire organization to work more efficiently.

Unlike IT-centric tools that treat employees as tickets, 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management brings together context, compliance, and connection—enabling HR to create experiences that feel personal, intelligent, and effortless.

AI for HR: delivering context-driven automation

Automation is only as effective as the context behind it. Unlike standalone AI add-ons, Joule, SAP’s AI copilot, can make every interaction faster, smarter, and more human. Employees can ask questions in everyday language and receive contextual answers grounded in verified HR data and policies.

HR teams benefit from AI-generated case summaries, pre-built templates, personalized e-mail drafts, intelligent case recommendations, and intelligent ticket deflection to help reduce manual effort and speed resolution. With agentic AI, the system continuously learns from every interaction, automatically surfacing insights, suggesting next best actions, and driving service accuracy. HR teams don’t just automate tasks; they deliver smarter, compliant, and more personalized support all within a single, secure HR system.

Connected data that powers intelligent decisions

Unlike many platforms that rely on integrations or duplicated data to connect with HR systems, the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors portfolio is connected by design. Deeply integrated with , 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management can connect every transaction, service case, and policy into a single source of truth for HR. Combined with and , this foundation can turn data into actionable intelligence: surfacing trends, predicting service demand, and improving quality with each interaction. Pre-configured HR scenarios accelerate implementation and reduce time-to-value by providing best-practice case and form definitions that can be tailored to unique organizational processes. Standard integration flows enable HR teams to update employee data directly from within the case, making it easier to get up and running quickly without starting from scratch.

Experience that feels effortless

A great HR service experience isn’t just fast—it feels easy. serves as the digital front door for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management, 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Employee Central, and Joule.

Employees can find answers, submit requests, and collaborate in the flow of work:

• Submit requests and find answers through guided experiences.
• Initiate AI-powered knowledge searches to reduce overall case volume.
• Extend workflows quickly with seamless integration with .

Customer impact in action

Across industries, 51ˇçÁ÷customers are replacing fragmented, IT-led tools with a purpose-built HR service platform, creating measurable gains in employee satisfaction and HR efficiency.

• “By moving to next-generation service requests with [51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors] Enterprise Service Management, we’ve streamlined complex processes like 401(k) transfers and dramatically improved speed, compliance, and employee confidence.”  – 51ˇçÁ÷customer, Technology
• “Employees start in [51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors] Work Zone with Joule, search knowledge first, and only create a case when needed. That reduces case volume and service rep workload.” – 51ˇçÁ÷customer, Consumer Goods
• “We’re designing for consistency—using targeted forms aligned to service categories. Data duplication is minimized while the People Profile serves as the single source of truth.” – 51ˇçÁ÷customer, Manufacturing
• “Our front door is multi-channel—e-mail, phone, and Teams chat—all anchored in the HR knowledge base with smart routing to the right teams.” â€“ 51ˇçÁ÷customer, Aviation
• “One feature that truly stood out for us was the timeline. Finding information in our old system used to be a challenge, but with [51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors] Enterprise Service Management, the timeline view has been a game changer. It gives our teams instant visibility into every interaction and drives new levels of efficiency and clarity. – 51ˇçÁ÷customer, Banking
• “The guided steps for HR service representatives have transformed how our team works. Instead of navigating complex processes, they now follow clear, intuitive paths that ensure every case is handled consistently and efficiently. It’s like having an intelligent assistant built right into the workflow.” – 51ˇçÁ÷customer, Telecommunications
• “The [51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors] Employee Central data mashup within case management has been an absolute game changer. Having real-time employee data visible directly in each case means no more switching between systems. Our HR team can make faster, more informed decisions with complete context at their fingertips.” – 51ˇçÁ÷customer, Manufacturing

From service efficiency to experience intelligence

By uniting AI, data, and experience within the 51ˇçÁ÷ecosystem, 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions can turn HR service delivery into a strategic engine that drives business results.

Organizations can achieve:

• Faster resolution for service issues
• Personalized experiences at scale for every employee
• Actionable insights that improve both HR efficiency and employee engagement

In a world where agility and trust define competitive advantage, HR is no longer a back-office function—it’s a driver of workforce productivity, organizational resilience, and enterprise-wide success.

Learn more about .

Lara Albert is chief marketing officer for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors.

This distinction reflects the voice of customers that consistently highlight the value, innovation, and measurable results delivered by 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions. Solutions that qualify for the Buyer’s Choice award are based on verified reviews received between January 1 and October 17, 2025.

“51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors continues to set the bar for helping organizations build stronger, more connected workforces,” said Allyson Havener, CMO, TrustRadius. “Winning the 2026 TrustRadius Buyer’s Choice award reflects the trust customers have in 51ˇçÁ÷to empower people, foster growth, and create meaningful employee experiences. It’s a well-deserved recognition for a platform that truly puts people at the heart of business success.”

What our customers are saying

On TrustRadius, 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors customers consistently highlight the ability to simplify HR processes, empower employees, and deliver meaningful impact.

• “51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM stands out among other human capital management solutions due to its comprehensive suite of cloud-based tools, strong global compliance capabilities, and seamless integration with other 51ˇçÁ÷systems. Compared to competitors, it offers a more unified experience across core HR, talent management, and workforce analytics, which is essential for organizations looking to scale and adapt quickly.” –
• “With the aid of AI, we have been able to streamline our operations using 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM. Therefore, AI has been so helpful when it comes to improving the management of our workforce when using 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM.” –
• “The greatest benefit of 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM is how it seamlessly integrates across all areas of HR, and even sales/supply chain/finance. That integration across the different areas of the business creates efficiencies that other providers do not offer. I have also been thoroughly impressed by the People Intelligence capabilities that have been offered. The sophisticated reporting fills the need for visualization software like tableau/looker.” –

51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors: powering modern people strategies

51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions bring together every element of a modern people strategy, from core HR and payroll to talent acquisition, talent management, people analytics, and more. With embedded across 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions and (51ˇçÁ÷BTP) enabling flexible extensions and integrations, customers can tailor their solutions to meet their unique needs.

To help our customers stay ahead in a rapidly evolving work landscape, we continuously invest in the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors portfolio, using market insights to deliver the tools and innovations they need to succeed. Last month at Success Connect at 51ˇçÁ÷Connect in Las Vegas, we unveiled the latest advancements designed to optimize operations, deliver actionable workforce insights, and elevate the employee experience. In September, 51ˇçÁ÷acquired SmartRecruiters to help enhance our talent acquisition capabilities, empowering our customers to attract, engage, and hire the right people faster and more intelligently.

Looking ahead, our focus remains on helping our customers harness the power of AI, data, and experience to build more agile, resilient, and people-centric organizations. As workforce expectations continue to evolve, we’re committed to delivering innovations that not only meet the needs of today but anticipate tomorrow’s opportunities—enabling customers to future-proof their people strategies and unlock the full potential of their workforce.

Learn more about and read more For more information about these recognitions, visit the .

Lara Albert is chief marketing officer for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors.

Bekaert aspires to become a people- and data-driven company. This requires a thorough strategic and cultural transformation, in which artificial intelligence plays a crucial role. To get started, the company set priorities, leveraging the already available in its existing HR solutions such as 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions. By focusing on a few embedded AI use cases and creating a stand-alone AI tool on top of that, it started exploring and seeing the AI benefits.

“AI is a means to achieve our goals, a logical extension of our HR strategy,” says Jorn Waterschoot, global head of HR Technology at Bekaert. “AI’s growing capabilities, cost-effectiveness, and versatility are transforming businesses by enhancing user experiences, enabling experimentation, and encouraging adoption. At Bekaert, these strengths are leveraged in HR while carefully managing hidden costs and focusing on end-to-end implementation to maximize AI’s potential. At Bekaert, the goal is to make AI feel like a candy store: once employees experience its versatility, they are encouraged to explore it further.”

First use case: the AI Master Data Assistant

Together with its long-standing partner and , Bekaert worked along a human-centered approach to innovation to identify opportunities and use cases. One of these identified use cases was a stand-alone AI tool that Bekaert used for HR data improvement. This tool was not integrated in the existing software landscape and required of users to extract and import data. 

To improve this laborious process, Flexso helped design and build a custom AI solution, called AI Master Data Assistant, with the help of 51ˇçÁ÷AI Core in 51ˇçÁ÷Business Technology Platform. This new solution has been fully integrated with 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions, using 51ˇçÁ÷Integration Suite. Currently, the solution uses a specific AI model from generative AI hub in 51ˇçÁ÷AI Core. However, the flexibility with various models offered through the generative AI hub capability would allow the partner to use another AI model for this solution in the future.

Who benefits from AI in HR at Bekaert?

The AI Master Data Assistant allows the Bekaert HR teams to enhance data quality by automatically identifying, correcting, and preventing errors in employee records. The assistant can detect inconsistencies, duplicates, and missing information, ensuring that all data is accurate, complete, and up-to-date. In practice, it means that users can enter natural language prompts to get proposals for improvement. Via chat-like conversations, they can standardize formats, correct errors, and validate entries in real time.

For innovation projects, Bekaert usually rolls out new solutions gradually first through a number of role-specific use cases, then deploy them indiscriminately across the organization. For the new AI Master Data Assistant, the HR business partners and HR admin roles benefitted first.

Flexibility for the future

As part of the global 51ˇçÁ÷AppHaus Network, Flexso always strives for a human-centered and sustainable co-innovation approach with its customers. It is about bringing innovation into the hands of people. David Pierre, AI practice lead at Flexso explains: “The AI world is developing so fast. So, the principle in our solution is that we are AI model agnostic. Today, we are using model GPT to support our use case. But if we have a better model in the future, then we can also switch to other models as they are all supported by 51ˇçÁ÷BTP.”

Imke Vierjahn is 51ˇçÁ÷AppHaus communications lead.

With artificial intelligence and digital technologies massively transforming today’s workplace, a crucial question comes to the fore: how can companies maintain focus on the human aspect? Personal contact is indispensable, particularly when it comes to support on people matters. That’s why 51ˇçÁ÷is deliberately pursuing a balanced approach to providing HR support to its employees: modern technologies and AI provide efficient and smart solutions, but personal consulting remains essential to offering employees worldwide the best possible support.

“The world of work around us is changing at breathtaking speed,” says Dr. Christian Schmeichel, global head of People & Culture Services at SAP. “Currently, we have four generations in our workforce, and naturally this changes the requirements and expectations for HR. The P&C Lounge is designed to address complex questions and issues raised by employees that are better resolved through personal conversations than through the HR ticketing system.”

Comprehensive HR support approach based on multi-tier model

51ˇçÁ÷pursues a differentiated approach to employee support, which Schmeichel describes as a “multi-tier model.” Employees can find general HR information comprehensively covered on SAP’s internal portal, while standard requests—such as vacation requests, payroll statements, or certificates—are efficiently handled through self-services and the company’s Shared Service Center. The new P&C Lounge complements these offerings as a new service channel that provides the option for individual conversations when needed. This strategically brings the human factor back to the foreground: “From my perspective, this more personalized consulting approach for complex issues on a company-wide basis was missing. This is the blank spot that we are now strategically filling in our HR service portfolio,” Schmeichel says.

Previously, personal HR consulting was primarily available to managers through business partners or advisors. With the P&C Lounge, all employees now have access to individual consulting for more complex questions, from personal team issues to challenging payroll questions to career development.

The process is straightforward: employees can schedule appointments through a booking tool and are matched with the expert most appropriate for their query. The system displays which HR specialist will conduct the meeting and in which languages they provide consultation. “Whenever possible, the conversation takes place in the local language; otherwise in English,” Schmeichel explains. For payroll questions, a payroll expert is automatically assigned; for career topics, a corresponding specialist. Intelligent matching will occur with AI support.

“The HR employees who serve as experts in the P&C Lounge have been thoroughly familiarized with the new approach beforehand,” Schmeichel says. Personal affinity is also important: employees must have genuine interest in this type of work and are specifically prepared for the expected topics.

Optimization in HR through AI

Surprisingly, it was the increasing use of AI that paved the way for this new format. “This works because we have developed a very smart resource allocation concept, combined with modern technology that ensures the right expert is selected for each topic,” Schmeichel explains.

However, AI will do more than just help find the right expertise for each inquiry; it increasingly supports routine tasks in HR, creating more time to invest in personal care and dialogue. The use of Joule, SAP’s AI copilot, provides employees with a central point of contact and helps enable significantly faster and more intuitive navigation through the diverse digital HR services, relieving the burden on both employees and HR teams in daily operations.

Precisely because technologies like Joule increasingly resolve standard inquiries efficiently, personal conversation in complex situations gains additional importance. Schmeichel also emphasizes this development: “In the past, there were already pilot projects designed to enable this direct contact with the HR department. But only now do we have the technical capabilities for smart resource allocation and the corresponding capacity through the strategic further development of our HR business model.”

People centricity as integral pillar of our people agenda

The rollout of the P&C Lounge began in late 2024 with pilot projects in Italy and Japan. “We deliberately chose two culturally very different countries to see how the offering would be adapted in each,” Schmeichel explains. “While in Italy practically all appointments were booked immediately, Japan’s response was initially reserved for the first two weeks. But then the offering was well-received.”

