Global economic shifts and a surge in AI adoption are driving a dramatic increase in change and uncertainty. While we have long talked about the ways AI can augment jobs and the need for a deeper understanding of skills, this is no longer something that is coming in the future.
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.
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.
At SAP Sapphire, we announced several new SAP SuccessFactors innovations to support organizations in navigating this rapid change. These innovations leverage the power of SAP Business Suite – including our unmatched business data and AI – to further strengthen our global reach and connection across the enterprise that only SAP can provide.
Unrivaled AI to boost employee productivity and engagement
SAP is leading the market with groundbreaking agentic AI advances, helping organizations accelerate business outcomes and deliver best-in-class employee experiences. Within SAP SuccessFactors HCM, 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.
At SAP 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.
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 SAP Business Data Cloud is a new solution 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.
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 WalkMe for SAP Successfactors HCM, we are helping organizations speed up adoption of SAP 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.
We have also introduced a new HR service delivery solution, SAP SuccessFactors Enterprise Service Management, 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 SAP 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, SAP 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.
More Information
Learn more about these innovations in these SAP Sapphire Virtual sessions: New SAP SuccessFactors HCM Innovations to Transform Your Workforce and How IBM and Standard Chartered are Transforming Work with SAP.
Learn how to simplify your journey with the new SAP Business Suite packages for core HR, talent acquisition, pay for performance, and learning and career development.
Dan Beck is president and chief product officer for SAP SuccessFactors.
