SAP recently introduced human experience management (HXM) solutions. HXM, the next evolution of human capital management (HCM), entirely reinvents the employee experience and equips organizations to create the kind of engagement that drives better business results.

The mandate for the transformation emerged because HCM systems as we know them are falling short. Research has shown that positive people experiences not only result in greater satisfaction and lower turnover, but stronger business results.

Yet, traditional HCM systems were not built with people’s needs and motivations in mind. They were built specifically for human resources (HR) departments to push processes and programs from the top down in order to capture data and process transactions. Try as they may to spruce these up with friendly colors and fonts, expectations have soared. It is clear HCM systems will no longer cut it.

That is why HXM is driving the entire product strategy and investment plan at SAP SuccessFactors.

The SAP SuccessFactors HXM Suite builds on  existing industry-leading solutions to create experiences that serve people – individuals, teams, and organizations – first. As a result, HR departments can serve their businesses better.

 

SAP has defined the HXM suite around four key pillars.

 

1. Redesigning for the End User

While HCM systems were designed to reflect siloed HR operating models, HXM is designed for the way people work. And people do not work or think in siloes. A store manager who needs to quickly hire a team for peak season needs to swiftly move through budget, position, and requisition creation, candidate selection, and onboarding. This process could occur within a day. In the past, HCM systems may have focused on what HR needed to support each of these individual activities. With HXM, the store manager comes first. What will make them successful? Where can non-value-add steps be automated? How can employees be hired and made productive as quickly as possible?

As a result, individuals are more productive and engaged, teams operate at peak performance, and organizations can achieve their goals.

 

2. Supercharging Experiences with Intelligent Technologies

With HXM, experiences are elevated by incorporating new technologies in a purposeful way. For example, machine learning recommendations and nudges may prompt an employee to take an action that benefits their career or wellbeing. Likewise, embedding a chat function directly into the experience can jumpstart a manager’s completion of a task or assist their search for knowledge.

As a result, people feel valued in two ways: work becomes faster and simpler, and their voices and preferences are thoughtfully considered.

 

3. Embedding Tools to Continuously Listen and Identify and Address Gaps 

Traditional HCM solutions were built based on gathering data and processing transactions. By design, these systems efficiently captured operational data ( O-data), such as offer-to-acceptance rates, time-to-productivity, and turnover. This data captures what has happened, and is a powerful component to predict and shape the future. However, it is not the whole story.

HXM enables organizations to also capture valuable experience data (X-data), which describes why something is happening. Together, this data enables organizations to rapidly and radically improve the experience – whether at a micro-individual level or at a macro-program level.

With HXM, organizations can continuously gather feedback at key moments that matter. For example, companies can trigger a simple survey 30 days post-hire as new employees are formulating their first impressions at work. With X-data, companies can gain insights into candidates and new hire experiences. Businesses can gauge how responsive their recruiters are, whether new employees feel connected to their teams, the effectiveness of training, their level of trust in leadership, and more. By linking this data to O-data, such as acceptance rates and early performance, organizations can prioritize improvements to accelerate productivity and early engagement.

 

4. Transcending Boundaries to Go Beyond Traditional HCM

HXM transcends traditional organizational boundaries to deliver exceptional experiences. It goes far beyond HR to include all employee-facing activities, such as travel, procurement, and more. But HXM does not stop with just SAP application areas. With an extensive, open, and connected platform, organizations can access solutions and tools built to be used seamlessly with SAP SuccessFactors software. For example, new experiences may include artificial intelligence-powered interview scheduling, peer-to-peer rewards, and financial wellbeing.

These experiences make it easy for customers to leverage the power of SAP solutions and a robust ecosystem that reflects a laser focus on helping organizations differentiate experiences to gain competitive advantages.

HXM is a culmination of years of research on how people work and what they need from their employers in order to do their best work and be their best selves. While SAP’s vision of HXM is both exciting and ambitious, it does not require a rip-and-replace strategy. It can be a series of strategic, well-timed shifts so customers can deliver unexpectedly exceptional experiences at a pace that aligns with their business priorities.

HXM is a journey that we will be on together. SAP is thrilled to be leading the way!

 

Learn more about human experience management solutions and how you can join this journey at the HXM Digital Summit on November 19. Register here.