Schneider Electric’s OTM platform uses AI to empower employees to make connections, volunteer for new opportunities, and gain new skills and experience within the organization.
AI is coming into its own as a practical technology for helping companies with a range of initiatives, from improving customer experience to streamlining business processes. And, while the technology’s long-term impact on the workforce remains unclear, some companies, such as France-based Schneider Electric, are putting AI to work to aid employees in advancing their careers.
The global energy equipment and solutions provider’s Open Talent Market (OTM) platform, launched in early 2020, gives employees more agency around identifying mentorship opportunities, upskilling, and growing their networks within the organization. Using AI, the platform scans user profiles to identify the right skills for projects in the organization, or to pair up mentors and mentees who would be a good fit for each other. It even enables employees to market their skillsets internally.
“I remember sitting in an auditorium in the office in the US in late 2019 when I was relatively new to the company,” says Shannon Booth, senior talent development partner at Schneider Electric, of the company’s initial presentation for OTM. “And I just remember sitting there thinking, ‘This is going to be so useful for me,’ because I don’t feel like I’m a natural networker.”
Booth, who is responsible for managing an early leadership program, says her team has discovered that the ideal time to introduce employees to OTM is between six to 18 months into their role. That gives employees time to learn their job and then “start to explore what else is out there and how the tool might help you focus on your development,” she says.
To make use of the platform, employees set up a profile where they can upload their resumes directly from LinkedIn, including current skills, past experience, future aspirations, and more. And, on the flip side, employees can also post opportunities for projects in their department where they might need a certain skillset that isn’t available on their current team.
“The more information you give, the more it’s going to give back,” says Booth, adding that the platform uses AI to match employees with opportunities, relevant roles, projects, and potential mentors to help grow their careers. OTM also includes a career development feature, where employees can “explore potential career paths and establish short-term development tracks to address upskilling,” she says.
More importantly, the platform’s AI helps employees gain ownership over their career paths without bias around gender, age, or ethnicity.
“We want employees to find meaningful work, we want to offer equal opportunities, we want to be inclusive so that everyone has equal opportunities and access, and we really want employees to feel empowered to drive their career. All of that ultimately, when it works, increases talent retention — that is one of the main goals, to retain our employees,” Booth says.
Filling skill gaps on the fly
Another major benefit of OTM is that it enables Schneider Electric to address any skills gaps in the organization without having to hire temporary workers or recruit outside the organization.
For example, Felix Ramos, who manages a software application that is in high demand from internal employees and external customers, turned to OTM to expand the capabilities of his team, which is small and operates with limited budget.
“We could not have supported all [internal employees and external customers] without volunteers from the Open Talent Marketplace,” says Ramos, program manager for energy management software at Schneider Electric.
Accelerating connections with AI
Leveraging internal talent to meet specific skills needs in the organization also helps bring more passion to important projects. By identifying people who are interested in those topics, or who have the right skills, OTM can connect engaged workers with opportunities to assist in new departments and roles — and, as Ramos noted, in a way that erases red tape as HR doesn’t have to be involved in the process. Managers and employees can reach out directly to one another and connect over opportunities.
“It really accelerates connections” among the 120,000-plus global employees at Schneider Electric, Booth says. “It is shrinking the company in some ways, but also opening it up more broadly,” as employees can make connections with employees outside their office or region, forging internal connections not only locally, but globally.
Another way OTM facilitates connections is through mentoring recommendations. Employees interested in being mentors are matched by the system with those who express interest in mentorship. All it takes is the check of a box in a profile, and the AI takes care of the rest.
“The AI will pair you based on interests or goals or aspirations,” and a weekly summary is sent to all users that highlights opportunities for connecting with potential mentors or mentees, Booth says, adding that the AI works around the clock to identify opportunities within the organization to help grow employee careers and fill skills gaps throughout the company, without adding work to HR’s plate.
As for the employee’s side, Sophie Brause, a strategic projects services innovation team member, notes that “engaging in OTM requires time management, prioritization, communication, transparency, and managing up.”
When Brause finds a project to work on through OTM, she makes time to work on it weekly or a few times a month. “I may block my calendar to show my team I am busy if I know I have the capacity to work on the project,” she says. “I was challenged once by a manager to think about how the skills, knowledge, and experience I am gaining in my OTM [work] can impact or reflect my current job. I will often take time to reflect on my OTM [work] and its relation to my current job.”
Customer experience program manager Laurie Beland, who has used OTM both as a recruiter and candidate, says OTM has provided her with opportunities to connect with other colleagues who have similar goals, helping her grow her “personal network, gain exposure to new areas of the company, acquire new skills, and experience a ‘trial-run’ with teams to help understand whether we’re a good fit for each other.”
About Schneider Electric
Schneider’s purpose is to empower all to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all. We call this Life Is On.
Our mission is to be your digital partner for Sustainability and Efficiency.
We drive digital transformation by integrating world-leading process and energy technologies, end-point to cloud connecting products, controls, software and services, across the entire lifecycle, enabling integrated company management, for homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries.
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