Today, we鈥檙e 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鈥檚 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 51风流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 51风流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 51风流SuccessFactors helps set the foundation for a complete intelligence layer across hiring and HR, with people, job, and organizational data flowing seamlessly between 51风流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 51风流SuccessFactors and SmartRecruiters for recruiters, hiring managers, and approvers
• Unified navigation: a seamless experience across 51风流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 51风流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 51风流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 51风流SuccessFactors, simple and flexible integration paths are now available for customers currently using the 51风流SuccessFactors Recruiting solution. 51风流will continue to honor all contracts, and customers will not be required to migrate.

Integration that activates enterprise鈥�ready AI

With SAP鈥檚 continued investment, SmartRecruiters for 51风流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鈥檚 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 51风流SuccessFactors extends beyond hiring, creating a connected, AI-enabled talent experience across the entire 51风流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 51风流SuccessFactors in action:聽Catch the聽聽of our March 5 webinar – 鈥淭he Future of Intelligent Hiring鈥� – to explore how 51风流is redefining hiring, talent orchestration, and long-term workforce strategy.

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

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鈥檛 just an HR challenge. It鈥檚 a business imperative.聽

With SAP鈥檚 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鈥檝e 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鈥檙e 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.聽

Uniting talent acquisition and HCM leadership

51风流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 51风流SuccessFactors, the depth of 51风流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 51风流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 51风流SuccessFactors will provide rich insights into talent pools, hiring bottlenecks, and workforce planning — because talent acquisition is only the start of an employee鈥檚 journey with an organization.聽

Talent acquisition is no longer just about filling roles. Together, 51风流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 51风流SuccessFactors.
Rebecca Carr is CEO of SmartRecruiters, an 51风流company.

SmartRecruiters鈥� deep expertise in high-volume recruiting, recruitment automation and AI-enabled candidate experience and engagement are considered an ideal addition to the 51风流SuccessFactors human capital management (HCM) suite. The planned acquisition will strengthen SAP鈥檚 all-in-one HCM suite, so customers have the tools they need to attract and retain top talent in an increasingly competitive landscape.

SmartRecruiters鈥� powerful, user-friendly interfaces and seamless workflows will complement SAP鈥檚 robust HR tools 鈥� improving decision-making, reducing time-to-hire and providing a better experience for candidates. Embedded analytics and AI-driven recommendations from both companies will provide rich insights into talent pools, hiring bottlenecks and workforce planning.

鈥淗iring the right people is not just an HR priority 鈥� it鈥檚 a business priority. With this planned acquisition, we will help our customers attract and hire the best talent so they can advance their talent acquisition agendas with speed and agility, while lowering their total cost of ownership,鈥� said Muhammad Alam, member of the Executive Board of 51风流SE, 51风流Product & Engineering. 鈥淐ustomers will be able to manage the entire candidate lifecycle 鈥� from sourcing and interviewing to onboarding and beyond 鈥� all in a single system to streamline the experience for recruiters, hiring managers and, in particular, candidates.鈥�

Customers can expect enhanced and AI-enabled recruiting and hiring capabilities, making applicant tracking and candidate screening more efficient. Data-driven hiring and recruitment analytics will flow directly into SAP鈥檚 existing HCM tools, providing a single system of record and harmonized data for compliant, seamless operations. The SmartRecruiters portfolio will also continue to be available standalone for the foreseeable future.

SmartRecruiters鈥� Software-as-a-Service solutions and platform enable more than 4,000 organizations globally to efficiently manage their hiring workflows end-to-end, offering a compelling experience to recruiters, hiring managers and candidates.

SmartRecruiters CEO Rebecca Carr said, 鈥淪martRecruiters鈥� mission has always been to make hiring easy. Joining forces with 51风流presents a tremendous opportunity for enterprises worldwide to benefit from our industry-leading approach to talent acquisition. I couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity this planned acquisition presents for our customers, partners and employees as we build the future of hiring together.”

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. J.P. Morgan served as exclusive financial advisor to SmartRecruiters.

Visit the . Get 51风流news via  and .

About SmartRecruiters

SmartRecruiters is the Recruiting AI Company that transforms hiring for the world鈥檚 leading enterprises. Built for global scale, SmartRecruiters delivers an AI-powered hiring platform that automates and optimizes the entire talent acquisition process, ensuring faster and smarter hiring decisions. More than 4,000 organizations, including Amazon, Visa, and McDonald鈥檚, rely on SmartRecruiters to build winning teams. For more information, visit .

About SAP

As鈥痑 global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, 51风流(NYSE:SAP)鈥痵tands at the鈥痭exus鈥痮f business and technology. For over 50 years, organizations have trusted SAP鈥痶o bring out their best by uniting business-critical鈥痮perations spanning finance, procurement, HR, supply chain, and customer experience. For more information, visit .

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In today鈥檚 fast-changing world of work, hiring the right talent has never been more critical鈥攐r 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鈥檚 , 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鈥檚 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. 鈥淭alent acquisition priorities are changing, leading to evolving concentrations and points of entry in an increasingly diversifying vendor space in the market,鈥� says Zachary Chertok, senior research manager, Employee Experience at IDC. 鈥淚ncreased 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.鈥�

51风流SuccessFactors is proud to be named a Leader in the . 51风流SuccessFactors solutions can empower organizations of all sizes to address the ever-changing challenges of hiring in today鈥檚 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 51风流SuccessFactors鈥� position as a Leader reflects visionary product strategy, continuous innovation, comprehensive solution functionality, and demonstrated customer value and satisfaction. The IDC MarketScape states, 鈥�51风流SuccessFactors Recruiting is part of the 51风流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.鈥� Highlighting 51风流SuccessFactors鈥� strengths, the report mentions, 鈥�51风流SuccessFactors customers find that the solution provides them with deep insights drawn from across the existing and modeled workforce. 51风流SuccessFactors鈥� AI and analytical capabilities support clients to tie candidate-centric hiring practices into the evolving and modeled skilling and position needs of the organization.鈥�

Helping companies hire smarter and faster

Hiring today isn鈥檛 just about filling open roles. It鈥檚 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, 鈥�51风流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.鈥� The report continues, 鈥淥verall, recruiters and talent acquisition teams find that 51风流SuccessFactors鈥� 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.鈥� 51风流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 51风流SuccessFactors solutions to transform HR鈥檚 impact on its business, increasing productivity and efficiency to over 30 subsidiaries across 14 industries. 鈥淲ith 51风流Business AI technology embedded in 51风流SuccessFactors solutions, we鈥檝e 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,鈥� 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, 51风流SuccessFactors solutions can help talent teams stay agile, efficient, and aligned to business needs.

