AI brings new value to talent management
A global leader in HR consulting and solutions, HR Path Group adopted AI in HR by activating the Joule capability embedded in SAP SuccessFactors solutions. Now AI is supporting the company’s growth and international development, creating value for employees by facilitating HR interactions and helping the company stay at the forefront of innovation.
| Industry | Region | Company Size |
| Professional services | Paris, France | 2,500 employees |
hours saved each month by automating leave requests.
faster to create job descriptions, down from one hour.
HR Director, HR Path Group
Streamlining HR and talent management operations amid global growth
HR Path Group is a global leader in HR consulting and HR information systems. The organization is an SAP gold partner and is trusted by businesses navigating the complexities of human resources technology. Specializing in HR technology advisory and implementation as well as operational services for payroll, HR Path focuses on delivering solutions designed to enhance efficiency and foster growth. It has a presence in 28 countries and has more than 3,000 active customers.
Since HR Path Group was created in 2001, it has built strong core HR and talent management operations on SAP SuccessFactors solutions. With these solutions, the company formalized performance tracking, accelerated employee onboarding, and streamlined the entire recruitment process, including defining job descriptions and finding the right profile to meet its recruitment needs.
But as HR Path continued to expand and its HR processes across multiple countries became more complex and time-consuming, it decided to explore how AI in SAP SuccessFactors HCM could help it stay ahead. The company wanted to use the latest innovations to enhance overall efficiency by accelerating common tasks for employees, such as applying for leave, or by supporting the HR team in creating and updating job descriptions.
Manager of SAP HCM and SAP SuccessFactors, HR Path Group
Facilitating dynamic AI-enabled talent management practices
Wanting to explore how AI could enhance processes from attracting and recruiting the best talent to smoothly onboarding employees and supporting skills development, HR Path activated the Joule capability embedded in SAP SuccessFactors solutions.
As a starting point, HR Path chose to use Joule to automate leave requests in the SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central solution. Fabien Terriere, manager of SAP HCM and SAP SuccessFactors at HR Path, explains, “The first functionality we implemented with Joule was the leave request. We saw immediate value in it because it’s like asking a friend to help you with something. Employees simply phrase their question naturally, and Joule provides the right information, saving time in searching as well as removing the need for our employees to have specific tool knowledge.”
Beyond core HR tasks, HR Path chose to activate Joule with the SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting solution to streamline creating job descriptions and use Joule with the SAP SuccessFactors Onboarding solution to smooth new employee onboarding. This would empower new hires to navigate various HR forms, policies, payroll, and other important information without HR support.
HR Path also used the AI feature to assist with managing resource availability and staffing needs for projects as well as helping managers apply key performance indicators in their daily work.
Furthermore, HR Path implemented the integration between SAP SuccessFactors and Microsoft Teams. This enables managers to receive alerts from SAP SuccessFactors directly in the Teams environment, allowing them to approve leave requests, retrieve employee performance forms, and more—all without logging into SAP SuccessFactors.
HR Director, HR Path Group
Shaping culture and delivering value across the hire-to-retire lifecycle
Since activating Joule, the organization has realized significant operational benefits. Jérôme Boudier, HR director at HR Path, explains, “Joule has streamlined onboarding employees in SAP SuccessFactors. Employees simply ask a question, and the Joule copilot explains and trains them on how to do everything from updating their personal data to entering absences. This is also a bonus for our HR teams because it allows them to provide more value by supporting employees in other areas.”
HR Path’s study of leave requests found that employees now save 30 seconds or more in completing absence requests—a process that used to take several minutes. With the organization handling around 2,500 leave requests per month, this adds up to a savings of 20 hours each month.
Another way that HR Path is using the AI feature is to help employees track their careers. Joule provides a clear and transparent view of the data stored within the HR information system and supports employee skill development through linking to appropriate training modules. It also provides an overall view of their career path at the company.
In terms of tracking employee performance, Boudier says that Joule adds value for managers by providing a concise summary of an employee’s career and progression and facilitating performance reviews. At the end of these reviews, Joule helps set objectives that employees can use and track throughout the year.
Within HR teams, Joule has delivered a boost in the area of creating and updating job descriptions. Previously, creating a job description could take up to one hour. Now, it’s just a matter of asking Joule, and the job description is generated in a few minutes. The company estimates a time savings of 30 to 45 minutes for each job description creation.
Another bonus for HR Path is that it can now use the considerable hands-on experience and knowledge that it has acquired activating Joule to guide client projects.
Manager of SAP HCM and SAP SuccessFactors, HR Path Group
Integrating AI into continuous learning experiences
A key focus for HR Path in the months ahead is to activate Joule in the SAP SuccessFactors Learning solution. Terriere comments, “Artificial intelligence in learning is very important because it will allow employees to find the best training that meets their skill development needs. Our goal is to use AI capabilities to provide them with the right trainings and the ability to choose easily.”
In parallel, HR Path will continue to follow SAP’s solution road map and take advantage of the new features for Joule. Terriere adds, “It’s important to stay updated so that our employees and clients can benefit from the latest innovations.”
There’s also a big role for AI in supporting HR Path’s growth and international development, particularly for opening and developing offices in new countries. Because Joule is multilingual, it will help simplify how the company communicates its policies and processes with employees.