The News: SAP announced it is using AI across the entire SAP SuccessFactors Human Experience Management (HXM) Suite. Specifics include generative AI use cases such as the creation of job descriptions and interview questions, a robust intelligence hub with personalized learning recommendations for employees, and the use of Joule, SAP’s new natural language. More information on this announcement is available on the SAP website.
SAP Announces AI Across SuccessFactors HXM Suite
Analyst Take: The SAP SuccessFactors HXM Suite includes HCM solutions in several prime areas, including employee experience (EX) management, core human resources (HR) and payroll, talent management and HR analytics, and workforce planning. I am just recently back from SAP’s SuccessConnect event, where unsurprisingly, AI was the hot topic, primarily how it would be leveraged across this suite. The use of generative AI for preliminary use cases, talk about how Joule will support EX, and the use of AI within its talent intelligence hub were all focus areas during the well-attended conference.
During an analyst session, David Ludlow, group vice president, product strategy and research, at SAP SuccessFactors, emphasized the goals behind the AI-powered suite:
Ludlow also shared that the company’s focus is on, of course, not only generative AI but also conversational AI and predictive AI. The company wants to offer new and approved ways to connect end users with technology and reduce friction.
Generative AI Use Cases in Talent Acquisition
Recruitment is a true pain point for many companies, and this use case is one of the first that SAP will be using generative AI. SAP will be using generative AI to create job descriptions and interview questions, increasing efficiencies and taking some of the more mundane, repetitive work out of the process.
Descriptions can be made more effective via the use of generative AI, making sure that the description is aligned with business requirements. It also enables hiring managers and recruiters to weed out biased language. Another use case is in the creation of unbiased and improved interview questions. Additional generative AI use cases are coming for SuccessFactors in 2024.
Joule Provides a Boost to EX
Joule is a natural language, generative AI copilot recently introduced by SAP. Joule is not specific to SuccessFactors but can be accessed across the gamut of SAP and has access to the large amount of information that SAP has across its portfolio.
There will be out-of-the-box use cases across various SuccessFactors modules. Employees will be able to ask questions during their everyday transactions, lessening friction points while trying to find answers, undertaking HR-related tasks such as approving or declining time off requests, and making name and location changes. Managers will really benefit from the use of Joule as an assistant when taking care of the steady stream of secondary tasks that occur in their day-to-day responsibilities. More capabilities are coming in the first part of 2024, including clocking in and out and viewing pay statements.
Talent Intelligence Hub
As the labor market fluctuates and a steady stream of technologies are introduced, skilling, reskilling, and talent strategy are top of mind for many companies. SAP SuccessFactors has an AI-driven talent intelligence hub. The intelligence can provide a view of each employee and a more encompassing picture of a workforce. Each employee within the workforce will have a skills portfolio, and skills data from multiple sources can be used to recommend areas that might need support. Employees will also be able to put their own hopes, styles, motivations, and preferences into the system. Managers will have a 360-degree view of an employee’s skills.
It is more than just training, though, as this model can be used across the entire employee journey including recruiting, onboarding, learning and development, through to performance and succession. This journey was well-demonstrated during the conference with its Cookie Delight demo, which physically and digitally walked you through an employee’s growth with a company, Cookie Delight, from applying to a position to manager promotion. All viewed through their interaction with SuccessFactors.
Other Takeaways from SuccessConnect
There is a lot to like about the current and future roadmap that both executives and customers chatted up at SuccessConnect. The executive team acknowledges that change management is a crucial part of this transformation, and they are being very thoughtful when working with customers to make sure they are delivering AI use cases that are practical, useful, and can be used with confidence.
I liked that the user experience (UX) was getting a lot of attention as employees expect the same grade of experience at their places of employment as they are getting in their personal technology interactions. At a UX-focused session, Purnima Srivastava, senior director of product management at SAP SuccessFactors described the company’s goal to provide a “lovable and reliable platform that taps into people’s needs, motivations and potential, which is designed to be easily adapted based on tastes and trends.” Design principles focus on having the interaction be individualized so that it feels personal to the employee, is efficient to use, and provides the ability to offer opportunities. The company has communicated a pretty steady stream of enhancements and presented a solid UX roadmap for the coming year.
Some might look at these enhancements as “softer” parts of an employee journey, but it is an employee’s day-to-day interactions with not just people but also their supporting technologies that can make or break that journey and either result in employee dissatisfaction and low engagement or serve as an enabler through points of potential frustration and friction. I look forward to seeing more of the SAP SuccessFactors HXM Suite roadmap rollout in the coming months.
Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.
Other Insights from The Futurum Group:
SAP’s Generative AI Copilot, Joule, Coming to SAP Applications
SAP New GAI Assistant, “Joule”
SAP Business Transformation Portfolio Expands With Addition of LeanIX
Author Information
As a detail-oriented researcher, Sherril is expert at discovering, gathering and compiling industry and market data to create clear, actionable market and competitive intelligence. With deep experience in market analysis and segmentation she is a consummate collaborator with strong communication skills adept at supporting and forming relationships with cross-functional teams in all levels of organizations.
She brings more than 20 years of experience in technology research and marketing; prior to her current role, she was a Research Analyst at Omdia, authoring market and ecosystem reports on Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and User Interface technologies. Sherril was previously Manager of Market Research at Intrado Life and Safety, providing competitive analysis and intelligence, business development support, and analyst relations.
Sherril holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from University of Colorado, Boulder and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rutgers University.