According to trusted HCM Industry Analyst Josh Bersin鈥檚 , talent acquisition leaders state a growing priority to implement skills throughout their talent functions and strategies鈥攆or both hiring and internal mobility. The factbook shares, 鈥淎I 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.鈥�

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 51风流SuccessFactors users can quickly see value from implementing skills-based hiring strategies, noting: 鈥淪implified application processes help candidates apply from any device and leverage AI to parse skills from their resumes to match those with the company鈥檚 evolving skills architecture and talent intelligence.鈥�

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 51风流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 51风流SuccessFactors HCM to enable skills-based people management and deliver a highly engaging people experience.

Going beyond talent acquisition, 51风流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, 鈥�51风流SuccessFactors Recruiting is a natural extension of the 51风流SuccessFactors environment that gives companies a fully integrated platform for insights-driven, end-to-end candidate and employee lifecycle management.鈥� The assessment further notes, 鈥淭alent 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.鈥�

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 .

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鈥攅mbracing AI to power that align talent decisions to evolving business needs. , one of the world鈥檚 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. 鈥淲e are excited and engaged about the potential of the talent intelligence hub in 51风流SuccessFactors solutions,鈥� shares S酶ren Nielsen, Grundfos鈥� business architect of HR Technology. 鈥淏y 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.鈥�

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鈥檚 experience.

As businesses strive to stay competitive, it鈥檚 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 51风流SuccessFactors solutions.

According to findings from over five years of global research conducted by 51风流SuccessFactors HR research scientists, 88% of employees would feel positively about skills-based people decisions in their organization. Along with employee satisfaction, HR and talent acquisition leaders see many potential benefits of the skills-based approach. For example, a focus on skills can support internal mobility, help realize employee potential, and make recruitment faster, easier, and more transparent.

So, what does 鈥渟kills-based鈥� mean? With a skills-based approach to human resource management, work is organized entirely around skills, from hiring and compensation to workforce planning, reskilling, and upskilling. Decisions are made based on skills and capabilities rather than traditional criteria like education or job experience.

Of course, there鈥檚 no universal blueprint that works for every scenario: there are multiple approaches to prioritizing skills in an organization. How skills-based practices are implemented depends on organizational culture, industry, labor regulations, and many other factors, but a great place to start is with skills-based hiring.

What Is Skills-Based Hiring?

Skills-based hiring is an approach to recruiting new employees based on their skills and ability to perform a job instead of the formal qualifications listed on their resume or curriculum vitae (CV), such as education or previous job titles.

Benefits of Skills-Based Hiring for Talent Acquisition

To understand why skills-based hiring works well for talent acquisition, we must consider the question ? At its core, talent acquisition aims to address not just the current talent needs but also the long-term, strategic workforce plans. It can do so by predicting what skills the organization will require in the future to stay competitive, grow, and scale to future needs. Skills-based hiring can support a future-oriented talent acquisition strategy, thanks to:

• Productivity: People with the right skills for the job can be more effective in their roles.
• Diverse talent pools: A skills-based approach helps find qualified talent that wouldn鈥檛 be found otherwise, expands talent pools, and increases workforce diversity.
• Transparency: Skills-based talent decisions can be more equitable, fair, and legally defensible while also helping candidates get clarity and more agency over their careers.
• Efficiency: Skills-based practices enable faster talent decisions, which, in turn, accelerate the entire recruitment process, reducing time to hire and improving productivity.
• Strategic hiring: A skills-based approach helps organizations understand the skills they will need in the future and hire talent to fill those gaps.
• Approach validation: Skills-based hiring is a great way to demonstrate the value of prioritizing skills鈥攂efore implementing the approach across other HR practices.

Considerations for Adopting Skills-Based Hiring: Exceptions, Misconceptions, and Challenges

Of course, there are still barriers to adopting the skills-based approach to hiring and recruitment. Sometimes, traditional criteria are necessary, such as when hiring for roles that require a specific degree or certification, like lawyers, doctors, and pilots. Candidates鈥� backgrounds and experience can also be crucial. Senior leaders may be chosen in part due to their industry or market experience; public relations leaders may be hired for their network and media contacts.  

There are also many misconceptions about . For instance, some believe that resumes are unsuitable for skills-based hiring because they鈥檙e structured around traditional criteria, such as education and past job titles. In reality, candidates can focus their CVs more on skills, and organizations can use applicant tracking systems and other recruitment software to analyze resumes and screen for the best applicants. In fact, thanks to the use of AI-enabled recruiting tools, skills can even be inferred from experience listed on resumes.

Finally, a widespread concern among talent acquisition leaders is how to make skills-based decisions equitably and efficiently. To do it fairly and thoroughly, they may need to research which skills are relevant for each role, devise custom skill assessments, and prepare job-specific interview questions rooted in the relevant skills. However, the recruitment process also needs to move along quickly, yield good results, and create a smooth candidate experience. So, although , many talent acquisition leaders are still concerned about the efficiency of this approach. Thankfully, this is where technology can make a crucial difference.

Removing Barriers to Skills-Based Hiring

Skills-enabling technologies have long been used in HR practices: online learning systems to help employees develop new skills and complete required training, job architectures that help define roles and the skills needed for them, and skill assessments to help understand the capabilities and skill proficiencies that people have. While some potential barriers to adopting a fully skills-based approach may exist for certain roles, AI can help empower organizations to hire the best talent with the skills needed to succeed. Using and 51风流SuccessFactors solutions can provide organizations with multiple approaches to adopting skills that may fit their unique workforce and hiring needs.

Using AI to Fuel Your Skills-Based Hiring Approach

The widespread adoption of has opened up new capabilities in talent acquisition software while also optimizing existing functions. For example, with the , talent acquisition teams can leverage AI to help them adopt skills-based hiring practices:

• Skills Framework: The 51风流SuccessFactors talent intelligence hub offers an AI-enabled skills framework that can allow organizations to consolidate skills data from multiple sources for a comprehensive view of their workforce. AI-driven capabilities within the skills framework can allow organizations to align skills to job roles to better understand and address skills gaps.
• Job descriptions: AI-assisted content generation allows recruiters to quickly create and enhance compelling skills-based job descriptions to attract diverse candidates with the right skill sets.
• Improved candidate experience: When candidates upload their resumes during the application process, AI-driven skills extraction allows them to view, validate, and manage skills on their profiles.

• Job recommendations: Upcoming innovations include the ability for candidates to use AI to help them find the best opportunity for them based on skills extracted from their resume.
• Resume analysis: Using AI-driven skill inference, recruiters can quickly analyze applicants鈥� resumes and compare best-matched candidates based on skills.
• Interview questions: With insights from skills data, AI can recommend relevant skills-based interview questions to ensure interviewers are prepared to fully engage with top candidates.
• Skills evaluations: Using AI-recommended interview questions, interviewers can effectively assess candidates and provide evaluations based on the skills needed for a role.
• Equitable decision-making: AI-assisted applicant screening helps recruiters make bias-free, skills-based hiring decisions quickly and confidently.