Following the recent rollout in Germany and the United States, the P&C Lounge is now available to all 110,000 51ˇçÁ÷employees in over 70 countries. 51ˇçÁ÷adapts the offering to local conditions. For example, in the United States, due to vast geographical distances, there will be a stronger virtual component, while in other regions primarily in-person meetings are offered.

With the P&C Lounge, 51ˇçÁ÷positions itself as a pioneer for an HR strategy that places people at the center in the AI age. “In the current transformation- and technology-driven changes to the world of work, we at 51ˇçÁ÷can position ourselves as an attractive employer—with the human component being put at the center,” Schmeichel explains.

Customer interest is significant: “We currently see great interest in customer conversations to learn more about how 51ˇçÁ÷deliberately emphasizes and supports the human factor in times of artificial intelligence.”

The P&C Lounge is a perfect example of this approach of meaningfully combining technology and human interaction. “Our ambition with the P&C Lounge is to set new standards for what is possible in global HR support,” Schmeichel concludes. “It’s about the optimal combination of people-centricity and modern technology in a new world of work.”

The key to navigating this complexity and building a resilient, future-proof organization lies not in guesswork but in harnessing an organization’s most valuable and often underutilized asset: its people data. By adopting a , HR can evolve from a reactive administrative function into a proactive, strategic driver of business success.

A unified view of your workforce

The first and most significant hurdle for many organizations is the prevalence of data silos. When critical workforce information is scattered across disconnected HR, finance, and operational systems, it is impossible to get a clear, holistic view of the organization. This fragmentation is a major barrier to progress, leading to inefficiencies and compromised decision-making and preventing leaders from seeing the critical connections between their people and business outcomes.

Establishing a HR analytics dashboard as single source of truth for all people-related data is the foundational step. By harmonizing data from across the enterprise, leaders can gain real-time visibility into workforce composition, compensation equity, and internal mobility. This unified view fosters a culture of transparency and provides the clarity needed to make confident, data-backed decisions about organizational structure and .

Turning data into insight with AI

Simply collecting vast amounts of data is not enough. The true power is unlocked when that data is transformed into actionable, forward-looking intelligence. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) and people analytics become essential. The adoption of these technologies is accelerating as well. According to IDC’s Human Capital Management Survey, 59% of HR talent teams and people leaders are strategizing around new use cases for AI-backed workforce analytics.^*

AI-powered applications can analyze complex data sets to identify patterns, trends, and provide tailored recommendations. This allows HR leaders to forecast talent upskilling and reskilling needs, identify employees at risk of attrition, and understand the drivers of engagement so they can proactively address issues before they impact the bottom line.

Driving strategic results across HR

When a foundation of unified data is combined with the power of , the strategic impact can become tangible across all HR functions, driving better employee experiences.

First, consider employee engagement and retention. Disengagement is a critical issue, with companies facing a 92% likelihood of performance-related revenue losses when employees are disengaged.^** A data-driven approach helps uncover the root causes of turnover by analyzing feedback, performance, and compensation data. This allows organizations to address issues related to skills, workforce composition, or compensation, improving retention and building a more engaged workforce.

Second, in the face of a growing skills gap, data is indispensable. The World Economic Forum predicts that 59% of the global workforce will require reskilling by 2030 to meet changing demands.^*** The allows organizations to map the skills their workforce has against the skills they will need, identifying critical gaps with precision. AI-enabled intelligence applications can then help create for employees, ensuring that training investments are targeted, effective, and directly aligned with future business needs.

Finally, a data-driven strategy revolutionizes the hiring process. By analyzing metrics like time-to-fill, quality of hire, and source effectiveness, organizations can streamline recruiting, reduce bias, and make stronger hiring decisions. This not only enhances the quality of hires but also creates significant efficiencies and time savings, freeing up teams to focus on building relationships with top candidates.

The path to building a resilient and competitive organization is paved with data. By breaking down silos, leveraging the power of AI, and applying insights across the employee lifecycle, businesses can transform their people strategy. This evolution elevates HR into a critical strategic partner, capable of guiding the organization with clarity and confidence. In today’s landscape, a data-driven people strategy is no longer a future aspiration but a present-day necessity for success.

Interested in learning more about how People Intelligence can transform your HR strategy? on the latest trends shaping the future of talent and learn more about the latest AI and data-driven innovations in 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions.

Ponti Manolides is a growth priority marketing lead for Learning & Talent at 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors.

*IDC, “Spotlight: Optimize Engagement and Business Impact to Maximize the Potential of Your Talent Practice” August 2025.
**IDC, “,” 2025.
***World Economic Forum, “,” January 7, 2025.

According to Fosway, vendors recognized as Strategic Leaders provide a rich suite of capability across a broad scope of features and have the sophistication to meet the needs of complex enterprise-scale customers. Strategic Leaders also have strong market performance and customer advocacy.

“The Cloud HR market remains fiercely contested and continually innovative,” said Dr. Sven Elbert, head of Analyst Services at Fosway Group. “The solution providers that thrive in this environment are the ones that maintain their momentum, expand their scope and sophistication, and leverage AI to gain competitive edge, as 51ˇçÁ÷has done and continues to do. 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors is again named a Strategic Leader in 2025.”

Innovation that delivers impact 

This recognition underscores SAP’s commitment to innovation for its community of over 10,000 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors customers worldwide. Over the past year, 51ˇçÁ÷has delivered significant advancements across 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM, many supported by AI, designed to help customers close skills gaps, boost productivity, and support their people at every stage of the employee journey.

The 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors first half 2025 product release introduced over 250 new capabilities designed to increase efficiency, elevate the employee experience, and drive business impact.

At 51ˇçÁ÷Sapphire Orlando in May, 51ˇçÁ÷unveiled several new solutions and product enhancements, including:

• The can harmonize customers’ people, skills, finance, and business data into AI-driven workforce insights, enabling HR and business leaders to make smarter, more proactive decisions.
• The , our first HR Agent, equips managers with critical insights to help foster more productive conversations with employees.
• , our new HR service delivery solution, can accelerate ticket case resolutions with AI, allowing employees to quickly get answers to their questions reducing the administrative burden on HR teams.
• helps accelerate adoption of 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions by offering users in-app, contextual guidance while also giving HR teams the insights they need to continuously optimize workflows.

Building on this momentum, last week 51ˇçÁ÷completed its acquisition of SmartRecruiters, a leading talent acquisition software provider. This move further strengthens SAP’s ability to help customers attract and retain top talent in today’s highly competitive market.

Delivering value for customers worldwide

Organizations of all sizes are rethinking how they manage their people—balancing efficiency with innovation, global consistency with local needs, and business growth with employee experience. In Europe, 51ˇçÁ÷is a trusted partner in this journey, helping companies tackle complex workforce challenges and prepare for the future of work.

Frit Ravich

Family-run snacks company transformed its HR operations and reinforced its company culture, built on innovation and belonging, by choosing 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions. Now, with plans to become a skills-driven organization and double its sales, Frit Ravich is adopting AI in conjunction with 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions to expand career development opportunities and improve the employee experience.

“The Joule copilot will change the way we interact with our people on a daily basis. This does not mean that we’ll lose out on direct contact with them, but rather it will make HR interactions faster, more accessible, and more convenient, with 24×7 access,” said Rebeca Montilla, talent manager, Frit Ravich S.L.

Menzies Aviation 

As a global leader in aviation services “working above and below the wing,” Menzies provides a myriad of services, including ground services, fueling, air cargo handling, and executive services, together with comfortable lounges at more than 295 airports in 65 countries.

By choosing 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions, Menzies now has a unified platform to help it attain data-driven insights for business agility and provide a modern employee experience with opportunities for learning and career development.

Today, Menzies no longer needs to estimate how many employees it has at any given time. Having a single source of data means that it can pull up this information at the push of a button for the present as well as the historical past for comparison. “We can start to see trends, so we can start to understand what our future models would look like as well,” said Sarah Mackinlay, senior vice president of People Projects & Integrations at Menzies Aviation. “Being able to have business insight and business data to make decisions has been really important on our continued journey with 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors and supporting our global strategy.”

“For us, this journey is about having a single source of truth with global consistency, data insight, and visibility yet maintaining local data ownership. Data security and integrity are at the very core,” she added.

Powering workforces for the future

As organizations face growing skills gaps, heightened employee expectations, and pressure to do more with limited resources, 51ˇçÁ÷continues to introduce new solutions to help customers tackle their most pressing business and workforce challenges. at 51ˇçÁ÷Connect, October 6-8 in Las Vegas—or virtually on October 9—to explore how our latest advancements can drive real impact across your organization.

.

Lara Albert is chief marketing officer at 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors.

About the Fosway 9-Grid™ 
Fosway Group is Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst. The Fosway 9-Grid™ provides a unique assessment of the leading learning and talent solutions available to organizations in EMEA. The analysis is based on extensive independent research and insights from Fosway’s Corporate Research Network of over 250 organizations, including BP, HSBC, PwC, RBS, Sanofi, Shell, and Vodafone.
Visit the Fosway website at www.fosway.com for more information on Fosway Group’s research and services. 

51ˇçÁ÷was once again recognized for its ability to execute and completeness of vision. Gartner defines cloud HCM suites for 1,000+ employee enterprises as cloud application suites that deliver functionality for attracting, developing, engaging, retaining, and managing employees.

provides global HR cloud software to over 10,000 customers worldwide, from startups and mid-sized companies to large enterprises. With a strong global core, embedded AI capabilities, and a robust partner ecosystem, 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors empowers organizations with the technology to help unlock their workforce potential. By combining skills intelligence and flexible HCM solutions, our solutions can enable organizations to stay future-ready and continuously adapt in an ever-changing world.

Shaping the future of work

At 51ˇçÁ÷Sapphire in May, we announced several exciting innovations and new product offerings designed to transform how HR and business leaders manage, empower, and support their people, including:

• , our first HR agent, equips managers with critical insights to help foster more meaningful and productive conversations with employees.
• can accelerate adoption of 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions by offering users contextual guidance while also giving HR teams insights into where there may be gaps.
• helps unify customers’ people, skills, finance, and business data into AI-driven workforce insights—enabling HR and business leaders to make smarter, more proactive decisions that drive measurable outcomes.
• , our new HR service delivery solution, can accelerate ticket case resolutions with AI, giving employees self-service tools to quickly get answers while freeing up HR teams from time-consuming tasks.

Our first half 2025 release also brought over 250 new innovations designed to address any business need and help organizations stay ahead of the curve, including Joule on mobile, redesigned candidate and alumni journeys in recruiting and onboarding, an enhanced user experience in 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Employee Central, and more.

As organizations continue to face growing skills gaps, 51ˇçÁ÷is committed to helping its customers attract and retain top talent in an increasingly competitive landscape. On September 11, 51ˇçÁ÷completed its acquisition of SmartRecruiters, a leading talent acquisition software provider, further strengthening the ability to support customers across the entire hire-to-retire journey.

Driving impact across industries

Customers across industries and sizes are unlocking measurable value from the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM portfolio.

• , a subsidiary of Honda Motor Company Ltd., is powering EV innovation with a skills-based talent strategy. “The business AI capabilities in 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions empower us to be a better company, automotive producer, and mobility leader. These tools will give our associates the flexibility to gain efficiencies and the opportunity to upskill and reskill as needed, creating an interconnected environment where they can perform at their best,” said Tim Grimminger, HR Data and Technology manager, American Honda Motor Company Inc.
• , a leading bank in Argentina, is transforming its HR operations with 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions. “Incorporating AI technology greatly simplified the hiring experience for both the candidates and the recruiters who perform these tasks,” said Florencia Varise, Analytic Hub and IT Ecosystem lead, Galicia.
• , a global business and technology partner, is building a skills engine to support the employee lifecycle. “Skills are at the core of our company, as they support both clients and employees. Our promise to ‘get the future you want’ means thinking about future client needs and employee skills and career development. 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM is key in our skills-first approach to our people experience transformation,” said Jihane Baciocchini, vice president and head of Talent Acquisition, Capgemini.

Unlocking workforce potential

Looking ahead, we’re excited to continue delivering innovations that help our customers increase organizational agility and productivity, accelerate growth, and make every employee a success story.

, October 6-8 in Las Vegas, Nevada, or virtually on October 9, to learn about our latest innovations and how to build a workforce that’s ready for what’s next.

Lara Albert is chief marketing officer at 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors.

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product, or service depicted in its research publications and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, and Magic Quadrant is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
This graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research document and should be evaluated in the context of the entire document. The Gartner document is available upon request from SAP.

Attracting and hiring the best talent is more important and more competitive than ever before. According to the , 70% of organizations plan to hire new staff with emerging in-demand skills by 2030. Yet, more than three-quarters of board members and C-suite executives regard skills and talent availability as a for their organizations.

The message is clear: hiring isn’t just an HR challenge. It’s a business imperative.Ěý

With SAP’s recent acquisition of SmartRecruiters, we are thrilled about the opportunity to help our customers face this challenge head-on. As entrepreneurs and business leaders, we’ve been at the forefront of innovation in the HCM market, and we recognize that we are at a pivotal moment that demands more than incremental improvements. Together, we’re excited to deliver bold innovation and flexibility to help our customers not only attract and hire top talent, but to continuously nurture that talent to learn, grow, and push the boundaries of what is possible.Ěý

Uniting talent acquisition and HCM leadership

51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM is an AI-enabled global suite of HR solutions, expanding across core HR and payroll, talent management, employee experience, analytics, and more. SmartRecruiters is a leading recruiting AI company with the mission of making hiring easy and deep expertise in high-volume recruiting, recruitment automation, and AI-enabled candidate sourcing, experience, and engagement.

