SAP Bets Machine Learning Can Make Workplace More Transparent

The company's vision is to develop consumer-like applications that bring more transparency and information to workplace issues such as leadership, pay equity, hiring and health-and-wellness, said Jennifer Morgan, president of SAP's global customer operations for the Americas and Asia Pacific Japan regions. "With AI and machine learning, there's a perfect opportunity to really help companies understand the data so they can make changes as necessary," said Ms. Morgan. Some apps are being developed by in-house employees, while others are being developed through partnerships with startups such as health-and-wellness company Thrive Global, founded by Arianna Huffington. Other companies are trying to modernize corporate management with apps for improving employee performance and retention. At PricewaterhouseCoopers, annual performance reviews have been replaced by a proprietary app that gives employees real-time feedback about how they're doing.