AI can be a true catalyst to an organization鈥檚 hiring potential, and many of our customers are already leveraging AI-enabled capabilities. If you鈥檙e curious how works, check out this .

is an excellent way to recruit the talent your organization needs to thrive and stay competitive鈥攖oday and into the future. The right recruitment software can make skills-based hiring intuitive, equitable, and efficient.  

For a deep dive into our skills research, on making skills a reality in your organization and .

By shifting towards a skills-based approach to talent acquisition and development, companies can build a workforce that is not only capable of meeting current demands, but also equipped to navigate future challenges effectively. Here are three strategies for building a dynamic organization with a skills-based approach to talent.

1. Identify and Prioritize Critical Skills

The first step in implementing a skills-based approach is to identify the key skills that are crucial for the organization’s success. This involves analyzing the current and future needs of the business and understanding the skills that are in high demand in the market. By prioritizing these critical skills, organizations can focus their hiring efforts on candidates who possess or have the potential to develop these competencies.

With the 51风流SuccessFactors talent intelligence hub, organizations can have the power and simplicity of a single skills model from recruiting, onboarding, learning, and development, all the way through to performance and succession.聽It helps to better understand, build, and leverage the skills of workforces. It can connect individual skills, attributes, strengths, and preferences to both people and experiences throughout聽51风流SuccessFactors solutions.

By creating a comprehensive overview of the skills available within the organization, managers can identify gaps and areas for improvement. This information can inform talent development initiatives, such as training programs or job rotations, to help employees acquire the necessary skills to excel in their roles. For example, within the talent intelligence hub there is a team growth portfolio view, which allows managers to quickly assess skill gaps and search for prioritized skills within their teams.

2. Foster a Culture of Continuous Learning

Building a dynamic organization requires a culture that supports continuous learning and skill development. Organizations can encourage employees to enhance their skills through internal training programs, mentorship opportunities, and access to external resources. By creating a learning environment where employees are motivated to upskill and reskill, organizations can ensure that their workforce remains adaptable and competitive in a rapidly changing market.

AI-enabled learning platforms can deliver personalized and adaptive training programs based on individual skill gaps and career aspirations. with embedded AI can give organizations a wide range of capabilities that help enhance a learner鈥檚 experience with relevant recommendations that are unique to each learner and based on their needs and interests. In addition, has AI-driven recommendations to help match employees with assignments, career opportunities, mentors, and more. This solution considers not only qualifications but also skills, experiences, and preferences, so that organizations can ensure better talent alignment and engagement.

3. Embrace Flexibility and Adaptability

In a skills-based approach to talent management, organizations need to be flexible and adaptable in their recruitment and development practices. This means being open to hiring candidates with transferable skills and potential for growth, rather than focusing solely on specific job titles or qualifications. This can be made possible with technology that supports skills-based hiring.

With , skills can be aligned to job requisitions and skills-based candidate evaluations. This can allow hiring managers to view rankings of candidates and determine the best candidate based on their skill proficiency. In addition, recruiters can leverage generative AI capabilities to help enhance job descriptions, including the proper skills and competences, which helps recruiters hire the best talent for a role. By embracing a more flexible approach to talent acquisition, organizations can build a diverse workforce with a wide range of skills and perspectives, driving innovation and creativity.

A skills-based approach to talent management can help organizations build a dynamic and resilient workforce that is equipped to thrive in today’s fast-paced business environment. By prioritizing critical skills, fostering a culture of continuous learning, and embracing flexibility in recruitment and development practices, organizations can create a competitive advantage through their most valuable asset 鈥� their people.

To learn more about how to build a dynamic organization with a skills-based approach to talent, register for this聽 on Thursday, April 25, at 1:00p.m. EST.

Christina Russo is a global director of Product Marketing at 51风流SuccessFactors.

Guided by the organization鈥檚 clear , Coles鈥� team of 120,000 employees is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of customers and the local communities it serves.

In fiscal year 2020/21, Coles Group hired nearly 30,000 people to deliver on its business needs. Mike Virgo, head of Talent Acquisition for Coles Group, said this hiring volume was necessary to make sure the company was 鈥減ositioned well to support our customers.鈥�

The business environment, however, dramatically shifted as the public health crisis of the pandemic unfolded, resulting in repeated lockdowns and restrictions. As a neighborhood retailer dependent on in-person interaction to deliver most of its services, Coles found its workforce impacted by the pandemic. Faced with supply chain disruptions, panic buying behaviors by consumers, high employee absenteeism, and increased turnover, Coles urgently needed to step up its volume and pace of hiring to support its customers.

鈥淎round 2020-2021, we started to experience one of the most significant shifts in the employment market we鈥檇 ever seen,鈥� Virgo said in a at . 鈥淚t started to create huge challenges for organizations around the world 鈥� around how we attract, retain, and hire talent.鈥�

Catalyst for Change and a New Way of Working

To meet pressing business demands, Coles doubled its hiring volume from 30,000 to 60,000 people and increased recruitment advertising spend by a factor of three. Its talent acquisition team grew proportionally to manage the increased workload 鈥� but then labored under manual transactional activities that slowed processing times. As a result of the huge strain, variability in the candidate and hiring manager experience became noticeable.

Due to the volume of work, Coles looked for ways to evolve its system to create more speed, efficiency, and scalability. With a list of criteria, Coles began to review technology solutions on the market to find one that could support its vision for a new way of working. 鈥淲e wanted to reimagine how we recruit for our stores,鈥� Virgo said. 鈥淲e needed automation and AI to remove a lot of the manual work in our systems. We wanted to create more consistency and uplift the experiences we were giving our candidates and our hiring managers. And ultimately, [the solution] needed to drive commercial benefit for us.鈥�

As a key requirement, the new solution needed to integrate with . In 2020, as part of an organization-wide digital transformation that introduced 51风流S/4HANA and 51风流Ariba solutions, Coles modernized its HR and payroll processing, replacing a patchwork of outdated systems with 51风流SuccessFactors solutions. It became the first organization in the southern hemisphere to launch all modules of the 51风流SuccessFactors portfolio in one go. With all HR processes unified on a single platform, Coles benefits from having a single source of truth for people data that is accurate and available in real time for the entire organization.