Individually, we have led the way in building robust talent acquisition software to empower thousands of organizations to attract, engage, and hire the best talent. United, we are amplifying our impact.

Combining the scale of 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors, the depth of 51ˇçÁ÷Business AI, and the expertise of SmartRecruiters will result in robust benefits for our customers.

• User-friendly interfaces and seamless workflows will provide improved decision-making, reduced time-to hire, and better experiences for candidates, hiring managers, and recruiters.
• Enhanced AI-enabled recruiting and hiring capabilities will deliver faster, smarter, and more equitable recruiting experiences — all with the relevant, reliable, and responsible approach of 51ˇçÁ÷Business AI. We will be able to enhance our ability to deliver intelligent candidate recommendations, predictive hiring insights, and personalized candidate experiences.
• The benefits of bringing our products together extend beyond the hiring process. A single system of record and harmonized data across SmartRecruiters and 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors will provide rich insights into talent pools, hiring bottlenecks, and workforce planning — because talent acquisition is only the start of an employee’s journey with an organization.Ěý

Talent acquisition is no longer just about filling roles. Together, 51ˇçÁ÷and SmartRecruiters will help organizations build smarter, more resilient workforces that are agile, skills-driven, and ready to meet the future head-on.

Dan Beck is general manager and chief product officer for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors.
Rebecca Carr is CEO of SmartRecruiters, an 51ˇçÁ÷company.

With AI-powered innovation and a unified approach to HR service delivery, organizations can create the seamless, connected experiences employees expect while unlocking new levels of efficiency and strategic impact for HR. That’s exactly what 51ˇçÁ÷is enabling with the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management solution, recently delivered in the 1H 2025 release and now available.

Leading companies like , a global producer of natural ingredients for the food and beverage industry, are already seeing the impact, with benefits such as:

• 33% reduction in case resolution times
• 4X productivity increase
• 80% reduction in e-mail writing time using generative AI

Paul Wittig, head of HR Operations & Services, Döhler, said, “Enterprise service management for HR is a huge step towards a more digital and, therefore, more transparent and structured way of work.”

The future of HR service delivery is now

The employee experience is shaped not just by big career moments, but by everyday opportunities, interactions, and the ability to get support when it’s needed. That’s why one of the most critical HR touchpoints in any organization is the HR help desk—and it’s also one of the most overburdened.

HR service reps at large enterprises often work in shared business centers and are responsible for managing high case volumes and diverse requests, ensuring accuracy and compliance. They may process hundreds of service requests in a month, each taking 1-3 days to resolve depending on the complexity of the issue, leaving employees waiting for the answers they need and HR teams overwhelmed by volume.

But this model is evolving—advancements in technology solutions are fundamentally reshaping how this work gets done. It’s no longer just about processing more cases, faster. It’s about preventing many of those cases from being raised in the first place. Intelligent, AI-powered tools enable employees to find answers independently, reducing case volumes and allowing HR teams to focus on more complex issues that require human expertise.

According to Gartner*, “By 2025, 70% of organizations with more than 2,500 employees will have invested in an HR service management solution.”

The momentum is clear, and organizations taking action are already seeing the benefits: reduced case volumes, faster resolution times, and a more seamless experience for both employees and HR teams.

The potential of AI to transform service delivery is also reflected in recent 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors research. In one survey, 89% of employees said their workplace experience would improve if they could use AI to get answers to HR questions. In a related survey, HR leaders identified self-service and other AI-enabled administrative tasks as the most valuable use cases for their teams—freeing them from repetitive requests and creating space for more meaningful conversations with employees, from career development to conflict resolution.

The question is: what does HR service really look like in an era where embedded AI has the potential to transform not just the speed, but the entire nature of support?

The benefits of a single cloud platform, powered by AI

51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management enables organizations to completely reimagine HR service delivery with a unified cloud platform powered by AI.

Enhancing the employee experience is among the top benefits of 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management. Delivering added value to HR, the solution can harness the power of AI to help search, analyze, and update the underlying knowledge base and policy data, enabling it to better address employees’ questions in the future before cases are generated. can give employees instant access to the answers and support they need through collaboration tools, a rich knowledge base, and omnichannel self-service experiences.

For example, imagine an employee with questions about parental leave. Instead of submitting a case and waiting for an HR response, the employee can simply ask Joule the question from directly within the platform. Joule can provide accurate, personalized guidance based on company policies and the employee’s specific eligibility, helping to instantly resolve the inquiry without any manual intervention. If the question is more complex or requires documentation, the technology helps seamlessly create and route the case to an HR service rep, along with all relevant details, working to ensure fast, informed support. The best part: Joule can be accessed from anywhere across 51ˇçÁ÷and is not just contained within HR.

The solution also benefits HR teams by helping to simplify daily operations and significantly scale efficiency. 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management can enhance HR service delivery behind the scenes with AI-driven case management, automated document handling, and intelligent knowledge updates, working to reduce manual effort for service reps and improve compliance. AI at work is central to this process, enabling auto-classification of service requests, content summarization to give agents a concise, contextual view of each case, and next-best action recommendations to help resolve issues quickly and effectively. The solution can continuously learn from past interactions, helping to make classification and resolution processes smarter and more accurate over time. Generative AI can further elevate efficiency by automatically generating clear interaction summaries, consistent resolution recaps, and professional, personalized e-mail drafts—helping to accelerate case handling, enhance communication quality, and ensure a more seamless, consistent service experience for both employees and HR teams.

With embedded 51ˇçÁ÷Analytics Cloud, HR teams can gain real-time visibility into service performance, enabling data-driven decisions to further optimize operations and elevate the employee experience.

A win for the business, employees, and HR

51ˇçÁ÷customers that already use 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Employee Central for core HR are well positioned to quickly implement and reap the benefits of 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management. Together, these solutions can create a unified, AI-powered foundation that can deliver personalized, compliant HR support at every touchpoint.

Real-time, trusted core HR data from 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Employee Central helps ensure employees receive accurate, context-aware support, while quick actions embedded in the solution can make it easy to complete common HR tasks with just a few clicks—all within the flow of work. Within 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management’s case management experience, HR service reps can also benefit from direct access to the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Employee Central people profile, available as a mash-up, helping to provide immediate, secure visibility into relevant employee information without the need to switch systems. The solution can extend core 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM investments with a secure, compliant service layer to help maintain centralized data governance, streamline service processes, and reduce manual effort—working to ensure a seamless, intuitive experience for employees and HR teams alike.

We all know that HR is not just a back-office function. It is central to shaping employee experience and driving business outcomes. With 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management, powered by 51ˇçÁ÷Business AI, organizations can deliver the support employees expect while reducing HR workloads and improving efficiency. The result? A triple win for the business, employees, and HR.

Learn more about .

Lara Albert is chief marketing officer at 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors.

*Source: Gartner: Market Guide for Integrated HR Service Management solutions, May 2024

TrustRadius is a leading B2B software review platform, and its Top Rated awards recognize vendors with high customer satisfaction, based on verified customer reviews.

“Our Top Rated awards are based entirely on authentic customer feedback, and 51ˇçÁ÷has clearly earned the trust of its users. 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM stands out for its comprehensive approach to talent management, employee experience, and core HR functions,” said Allyson Havener, CMO at TrustRadius.

This year, 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors earned 12 Top Rated honors across a range of categories, reflecting the breadth and depth of our HCM suite:

• Applicant Tracking
• Compensation Management
• Talent Management
• Workforce Analytics
• Sales Incentive Compensation Management
• HR Management
• Workforce Management
• Employee Performance Management
• Sales Performance Management
• Corporate Learning Management
• Succession Planning
• International Payroll

More than 10,000 customers across the globe trust 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions to help them unlock the full potential of their people. Together, we’re reshaping workforces to be more adaptive, intelligent, and aligned with business goals—guided by real-time insights, assisted by AI, and connected across every corner of the enterprise.

In the past year, 51ˇçÁ÷has delivered powerful innovations that are redefining the HR experience. The 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors first-half 2025 release introduced more than 250 innovative features and enhancements designed to help organizations address any business need and stay ahead of the curve.

Last month at 51ˇçÁ÷Sapphire, 51ˇçÁ÷announced new innovations to help HR leaders navigate rapid change and address skills gaps, including the first of our and three new solutions: the , , and .  

Together, these innovations can enable our customers to navigate today’s business demands while building a foundation for the future.

But don’t just take our word for it. Here’s a look at what our customers are saying:

• “51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM is considered a ‘best of breed’ for a reason. The fact that it does allow for in-depth customization, and its ability to be tailored not only to individual business needs, but also it allows for best practice follow-up while ensuring organizations remain compliant with several legal requirements.” –
• “Effectiveness of the software in payroll figures and tax management. The software is easy to set up and implement even by unskilled persons. The pricing of the product is favorable for beginners and small organizations. The availability of unlimited customizable templates and dashboards makes the platform reliable and eloquent. Customer support services providers are available 24/7 and ready to help in real time.” –
• “Day-to-day HR tasks are automated, which relieves the company from repeated manual tasks. The process of recruitment and performance management has improved. The operation cost of HR operations has been reduced. Talent and compensation management have improved. Human resource planning has become more efficient with data-driven decision-making. The onboarding process has been enhanced, cutting the company’s time and effort.” –

Learn more about and read our customer reviews on .

Lara Albert is chief marketing officer for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors.

TUI implemented eight years ago, and now the company’s over 41,000 employees use various 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions for performance management, talent management, learning, HR data management, and more. “With so many capabilities and so many employees, as you can imagine, it’s a steep learning curve for our employees,” Dean said. This is where TUI turned to to help standardize and automate its HR processes for an improved employee experience and increased efficiency.

Benefits for the business and employees

TUI faced three main challenges when it came to HR processes, Dean explained: employees struggled to learn new systems, legacy training approaches were expensive and difficult to maintain, and time-consuming HR tasks were impacting overall business operations. “We needed something that was going to bring us into the future but that could support the organization as well,” Dean said. The solution also needed to be available 24/7 and in multiple languages to effectively support TUI’s global employee base, which includes flight attendants, pilots, travel agents, and other seasonal roles.

TUI implemented WalkMe to help employees navigate the company’s HR processes more easily and efficiently as well as aid HR staff members. With WalkMe analytics, TUI can identify where users have challenges in existing processes and then build WalkMe solutions to create personalized and automated experiences to help mitigate those challenges. For employees, this can mean the software feels easier to use; for HR staff and the business, it can lead to fewer employee and manager errors and faster time-to-value for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions.

Dean described how WalkMe automation helped simplify TUI’s onboarding processes for new employees by automatically assigning e-mail addresses in the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors system during the hiring process to reduce login issues on an employee’s first day. This not only improved the new hire experience, it also saved HR teams time and proactively addressed any errors.      

TUI also simplified the time-off request process for HR staff and employees.    

“We set up a process whereby if somebody is booking sick leave and they have annual leave at the same time, WalkMe will intercept them. It will say ‘You’ve actually got holiday at the same time so we need you to cancel that holiday and put it through as sick time,’” Dean said. “What that means then for us is that we’ve got less questions going to HR, less tickets being raised, and more people following the actual process for their region.”

The data speaks volumes

WalkMe analytics can offer visibility into what software is being used and how. With this insight, companies can identify opportunities for improved efficiency and deploy in-app guidance and automations to address specific points in processes. “One of the real benefits of WalkMe is how the data that is available helps us make decisions around how we support employees and how we build digital adoption solutions for our employees,” Dean said. “We’ve focused a lot on the data that’s within the annual employee process and how our users are actually using their system currently.”

Analyzing aggregated annual employee form process data collected by WalkMe over 90 days, Dean saw that HR completed the process with no errors 70% of the time, completed the process with some errors 5% of the time, and did not complete the process 23% of the time. Even more, Dean could see where the errors were occurring and where users who didn’t complete the form were getting stuck. Based on this data, Dean used WalkMe to highlight the most-missed fields on the form, reminding users to complete them before moving on. “If 5% of the time they don’t know that information, I need to do something when they get here to say, ‘Please make sure you have this information before you carry on.’ So, I’m telling them in advance they need to have that, which I can do with WalkMe,” she said.

When asked how easy the analytics dashboards are to build, Dean explained that WalkMe gathers all the forms automatically so there’s no need to build anything additional. With WalkMe flow analytics, you set up the process step-by-step and then the report collects data over time. “It’s super quick and easy. With UI intelligence you get an out-of-the-box set of insights that shows usage of forms in the system. It shows me where people stop and start processing and points of friction,” she said.

Self-service employees

TUI’s brand purpose to “create the moments that make life richer” not only applies to its customers, but extends to its employee base as well. With the help of WalkMe and 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions, TUI has certainly succeeded in enriching and empowering HR and end users.

“What we’ve been able to see is 80% higher employee self-efficiency,” Dean said. “So the good news is they don’t need to contact their local support team because actually what they can do is go into our WalkMe menu and search for any of the content, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, across six different languages.” TUI has also experienced 70% less time spent on training, a 40% increase in task completion, and 50% fewer support calls with the help of WalkMe.

