Schneider Electric has 135,000 employees in more than 100 countries. At the end of 2018, it launched its internal mobility platform Open Talent Market to support retention of staff. The company's artificial intelligence-driven platform gives employees access to jobs, mentors, training and part-time work.
The original intention was to create a platform to help employees transition to new jobs in the company. However, the new reality brought by COVID-19 has shown its wider potential, which allows the company to optimise the workforce in an immediate response to the needs of managers who have an insufficient number of team members or, conversely, excess capacity.
Six steps to a functional internal mobility programme
Schneider Electric uses several proven tactics to create a state-of-the-art internal mobility and workforce optimisation programme. Here are some recommendations based on their approach.
1. Review policies that hinder internal mobility - or remove them all at once
Previously the company had an internal job portal but offers were not always published on it and employees did not use it much. Another hindrance was the company's original policy that employees must have held a position for at least three years. This rule, along with some others, has been removed and new ones introduced. One such is that every new job offer, with the exception of senior management positions, must be published on the internal Open Talent Market platform.
2. Create a platform that connects employees with opportunities
Over the last 20 years, the company has become a leader in providing smart grid software and applications. It thus makes sense that their solution to the internal mobility challenge is rooted in strong technology. The new platform uses AI as a tool to match the needs of the company with the needs of employees.
Employees create a profile or upload a profile from LinkedIn, and managers create jobs. AI helps to find matches between offers and candidates, and compares the suitability of adepts according to defined criteria. An important element for the platform to work is also the introduction of language mutations in the users' native language. The first launch of the Open Talent Market was in English, followed by French, and soon Spanish and Chinese versions will also be launched. Currently the platform speaks the native language of more than 91% of the company's employees.
3. Create your own internal vibrant job marketplace
Not so long ago, almost half of Schneider's outgoing employees said they were leaving because they could not find another opportunity in the company. In addition to loss of investment, this also meant a loss of valuable skills for the company. The initial impetus for the Open Talent Market was thus to decipher better the positions of existing employees and offer them opportunities to apply for short-term projects or jobs.
4. Connect aspiring employees with mentors
The platform also connects employees with mentors in an online environment. Within seconds, AI will provide the most capable mentors based on requirements. It also connects employees with training, encourages them to share ambitions and expectations, and offers optimal opportunities for further development. Thanks to this, the employees feel they will have further opportunities to grow at the company and at the same time improve their qualifications.
5. Take into account experience but also interest
The platform focuses on the ambitions and ideas of employees, but certainly does not neglect their existing experience. Artificial intelligence can decipher stimuli and guide employees in the right direction. For example, if a financial specialist with extensive experience becomes interested in the topic of mergers and acquisitions, the system will lead that person directly to the internal development plan on this issue.
6. Use metrics to verify what works and what is need to be improved
The company uses, for example, Yammer internally as a social media platform from which it generates feedback from employees. In addition to tracking the number of employees who publish their profiles, it also monitors new connections between project opportunities and competent people and many other useful data, which it continuously evaluates.
The internal mobility platform should not only serve to increase productivity and balance the workload. Above all, it should increase the commitment of employees and their desire to participate in new activities of the company. Such an approach can be very beneficial, especially in times of crisis.
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