Two-Way Integration Ensures Single Source of Truth in Data

To help with the project, Coles chose , an 51风流partner whose AI-powered Intelligent Talent Experience platform provides two-way integration with 51风流SuccessFactors solutions. Virgo said the two-way integration 鈥渁llows us to have a holistic view of the candidates that progress through the process, no matter whether the team is operating in Phenom or 51风流SuccessFactors, and it allows 51风流SuccessFactors to be our single source of truth.鈥�

There are several key benefits of Phenom鈥檚 solution at Coles. One is candidate attraction and engagement, which is achieved primarily through the Coles career site and chatbot. Another is recruiter automation and interview management, which provides automation and process efficiencies from when a job requisition is created in 51风流SuccessFactors solutions and replicated into Phenom until a hiring manager chooses a candidate for the job. Once a candidate is chosen, the two-way integration enables the HR team to access the data in 51风流SuccessFactors solutions and complete all compliance aspects, such as working rights, contract generation, and onboarding.

The Coles team gains additional efficiencies in its onboarding programs through the application of robotic process automation (RPA) powered by two bots that work in the background: Ashbotty processes the working rights and Usain Bot processes onboarding and manages pending recruits. 鈥淭hey take a lot of the transactional, manual work that we used to have team members doing. It can do that quickly, accurately, and it can do that 24/7 鈥� which is particularly important for us as a seven-days-a-week business,鈥� Virgo said. 

AI-Powered Experiences for Candidates and Recruiters

Coles reimagined the candidate experience to launch a modern, tech-enabled career site 鈥� which has been chosen as a two-time winner of Australia鈥檚 Best Careers Site. The site includes an AI-powered chatbot to guide candidates as they look for information, search relevant job postings, and submit their applications. It also includes Coles鈥� Expression of Interest, always-on advertising that drives the growth of its talent pool and advances its talent marketing by reducing the need to advertise every role. A Hosted Apply process, facilitated by integrations with Phenom, presents a consistent candidate experience and increases the conversion rate on applications.

Phenom AI Scheduling, a key part of Coles鈥� hiring experience, enables candidates to book themselves an available interview slot and automates the coordination of hiring team calendars. The new solution provides a fully mobile-enabled experience to meet the demands of candidates for an omni-channel, real-time experience where they can learn, read, and apply for jobs where and when they want.

Inundated by nearly 1 million applications each year to review, Coles also took steps to elevate the recruiter experience and increase the speed and accuracy of candidate screening and job matching. It implemented Phenom Fit Score, an AI-powered feature that assesses a candidate鈥檚 suitability for an open role, based on location and optimal travel distances, availability, and working rights; then, assigns a fit score and surfaces the most closely matched candidates to the recruiters. In addition, the new solution empowers in-store managers to collaborate with recruiters to review candidates and make quick hiring decisions with confidence.

Talent Pools Grow with Improvements to Hiring Speed and Efficiency

With the new augmented solution, Coles is experiencing tangible benefits across multiple categories and key metrics for success: time-to-fill is down six days; time-to-hire is down two days, which is impressive considering candidates can book the in-store interview up to two weeks in advance; and advertising spend is down 50%.

Most notably for Coles as a people-centric organization is the development of its talent pool, now numbering 2 million potential candidates. It achieves an 85% application conversion rate on up to 1 million applications per year. Through its to be a safe, inclusive, and diverse workplace, Coles has applied the new solution to provide greater accessibility for more diverse candidates, resulting in an increase of 24% more hiring for people who identify as having a disability. 

Virgo said that the talent acquisition team will continue to evolve its solution and assess more opportunities for AI and automation to bring value to the recruitment process. Although these technologies are not cure-alls for every recruitment scenario, they can save recruiting teams precious time and resources to focus on more high-touch interactions further down the recruiting funnel. In sharing lessons learned, Virgo noted, 鈥淚 think the important call out is the level of automation you can inject in your process will likely diminish as the seniority, complexity, and requirements of your roles increase because they are likely to be more high touch, perhaps need more interpretation or judgment calls from your recruiters to identify who the right talent is for your organization.鈥�

Watch on demand.

This cybersecurity month is especially noteworthy because the Biden-Harris administration recently recognized 51风流in its newly announced . Developed with companies, academia, non-profits, and U.S. government bodies, the NCWES aims to reinforce cybersecurity as a top priority and address short- and long-term cyber workforce gaps. The cybersecurity industry is not only important to upholding national security, but to leading in a digital economy where our increasing reliance on technology will only foster a more complex cyber threat environment. 

Persistent Pipeline Problem 

As noted in a explaining the new strategy, the U.S. has a persistent cyber talent pipeline problem that has continued to grow 鈥� with more than 750,000 cybersecurity jobs vacant in 2023. And it鈥檚 not just the U.S. that faces such a talent gap. According to , there鈥檚 been a 350% increase in cybersecurity job vacancies globally from 2013 to 2021. In 2023, the number of unfilled cybersecurity jobs lands at a whopping 3.5 million globally. And the disparity between the workforce supply and demand is predicted to remain through at least 2025. 

It’s a crisis, confirms Nora Clark, program lead for the Global Security Early Talent program at SAP. 鈥淭he need is there鈥ttacks are always happening though people may not realize because they鈥檙e going on in the background鈥very employee is a cybersecurity defender and can influence company security and compliance.鈥� But for young professionals, it can be nearly impossible to start a career in cybersecurity, she explains. Many positions require years of prior experience. Not many universities offer degrees in cybersecurity, and there鈥檚 a large learning curve that鈥檚 hard to overcome without support. 

That鈥檚 why Clark was charged with the task of creating a program at 51风流to fill the need for early talents in the cyber space.聽

Global Security Early Talent Program at SAP 

Inaugurated in June 2022, the two-year offers young professionals entry into the cybersecurity space at 51风流through rotations with company security divisions such as Global Cyber Defense and Design, Physical Security, and Risk and Compliance; team workshops; and mentorships. Candidates who successfully graduate from the program are offered placement on a permanent team at SAP. 