For Dean herself, WalkMe has enhanced her role as a trainer: “It actually supports me to do that change management piece within my organization. It supports me to educate and enable our end users without me having to be available and fly all around the world.”

Discover how  can help drive adoption and streamline HR processes.

Gillian Hixson is an integrated communications specialist at SAP.

It is happening right now, and employees are feeling the impact. They are being asked to learn new skills and work differently, all while managing return to office and intensified geopolitics.Ěý

HR is at the center of it all – from responding to changing regulations in order to maintain compliance, to forecasting workforce needs and new skills gaps, to helping employees learn how to integrate AI into their roles. The reality is that HR is being asked to make informed and strategic decisions quickly and all employees are expected to work smarter and faster.Ěý

At 51ˇçÁ÷Sapphire, we announced several new 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors innovations to support organizations in navigating this rapid change. These innovations leverage the power of 51ˇçÁ÷Business Suite – including our unmatched business data and AI – to further strengthen our global reach and connection across the enterprise that only 51ˇçÁ÷can provide.Ěý

Unrivaled AI to boost employee productivity and engagement 

51ˇçÁ÷is leading the market with groundbreaking advances, helping organizations accelerate business outcomes and deliver best-in-class employee experiences. Within , AI is embedded across every product. Additionally, SAP’s AI copilot Joule is available on mobile and Joule understands more than 10 languages. Customers are already seeing incredible results.Ěý

At 51ˇçÁ÷Sapphire, we introduced the first of our HR agents, the Performance and Goals Agent, to give managers critical insights and drive more productive conversations with their employees. To put this into perspective, imagine you are a people manager. The Performance Agent, via Joule, can alert you that you have a performance review with one of your employees coming up but that they do not have any peer feedback. The agent can work on your behalf to collect feedback from your employee’s peers, summarize that feedback, and prepare you before your conversation.

With many more agents coming, these will collectively work together to reason and execute cross-functional, end-to-end processes.Ěý

Unmatched data to take the doubt out of decision-making 

Geopolitical instability is making workforce planning more challenging and unpredictable. Whether it’s in response to tariffs, regulations, or shifting business priorities, HR leaders need the ability to quickly access data and insights to make strategic recommendations. 

People Intelligence in 51ˇçÁ÷Business Data Cloud is a that transforms people, skills, finance, and other business data into readily available, AI-driven workforce insights. For example, HR and business leaders can ask questions like “Do we have the right mix of employees and contractors?” or “Which skills will be in high demand based on upcoming business initiatives?” With these insights, they can make proactive, informed decisions to take more strategic actions, drive higher employee engagement, and ensure compliance.ĚýĚý

More efficient workflows to drive employee productivity 

If the demand from employees and leaders alike is to facilitate ways for employees to work smarter and faster, automation and built-in guidance is key to helping them adopt new tools. 

With , we are helping organizations speed up adoption of 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions. Employees can receive contextual guidance and automation for critical HR workflows. At the same time, HR leaders can access insights on how employees are using these tools to understand where there may be gaps or challenges. No-code content creation tools make it easy to customize in-app guidance and optimize workflows, helping employees quickly adapt. This means more productivity, reduced training costs, and maximized investments – all in the flow of work.Ěý

We have also introduced a new HR service delivery solution, , to accelerate ticket case resolutions. Employees can access more self-service tools to quickly get answers and resolutions. AI-driven case management tools, powered by core HR data, enable service reps to work faster and smarter — guiding them through complex scenarios with automation, dynamic forms, AI-generated case summaries, and email drafts — boosting efficiency, compliance, and resolution speed.

Helping HR lead through change

These new innovations are strengthening the entire 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM portfolio. AI is embedded, ubiquitous, and in almost all cases, accessible via Joule.

By combining business, HR, and skills data with unrivaled AI and fully integrated analytics, 51ˇçÁ÷is giving our customers the tools they need to keep up with the rapid pace of change. The impact? Employees and leaders can be more productive, make more informed decisions, and deliver more value.

Dan Beck is president and chief product officer for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors.

In today’s fast-changing world of work, hiring the right talent has never been more critical—or complex. HR and talent acquisition leaders are under growing pressure to deliver fast results, navigate rising uncertainty, and keep up with rapidly evolving skills needs in their business.

According to the World Economic Forum’s , 63% of employers cite skills gaps in the labor market as the primary barrier to business transformation, while 86% expect AI to significantly transform their business over the next five years. The study also reports that talent availability is declining, making it harder for organizations to find the right talent with the right capabilities needed for the future. At the same time, organizations are rethinking their approaches to hiring, embracing AI and moving toward more agile, skills-based strategies to compete for talent in a dynamic and evolving job market. 

That’s why selecting the right technology partner matters now more than ever. Organizations need a solution that can help them stay ahead of change, drive smarter hiring, and fuel growth and long-term business success. “Talent acquisition priorities are changing, leading to evolving concentrations and points of entry in an increasingly diversifying vendor space in the market,” says Zachary Chertok, senior research manager, Employee Experience at IDC. “Increased pressures to reduce the time to place qualified talent in roles that fill persistent and evolving skills gaps are leading talent acquisition buyers to rethink their approaches to hiring and the tools that support them.”

51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors is proud to be named a Leader in the . 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions can empower organizations of all sizes to address the ever-changing challenges of hiring in today’s complex, skills-driven world of work.

The report analyzes the expansive talent acquisition ecosystem, evaluating 22 vendors for user experience, native solution capabilities, future development pipelines, and company criteria, including size, scope, geographic reach, and future growth targets. We believe 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors’ position as a Leader reflects visionary product strategy, continuous innovation, comprehensive solution functionality, and demonstrated customer value and satisfaction. The IDC MarketScape states, “51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Recruiting is part of the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM suite and provides AI-enabled tools, resources, and services to support recruiters and talent teams to source and align talent to their best-fit connection points within the organization.” Highlighting 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors’ strengths, the report mentions, “51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors customers find that the solution provides them with deep insights drawn from across the existing and modeled workforce. 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors’ AI and analytical capabilities support clients to tie candidate-centric hiring practices into the evolving and modeled skilling and position needs of the organization.”

Helping companies hire smarter and faster

Hiring today isn’t just about filling open roles. It’s about building strong talent pipelines, finding people with the right skills and potential, creating exceptional candidate experiences, and aligning every hire to overall HR and business goals. and offer comprehensive, AI-enabled solutions that can simplify global hiring to help organizations attract, engage, and hire top talent with the right skills needed today and in the future.

The IDC MarketScape notes, “51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Recruiting helps recruiters maintain fluid and flexible organizational talent pipelines that retain and progressively match high-performing talent to where they are best fit within the evolving organization.” The report continues, “Overall, recruiters and talent acquisition teams find that 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors’ recruiting and talent acquisition capabilities are feature rich, support dynamic and evolving compliance and sourcing needs, and support custom and AI-informed workflows and candidate progression.” 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions can enable organizations to accelerate hiring with AI-enabled talent acquisition capabilities, including AI-enhanced job descriptions, AI-assisted applicant screening, AI-recommended interview questions, AI-driven skills-based job recommendations, AI-assisted onboarding and offboarding, AI-assisted writing, and AI-driven interview summarization.

Adopting the right AI-enabled talent acquisition strategy is what puts innovative businesses ahead. , a large and diversified holding company in Brunei turned to 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions to transform HR’s impact on its business, increasing productivity and efficiency to over 30 subsidiaries across 14 industries. “With 51ˇçÁ÷Business AI technology embedded in 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions, we’ve seen significant benefits such as reducing our overall recruitment time from months to weeks. The AI features have streamlined processes for generating and updating job descriptions and creating competency-based interview questions, making our recruitment process more efficient and standardized,” shares Salehin Basir, human capital development manager at Darussalam Assets. The company has seen significant benefits, such as four-times more efficient hiring processes, a 75% reduction in recruitment time, and deeper insights into important HR metrics that improve data-driven decision-making and reduce bottlenecks.

Powering a skills-based, AI-driven talent strategy

With a talent landscape defined by continuous change, the future of hiring relies on taking a skills-based approach to identifying, securing, and growing the right talent. The reports that 70% of organizations plan to hire for emerging, in-demand skills, while 51% intend to reskill or upskill existing employees to fill growing skills needs. Whether an organization is focused on developing talent from within or bringing in new capabilities to keep their business ahead, 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions can help talent teams stay agile, efficient, and aligned to business needs.

According to trusted HCM Industry Analyst Josh Bersin’s , talent acquisition leaders state a growing priority to implement skills throughout their talent functions and strategies—for both hiring and internal mobility. The factbook shares, “AI plays a key role in deploying skills in a scalable and sustainable way, particularly as in-demand and job-specific skills are constantly changing. It can help match skills to jobs, identify skill adjacencies, pinpoint where talent with specific skills is located, uncover learning opportunities, and more.”

Our latest finds growing workforce confidence around the potential value of AI, with 70% of managers agreeing that using AI technology for skills-based decision-making would be somewhat or very valuable, and an overwhelming majority of employees () feeling positively about skills-based decision-making. The IDC MarketScape highlights how 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors users can quickly see value from implementing skills-based hiring strategies, noting: “Simplified application processes help candidates apply from any device and leverage AI to parse skills from their resumes to match those with the company’s evolving skills architecture and talent intelligence.”

Bringing these insights to life, is a powerful example of how leading organizations are building skills-based talent strategies ready for the future. Capgemini, a global business and technology partner with 340,000 employees across more than 50 countries turned to 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions when looking for an HR infrastructure that would allow it to attract, retain, and grow market-leading skills. Capgemini built a skills engine to support the moments that matter across the employee lifecycle, including recruitment, onboarding, talent management, compensation and rewards, learning, and succession management. The company is implementing 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM to enable skills-based people management and deliver a highly engaging people experience.

Going beyond talent acquisition, 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions help align hiring to overall HR strategies, with connected, unified ; a single skills foundation; AI-enabled talent intelligence; and advanced, cross-suite capabilities. The IDC MarketScape notes, “51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Recruiting is a natural extension of the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors environment that gives companies a fully integrated platform for insights-driven, end-to-end candidate and employee lifecycle management.” The assessment further notes, “Talent acquisition teams can benefit from deep continuous workforce planning insights that guide for and optimize the balance between internal mobility and external hiring for a higher efficacy in talent placement.”

As we look toward the future, organizations that embrace skills-based talent strategies and AI-driven talent acquisition will be best positioned to adapt, grow, and lead in an ever-changing world of work. Learn more about why we were named a Leader in the and discover more about and .

Edgewell’s portfolio of more than 25 well-known personal care brands, including Schick, Banana Boat, Wilkinson Sword, and Wet Ones, drove . The company relies on a people-first culture that enables the right environment for employees to be efficient and the company at large to “win the shelf,” as Colin Emery, director of Global HR Systems at Edgewell, puts it.Ěý

In 2022, Emery was tasked with establishing a People Analytics function at Edgewell, but he quickly realized that the underlying data he needed was inaccurate. “Our system of record was no longer the system of record. We didn’t actually have one,” Emery explains. At that time, the company’s HR data accuracy was just 37% for key data fields within the Position and People Profile. 

Since Edgewell was formed in 2015, Emery says, it has relied on the “infinite configurability” of to scale, systemize, and standardize the company’s HR systems across the world. While the solutions were working as designed, the data housed in them wasn’t being maintained properly, causing a backlog of inaccuracies to flow downstream. “It was clear that the quality of our data within 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors was less than perfect in some parts of the world, particularly in countries where we don’t have 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Payroll integrated,” he says.

Knowing that high data quality is crucial for effective decision-making, reporting accuracy, a painless user experience, and future innovation—but not having the budget or time to engage external resources—Emery decided to develop Edgewell’s methodology in-house to tackle the issue.

Upskilling to establish HR data champions

After identifying the priority data fields that needed to be cleaned and maintained to have the most impact on data quality, Emery turned to the people who owned and best understood the data: the HR business partners (HRBPs). To ensure the success of the data quality project, the HRBPs needed to buy in. This required a mindset shift and significant change management, he says, since not all HRBPs felt responsible for maintaining the data in the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions and some needed training to understand systemized HR processes. 

To help with the transition, Emery established an HR data steward program to upskill Edgewell’s HRBP community. Designated data stewards receive weekly reports and are tasked with personally resolving the data errors or informing an appropriate colleague. They are trained on the causes and consequences of the inaccuracies and how to remedy them, empowering the data stewards to become experts and educate other HRBPs. Upskilling the HRBPs helped them shift from a reactive to a more proactive mindset, which was a critical factor in the data quality project’s success, Emery says. 

Case in point: the number of data inaccuracies has decreased from 2,700 to just a handful. “It’s a tiny, tiny fraction of what it was,” Emery says. “That’s based on the fact that the HRBPs are getting it right the first time, instead of making errors that need to be fixed.”

The project began in the U.S. and eventually flowed to Europe, LATAM, and APAC. Now, Edgewell’s data accuracy consistently holds at 96%–97%, Emery says.

