SAP has unveiled plans to use machine learning to help eliminate bias in hiring and employee performance reviews.
At the SuccessConnect event in Las Vegas, the company exhibited planned upcoming capabilities within its cloud-based SAP SuccessFactors HCM Suite to help global organisations detect and avoid unconscious bias.
As part of its commitment, SAP intends to optimise existing solutions and roll out new functionality in important decision areas that have prevented organisations from using total talent.
The German company is designing the new features with a customer advisory group particularly focused on diversity and inclusion issues.
The planned upcoming technology on display at SuccessConnect includes diversity and inclusion e-book, recruiting, calibration and mentoring.
The e-book, which currently available is a guide which will help customers optimise existing features across the talent lifecycle that support inclusiveness.
It will allow customers with SAP SuccessFactors products to better design, use and benefit from solutions that help them harness the best talent. The e-book is available today.
Recruiting is machine learning-based sentiment analysis of job descriptions within the SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting Management solution.
It helps to identify potentially biased language in job descriptions and recommend alternative language in order to make sure that descriptions are gender-neutral. These enhancements are planned for a future release.
The enhanced calibration within the SAP SuccessFactors Performance & Goals solution will include calibration analysis by diversity rules, including in-app 9-box descriptors and bias detection alerts.
It helps in ensuring consistent, equitable standards in the assessment of performance and potential. These enhancements are also planned for a future release.
Mentoring feature lies within the career development planning component that will match mentors depending on skills and competencies.
It will help ensure mentoring is equitable and inclusive, and track mentor-mentee relationships. Mentoring is planned for availability in the SAP SuccessFactors solutions Q4 release.
SAP SuccessFactors president Mike Ettling said: “Bias in business undermines employee commitment, performance and retention.
“We’re investing heavily in furthering the functionality we have today, as well as in new capabilities across our suite, because we believe technology can help root out and eliminate bias, and promote more diversity and inclusion across the entire business.”