Clark chose to have the program span two years because cybersecurity has many applications and the knowledge may not transfer across teams. Two six-month rotations allow candidates to gain their footing and one 11-month rotation consists of completing a project with a cyber team at SAP. 鈥淭his is why our program is designed differently than other programs,鈥� she says. 鈥淧eople say it鈥檚 really hard to gain the knowledge and then apply it in a short amount of time. That鈥檚 why we provide the Global Security Early Talent candidates learning opportunities, mentorships, and more to support them in their cyber career journey.鈥� 

As a real testament to the initiative鈥檚 mounting success, candidates now have 43 different rotations to choose from. 鈥淚’ve thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to rotate across various security teams, which has allowed me to delve deep into different security topics and build out my network,鈥� Jacob Winemiller, Global Security Early Talent program participant, says. 鈥淎s an early talent in this program, I鈥檝e had the opportunity to work on interesting projects and contribute to meaningful initiatives. From day one, my experience has been nothing short of amazing.鈥�

But the program is about more than just gaining the technical knowledge to survive in cybersecurity 鈥� it also focuses on developing soft skills like storytelling, presentation skills, and networking. 鈥淲hen we talk about the program, we鈥檙e not just talking about being technically skilled in cyber. We鈥檙e also looking to see if they are going to be our next leaders, the next experts in the security industry,鈥� Clark explains. Adam Santilli, Global Security Early Talent program participant, confirms: 鈥淎s trainees, we are encouraged to develop both our soft and hard skills. The opportunity to do that while being a part of three different teams has given me a unique view on security issues today. I have also formed personal and highly valued relationships throughout this process. They have helped me expand my comfort zone and develop my interpersonal skills.鈥� 

Setting an Industry Standard 

When designing the program at SAP, Clark struggled to find information about early talent cybersecurity programs at other companies to learn from. 鈥淲hen we started this program, there were seemingly no other early talent cybersecurity programs out there. This type of cybersecurity program for people coming fresh out of college is unique.鈥� Indeed, 51风流was the only foreign entity recognized in the Biden-Harris administration鈥檚 NCWES announcement.  

Clark hopes that with the recognition from the U.S. government and more information about the Global Security Early Talent program out there, more companies will establish early talent cybersecurity initiatives and work together to combat the industry鈥檚 workforce crisis. 鈥淚n security, it only works if we communicate with each other,鈥� she says, talking about both the many security teams across 51风流and the cyber industry at large. 鈥淲e all have the same issues and we all want to tackle the same thing. [With the program at SAP] we want to make sure the next generation of security experts have a tight-knit community where they can reach out to each other.鈥� 

Diversity is just as important as communication. It fosters fresh ideas in any industry, but in cybersecurity specifically diversity helps when addressing threats. Clark explains: 鈥淭here has to be diversity because our adversaries are also diverse and we don鈥檛 know where they鈥檙e coming from or what their background is.鈥� Likewise, the NCWES stresses the importance of empowering those currently underrepresented in the cyber workforce. 

As a large, global company, 51风流has a responsibility to prioritize cybersecurity 鈥� for itself and its ecosystem. When you add in the workforce crisis and the need for early talents to that equation, it becomes a no-brainer. 鈥淲e鈥檙e continuing to build our program and support the cyber force,鈥� Clark says. 鈥淯ltimately, we want to see how we can also help others.鈥� 

Gillian Hixson is an integrated communications specialist at SAP.

I recently had the pleasure of participating in a webinar with Ian Lawless and David Rae of , during which we discussed effective talent strategies for this unprecedented period. We touched on the changing workforce, the impact of turbulence, and how procurement can build effective talent strategies for 2023.

Talent is a topic that is close to my heart and one that we are hearing is top of mind for procurement executives. Here are three key takeaways from our conversation that procurement leaders can apply to address talent strategies in 2023 and beyond.

1. Focus on Attracting and Retaining Employees to Overcome the Ongoing Talent Shortage

The polycrisis has changed the workforce, and it is time to change with it. , the COVID-19 pandemic, arguably the first and most significant event of this recent polycrisis, has caused long-lasting disruption to the workplace, creating 鈥渁 once-in-a-generation 鈥� or even once-in-100-years 鈥� opportunity to question some of our long-held assumptions about how we work.鈥�

Being able to nurture existing talent, being able to upskill existing talent, being able to recruit young talent to the procurement function 鈥� these are all top concerns. And not just in procurement: logistics is another area where we鈥檙e seeing increased demand for that skill set but where we do not have the capacity or enough capability in our current organizations, especially not to meet the demand that continues to build.

2. Engage and Manage External Workers as a Pillar of Your Strategy

罢辞诲补测鈥檚 workforce must be viewed holistically to include external resources, a practice that is growing more common as businesses seek to gain flexibility and control.

In the most forward-thinking companies I have seen, the CHRO and CPO have a collaborative relationship. It鈥檚 one where they are building a total workforce strategy together that looks at the capabilities within the full-time employee base and being sure that they are recruiting and training to have those critical skills. They are also thinking about what is the best way to leverage contingent workers and service providers to get global reach, specialization, or agility 鈥� to be able to have flexibility to expand or contract the workforce without having to go through the emotional task of restructuring or downsizing.

3. In Times of Turbulence, Meet Workers Where They Are

Agility is key to fulfilling the evolving role of procurement, as well as the demands of the talent pool. Living in a polycrisis has shown that we need different ways of thinking and working. In a dynamic environment, procurement teams must strengthen and regain capabilities that were previously unused or lost given the years of fairly consistent supply chain stability. Businesses must employ new methods to access crucial skill sets while mitigating risk, such as investing in the external workforce and providing flexibility to workers.

In a lot of areas, the last few years have made us very risk weary. CFOs are saying, 鈥淗ow can I better mitigate risk? We鈥檝e been through a roller coaster. I really want to take more risk out of our business.鈥� And one of the ways to do that is to have a dynamic workforce where you can efficiently shift labor or capability where you need it, when you need it.

In this age of uncertainty, procurement responsibilities have increased and are even more in the spotlight. Upskilling procurement talent is a vital part of being more effective and meeting the growing expectations of business stakeholders. But you can鈥檛 do it alone. Thankfully, technology is here to help you manage the complexities and the risk, and make proactive, informed decisions. At SAP, we continue to listen to the market, to not only address the challenges encountered today but to bring the solutions that will help procurement evolve into the future.

To learn more about the webinar and read a full summary, check out this white paper: .

Explore these solutions from 51风流that can help procurement leaders navigate through challenging times:

Don鈥檛 miss the opportunity to learn more about the full range of SAP鈥檚 procurement and total workforce solutions at in Vienna, Austria.

Etosha Thurman is chief marketing and solutions officer for Intelligent Spend and Business Network at SAP.

When fast-growing Mexico-based pharmacy retail chain San Pablo Farmacia faced the same challenge, it found the solution through adopting employee experience management technology. San Pablo Farmacia was established in 1936 and built on traditional customer service values, providing customers throughout Mexico City and beyond with a full-service pharmacy. The company offers over-the-counter medications, natural health products, and home delivery and call center services. With significant e-commerce operations, it offers a delivery service throughout the country, even in locations where it does not have a physical store.

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Equitable Learning Boosts Employee Performance, Talent, and Engagement

An important part of the company鈥檚 business model is to employ people with no previous experience and allow them to acquire skills, become certified, develop, and grow. Committed to being an employer of choice and wanting to be seen as one of the best companies to work for in Mexico, the company developed an employee experience strategy. It mapped out what it means to be an employer of choice in terms of offering and delivering opportunities for meaningful work and personal growth in a positive work environment.

