Conversational AI could help new employees through the Onboarding process, and in turn, make life easier for your HR staff. Ideally, Conversational AI would guide an employee through their initial days, help connect them with the right people, and utilize the right systems. This technology, often called chatbots, has been making its way into HCM software like SAP SuccessFactors in recent years. How would Conversational AI improve the Onboarding process? SAP SuccessFactors Onboarding already provides self-service, but the idea is to help employees quickly connect to the right people and systems.

The debate over artificial intelligence's role in HR--from recruiting to workforce planning to performance--has become moot: There's no doubt that AI has arrived and is expanding rapidly in the HR space. But, not so fast, some experts say. While AI represents a fantastic opportunity to drive HR success (and by extension, bottom-line growth), ethical issues tied to AI represent a potential dark side of these technologies. The good news is, chief HR and people officers can successfully navigate this rapidly changing, growing trend by steering clear of those ethical speed bumps in the first place. They must take a smart, steady, planned approach to circumvent negative outcomes.

Rizing LLC, a global SAP functional and technical firm, and Eightfold.ai, The combination of Rizing's experience in implementing SAP SuccessFactors and Eightfold's talent intelligence platform will enhance the capabilities of SuccessFactors using Eightfold's algorithms. The deal is expected to offer advanced hiring and retention while addressing diversity and full candidate experience with a faster return on investment, according to a statement. "As customers look to accelerate their journey to the cloud, they're looking for value-added solutions. Combined with our Upgrade to Success program, this enhancement to talent management means Rizing is delivering innovative value-added solutions across the entire HCM suite," Mike Maiolo, CEO of Rizing said.

At SAP InnovationX this week, one of the first break out talks was delivered by Cloda O'Dea, Human Resources Executive at EY. She spoke about the experience of implementing SAP SuccessFactors across the EY global business. This was a massive undertaking considering that EY employees 260,000 people in 150 countries across four service lines. Her role is the Transformation Director within the internal HR team. They were assisted by the EY SAP SuccessFactors practice.

Robot Vera's AI scans CVs on the Internet or within the customer's own databases and conducts interviews by phone with candidates it matches.robot Recruiting and HR processes offer many opportunities to employ artificial intelligence (AI). That's why SAP and startup Robot Vera are joining forces to develop an AI assistant to take over routine HR tasks. Recruiting is a time-consuming business, with thousands of small steps needed to identify suitable candidates for vacancies. Because of the workload, companies risk losing recruiters who tire of the routine.

Employee turnover is a costly problem, especially for small and midsize businesses. For every position left vacant, the time and cost associated with identifying, acquiring, and training the right person can lessen a business' impact on what's truly critical to its survival – revenue growth and brand expansion. To reverse the downward spiral of poor employee retention, businesses must first automate processes and streamline everyday tasks, according to the IDC report, "HR Transformation and the Digital Journey: How Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Can Deliver Strategic HR," sponsored by SAP SuccessFactors. Doing so improves retention by allowing employees to feel more fulfilled at work as they spend less time on mundane tasks to focus on using their strengths for more strategic tasks and building up their skill sets. For decades, an overwhelming flood of technologies, tools, and processes have promised these fundamental capabilities. While some of them may have their merits, a vast majority are not supported by a level of intelligence that addresses the needs (and expectations) of an increasingly digitally empowered workforce.

To reverse the downward spiral of poor employee retention, businesses must first automate processes and streamline everyday tasks, according to the IDC report, "HR Transformation and the Digital Journey: How Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Can Deliver Strategic HR," sponsored by SAP SuccessFactors. Doing so improves retention by allowing employees to feel more fulfilled at work as they spend less time on mundane tasks to focus on using their strengths for more strategic tasks and building up their skill sets. For decades, an overwhelming flood of technologies, tools, and processes have promised these fundamental capabilities. While some of them may have their merits, a vast majority are not supported by a level of intelligence that addresses the needs (and expectations) of an increasingly digitally empowered workforce. Maybe it's time to look under the hood of your technology investments.

On Tuesday at the 2017 SAP Sapphire Now conference, a panel of top product experts at SAP and AI researchers discussed a critical issue facing businesses: Avoiding hiring bias. The panel included Brenda Reid, product management at SAP SuccessFactors, Patricia Fletcher, solution management at SAP SuccessFactors, Anka Wittenberg, chief diversity and inclusion officer at SAP, and Yvonne Baur, product management at SAP SuccessFactors, and was moderated by Gabriela Burlacu, principal human capital management (HCM) researcher at SAP SuccessFactors. When it comes to diversifying the workplace, many people say "We get the'why,'" said Reid. "But where's the'how'?" Other panelists emphasized this point, illustrating why it's essential for businesses to embrace diversity initiatives. "We're starting to see people say'How do I do this?'" said Burlacu.

Machine learning is cresting the fresh wave of 2017 HR trends. Gartner research predicts algorithms will positively alter the behavior of over one billion global workers by 2020, while over 3 million people can look forward to "roboboss" supervisors. Yvonne Bauer, Head of Predictive Analytics at SAP SuccessFactors, sees machine learning becoming more widespread this year as part of HR's steady progression from art to data-driven science. "More companies will look into machine learning, moving from individual projects to actual products built into HCM suites," she said. "Conversational interfaces like chat bots and natural language processing will emerge this year, allowing companies to change how workers interact with the system and derive insights from those activities, including what people are working on and how engaged they are."

Machine learning is cresting the fresh wave of 2017 HR trends. Gartner research predicts algorithms will positively alter the behavior of over one billion global workers by 2020, while over 3 million people can look forward to "roboboss" supervisors. Yvonne Bauer, Head of Predictive Analytics at SAP SuccessFactors, sees machine learning becoming more widespread this year as part of HR's steady progression from art to data-driven science. "More companies will look into machine learning, moving from individual projects to actual products built into HCM suites," she said. "Conversational interfaces like chat bots and natural language processing will emerge this year, allowing companies to change how workers interact with the system and derive insights from those activities, including what people are working on and how engaged they are."