How SAP SuccessFactors People Analytics supports diversity and inclusion

[StephanieCraig]

Most enterprises have recognized that their markets are becoming increasingly diverse–and those diverse workforces improve corporate results. It’s no surprise that increasing diversity has become an important corporate initiative.

Enterprises have identified, and understand, the benefits of bringing together diverse perspectives and their effect on innovation and business results. They also know it’s simply the right thing to do for their people. However, they recognize the need to do so much more to advance racial and gender equality, reduce economic disparities, and be active advocates for those who are marginalized–like veterans or those with disabilities.

With SAP SuccessFactors, customers have access to a unique analytics solution to help. This purpose-built workforce intelligence application simplifies and accelerates the process of analyzing information across HR and talent processes, relating information to business outcomes, and sharing insights that matter with leaders and managers to influence how they make decisions.

Hundreds of customers use the SAP SuccessFactors Analytics solution, including to analyze and measure their diversity and inclusion programs. Read how Whirlpool, for example, is delivering global, data-driven insights for headcount, diversity, attrition, costs, and high performers. kim_lessley#content:blogposts, Director of SuccessFactors Solution Marketing, Diversity & Inclusion at SAP, has published a related blog series, that you will find in her SAP Community profile.

Diversity and inclusion functionality in SAP SuccessFactors Analytics

The SAP SuccessFactors Analytics solution includes an extensive library of predefined measures and benchmarks that enable our customers to move beyond compliance reporting, and provide visibility into talent management effectiveness, and the effect of diversity.

Figure 1. Example from a library of predefined metrics: Male to Female Staffing Ratio in Management.

These predefined measures help describe and benchmark an organization's workforce across a wide range of organizational and personal characteristics, such as organizational structure, employment status, occupational group, tenure, and diversity groupings:

Age–Analyze workforce measures by different demographic age groups.

Disability–Understand how the physically disabled are represented in the organization.

Ethnic Background–Understand how individual ethnic groups are represented in the organization.

Gender–Analyze measures across gender breakdowns.

Generation– Understand how individual generational groups are represented in the organization.

Minority– Understand how minorities are represented in an organization.

Veteran Status– Understand how Veterans are represented in an organization.

Figure 2. Example: A selection of dimensions that can be used to examine any metric of interest.

These measures also provide detailed insight into workforce demographics and their implications for workforce skill and experience levels, as well as an understanding of the work environment, and the relationships among employees.

Use these critical measures in workforce planning processes to help:

• Develop strategic alignment of diversity and inclusion with business objectives and current HR strategy


• Strengthen the pipeline of diverse talent; and maximize opportunities to retain, develop, and advance diverse leaders


• Follow the progress of women and minorities in their careers with the organization


• Identify and develop all high potential / high performing employees to prepare them for management positions

Also, analyze data and report findings to:

• Internal stakeholders and senior management (HR council, C-suite, the board of directors)


• External organizations through surveys (like Diversity Inc., HRC, Fortune 100, ...)


• Enhance leadership accountability for diversity and inclusion across the enterprise


• Communicate a commitment to diversity and inclusion as a core business value and growth driver


• Evolve as an organization with a diverse marketplace and ensure an increasingly global reach

 

For external comparative analysis, SAP SuccessFactors provides benchmarking against peer companies directly from within the application, and for the specific measures being analyzed.

 

Figure 3. Example of a benchmark for the metrics Male to Female Staffing Ratio in Management.

 

The solution is extremely flexible for collating and sharing the information and insight drawn from the metrics and providing reports and dashboards to meet executives' and managers' needs.

Examples of reports and dashboards:

• Quarterly Diversity Report


• Metrics for the Board of Directors–Levels 1 & 2: Diversity, by Gender and Ethnic Background


• Diversity Recruitment–access to a range of recruiting metrics

 

Figure 4. Example recruiting-focused page from a diversity report.

 

• Female Representation (women in management) – the share of women in management positions

Figure 5. Example of a gender diversity dashboard for a manager.

 

These are examples of outcomes achieved by our customers with the visibility provided:

• Increased engagement: Minority and female engagement increased


• Increase in minorities at VP and above levels: Over 50% over the last five years


• Increase in women at SVP+ levels: Critical mass reached 40%

With SAP SuccessFactors Workforce Analytics, organizations can analyze diversity and inclusion across all HR and talent processes, including recruiting, performance, compensation, learning, promotion, transfers, leadership and succession planning, … by any of the dimensions described here (or extended to include new dimensions as required by customer). This makes the solution extremely powerful in ferreting out workplace inequity.

Getting started

With the depth and breadth of metrics coverage provided, SAP makes it simple for organizations to analyze for inequity. The more significant challenge is that organizations must want to look for inequity in the first place. If they find something, they cannot just ignore it. They must be prepared to do something about it. Is your organization culturally and politically ready to take on the diversity and inclusion challenge brought to light from these analytics? Are you committed to working through the changes required?

For thoughts and ideas to identify and eliminate subtle forms of institutionalized discrimination, see also the on the Evolution of Diversity and Inclusion within Workforce Analytics.

SAP SuccessFactors can help

• Understand the core metrics, business dimensions, and hierarchies available in SAP SuccessFactors Workforce Analytics. Read the


• Learn how SAP SuccessFactors solutions provide decision-makers with the tools they need to identify and reduce unconscious bias where it occurs. Read the Tip Sheet.


• Discover how to set up features in the SAP SuccessFactors HXM Suite to support business beyond bias. Read the Diversity and Inclusion Configuration Guide.


• Want to learn how to make diversity and inclusion part of your organization’s DNA? Watch LinkedIn Live and read the blog post.


• Hear leaders from SAP, SAP SuccessFactors solutions, and eightfold.ai discuss how to make permanent changes to boost DE&I efforts – and how advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, can help. Watch the Webinar.

 

Learn more about how the SAP® SuccessFactors® human experience management (HXM) suite supports diversity and inclusion efforts.