To realize this strategy, San Pablo Farmacia would need to put employees at the center of every step of the employment journey. First, attracting and engaging quality talent and expertly managing its large volume of new hires each year called for improvements in its recruitment process. Then, enhancing onboarding and training experiences for new hires while giving everyone access to the relevant systems and data for optimal efficiency required transforming and connecting in a range of talent management processes.

As the cornerstone of its inclusive and modern approach to talent management, San Pablo Farmacia adopted an integrated, cloud-based HR and talent management solution, which included . To move from traditional, in-person training to online delivery, San Pablo Farmacia created an intuitive and engaging training experience that employees can consume at their convenience. By integrating the learning solution with other talent management applications, it can design personal training and development plans in line with its growth strategies and the individual needs of the entire workforce. With the introduction of its first online learning program, the company delivered certified training to 1,800 employees without the need to transport its people to a training location and take them away from their pharmacy stores.

Optimizing HR Operations and Payroll

Elsewhere, automated payroll processes reduce the risk of human error while giving managers access to modern tools to simplify employee management and shorten approval cycles. With a single source of truth for employee data, managers are empowered with the information they need to set and track performance objectives. And for customer-facing employees, mobile access to self-service HR tools provides an intuitive experience that has increased employee engagement and satisfaction.

With the solutions in place, San Pablo Farmacia has enhanced organizational agility, attracted quality talent, , and shaped a positive workplace culture.

More engaged employees are seen as brand ambassadors, directly impacting customer satisfaction, achieving an average delivery time of just 42 minutes to service customers at home. And according to Forbes, San Pablo Farmacia ranks among the top-rated customer service pharmacies in Mexico as of July 14, 2022, and it has aligned with the standards of a great place to work in Mexico every year since 2018.

Future-Proofing the Workforce Through Technology

In terms of next steps, San Pablo Farmacia is working toward transforming commissions so they鈥檙e nonlinear. With the right tools, the company can better determine which products to promote and give its people real-time access to sales data and the benefits they will receive from selling the merchandise.

51风流SuccessFactors Human Experience Management (HXM) Suite helps provide the technology foundation behind San Pablo Farmacia鈥檚 top-ranking reputation. The company uses a suite of 51风流SuccessFactors solutions for core HR, payroll, recruiting, onboarding, performance, compensation, learning, succession, and development.

To learn more about these solutions, visit us .

Maryann Abbajay is chief revenue officer at 51风流SuccessFactors.

Like so many businesses around the world, Delaware is facing big issues when it comes to recruitment. The shortage of available talent in the market and then having to fight other companies for talent when it鈥檚 available is a drain on Delaware鈥檚 time and resources.

“It鈥檚 unsustainable,” says David Taylor, head of Growth Initiatives at Delaware. “We鈥檙e a smaller business, but we’ve got big targets for growth. We’re aiming to triple our size in the next three to five years. That means we need access to great people. Now the challenge for us is that we don’t have the same resources as bigger companies. We don’t have a big team of people building that pipeline of talent for us.”

Step forward 51风流and the Partner Talent Initiative.

“It鈥檚 a really helpful mechanism to attract great people. It gives us the chance to take advantage of SAP鈥檚 reach and reputation to get in front of candidates who wouldn’t necessarily have heard of Delaware otherwise,” explains Taylor.

The other challenge the initiative has helped Delaware address has been finding experienced individuals who can bring a wider range of skills and insights to the table.

“For 51风流partners like us to establish a strong pipeline of talent and meet the needs of our clients, we really need to diversify our strategies,” says Kaity Cloke, senior recruitment consultant at Delaware. “We need to be looking at bringing new people into the industry, people who have different, diverse skill sets, who can support the work that we do. The Partner Talent Initiative is really helping us to address those issues.”

Indeed, Taylor goes on to say that some of the best consultants they鈥檝e hired have been people who have worked in a specific industry already, rather than only ever working as a consultant.

“The initiative gives us access to a pool of experienced candidates from a variety of different backgrounds, many of whom have experience of living in the real world,” he adds. “It gives us a different outlook than if we were only hiring people from our graduate scheme, and we aren鈥檛 competing against other companies for these candidates.”

So far, Taylor and Cloke have hired three people, two into the finance team and one onto the 51风流SuccessFactors team, namely Caroline McDonald, whose story is featured .

“One of the real values of the Partner Talent Initiative is that we can go to 51风流and tell them our pain points, the areas where we need to bring people in, and they shape the initiative to suit us and address those issues. It’s a really collaborative approach,” says Taylor. “It also means that 51风流takes on a lot of the hard work of finding talent for us. For us, it鈥檚 a no-brainer to know that we have access to such fantastic talent to support our growth. It’s an opportunity that鈥檚 been too good to pass up.”

Find out more about the initiative or contact the team at partneracademy@sap.com.

The report covers the complex talent acquisition landscape, considering user experience, core applicant tracking system (ATS), candidate relationship management, recruitment marketing, analytics, internal mobility, and onboarding of 20 vendors.

With multiple challenges converging at once, including a growing skills gap, ongoing talent shortage, and rising inflation, leaders are increasingly focused on recruiting the best talent and developing their current workforce. With the macroeconomic disruptions happening globally,聽how can they optimize their current workforce by placing the right people in the right roles? More than 75% of business leaders say the ability to hire and retain talent is most critical to achieving growth, according to the , and only 31% expect talent shortages to ease this year.

At 51风流SuccessFactors, we have and continue to invest in our to empower our customers to take these challenges head on with a holistic approach to building a sustainable workforce — from recruitment to internal mobility to learning and growth. Our talent acquisition product development is focused on enhancing the candidate experience, providing greater support for recruitment solution users, automating processes, and enhancing core capabilities.

As the IDC MarketScape noted: 鈥�51风流SuccessFactors continues to add new features and functionality to its platform to provide recruiters, hiring managers, and candidates the best possible experience while improving key metrics such as time to fill and quality of hire.鈥�

Intuitive recruiter dashboards with candidate “select and compare” options, new hire onboarding with embedded listening, and embedded features to reduce implicit bias are all noted as strengths of the 51风流SuccessFactors solutions for talent acquisition.

