SAP AG on May 13 announced a series of steps to address the increasing challenges companies face in recruiting employees with the skill sets necessary to succeed in the workplace of tomorrow. The announcement comes on the heels of a newly released international survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit (http://www.eiu.com/sponsor/SAP/talent), identifying recruitment and talent management concerns of growing importance to C-level business executives in both the immediate and long-term future. SAP is taking a proactive role as a preferred global employer, a leader of a customer and partner ecosystem in which 50 percent of the world's business transactions touch an SAP system, and as a leading provider of business software solutions that help companies develop effective people management strategies.
SAP's multifaceted approach begins with new offerings, additional markets and investment in the SAP University Alliances program, a network of nearly 900 colleges and universities in 30 countries that engages 150,000 students worldwide and equips graduates with the IT and business process management skills needed to successfully enter and compete in today's job market. Additionally, SAP is supporting sourcing efforts for its network of more than 3,850 partners to help ensure that people with SAP skills find a universe of opportunities to support a thriving joint customer base. SAP also continues to enhance its market-leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) application, SAP ERP, through increased functional capabilities and process improvements that enable customers to leverage the advantages of enterprise service-oriented architecture (enterprise SOA) for more effective human capital management (HCM) operations.
These moves coincide with the release of the two-part EIU study commissioned by SAP, which examines the concerns of more than 900 C-suite executives and people managers in the emerging markets of Brazil, China, India and Russia, and in the developed markets of France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. As confirmed by the survey, due to a combination of international expansion, demographic shifts – particularly the aging workforces of Europe and Japan – and increasing pressure on educational institutions to produce graduates with the qualifications to meet rapidly changing workplace requirements, the global employment market faces an urgent need to create a pipeline of skilled employees. The first part of the study, focusing on developed markets and titled "Talent Wars: The Struggle for Tomorrow's Workforce," was issued by the EIU on May 5, 2008; the second part, focusing on emerging markets and titled "People for Growth: The Talent Challenge in Emerging Markets," will be released on May 19.
New Program Offerings Through SAP University Alliances
To address the need for qualified entry-level applicants, SAP is introducing a more affordable and accessible certification program for university students in the United States, Canada and Latin America through the SAP University Alliances program. A global offering by the end of 2008, this baseline business process integration certification develops an in-depth understanding of ERP software that supports a multitude of key business processes. The certification is a significant part of enhancements to course offerings and market availability of the SAP University Alliances program, a college-based curriculum that provides hands-on education in SAP products to juniors and seniors in institutions of higher learning across the globe, equipping them with skills in demand by businesses around the world.
In addition, SAP recently introduced the SAP University Alliances program in the Asia Pacific Japan region with universities in key labor markets of China, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand. This expansion addresses the "burgeoning gap" between the skills and talent that universities provide and those that industries need. This introduction follows on the heels of movement into Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and South Africa.
SAP is introducing new course offerings for solutions that are seeing increasing industry demand and that provide graduates with solid career opportunities. The new offerings include service-oriented architecture, business intelligence and supply chain management, with more planned throughout the year.
"The SAP program can help our faculty teach the skills that hiring companies across industries critically need, which goes beyond IT expertise alone to address the ability to manage change and think strategically," said Dr. Raymond Boykin, associate dean, College of Business, California State University, Chico. "The new curricula and greater accessibility to SAP will address the increasing demand for talent we are facing and provide career opportunities for future generations of students."
SAP is also ramping up its recruitment efforts at the university level, with plans to introduce its new sales graduates academy, a program that recruits graduating seniors and provides them with sales training and support as they embark on their SAP careers. A pilot program of the sales graduates academy will begin in early fall.
Ecosystem Engagement
Continuing its support of a rapidly expanding partner ecosystem that industry observers have called "an economy unto itself," SAP is preparing to ramp up joint talent sourcing efforts with partners by attracting and training qualified consultants whose skills are in line with market demands. This program includes a combination of co-branded communications and talent demand generation programs, along with ongoing expansion of the certification and educational programs to prepare new SAP professionals for job opportunities at SAP and its customers and partners. In Latin America, SAP is working to more than double the number of its partner/education centers to approximately 80. Additionally, SAP has certified 100 SAP professional instructors in Latin America over the past six months, with a goal of more than 275 instructors by the end of 2008.
"Latin America is experiencing sustained economic growth, which implies that companies should continue investing in IT to gain competitive advantage in a global economy," said Professor Cristiano Andre da Costa, Information Institute coordinator, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (UNISINOS.) "As a result, the demand for technology experts and professionals is at an all-time high. For us, it is vital to partner with SAP in its educational initiative, which we feel will considerably strengthen the economy and allow us, as an institution, to plant seeds of growth by helping to certify SAP consultants who ultimately contribute to increased competition in our region."
Taking Talent Management Solutions to the Next Level
As companies struggle to recruit and retain talent in their organizations, SAP is responding with enhancements to its HCM tools, which help businesses quickly find the right people, develop and leverage their talents, and better align their efforts with corporate objectives. The SAP ERP HCM solution addresses recruitment, succession management, enterprise learning management, and employee performance and compensation management – enabling companies to run these key functions more effectively by unifying and optimizing talent-related processes. SAP has recently introduced its third enhancement package, which allows companies to leverage existing ERP infrastructures for integrated talent management strategies – without the need for major system upgrades. A new feature in the enhancement package includes expanded capabilities in e-recruiting to support managers in efficiently filling open positions.
"With a large, aging population of baby boomers threatening to vacate the workforce throughout the next decade, the gap between the supply and demand of talent will only continue to increase," said Bill Yoh, chief executive officer, Yoh, a Philadelphia-based, leading provider of talent and outsourcing services to the technology, healthcare, scientific and engineering communities. "SAP's solutions provide the platform to help companies successfully attract skilled employees and better address the full spectrum of the talent management cycle, from recruiting the right people to retention and career development."
