Just over a year ago, SAP unveiled a bold new vision to advance human resources (HR) technology: human experience management (HXM). While human capital management (HCM) was efficient for transactional, HR-driven processes, it simply falls short of employee expectations for intuitive, connected experiences.
HXM is a shift in mindset, design, and architecture that puts employees at the center of business and prioritizes experiences, so people are not only able to be productive but be their best selves and reach their highest potential.
There have been countless changes in the way we work since we announced HXM, but it is even more relevant today because it places the needs of individuals front and center. More than ever, each of us is dealing with individual circumstances. HXM gives employees the ability to work autonomously, in the driver’s seat of their own career journeys while also securing organizational agility amidst changing circumstances. By surfacing tools when and where employees need them, employees can spend more time on the work that matters most. On the other hand, leaders can check in with pulse surveys to see how employees are doing and quickly make changes to deliver the best experience possible.
HXM is our market-making vision and continues to guide the entire product strategy. This month, we will unveil several new updates in our 2H release to continue making this vision a reality for our customers.
Reimagined Homepage Now Available
A core pillar of HXM is designing completely around the needs of individuals. That is why it is so important that the entry point for all SAP SuccessFactors software users is intuitive and seamless. As we reimagine the experience across the SAP SuccessFactors HXM Suite, the newly redesigned homepage delivers a personalized experience built to help employees complete tasks quickly and easily. The redesign focuses on dynamic content such as frequently performed and “save for later” actions and time-sensitive tasks, and all content is organized based on what is most relevant to the individual – from rewards and recognition to development goals. The homepage is included with all SAP SuccessFactors solutions.
More than 50 customers have participated in our beta program this year, providing critical feedback that we have incorporated into the homepage. It will be available to all customers for opt-in beginning this release.
Surfacing New Opportunities with Learning and Intuitive Performance and Goals
A key component of HXM is to provide opportunities that engage and motivate employees. Building a culture of continuous feedback and continuous learning is an ever-evolving area. It is essential not only for the human experience, but as companies look to develop their people and stay competitive. This release, we will deliver several updates to SAP SuccessFactors Learning and SAP SuccessFactors Performance & Goals to further this mission.
A new enhanced capability in SAP SuccessFactors Learning will support blended courses for a unified view on all learning items. The redesigned experience is intended to boost engagement and deliver a more intuitive learning experience on both web and mobile. Employees can more quickly access course details, and related learning courses will be recommended.
Within SAP SuccessFactors Performance & Goals, we have redesigned our feedback experience to help guide users with a simple, question-based approach when giving and requesting feedback to help provide more clarity and context. That feedback is then presented in a new card design layout that helps employees more easily consume it. First introduced in 2016 and now with nearly 2,000 customers, continuous performance management (CPM) continues to evolve so anyone can use it for ongoing dialog, feedback, and one-on-one meetings. This release includes the ability to support multiple roles so project leads and mentors can engage with employees along with line managers.
Embedded Employee Experience Management Capabilities
As we think about delivering exceptional experiences, it is critical to have constant feedback loops that enable businesses to take informed actions. We continue to deliver on our promise to integrate employee experience management capabilities from SAP and Qualtrics across the SAP SuccessFactors HXM Suite. In the 2H 2020 release, these capabilities will be available in several new areas, including:
- Mentoring: When a mentoring program ends, an email survey will be sent to the participants in the mentoring program.
- Benefits: HR leaders can receive direct employee feedback regarding benefits. The survey automatically launches after the employee’s benefits submission.
- Homepage: Qualtrics Remote Work Pulse surveys are surfaced at key moments to ask employees for feedback on how their day-to-day remote work environment.
SAP Work Zone for HR: Digital Workplace Combining SAP, SAP SuccessFactors, and Partner Solutions
The newest solution to be added to the SAP SuccessFactors HXM Suite is SAP Work Zone for HR, a digital workplace solution that is entirely individualized so employees can access everything as a one-stop shop. Currently, most employees log in to 10 or more applications to do their work. SAP Work Zone for HR connects experiences across SAP SuccessFactors, SAP, and our extensive partner ecosystem to streamline work and intelligently surface relevant content, recommendations, insights, and actions. In addition to out-of-the box content, customers can create workflows that span multiple products and experiences, both HR-related and beyond, that are all fit to unique purposes, such as custom integration cards, guided experiences, workspaces, and more. Employees can also fully configure their experience so that it suits them best. The result: smarter, faster, more agile workflows and greater individualization for employees.
SAP Work Zone for HR will be available as part of the 2H 2020 release and is designed for the entire enterprise – not just an HR portal. This new solution provides the human experience for the Intelligent Enterprise.
New Time Management Capabilities
With all the stresses in our daily lives, time off is a sensitive topic. With our new time management capabilities employees can enter additional time off beyond their accrued balance or vacation entitlement. This process integrates with pay components in SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll and/or SAP HCM Payroll to confirm eligibility, and provides the option of purchasing the leave across one or more pay periods. This feature helps reduce the adverse economic impacts of taking leave without pay – putting a smile on employees’ faces.
Another important update is the ability to track time across midnight. Simplifying small tasks make a big difference to employees’ experience at work and frees up more time so they can focus on what matters most to them.
These product updates further the HXM vision we are creating together: putting people first so they can grow, learn, reskill, upskill, and simply be and do their best. As the way we work continues to change and technology advances exponentially, HXM is the foundation that will future-proof business.
To learn more about these updates and our vision for the next year, attend the SuccessConnect virtual event.
Amy Wilson is senior vice president of Products and Design for SAP SuccessFactors.