Quality data drives quality decision-making

The success of its data quality and data steward project is clear, and now Edgewell can reap the rewards of a clean HR data foundation. This has had profound effects on the reliability of the company’s HR reporting, for which Edgewell uses stories in 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions. “There’s a massive advantage to using stories when we’re using live, in-the-moment 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors data,” Emery says, adding that the ability to send a link that is accessible based on existing role-based permissions makes sharing the data simple and fast. Edgewell uses stories to look at data around inclusion and belonging, leadership, tenure, talent acquisition, and more, sharing the insights with company leadership, HR leaders, and HRBPs.

This data-driven culture has helped Edgewell identify areas of improvement and make strategic HR decisions. For example, in looking at the data, the People Analytics team uncovered a short-term turnover issue for specific roles and locations. Based on this insight, Edgewell’s HR function created a new candidate experience to help improve and systemize recruiting and onboarding processes. Called “Joyful Journey,” the program also doubles as a way for the company to share about itself and attract talent to the organization. “We never would have known that was the right thing to do without the data,” Emery says. “That then led us to invest time, effort, and dollars in those processes, which immediately made a positive impact on short-term turnover.”

“Over the last three years, we have been providing data and explaining its importance by cleaning up the data within the system to make it more meaningful to us,” Emery adds. “For us, it’s never going to be data for data’s sake. It has to be about what the actions that this data suggests.”

Ready for the future

Not only does Edgewell’s impressive data quality equip its leaders with actionable insights, but it creates a strong foundation for the personal care company to take advantage of HR innovations, especially considering that many, like AI, require clean data to work properly. AI copilots and agents, like , are only as good as the data they run on, which is why data quality and data governance initiatives are becoming business imperatives.Ěý

In that case, Edgewell is ahead of the curve. “When I started working on People Analytics three years ago, I knew that we had to focus on [cleaning up the data] first to prepare for super automation and the AI tools that were coming,” Emery says. “It will set us up in good stead for the next iteration of tools.”

Gillian Hixson is an integrated communications specialist at SAP.

AI is no longer just a tool for automation but is becoming a cornerstone of HR transformation and needs to be placed at the center of talent management strategies. Organizations are now prioritizing AI-driven talent intelligence to strengthen decision-making, build more dynamic, skills-based workforces, and ensure employees are equipped with the right skills for the future. This shift reflects a growing interest in understanding how AI can empower workforces to adapt, grow, and thrive.

As AI continues to reshape the world of work, organizations are examining how to maximize its impact on delivering meaningful outcomes for their people and business. HR leaders are moving beyond traditional approaches for hiring, employee development, and talent management—embracing AI to power that align talent decisions to evolving business needs. , one of the world’s leading pump and water solutions companies, sees digital HR solutions as key to becoming a skills-based organization, enabling data-driven decisions to support its business outcomes. “We are excited and engaged about the potential of the talent intelligence hub in 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions,” shares Søren Nielsen, Grundfos’ business architect of HR Technology. “By shifting our focus from job descriptions to skills and embracing intelligent technologies such as AI, we can help inspire our people to grasp new opportunities and address skills shortages in clever ways.”

Recent research findings show that while organizations are beginning to adopt , employees have mixed feelings about its role. While many recognize its potential to improve hiring processes, personalize career development, and create tailored learning journeys, there remain concerns about bias, security, and ethical implications. To build trust, organizations must take a , ensuring transparency, governance, and fairness measures are at the core of their AI strategy. A few ways organizations can foster credibility with their people include offering training and resources to understand the fundamentals of AI, providing opportunities for employees to work with AI in practical settings, and offering clear communication around how AI works and the expected impact it will have on an employee’s experience.

As businesses strive to stay competitive, it’s critical for HR leaders to understand how to unlock the full potential of AI. Organizations that proactively integrate AI into their talent management strategies will be better positioned to create more agile, future-ready workforces. A top priority in 2025 will be ensuring HR teams have the right knowledge, tools, and resources to effectively leverage AI to deliver impactful results, enabling their businesses and people to stay ahead.

Interested in learning more about how AI can enhance your people strategies and unlock new potential for your workforce? to learn about the future of AI for talent management, explore our latest research insights, and see an engaging demo of the latest AI-driven innovations in 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions.

Investing in learning and talent development has become more critical than ever for organizations, especially in today’s fast-paced and ever-changing business landscape. According to the , employers expect 39% of key skills required in the job market will change by 2030. As technological advancements like AI reshape industries, organizations must equip their workforce with the skills necessary to adapt and stay competitive. At the same time, employees today are increasingly seeking more personalized opportunities for growth and development.

51ˇçÁ÷continues to drive innovation in learning and talent development with the enhanced, integrated learning experience in . A redesigned homepage helps streamline access to required, role-based, and interest-driven learning, while AI-powered tools can automate skills identification and provide personalized recommendations for learning. Customizable templates and enhanced search can further improve accessibility, creating a seamless learning journey.

Additionally, 51ˇçÁ÷recently launched , an AI-driven solution that can provide personalized career guidance, helping employees develop the skills and experiences needed for growth. Both 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Learning and 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Career and Talent Development are powered by the talent intelligence hub, a single source of truth for workforce skills that helps enhance visibility and alignment across the talent lifecycle and is built into 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Performance & Goals. These innovations can enable organizations to upskill, retain talent, and build a workforce ready for the future.

“In a tight talent market, building skills is a critical issue for all organizations,” said David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group. “Too many providers fail to offer personalized, relevant experiences that make an impact. Reflecting its status as a Strategic Challenger, 51ˇçÁ÷continues to invest in enhancing how learning ensures both employees and organizations thrive in a rapidly evolving skills landscape.”

Organizations of all sizes—from large enterprises to midsize companies—leverage 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Learning to help drive their compliance and skills strategies and create a culture centered around continuous learning.

, one of the world’s leading pump and water solutions companies, is leveraging the power of the talent intelligence hub in 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions to become a skills-first organization by shifting the focus from job titles and degrees to a comprehensive understanding of employees’ skills.

 â€œWe had been working with skills and competencies for quite some time before the [talent intelligence] hub,” said Søren Nielsen, Grundfos’ business architect for HR Technology. “But the AI enablement and support are already providing different opportunities to address our skills shortage. In terms of educating and growing our people, we can see how the [talent intelligence] hub can recommend the right training at the right time to help people develop the right skills. Maintaining taxonomies, skills, competencies, and behaviors was a huge, cumbersome task when these were connected to roles. Now, we have boiled it down to talking only about skills. And we can set up a framework that supports both the role and the individual with a top-down and bottom-up approach.”

, one of Canada’s largest courier companies, chose 51ˇçÁ÷to unify its HR processes and support and develop its frontline teams. With 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Learning, the company launched an award-winning leadership development program to transform managers into leaders. “Overall, the program has generated over CAD 21 million in saved revenue,” said Tennyson Devoe, senior director of Safety and Organizational Excellence at Purolator. “Furthermore, we’ve seen a significant reduction in our injury frequency rate and improved union relations.” The program also gave frontline managers the skills to help a long-tenured workforce adapt to new ways of working.

Looking ahead, we are excited to continue innovating in talent management, skills, and the learning user experience to help our customers solve their biggest challenges, address critical skill gaps, and prioritize their greatest differentiators—their people.

and discover more about .

Vinita Venkatesh is vice president of Product Management for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Learning

“We were evacuated and, fortunately, came out unscathed,” Hanke recalls. “But I had to hold the first all-employee meeting with the knowledge that we’d have to rebuild a flooded house, all while staying in a hotel with an unstable power supply.”

In her role, Hanke oversees strategic workforce planning, health, safety, and well-being, as well as the HR Trends and Innovation, People Insights, Organizational Design, and New Work departments.

Hanke also leads a new area of great importance for SAP’s future: the skills-led organization. But what exactly is a skills-led organization, and why is it important to focus on the capabilities of employees?

“A skills-led organization means moving away from rigidly defined job roles with a limited set of key qualifications and instead focusing more on the individual with their specific skills,” Hanke says. “The personal skill sets of employees will shape internal mobility, professional development, and our hiring strategies as a company.”

The skills-based approach recognizes that current job profile structures often fail to fully reflect employees’ competencies.

Hanke herself is a prime example of a personal skill set that extends beyond what a job description suggests. While she spent the past five years in the People & Culture Board area, her professional roots lie elsewhere.

Born in Germany, at the age of four Hanke moved to the U.S. with her parents for her father to work as a professor in computer science and software engineering at the University of Maryland. The planned one-year stay turned into nearly 10.

“I believe those formative childhood years in the U.S. not only gave me native-level English skills but also a deeper understanding of how culture shapes people’s thinking—and the importance of wanting to understand those differences,” she says.

While studying business information management in Mannheim, Germany, she joined 51ˇçÁ÷as a working student and gained experience in development. She later supported Daimler-Chrysler, initially as a technical quality manager and later as an engagement architect, where she served as a key 51ˇçÁ÷contact.

She then developed and led a customer management program for the private cloud, which at that point was still in its infancy. In that role, she reported weekly to the Executive Board of 51ˇçÁ÷SE and then-CEO Bill McDermott, which eventually led to discussions about her becoming his chief of staff.

“When I got the call, I thought there must be a misunderstanding because I hadn’t applied,” Hanke remembers. “The colleague on the other end laughed and said, ‘It seems someone recommended you.’”

This role took Hanke and her husband, along with their son born in Heidelberg, Germany, back to the U.S., where she had grown up. “I’ve never regretted it,” she says. “All in all, I’ve spent almost half my life in the U.S. and feel very at home here. I’d describe myself as half American, half German.”

After McDermott left SAP, Hanke worked in several roles for the new CEO, Christian Klein, before becoming COO in the then-new People & Operations Board area. Though she initially had little contact with HR, she quickly found the topics as engaging as they were challenging, especially given their impact on people and the organization.

“I think my own career path shows how much more experience and skills each of us brings beyond the role officially assigned to us,” she says. “The skills-based approach allows both the company and its employees to make better decisions. Employees want to stay relevant, and as an employer 51ˇçÁ÷aims to minimize disruptions for its people during changes.”

Skills Development with 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM

Two key areas impacted by the skills-based approach are training and hiring. Skills-based hiring means that while degrees won’t become irrelevant, the search for candidates will increasingly focus on individual skills and prior experiences.

But how can a company gain a clear picture of each employee’s range of skills?

This is where the growth portfolio, part of 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM, comes into play. All employees can conduct a skills inventory and add additional skills unrelated to their current role. These skills, often gained outside their formal roles, can now be documented.

Since it’s part of 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM, the growth portfolio can integrate seamlessly with functionalities like hiring, learning, career development, and talent management—areas that benefit the most from maintaining up-to-date skill data. Based on this information, the system can offer employees personalized, AI-driven recommendations for training and development, paving the way for their next career step.

The skills-based approach also brings significant advantages for workforce planning.

As Hanke explains: “For example, we want to avoid looking externally for skills that already exist within the company but haven’t been utilized or are in the wrong areas. That’s why transparency is so crucial.”

The more accurately workforce planning reflects the skills within the company, the better decisions can be made.

“Business and HR Need to Work More Closely Together”

“HR is one of those areas where everyone thinks they can weigh in,” Hanke says. “Looking back, I must admit I initially approached it with a typical business mindset: HR—how hard can it be? But I quickly learned otherwise. The topics are incredibly complex because there’s no right or wrong answer—solutions must be tailored to individuals. My respect for the HR organization has only grown since then.”

Hanke made a deliberate decision to stay in the People & Culture Board area. For her, HR is more than just a reporting or operational function; it must be deeply integrated into business decisions.

“I believe that people transformation can be a significant competitive advantage in today’s dynamic world,” she says. “And with my mix of business and HR knowledge, I can add value here because these two areas can no longer be separated.”

Hanke also emphasizes the strategic importance of health, safety, and well-being. “Employee well-being is one of the fundamental requirements for a functioning organization.”

SAP’s award-winning health management program, Run Healthy, is set to expand globally to additional countries in 2025. Mental health, especially in the context of COVID-19 and global political developments, remains a critical focus.

“I’m continually impressed by how advanced and diverse SAP’s offerings are,” Hanke says, who has personally benefited from some of them. As a leader, she feels particularly responsible for addressing health-related topics appropriately.

“It’s important to us to see employees as whole individuals and support their holistic development,” she emphasizes. “The skills-based approach, which enables employees to fully leverage their potential, offers exciting new possibilities. We’re embarking on this journey together—and I’m looking forward to it.”

With a passion for innovation and technology, CNH supplies a full range of agricultural and construction products, including smart, connected machinery and precision farming tools that maximize productivity by using seamless digital technologies such as automation, connectivity, and data analytics. CNH’s brand portfolio comprises highly respected names: Case IH, New Holland, CASE, and New Holland Construction.

A commercial presence in 180 countries, underpinned by its 42 manufacturing plants and 49 R&D centers, enables CNH to optimally collaborate with its customers to deliver technological advancements for the agricultural and construction equipment sectors. By integrating leading technologies into its products, CNH delivers on its purpose of “breaking new ground.”

“We go back a long way. All the way back to 1842, in fact,” says Giovanni Gregorutti, group lead for HRIS Digital Transformation at CNH. “That’s over 180 years of developing pioneering equipment and services for farmers and builders. And everything we do is with those farmers and builders in mind. We are striving to provide the very best machinery and technology to make their lives easier – and their businesses more efficient and profitable.”

