Updates to the Oracle HCM Cloud platform include on-demand pay, internal talent marketplaces, more automation and an expansion of employee experience features.
The latest update of Oracle HCM Cloud comes with a batch of improvements. They include new ways for employees to manage their careers and pay.
One addition is an on-demand pay feature. Oracle calls it Anytime Pay, which introduces new capabilities to a payroll system. It provides employees with additional flexibility, including requesting pay in advance of their pay cycle.
The pay feature was added from "an employee loyalty perspective," said Chris Leone, senior vice president of development for Oracle HCM Cloud. Many Oracle customers have hourly workers and wanted to give employees an ability to request early pay, he said.
The pay feature is something customers see as "a very, very desirable feature," said Trish McFarlane, CEO and principal analyst at H3 HR Advisors, an HCM advisory firm. It will enable employers to be more competitive in hiring and retention, she said.
The Oracle HCM Cloud update, which was announced today and will be released to customers in October, also includes features to help employees find new work within the company.
A tool for mobilizing talent
One such feature, Opportunity Marketplace, is intended to fill short-term needs in an organization.
Opportunity Marketplace can be used "to mobilize talent around specific initiatives in a very short period of time," Leone said. An example could be finding employees with the right skills to quickly assemble a virtual conference. Employees can also use the feature to augment skills, finding and selecting jobs that may provide necessary training to advance expertise, he said.
Steve Boese, co-founder and analyst at H3 HR Advisors, demoed the new tool and said it was likely created with "ease of use" in mind. Its algorithm pushed relevant job possibilities to employees, he noted.
[The Opportunity Marketplace is needed] to mobilize talent around specific initiatives in a very short period of time.
Chris LeoneSenior vice president of development, Oracle HCM Cloud
Something like Opportunity Marketplace "actually helps you retain people," McFarlane said. Employees may feel they have more control over their professional development, education and career, she said.
Open Jobs for My Career is an internal talent marketplace designed to help employees find new skills, jobs and generally advance in an organization. These internal talent marketplaces, created to foster internal mobility, are getting startup attention from firms such as Gloat, where SuccessFactors co-founder Aaron Au serves as chief strategy officer.
The Oracle HCM Cloud update also includes functions to prevent bad data from getting into the system. HR managers will be able to set rules on how data is entered.
Employee experience enhancements
Oracle said it added functions that expand a personalized employee experience.
In Oracle's parlance, when employees are onboarding or offboarding, they embark on a "journey," with defined steps and interactions. But "there's really nothing in between today where organizations help employees manage their personal career," Leone said.
The new functionality creates an "experience" for the employee, to help them grow in the organization, update skills, take learning courses and find a mentor, he said.
Although the tools have self-service functions, the goal is to help employees and managers "think about what it is people are really trying to achieve or accomplish" in the organization, Boese said.
The update also includes new diversity functions that use third-party data so that companies can benchmark themselves against, for instance, their industry and their competitors.