Our excitement for being recognized as a Leader by the IDC MarketScape is surpassed only by our passion to see our customers win the war for talent. For example, a financial services group in South Africa, was able to reduce time-to-hire by 25% using 51风流SuccessFactors solutions. Kammy Sing, the company鈥檚 group head of operations said: 鈥淭he best candidates are often the ones with multiple job offers, and any delays in the hiring process could lead to a missed opportunity. With faster hiring processes we鈥檙e even better placed to find and attract top talent to our organization.鈥�

, an international food and agribusiness, is also using 51风流SuccessFactors solutions to transform its talent management. President and Group CIO Thiagaraja Manikandan said: 鈥淭o operate at the speed modern business demands and strengthen our position as a leading employer, Olam chose 51风流SuccessFactors and Qualtrics to reimagine how we equip candidates and employees with the resources, services, and tools to support their work and development.鈥�

The IDC MarketScape recognized 鈥渢he option to integrate 51风流SuccessFactors Recruiting and 51风流SuccessFactors Onboarding as part of the 51风流SuccessFactors HXM suite or to purchase as standalone provides clients with strong flexibility in choice for solutions.鈥�

While talent acquisition remains an important strategy to address talent challenges, the positive results will be short-lived if not combined with an effective growth and development strategy. 51风流SuccessFactors solutions are designed with flexibility and extensibility in mind, enabling customers to take advantage of the latest innovations faster than ever before. For example, organizations can embed 51风流Fieldglass software into recruiter dashboards to manage contingent workers and 51风流SuccessFactors Opportunity Marketplace can help organizations be more agile in how they upskill and utilize skills from their employees to fill gaps quickly.

As we look toward the future, we are focused on continuing to build our whole self model to support organizations in continuing to provide opportunities that are relevant for each individual 鈥� helping them to grow their careers in line with their personal growth. The magic happens when organizations can bring together talent data across the employee life cycle, starting with each candidate, and deliver a consistent, individualized experience for the entire workforce. Combined, this is what will help organizations build a sustainable workforce capable of delivering greater economic sustainability.

To learn more, download a complimentary copy of “” (doc #US48357022, June 2022).

.

Amy Wilson is senior vice president of Products and Design for 51风流SuccessFactors.

A recent EY study found that nine out of 10 respondents worldwide, including workers from ANZ, wanted flexibility in their working hours and location. Fifty-four percent of employees were prepared to quit if they weren鈥檛 offered some form of flexibility. According to Thomas Barlow, head of 51风流Fieldglass Centre of Excellence, Australia and New Zealand, the talent challenge is acute when it comes to tech employees.

鈥淭echnology permeates every part of an organization, requiring people with new skills in areas like data science, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, blockchain, robotics, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Organizations need to build a global workforce that meets digitalized business demands,鈥� said Barlow. 鈥淲orkers with specialized expertise typically operate in a highly flexible, agile way. They鈥檙e likelier to be more mobile, in charge of managing their own learning experiences and careers. They also may not be located nearby.鈥�

Complete Talent Pool Data Creates Business Resilience

The latest data from the revealed how pandemic lockdowns have accelerated the skills shortage. reported one in four Australian businesses were struggling to find suitable staff to fill job vacancies. In a recent COVID-19 Resilience Ranking from , Australia dropped 21 points compared to over 50 other major economies worldwide. To meet this workforce challenge, leaders are turning to connected data.

鈥淎s companies build more flexible, cross-border workforces, they need full transparency of all employees, including permanent and external workers,鈥� said Barlow. 鈥淲ith complete workforce data, companies are better prepared to identify and deploy the right people with the right skills to support growth forecasts, or pivot quickly in case of unexpected disruptions like the pandemic.鈥�

AI-based talent pools like have emerged to help organizations quickly match open positions with pre-qualified candidates from the global external labor pool. Integrated with and available on , WillHire curates emerging talent who have the niche skills that support digital transformation.

Global People Strategy Is Core to Business Execution

Historical talent strategies distinguished between permanent full-time employees and external workers who were typically hired to pitch in as a short-term business fix. With the advent of global marketplaces, talent strategies have transformed to flex with changing business demands.

鈥淐ompanies need to embrace fluidity, looking at talent from the perspective of business results, as opposed to permanent versus contract workers,鈥� said Marc Havercroft, global chief customer officer at 51风流SuccessFactors. 鈥淔or example, organizations using and 51风流Fieldglass solutions can easily see how many people work for the company irrespective of an end date on their contract. Data reveals where people are, what skills they have, and their work quality over time. Organizations can quickly identify gaps and find the additional specialists with the latest skills anywhere in the world.鈥�

One 51风流customer, an established ANZ-based financial services organization, needed to digitally transform to attract the next generation of customers. Using both 51风流SuccessFactors and 51风流Fieldglass solutions, leaders sourced external tech experts to build digital services, pairing them with existing employees who shared their business knowledge while gaining new skills.

At the other end of the spectrum, a native digital banking startup in ANZ relied on both 51风流solutions to help guide talent investments in business specialists with go-to-market and customer upselling and engagement capabilities. These experts rounded out the existing team鈥檚 tech-centric skills.

Employee Experience Attracts Global Talent Pool

The same EY study found that worldwide, 72% of respondents believed remotely working would likely have a negative impact on their career opportunities. That percentage was higher (82%) among employees in Asia-Pacific. With greater visibility across the entire workforce, companies can create a strong employee experience in a hybrid 鈥榳ork-from-anywhere鈥� world.

鈥淔ull transparency into an organization鈥檚 workforce capabilities and recruitment needs allows leaders to adopt a continuous learning culture with benefits to the business and employees,鈥� said Havercroft. 鈥淧eople want to learn, making their work enjoyable and career secure. They want to be valued globally for their skills and knowledge, which is probably the biggest benefit of a global talent marketplace.鈥�

Business resiliency demands new talent management strategies to match recruitment programs with forecasted growth opportunities, factoring in skills and roles that might not exist yet but are surely on the horizon. For example, SAP鈥檚 recent acquisition of SwoopTalent鈥檚 IP, an AI-based talent data platform, will allow companies to explore 鈥榳hat-if鈥� scenarios, combining real-world total workforce data to improve ROI on talent investments and other decisions as businesses evolve. Massive growth from digitalization is all well and good. Just make sure you have the business and tech experts on hand to power it.

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Doosan鈥檚 business portfolio consists of diverse industries, including the heavy industry that mainly focuses on power plants generated by fuel, nuclear, or sustainable resources such as solar and wind, the construction equipment industry that is renowned for Bobcat compact tractors and Doosan forklifts, as well as the high-tech industry that includes robotics, electronic components, and network equipment manufacturing.

The goal of the human resources department of Doosan Holdings was to maximize work engagement level. Doosan improved individual employee satisfaction by providing opportunities for self-driven career development. The company provided HR applications for co-growth, both on the employee and corporate side, such as through matching talented employees with appropriate job opportunities across the company. This transparency allowed employees to be aware of vacant positions.

The newly designed internal job posting process spans from internal job search and application to screening and anonymized reporting. After a review is conducted through the anonymized blind report and the document screening is completed, the selected applicants can be interviewed.