An Efficient and Dedicated Team

Representing CNH’s commitment to developing new solutions and ideas are its 40,000 talented employees, spread over 34 countries, who work together in seamless collaboration to deliver specialized products and services for the agriculture and construction industries.

“Our employees are our most valuable asset,” says Roberto Lanzavecchia, head of Global Talent Management at CNH. “A satisfied customer reflects an efficient and dedicated team that shares the same values, holds each other accountable, and strives to deliver the best for our customers.”

The company prides itself on offering a broad range of opportunities for career development, mentorships, leadership development, and training programs. To support employees as they bring their whole selves to work, the company advances a diverse and inclusive workplace and offers work-life balance solutions to fit employees’ needs. In the marketplace for skills and talent, CNH’s reputation for providing a responsive, fair, and industrious workplace culture has earned it recognition as an employer of choice. 

Empowering Employees and HR for Increased Productivity

Having used SAP’s on-premise human capital management (HCM) solution since 2009, CNH began to encounter challenges with its legacy software, which struggled to keep up with the dynamic needs of a modern workforce. This resulted in outdated goal setting, performance management, succession planning, and employee feedback. It became clear that CNH needed to move to the cloud for a comprehensive transformation of its HR system.

CNH chose as the foundation for its cloud-based HR transformation as it offers comprehensive, scalable, and user-friendly solutions that can integrate seamlessly, as well as robust analytics capabilities. This change was necessary, according to Gregorutti, who says, “We knew it was time to make a shift in the terms of improving the employee experience and to leverage the new capabilities, including AI, and moving to 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors was an obvious choice.”

CNH outlined its goals for the HR evolution, which included identifying critical factors and eliminating non-value-adding activities; improving the overall employee experience to empower employees and the business to deliver more value, better outcomes, and increased productivity; and exploring ways to empower HR to own and solve enterprise-wide issues affecting the business, the workforce, and work-related processes.

Elevating Employee Experience with Streamlined HR Processes

Expediting its vision of empowering its workforce and HR team, CNH started by implementing the solution as its core HR platform for 40,000 employees in 34 countries and integrating it with 10 new payroll platforms within 11 months.

To ring in the new year in January 2024, CNH introduced the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Performance & Goals solution to support all employees for goal setting. The solution can connect to 51ˇçÁ÷Integration Suite to help enable seamless analytics capabilities that can lead to better data visibility and data-driven decision-making. “We are about to conclude the first year of the performance management cycle using the new module,” Lanzavecchia says, highlighting the value of 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Performance & Goals in streamlining processes for HR and employees. “We then went live with the succession module in September 2024, and we’ve just used it for the first time to present to our senior leadership the succession plan and the main talent indicators of our employees, allowing each manager to work on their talent pipeline creation and development.”

As CNH’s transformation journey enters a new phase, it plans to implement the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Recruiting solution by the end of 2024 and the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Onboarding solution by the middle of 2025. In September, it implemented the to make capabilities for archiving documents available. Early next year, it plans to improve integration of this with 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions.

Building an Agile, Efficient, and Employee-Centric Workplace

With the first steps in its transformation journey complete, CNH is already experiencing the benefits of cloud-based HR solutions, which are bringing improved efficiency, better data visibility, and greater agility. As a result of streamlining HR processes, CNH has achieved new levels of process optimization, so that HR tasks are managed more efficiently. By reducing administrative burdens, HR teams can increase their focus on higher-level strategic initiatives and time spent with employees.

Thanks to improved data visibility, CNH is able to advance its people strategy and plan long term. Talent management, for example, has improved because succession planning based on talent data enables more effective identification and development of future leaders.

“The transformation has created a more agile, efficient, and employee-centric environment at CNH, enhancing the overall employee experience and fostering a culture of continuous improvement and engagement,” Lanzavecchia says.

Employees now have the benefits of an elevated experience – one of the primary goals of CNH’s HR transformation. With support for continuous feedback and goal setting, employees are engaged and motivated, in part because they are more connected to their goals and receive regular feedback from managers, who are now more accountable for their teams’ development and performance through timely and constructive feedback.

Making Every Employee a Success Story

With modern cloud-based HR solutions in place, CNH now has the capabilities for HR to gain efficiency and achieve greater productivity – plus deliver data-driven insights to the business for improved decision-making. An improved employee experience is leading to better engagement and career development, opening opportunities for each employee to further their success story.

As both Gregorutti and Lanzavecchia see it, this is a promising beginning in CNH’s ongoing HR evolution. Next year brings new possibilities to introduce AI capabilities for HR, as the company evaluates the benefits of implementing the talent intelligence hub in 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM to help power employee growth and skills development. “CNH has undergone significant and successful transformation over the last three years,” they say. “Keeping this momentum up in a tougher market scenario is imperative. The continued transformation of CNH involves embracing employees’ professional passion, achieving personal fulfilment, and simply having fun.”

Learn more about .

“We are on the brink of a revolution in HR technology,” SuccessFactors Chief Revenue Officer Maryann Abbajay said, speaking to customers recently at . “AI and other new intelligent technologies are transforming the way we work. Organizations are acutely aware that having the right skills today and cultivating these skills for the future is crucial to stay ahead. So, we must focus on our people – and the technologies that enable them to bring out the best in themselves.”

51ˇçÁ÷research found that the top three reasons why HR leaders want to use skills data across their people practices are to match people to opportunities, develop members of their organizations, and have workforce planning that makes sense based on skills. Additionally, a sample of more than 4,000 employees revealed that time savings, quality, and efficiency are the top three most desired outcomes when it comes to AI at work.

Speaking at SuccessConnect, HR leaders from five forward-thinking organizations – ł˘â€™O°ůĂŠ˛šąô, Eurobank, BT Group, American Honda, and SAP – shared insights from their HR journeys and how new advancements in HR tech are putting people at the center of business.

ł˘â€™O°ůĂŠ˛šąô Creates a Future-Fit Organization with Skills and Learning

Global beauty brand keeps its people strategy as forward-thinking as its brand. “This People Vision is to be the most inclusive, innovative, and inspiring people company,” said ł˘â€™O°ůĂŠ˛šąô Deputy Chief Human Relations Officer Isabelle Minneci. “To remain forward-thinking, we leverage this unique people culture, which cares for each individual, and we embed diversity, equity, and inclusion as part of our HR fundamentals.”

L’Oreal’s HR community drives three actions to advance a challenger mindset within the workforce. It builds a skills-driven organization to foster people and business growth. It invents new ways of working and harnesses the best of tech to deliver inspiring people experiences. And it leads transformation for HR and rest of the organization to remain agile. 

ł˘â€™O°ůĂŠ˛šąô uses cloud-based solutions from 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors – including – to inspire amazing people experiences. For a future-fit workforce, ł˘â€™O°ůĂŠ˛šąô invests €120 million each year in learning as it continually reskills its employees to boost agility and innovation. “Thanks to 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors,” Minneci said, “we have linked the skills with the jobs and with our learning program, which enables us to really offer personalized learning journeys for our employees and to make sure that we prepare the future.”

Eurobank Ensures Compliance and Empowers the Workforce

is one of Greece’s largest employers, with about 6,500 employees and €81.5 billion in total assets under management. It uses cloud-based solutions from 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM to help ensure compliance with local labor legislation, support more strategic decision-making, and deliver on its promise of a great employee experience.

Eurobank began its journey with 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors over six years ago, said Maria Tachataki, head of People Technology and Internal Communications, Eurobank SA. “We have increased efficiency and eliminated paper usage,” she said. “Most of all, we have enhanced our people empowerment by providing more accountability, responsibility, and work mobility. 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors has been our ally and our companion in an ongoing journey of growth and transformation.”

In April 2022, a new Greek labor law required local banks to implement a digital work card that integrated with the Ministry of Labor’s platform for real-time monitoring of work schedules, shift planning, and overtime. Effectively, it meant Eurobank’s employees needed to clock in and out at their specific work times – or the bank would incur steep penalties. The company needed a digital solution that was accurate, reliable, efficient, and scalable. It had to have seamless integration with the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors platform, payroll, and the Ministry of Labor’s platform. And it needed to have very detailed monitoring and audit trails. Eurobank chose and leveraged (51ˇçÁ÷BTP) for flexibility and connectivity. As a result, it now reports 99% performance (an improvement of 75%) and 45% reduction in instances when employees forget to clock out. Read more here.

“For us the next move is AI and skills, in terms of more strategic workforce planning,” Tachataki said. “We aim to transition from merely filling positions with people to focusing on talent and strategic workforce planning based on upskilling, and skills taxonomy. This is our next big challenge.”

BT Group Builds the Digital Colleague Experience

Global telecommunications company is accelerating its HR transformation with the infusion of AI to build its Digital Colleague Experience. Recently, the organization unified core HR by moving its UK payroll of 80,000 colleagues to , using 51ˇçÁ÷BTP for extensibility and innovation. The launch of the AI copilot and generative AI early adopt program is another highlight in what the company’s HR Technology Director Nick Hawkes described as an “incredibly busy 12 months.” As he noted, “This is an exciting phase for us. Those digital foundations within HR were really important. We’ve gone from four HR systems, three payroll systems, down to one, which was an important milestone.”

“We’ve been on the AI journey a little while now,” he continued, underscoring BT’s commitment to security through the establishment of a responsible AI team and guardrails to evaluate and implement acceptable AI use cases. Working collaboratively with BT’s legal teams, data governance, and 51ˇçÁ÷has given the company’s HR team an edge for advancing AI use cases that elevate the employee experience. “Having those levers to pull really allowed us to achieve a quick rollout,” he said, referencing 51ˇçÁ÷Business AI.

In the shift to becoming a skills-based organization, BT aims to implement the talent intelligence hub, which can provide organizations a centralized system for skills for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions, to help drive better planning and strategic workforce planning across the organization. Hawkes is optimistic about how AI will enhance the BT’s Digital Colleague Experience: “We can see in the data a 40% increase in efficiency in terms of what Joule brings to the organization, so we’ll double down on that.”

American Honda Charts Digital Journey with People-Centric Focus

is on a journey to become a carbon-zero company by 2050 – in effect, evolving from a hardware-defined company to a software-defined company. “It’s a transformation we view internally as the second founding of Honda. That means digital experience is very important,” said Rich Richardson, senior vice president, Human Resources, American Honda, describing how the new strategic direction is leading to increased focus on the employee experience. “We have developed a plan to engage our associates on a digital journey that has a number of tenets critical to making sure our associates are at the center.”

In January 2023, American Honda went live with 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM to provide seamless access to HR information and opportunities for upskilling. To ensure the best outcomes for its AI journey, American Honda established a Responsible AI Council to govern AI usage, evaluate use cases, maintain standards, and foster communication and transparency across the organization.

This year, the company joined an 51ˇçÁ÷early adopter program to learn how AI can accelerate its vision for a future-ready workforce. “We have four use cases that we’re piloting right now with 850 associates. They’re around Joule, compensation insights, enhanced writing, and goal creation. We’ve been getting feedback along the way with those pilots, and we’ve seen some really good results,” Richardson said.

Employees in the pilot share overwhelming positive feedback on the AI-based innovations, reporting 80% favorable feedback overall. To ensure a great employee experience that benefits all employees, Richardson wants to further understand why employees might be hesitant to fully embrace the new AI-led tools: “When we can uncover that – whether its communication, change management, or on the technical side – we think we can have a really positive rollout of these use cases to our associate population and, ultimately, save time and energy and effort.”

51ˇçÁ÷Accelerates a Skills-First Workforce with AI

For , a global leader in enterprise applications and , a strong people culture is integral to its mission to help the world run better and improve people’s lives. “At SAP, people are very close to our heart. And that goes back to our founder, Hasso Plattner,” said 51ˇçÁ÷Chief People Officer Gina Vargiu-Breuer, recalling Plattner’s observation that “we can be proud of our culture because our culture is very much one of customer-centricity, innovation, and people.” 

SAP’s People Agenda, essential to its transformation to a cloud-first company, comprises three pillars: SAP’s growth culture, a skills-led people ecosystem, and game-changing people technology. The People Agenda is underpinned by a strong foundation: a people-centric work environment that is nurtured by employee well-being, safety, and health as well as diversity and inclusion to create a feeling of belonging at SAP. 

To build a skills-led people ecosystem, 51ˇçÁ÷is using the AI capabilities of the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM suite to gain visibility into the skills of the workforce and improve the employee experience. With the AI-powered growth portfolio in 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors talent and learning solutions, 51ˇçÁ÷is currently focused on increasing skills transparency to help employees focus on growth and career opportunities.

“In the growth portfolio, we are relying on AI,” Vargiu-Breuer said. “Without having a market-centric skills taxonomy and without having skills transparency across the entire workforce, it’s very difficult to have, for example, personalized learning and career development opportunities. So, AI is absolutely essential.” 

Making Every Employee a Success Story

As these inspiring stories show, 51ˇçÁ÷customers are using HR technology to support their people agendas and drive HR transformation in their organizations. By advancing productivity and the employee experience, customers are harnessing the power of 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions to make every employee a success story.

