As the rise of AI reshapes industries and transforms roles, the importance of cultivating a strong, skills-based workforce has never been more critical.
A recent report from the World Economic Forum highlights that 44% of employees’ core skills are expected to change in the next five years. To stay ahead in a constantly changing workplace, organizations must not only understand this shift but actively adopt new technology to drive reskilling and upskilling, data-driven decision-making, and continuous learning at scale.
Creating a Unified Skills Foundation for Learning and Talent
SAP provides the tools and intelligence needed for organizations to adopt a robust learning and talent strategy and meet this challenge head-on. The SAP SuccessFactors HCM suite leverages embedded AI across the entire talent lifecycle, from recruiting and onboarding through ongoing learning and development. At the heart of this capability is the talent intelligence hub, a single source of truth for skills intelligence across the entire organization.
We recently announced that the talent intelligence hub can now integrate skills from external partners – a unique differentiator that truly empowers organizations to have one single view of the skills across their business while giving employees access to a constantly evolving skills profile. Partners like Beamery, Degreed, IMOCHA INC, Korn Ferry, Lightcast, Phenom, TalenTeam, and TechWolf will integrate their skills data into the talent intelligence hub – with more partners to come in the future. These partnerships can empower organizations to integrate existing skills frameworks and create a more unified, future-ready workforce.
“SAP has invested heavily into its skills capabilities over the last several years and it is paying off,” said Josh Bersin, industry analyst. “The promise of a skills-led workforce only works if companies have their skills in one integrated place. With these new integrations, SAP’s talent intelligence hub does just that.”
Driving Continuous Growth That Evolves Over Time
Building a skills foundation has been a top priority for HR leaders for several years. A Gartner survey found that one-third of HR leaders plan to increase learning and development spending to develop evolving skills at speed and scale.
With an established skills foundation, organizations have the data to drive ongoing growth and development for their employees. SAP has several solutions that work together to help provide an integrated employee experience that can adapt throughout their career: SAP SuccessFactors Learning and the newly announced SAP SuccessFactors Career and Talent Development.
Career paths are not linear. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Baby Boomer generation held an average of 12 jobs by age 56, and Millennials are estimated to hold up to 16 jobs in their career. Rather, it’s normal for employees to switch job functions that require upskilling, mentorships, fellowships, a lateral move, or a combination. SAP SuccessFactors Career and Talent Development helps guide employees and managers to shape careers based on personal aspirations and organizational priorities. Using AI, it can recommend skills and experiences as well as clearly defined steps that an employee would need to meet their career goals. Recommendations can be enhanced and adjusted based on how that employee progresses – whether it’s by learning new skills or participating in a new opportunity.
A critical part of any career progression and upskilling is learning. SAP SuccessFactors Learning can complement the personalized approach in SAP SuccessFactors Career and Talent Development with AI-recommended content that helps foster curiosity and discovery. It can go beyond mandatory learning for safety and compliance to include content for topics and skills they are interested in. In addition, skills tagged to learning items help employees to discover the next learning steps reflecting their interests, needs, and for further growth. Data from SAP SuccessFactors Learning can filter back to the talent intelligence hub, helping to ensure employees’ skills profiles are constantly up-to-date.
Customer Success with SAP SuccessFactors
SAP is helping businesses like Norsk Hydro and Grundfos Holding stay ahead by combining cutting-edge AI capabilities with a comprehensive learning and talent strategy.
By leveraging the talent intelligence hub, Norsk Hydro has adopted a unified skills model that spans recruiting, onboarding, learning, development, performance, and succession. Each employee maintains a growth portfolio, empowering them to take ownership of their career development by adding role-specific skills and focusing on their priorities. Norsk Hydro has also embraced the new integrated learning experience, using AI to recommend relevant skills-based learning opportunities. By tagging courses with the right skills and connecting learning directly to business goals, Norsk Hydro ensures that employees can easily access the training they need to grow and succeed.
Grundfos Holding is harnessing the talent intelligence hub to foster a more agile, project-based work environment, empowering employees to take on diverse roles based on their skills rather than job titles. This strategic shift not only promotes internal mobility but also enhances employee retention and satisfaction by establishing clear pathways for professional growth and development. Additionally, people leaders now have a comprehensive overview of team members’ skills, facilitating immediate skill assessments and streamlining competency management across the organization. This approach enhances the ability to align talent with business needs effectively, driving both individual and organizational success.
With today’s rapid pace of innovation, having the skills data to fuel data-driven insights for workforce planning and employee growth will be a differentiator for organizations. SAP SuccessFactors solutions are designed to scale and evolve as business and the workforce change.
Tune into SuccessConnect Virtual to learn more about the latest innovations in SAP SuccessFactors solutions, including SAP SuccessFactors Career and Talent Development.
Dan Beck is president and chief product officer at SAP SuccessFactors.