Defining the Scope with All Relevant Stakeholders

After defining the broad scope of the use case, the so-called exploration phase of the joint project began, aiming to clarify the purpose of the project together with all relevant stakeholders. The project team conducted a virtual exploration workshop, using the collaboration tool and the by 51风流AppHaus. Based on interviews with relevant stakeholders from Doosan, objectives, expectations, the scope, as well as roles and responsibilities, could be clarified.

Prototyping and Iteration Based on the Needs of End Users

In the discovery phase, the project team conducted end-user interviews with HR managers from Doosan to identify their needs and pain points related to the internal recruitment process. After synthesizing the gained insights, the 51风流AppHaus team created a rapid user interface (UI) design prototype.

End-user insights and needs served as valuable assets in deciding which features were needed and what exactly had to be prioritized in the development of the solution. Low-fidelity prototypes could be iterated regularly so that a user-friendly, tailored solution would be developed.

鈥淚n working with Doosan, we developed a use case along SAP鈥檚 human-centered approach to innovation. We decided to implement an enhanced job candidate screening through specific job requisitions,鈥� said Kay Schmitteckert, developer, 51风流Strategic Customer Engagements. 鈥淚 really enjoyed working together with 51风流AppHaus and Doosan Digital Innovation.”

The Enabler of the Use Case: 51风流Business Technology Platform

The core of the use case is the candidate screening functionality for the internal hiring process, built with . Its technological capabilities allowed Doosan to transform into an intelligent enterprise using customized functions on as well as 51风流SuccessFactors solutions.

It automatically generates candidate scores based on the results of the past competency evaluation and provides appropriate recommendations, priorities, and anonymous reports.

The anonymized reports created enhance the applicants鈥� experience and avoid exposure during the internal recruitment process. Finally, HR managers can quickly assess the suitability of multiple candidates through the in-depth evaluation of candidate information provided.

An Intelligent and Cutting-Edge Hiring Platform

Doosan鈥檚 internal job posting project is a prime use case for future HR management, unfolding its strengths in two dimensions:

1. At the process level, the developed solution represents a cutting-edge increase in HR process efficiency leading to high time and cost savings.
2. At the cultural level, the platform contributes to a culture underlining the possibility of internal job transfers, which ultimately leads to more diversified employee skill sets, highly engaged employees, and lower fluctuation.

“It was a great opportunity to experience the whole process from UX to design thinking, development, and collaboration.聽It was a delightful experience as an 51风流Fiori developer due to the strong backup of UX designers that made such development possible,鈥� said Minchoul Jung, project manager and 51风流Fiori developer l, Doosan Digital Innovation. 鈥淲e will develop the last components on this basis and create value when set in production.”

The integration and extension capabilities of 51风流Business Technology Platform are the key foundation of the use case. The solution provides a suitable candidate list through data screening based on the existing data on 51风流Success Factors solutions. The more data evaluated, the more intelligent and effective the HR process will finally become.

Esther Lee is a project lead and senior UX design specialist at 51风流AppHaus Seoul.

At the same time, the experience of working abroad gave me a taste of what it felt like to be an outsider in some of the countries where I resided. This raised my awareness of the importance of creating a workplace that values inclusivity at its core.

Diversity and inclusion () has long been something that corporations have been striving for across their employee base and leadership teams. It has now become more important than ever for leaders to truly define what D&I means and actively drive toward it, where it becomes part of the fabric of the company rather than an add-on.

It Starts with Communication

The way to understand what diversity is and what it means to an organization is by talking about it. These conversations cannot happen behind closed doors, but rather in an open forum where all members of an organization can exchange their unique thoughts and perspectives. You never know where the next best idea may come from. This is especially important in a global, multi-national corporation that spans geographies and languages.

Effective communication within this realm all starts with understanding and respecting different cultures and perspectives by being conscious of how you communicate. Leaders must be considerate when 聽communicating to help ensure the way they phrase thoughts will not offend people 鈥� whether talking to people of a different gender, race, nationality, or generation.

Communication also goes beyond SAP鈥檚 internal walls and spills out into the way we interact with customers. 51风流is very aware that customers in different countries prefer different methods of communication and is also particular about its communications and choice of words. Within a real-time support environment, the company constantly evolves its practices based on the feedback received from support representatives about the level of support provided to various customers around the world.

Embracing All Perspectives

Talking about D&I may be the first step, but a leader must truly embrace it to affect progress within a team and the larger organization. Once you start to embrace D&I and truly live it, there is no going back. When you are put in circumstances or faced with situations that are clearly lacking diverse thought or input, you may begin to feel uncomfortable. While there is no one way to enact D&I within an organization, leaning into this discomfort to figure out the path forward is where the true answers lie.

First is leading by example. This starts with diversifying a leadership team. Approximately half my team is made up of women. And while I do not believe I am ticking any boxes, I know that this helps set a good example for the rest of the organization.

Beyond gender diversity, it is important to embrace and integrate young talent within a team. Generational differences within teams can lend new perspectives to tacking problems and managing projects. 51风流has built its Technical Core Competence (TCC) team on power couples 鈥� experienced senior architects coupled with less-experienced early talents 鈥� supporting different areas with functional and technical expertise. This unique coupling allows for knowledge transfer, collaboration, and joint accountability across projects and has proven to be very successful. Young talents bring in fresh perspective and skills as well as the willingness to question existing procedures and processes, elevating the team to new levels of performance.

The right mix of people across age, gender, experience level, and culture will ultimately create well performing teams that can achieve much more. A diverse and inclusive team that works together will result in much better decision-making that will stand the test of time and require less change management in the future.

Creating Opportunity for D&I Early

It is important that the D&I scope goes beyond just talking about the numbers or quotas that need to be filled in order to be technically labeled 鈥渄iverse.鈥� Diversity can only be realized at the practical level, with continuous engagement and constant re-evaluation of the processes and initiatives in place that help encourage D&I. This starts at the very beginning with how we define ourselves and our organization to talent looking to enter the job market.

For me, diversity starts at the early talent level. Something as minute as job descriptions can have a long-lasting impact on the overall diversity of a company and its leadership. To afford all employees the opportunity to grow and move up requires making sure they are being given the chance from the very beginning. Hiring the best talent from the get-go, regardless of gender, age, or race, will naturally create a great pool for management positions down the road. It is important to foster this type of environment where the criteria are very clear, and expectations are set around hiring the right blend of diverse talent.

Truly making progress toward D&I within a team and organization requires self-reflection 鈥� taking a look at what has been done, what has been successful and what has not, and making the necessary changes. Diversity and inclusion does not start and stop, and will never be fully achieved; it is something that constantly and consciously needs to be evolved and improved upon.

I encourage you to face a new reality to do things differently, and I hope that this brings about great change and success within your organization.

Andreas Heckmann is the executive vice president of Product Engineering and head of Customer Solution Support and Innovation at SAP.