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Menzies Aviation delivers time-critical logistics that annually result in 1.3 million aircraft turns, 3.2 million aircraft refueled, and 2 million tons of cargo handled. Already in its third consecutive year of since the pandemic, Menzies accelerates its market momentum through a mix of strategic partnerships, contract wins, and acquisitions. And demand for modern, efficient passenger and cargo services is ever increasing. In fact, the is forecast to grow from US$196.96 billion in 2024 to $570.12 billion in 2032.

Ask the employees of Menzies Aviation what they like about their jobs, and they’ll likely tell you that it’s the variety and pace of work in an environment where every day is different and every action matters.

Sarah Mackinlay, senior vice president of People Projects & Integrations at Menzies Aviation, says that outstanding teamwork is at the heart of Menzies’ success: “There isn’t one person who can do their job alone. You need a team of people to prepare, load, and push back an aircraft. Everybody working positively together drives that excellence. It’s that united vision of wanting to safely provide the best possible service.”

This team spirit inspires employees to work toward their full potential to achieve exceptional service. To empower its employees to deliver safe and trusted aviation services that are integral to its mission, Menzies is on a transformative journey to harness the power of technology for greater productivity and business agility. Menzies now provides employees in 53 countries with an improved employee experience – a result of its global HR transformation to adopt the cloud-based capabilities of .

Putting “People, Passion, and Pride” at the Center of Business

With a proud that dates to 1833, Menzies has always been a business that is about people, Mackinlay underscores. The company aligns its business and people strategy on three pillars: people, passion, and pride. “From a people strategy point of view, we’re very much focused on three key drivers: making Menzies a great place for our people to work; being passionate about growing our employees and growing our own leaders; and taking pride in getting the basics right,” she says. “That third pillar is where my focus is at its strongest. By doing that, it makes [Menzies] a great place to work, and it gives people the opportunity to lead, learn, and grow.”

By choosing 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM, Menzies now has a unified platform to help it attain data-driven insights for business agility and provide a modern employee experience with opportunities for learning and career development. “My job is an enabler for so many other things within our organization,” Mackinlay says. “Providing a solution that supports our frontline employee or manager in the business to do their job more efficiently, smoothly, and easily – those things are what really excite me.” 

Unlocking Business Insights from Global Visibility of Data

Menzies had previously relied on a mix of people processes and platforms, and struggled to make sense of its people data, which was siloed in disparate systems in various regions. “The simple question of ‘How many employees do you have?’ we couldn’t answer that at the click of a button,” says Mackinlay, noting the critical nature of seasonal travel fluctuations that impact the workforce. “That could take us several days to a week to be able to go out to all our regions and check and validate those numbers, because data was held across multiple systems and spreadsheets.”

Already experienced working with the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Learning solution since 2015, along with 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Performance & Goals for graded management across the business, Menzies Aviation had selected 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Employee Central as its core HR system, but the implementation was very gradual in the early years and by the end of 2022 the solution had been rolled out to just 11 countries. In early 2023, Menzies began its transformative journey to leverage the broad benefits of cloud HR. Working with as its implementation partner, it accelerated the global rollout by prioritizing a defined baseline consistency model over more detailed, country-specific customizations. It also benefited from pre-delivered localization capabilities, such as language support, local best practices, and automated legal and regulatory updates. In one year, 52 countries were up and running on 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Employee Central, integrated with the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Learning, 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Performance & Goals, and other core business systems, making it the source of truth for employee data where live.

October saw the latest location join this journey when Hong Kong went live with 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Employee Central and 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Learning. Utilizing this momentum, Menzies is now expanding its use of the solution, which is already available to its workforce in the UK and will soon include Portugal and Hong Kong.

“We’re a small team, but each person contributed an exceptional effort, both in time and skill, to bring the organization together around this transformation – that includes stakeholder buy-in, mapping and cleansing the data, all the quality checks, and communicating clearly and openly with HR teams around the business to ensure adoption and change management,” says Mackinlay, who is optimistic about what the next phases of Menzies’ cloud HR journey will bring. “There were some long days, indeed, but as a team we can be proud of what we’ve accomplished so far – and the benefits to the business are already becoming apparent. This is the real foundation for what we can go on to achieve next and having the support of the local HR teams continues to be critical to the success of the rollout.”

Today, Menzies no longer needs to estimate how many employees it has at any given time. Having a single source of data means that it can pull up this information at the push of a button for the present as well as the historical past for comparison. “We can start to see trends, so we can start to understand what our future models would look like as well,” says Mackinlay, who values the improved reporting capabilities that provide greater visibility into the business – which, for example, helps the teams to understand the type of work people are doing and how their time and effort contribute to the business. “Being able to have business insight and business data to make decisions has been really important on our continued journey with 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors and supporting our global strategy.”

Menzies is reaping the benefits of moving towards one global solution, which include consistent and standardized HR processes across its multiple countries and territories of operation, role-based authorizations for data access, worldwide regulatory compliance with localization, simplified maintenance for a single solution, and ease of integration with other HR processes and functions. As Mackinlay summarizes, “For us, this journey is about having a single source of truth with global consistency, data insight, and visibility yet maintaining local data ownership. Data security and integrity are at the very core.”

One Stop for Employee Experience

For Menzies Aviation, the journey gains momentum as more employees engage with the platform, opening the way to transform how work is done. Currently, Menzies is focusing its effort to elevate the employee experience by introducing self-service capabilities for all employees, giving them access to their own data and streamlining HR service delivery with efficient, real-time processes for workflows and approvals.

More than two-thirds of Menzies employees perform their work away from a desk, so communication with these employees for routine employment matters can be challenging. The new self-service capability is the next part of Menzies’ journey enabled by its 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Employee Central base platform. Menzies is partnering with other core business systems to create a new one-stop entry point for all employment-related information, including upcoming shifts, holidays, and tools to support employees in their day-to-day roles.

A key benefit for HR teams is that it frees them to focus on more value-added work. As Menzies continues to grow and hire new employees, it plans to look for digital solutions to accelerate the recruiting and onboarding processes. Menzies is also excited to explore how AI-enabled technologies can further support the HR team – including adopting , SAP’s AI copilot, and using generative AI.

“We’re a people business,” Mackinlay says. “We want our HR teams to be with our people. It’s a journey that we’re on – and we’ve been on since 2015 – to enable our HR teams to have the tools to be more employee facing and available to support our employees as they grow and develop their potential towards an exciting career at Menzies Aviation.”

Find out more about .

“Congratulations to the sales performance management solutions from 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors for winning the TrustRadius Buyer’s Choice award,” said Allyson Havener, SVP of Marketing and Community at TrustRadius. “This award is a direct reflection of the positive experiences shared by customers who trust 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors to optimize sales performance and drive results. It’s clear that these solutions are making a significant impact in helping organizations achieve their sales goals through streamlined processes and actionable insights.”

Buyer’s Choice awards are determined solely by verified, unbiased customer reviews, highlighting products with top capabilities, great value, and excellent customer relationships.

Hear from some of our customers on how much they value the sales performance management solutions:

• “This [sales performance management solution] has provided us a platform for us to show our partners visibility day by day on their incentives and their proposed payments. This has also allowed us to decrease our expected timeframes in which our partners are expected to be paid and thus increased the visibility and usefulness of this tool.” –
• “[51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Agent Performance Management] is a great application to create different payout structures to process the producer’s compensation or internal agent’s compensation.” –
• “Some of the benefits we have obtained with sales performance management are standardization, centralized control in commission calculations, and natural integration with 51ˇçÁ÷S/4HANA Cloud. Our goal is to have a flexible and reliable tool that can solve the different cases we have in calculating commissions at Grupo La Moderna.” –
• “At Kyndryl, we replaced a 100% legacy system with sales performance management. The solution is deployed across all [55] countries we operate in and calculates the incentive payments for 3,400 sellers.” –

We are proud to create products that inspire such gracious feedback in our user community. Explore our product tours for and to experience these solutions in action. Thank you for supporting our work and sharing your feedback on TrustRadius.

to discover how to equip sales team with the tools they need to create impactful sales experiences.

Robert Hartsough is general manager of Sales Performance Management at SAP.

51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors customers convened recently at , SAP’s annual human resources customer event, held October 28-30 in Lisbon, Portugal, and on demand through . Attendees learned more about how 51ˇçÁ÷– the world’s largest cloud HR tech vendor – is leading the market with unmatched investment in and delivery of new AI capabilities. As announced at the event, 51ˇçÁ÷is delivering new innovations and embedded AI, including 30 new AI use cases, across the suite to help provide organizations with greater efficiencies and unparalleled experiences.

“Our mission is to make every employee a success story,” Dan Beck, president and chief product officer for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors, told customers at SuccessConnect. “We’re really at a special point in the arc of technology. This is why I truly believe the next two years of HR tech, the way we can impact the workforce, is going to be more interesting than the prior two decades….The world is moving very quickly. The world is not standing still. And as a trusted partner, 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors can help you stay ahead in that always-changing world.”

AI Boosts SAP’s Core HR and Payroll

With the 2H 2024 release of 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors, available in November, customers can benefit from SAP’s steadfast commitment and investment in AI and gain new generative AI capabilities that help improve the employee experience across the talent lifecycle. For example, managers can receive help in making AI-assisted 360-degree reviews. SAP’s AI copilot can guide new hires through the onboarding process, nudging them to complete data review forms and e-signatures. AI-assisted writing capabilities can help employees complete tasks, with text translation available in the same window. Joule will be able to support 80% of the most-used business tasks across SAP’s portfolio by the end of the year.

SAP’s unique approach to is founded on the principles that every AI use case must be relevant, reliable, and responsible to ensure that it is compliant with ethical, business, and privacy regulations around the world. 51ˇçÁ÷is deeply committed to the ethical development of AI, with its Global AI Ethics Policy, Steering Committee, Advisory Panel, and more.

Beyond infusing even more AI capabilities throughout the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM suite, 51ˇçÁ÷continues to lead the market with a strong global HR core that combines the power of , , and . SAP’s HR core is cloud native, AI-enabled, and can scale to meet any customer need. Differentiating it from other vendors, 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Employee Central is equipped to help handle diverse regulatory and compliance requirements, with localization for more than 100 countries for core HR and payroll supported in 52 countries. For HR teams, this can bring peace of mind regarding risk and compliance, avoidance of penalties, and the ability to focus on other strategic initiatives.

Customers that use 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll can look forward to updates in the first half of 2025, including a new user interface for unified user experience, a payroll control center to help manage all payroll process activities, and a position and budgeting control for compliance in the public sector. With the update, employees can use Joule to ask questions about their pay slip and receive answers in seconds – creating a better experience for employees while saving HR time addressing service tickets.

To ensure that HR doesn’t operate in a silo, it’s vitally important that it’s connected to everything the larger business is doing, as Beck explained. Together with the rest of the , customers can deliver a unified, consistent, and connected experience for employees no matter where they sit in the business. And (51ˇçÁ÷BTP) helps them connect it all.

Ahold Delhaize: Putting Associates in the Driver’s Seat

Netherlands-based is one of the world’s largest food retail groups, with more than 402,000 associates globally serving 63 million shoppers each week. In 2018, it began an HR transformation to unify its complex and fragmented HR landscape. A lack of unified processes and a scattered tech stack was holding business leaders and their teams back from completing their people-related work and impacting the organization’s decision-making. Most associates are deskless, so building a mobile experience that gave them access to their data was an important goal for the project.

“This required consolidation and streamlining of our existing HR processes onto a single, secure platform – and for us that was [SAP] SuccessFactors,” said Barbara van der Zanden-Sandtke, global head of HR Tech, Data Innovation, and Associate Experience at Ahold Delhaize.

To achieve its goals, Ahold Delhaize took a phased approach to its implementation of 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Employee Central and 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll. By summer 2023, it had completed the implementation and began to focus on how an improved employee experience will benefit the future of its associates. As Tim Piepers, senior director HR Technology Platform at Ahold Delhaize, summarized, “We are putting our associates in the driver’s seat – of their data and information, learning and development, and career trajectories. And as a result, we are building a more strategic, agile, and future-forward company.”

Talent and Learning with AI-Based Career Recommendations

To address the skills gap, talent and learning is consistently one of the most critical areas of investment for HR leaders. “Ultimately you can’t hire yourself out of a skills gap,” said Beck, who noted that many HR leaders are looking for ways to reskill their workforces for the future needs of the organization. “51ˇçÁ÷has been investing significantly to solve this problem and I’m excited to introduce a new solution for us, the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Career and Talent Development solution. This combines the best of our talent products into a single guided experience, an all-new look and feel for data-driven career planning.”

Employees will be able to access new insights about their growth and career development. They will be able to receive AI-assisted recommendations for career growth, such as skills, roles, and learning opportunities. The new solution helps empower employees and managers for better strategic workforce planning.

To support customers in becoming skills-based organizations, 51ˇçÁ÷is enhancing the talent intelligence hub, which can enable customers to automate the creation of a skills library based on job roles, continuously build employee’s skills profiles as they grow, and enrich job profiles. “The objective behind the talent intelligence hub is to infuse skills throughout the entire talent journey, associated with your profile, directly from recruiting,” Beck said. “All of this is built on top of 51ˇçÁ÷Business Technology Platform.” 

The talent intelligence hub – available to all 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors customers – helps enable customers to move from being reactive to proactive on skills while offering a personalized employee experience. As announced at SuccessConnect, the talent intelligence hub is now an open, extensible platform that can integrate skills data from 51ˇçÁ÷partners. This helps customers by consolidating and standardizing skills data on one platform for better visibility. The first 51ˇçÁ÷partners to integrate with the talent intelligence hub include , , , , , , , and .

Capgemini Empowers Employees with Skills-First People Management

is a leading strategic partner that helps organizations unlock the value of technology for business transformation. Headquartered in Paris, France, Capgemini has 340,000 employees working in 50 countries. It fosters a culture of growth and continuous learning, empowering clients and employees with its promise: “Get the future you want.”

“This promise is at the heart of everything we do and really drives our people strategy,” said Jihane Baciocchini, head of Global Talent Acquisition, Capgemini. “One of the main pillars of making this promise a reality is skills. Investing in skills means investing in people, which is really driving our HR strategy.”

Capgemini’s approach is determined largely by the needs of its clients to drive their sustainable and digital transformations, Baciocchini explained: “The reality is our clients are now expecting us to anticipate the skills they will need in the future. The same goes for our people.” Its emphasis on skills makes Capgemini a valued partner to its clients and an employer of choice for top talent.

Capgemini uses 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions to power the entire employee lifecycle, from hire to retire. With the talent intelligence hub, employees will receive personalized career path recommendations linked to their skills and aspirations within the .

Strategic Partnerships and Extensibility That Accelerate Value

51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors has more than 350 partner apps in to help provide trusted and integrated solutions for unmatched flexibility on a wide range of business needs, including wellness, benefits, learning, and time tracking. As the needs of the workforce and business change, customers can use these certified solutions to extend 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors technology in a consistent, reliable way.

The newest solution extension partners include , which extends 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors time capabilities with shift management and integrates with the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Time Tracking solution; and , which orchestrates learning across the entire talent lifecycle and integrates with the solution.

WalkMe helps organizations adopt technology faster, reduce training costs, and increase value on investments, with some early adopters reporting a 200% improvement of task completion. At SuccessConnect, 51ˇçÁ÷also announced its intent to add pre-built WalkMe content into 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions, which will be commercially available in the first half of 2025, allowing customers to improve employee experience and adoption across common workflows.

“As our ecosystem continues to grow, keep in mind that we are part of SAP, which means, among other things, we benefit from that robust technology layer, 51ˇçÁ÷Business Technology Platform,” said Beck, addressing customers that may be working with many third-party HR applications and are interested in extensibility of 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions. “Good news: you can build that with 51ˇçÁ÷Business Technology Platform. We have low-code no-code technology to allow you to build your own application, integrate it, build a workflow, and secure it, with a custom card coming off the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors homepage. We have the most robust technology platform in the world.” 

Frit Ravich Leads with People and Culture at Its Core for a New Era of Technology

, a family business founded in 1963 in Girona, Spain, manufactures and distributes chips, snacks, and nuts. With a team of 1,100 employees and presence in 25 countries, Frit Ravich is a company that has people and culture at its core.

In 2017, the company adopted 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors to drive its transformation. Today it is taking its business to the next level with 51ˇçÁ÷Business AI to ensure no one is left behind. Maria SalĂł, Frit Ravich’s chief people and culture officer, summarized the organization’s approach to its people strategy: “Not to change people, but to help them make the most of changes by unlocking their full potential.” For Frit Ravich, that meant carrying out its HR transformation – a project the team named “Butterfly” – with company culture “Feel Frit” at the center and in sync with its business objectives.

Frit Ravich Talent Manager Rebeca Montilla explained: “At Frit Ravich, 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors isn’t just a tool. It is the core of every process. Our entire strategy is supported by the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors portfolio, fully integrated into the day-to-day lives of every employee. The tool usability is very high, with 96% of our employees using it. Our organization is making adoption part of every employee’s development.”

Based on the success of the Butterfly project, Saló looked ahead optimistically: “The disruption of AI reminds us that transformation isn’t about facing changes, it’s about making the most of them. We aim for a more flexible organizational structure, moving beyond a purely functional vision to a skill-based organization. We’ve already shown that Frit Ravich doesn’t leave anyone behind. And that’s still true in this new era of AI.”

Watch on demand.

“This recognition is driven by the voices of customers who rely on 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM to elevate their workforce management strategies. It’s a testament to SAP’s ability to meet the evolving needs of HR teams and empower organizations to succeed,” said Allyson Havener, senior vice president of Marketing and Community at TrustRadius.

The Buyer’s Choice Awards are determined by verified, unbiased customer reviews. These awards recognize products that excel in capabilities, performance, value for money, and customer relationships. 

Here’s what some of our customers are saying about :

• “With 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions, the ease with which our people data flows throughout our organization is superb. This is key to helping us ensure compliance and high data integrity throughout the employee lifecycle, such as recording attendance at a talent review.”
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• “We use 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors as our core HR system and have many of the modules, including Performance Management, Succession and Development, Compensation, Learning and Recruiting and we utilize it globally. 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors enables us to have all of our team members in one system and manage their ongoing career development as well as the day-to-day transactions.”
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• “51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors is helping us integrate all employee management tools in one. It helps us integrate learning for the employees, tracking and approving leave application and also track employee development discussions in one place. As a manager it helps me track data for all the employees in just one place and further helps me in planning.”
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• “51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors has a robust framework which makes it an absolute platform for scaling and scaled companies, including the ones of larger sizes. [SAP] SuccessFactors is contributing to maintain the data quality and automated workflows. [51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors] had almost automated every single HR process which has removed the manual intervention altogether.”
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The provides global HR cloud software with powerful artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to help organizations meet the business demands of today and innovate for tomorrow. More than 10,000 customers worldwide — from startups and midmarket companies to large enterprises — use 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions to elevate every experience, guide every people decision, and connect HR across every aspect of the business.

Innovating to help our customers solve their biggest business and people-focused challenges is at the heart of everything we do. 

Last week at , we announced several exciting new updates to the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM suite, including 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Career and Talent Development, new enhancements to 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll, and several new AI capabilities, including AI-recommended jobs for candidates, AI-assisted 360-degree reviews, and, with Joule, a conversational way to complete onboarding tasks.

Learn more aboutĚýĚýand . For more information about these recognitions, visit theĚý.

Looking to share your own feedback? .

Lara Albert is global vice president of Product Marketing for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors at SAP.

51ˇçÁ÷was recognized for its ability to execute and completeness of vision. Gartner defines cloud HCM suites for 1,000+ employee enterprises as cloud application suites that deliver functionality for attracting, developing, engaging, retaining, and managing employees.

The provides global HR cloud software with powerful AI capabilities to help organizations meet the business demands of today and innovate for tomorrow. More than 10,000 customers worldwide – from startups and midmarket companies to large enterprises – use 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions to help elevate every experience, guide every people decision, and connect HR across every aspect of the business.

This week at SuccessConnect, we announced several exciting new updates to the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM suite, including 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Career and Talent Development, new enhancements to 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll, along with several new AI and Joule capabilities. Additionally, WalkMe will be commercially available in the first half of 2025, which will allow customers to improve employee experience and adoption across common workflows. Our latest product release, available this month, features over 30 new purpose-built AI capabilities designed to enhance organizational efficiency. Customers of all sizes are already driving organizational value with the AI capabilities embedded in 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM.

, a diversified holding company that owns and manages a number of Brunei’s government-linked companies across various industries, has seen considerable talent management efficiency gains with 51ˇçÁ÷Business AI. According to Salehin Basir, senior human capital development manager, Darussalam Assets Sdn Bhd, “With 51ˇçÁ÷Business AI technology embedded in 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions, we’ve seen significant benefits, such as reducing our overall recruitment time from months to weeks. The AI features have streamlined processes for generating and updating job descriptions and creating competency-based interview questions, making our recruitment process more efficient and standardized.”

, one of the world’s leading pump and water solutions companies, is leveraging the talent intelligence hub, the AI-driven skills framework underpinning the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM suite, to become a skills-first organization. “There’s a consensus that what got us here won’t get us there: we need new skills and capabilities. And that’s where the talent intelligence hub in 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions comes in,” said Mads Kidmose, head of HR Technology and Data Foundation, Grundfos Holding A/S. “It’s helping us build one skills foundation that feeds into critical decisions on talent – and transform skills into something we live and breathe every day.”

Grundfos’ emphasis on skills opens new doors for both employees and the organization. “By shifting our focus from job descriptions to skills and embracing intelligent technologies such as AI, we can help inspire our people to grasp new opportunities and address our skills shortage in clever ways,” said Søren Nielsen, business architect, HR Technology, Grundfos Holding A/S.

For even more on how our customers are embracing AI, stream the to hear how American Honda and BT Group have created strategies to implement AI so their HR teams and employees can thrive.

Looking ahead, we are excited to continue innovating with our customers’ biggest challenges and opportunities in mind – helping them to drive organizational agility, enhance workforce productivity, and maximize growth to stay ahead of the curve. 

Lara Albert is global vice president of Product Marketing at 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors.

Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Cloud HCM Suites for 1,000+ Employee Enterprises, Authors: Ranadip Chandra, Chris Pang, Ron Hanscome, Sam Grinter, Josie Xing, Hilten Sheth, Travis Wickesberg, Harsh Kundulli, Anand Chouksey, David Bobo, Laura Gardiner, Emi Chiba, Michelle Shapiro, Published: 23 October 2024.
This report was known as Magic Quadrant for Cloud HCM Suites for Midmarket and Large Enterprises from 2016 to 2018.
GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, Magic Quadrant is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s Research & Advisory organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

The announcements were made at , SAP’s annual human resources customer event, October 28-30 in Lisbon, Portugal.

“Our announcements today represent a major leap toward a future where every organization has a single source of truth for its people data and skills intelligence, enabling data-driven decisions across the entire business,” said Dan Beck, President and Chief Product Officer,Ěý51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions. “We are not embedding AI in a vacuum. These innovations will activate unparalleled insights and reliable results for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors customers.”

Building an Open Skills Ecosystem to Fuel AI-Based Career Recommendations

Skills continue to be a top concern for business leaders. According to Gartner®, “Uncertainty about skills needs and assets – only 8% of organizations have reliable data on the skills the workforce currently possesses and those that have the greatest impact on business success.”*

51ˇçÁ÷today introduced enhancements to the talent intelligence hub, which provides organizations with a centralized system for skills that drive career development and strategic workforce planning. Customers now can aggregate and harmonize data from third-party solutions in the talent intelligence hub to ensure a single view of skills for each employee and for the organization. The first partners to integrate with the talent intelligence hub will include , , , Ěý, , , and , with more in the coming months.

51ˇçÁ÷also has launched the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Career and Talent Development solution, a fully integrated offering, which combines the robust features of the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Succession & Development solution with the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Opportunity Marketplace solution, powered by skills data from the talent intelligence hub. This innovative solution empowers employees to set career growth goals aligned with personal aspirations and organizational needs. Through career path exploration, employees can map their skills to current and target roles and improve their readiness for their next opportunity.

These updates are complemented with dozens of new generative AI capabilities that improve the employee experience across the entire talent lifecycle. With the help of AI, for example, managers receive support in developing AI-assisted 360-degree reviews, which provide employees with actionable insights and a feedback summary that highlights their strengths and areas for improvement. SAP’s AI copilot Joule can now guide employees through the onboarding process, such as providing recommended meetings and nudging them to complete data review, forms and e-signatures.

AI Boosts SAP’s Core HR and Payroll

51ˇçÁ÷leads the market with strong global core HR solutions, providing customers with country-specific compliance, content and support in more places than any other cloud HR vendor – 104 for the solution and 52 for the solution. By embedding AI throughout these products, organizations can deliver a better experience for employees while freeing up time HR professionals now spend addressing service tickets.

In the first half of 2025, employees will be able to ask Joule complex questions about their pay slip and receive contextually relevant information. Additionally, 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll will include enhanced Payroll Control Center capabilities to manage payroll process activities and improve budgeting and control for public sector customers.

Accelerating Time to Value for Customers

In September, 51ˇçÁ÷successfully acquired WalkMe Ltd., the leading digital adoption platform company. At SuccessConnect, 51ˇçÁ÷announced its intent to add pre-built WalkMe content into 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions which will be commercially available in the first half of 2025, allowing customers to improve employee experience and adoption across common workflows.

“HR and people managers must deliver excellent, lasting and personalized employee experiences,” said Zachary Chertok, Senior Research Manager for Employee Experience at IDC. “Both leaders need to continuously align employee growth, goals, and motivators to ever-evolving sets of business OKRs. 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors is furthering employee experience management while supporting HR and people managers to better partner with employees to mutually value their growth and engagement. From AI modeling and forecasting to dynamic skills and value framing, 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors newest releases raise the bar for how to optimize and align employee experiences with the goals and needs of the enterprise.”

and read the to learn more about the more than 250 innovations coming to the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HCM suite in November.

Visit the . Follow 51ˇçÁ÷at .

Media Contact:
Bridget Carroll, +1 (267) 615-3589, bridget.carroll@sap.com, MT
51ˇçÁ÷Press Room; press@sap.com

*Gartner Press Release, ““, 18 September 2024.
GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ.  Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risk factors section of SAP’s 2023 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
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