Improve your employee experience with an all-in-one platform
In today’s job market, you want to have maximum insight into the needs, ambitions, and the “real me” behind each employee. There are various practical tools for this, but with Oracle ME—part of Oracle HCM—this is integrated with all essential systems and using various types of media. Business consultants Stefan Hanekamp, Vera Berends, and Tom Wijers of SuccessDay, tell you in this blog how you can use Oracle ME to create the optimal journey for your employees.
In April 2022, Oracle announced—as part of Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM—Oracle ME (My Experience). In doing so, Oracle is joining the competition in creating applications that will contribute to the employee journey. The employee experience platform should help organizations “increase employee engagement and ensure employee success.” Oracle ME states that it enables (HR) managers to streamline communication across the organization and increase productivity by guiding employees through complex tasks. In addition, the platform can be used to boost talent retention by creating a more supportive and familiar environment at work.
SuccessDay, which is platform agnostic, also supports customers and implementation partners in the rollout of Oracle HCM (and therefore the ME component), at various customers in the Benelux and Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (the so-called DACH region). “Due to the events of the past two years, expectations of employees about what they want and need from their employers have evolved. Research shows they do not always feel supported,” Stefan knows. He emphasizes that employees want to feel heard, seen—and part of a culture they believe in. “To meet these expectations, organizations need to step up and create experiences that meet the needs of their talent, otherwise they risk missing out or losing talent. That means seeing employees as unique individuals with their own needs, goals, and ways of working at every stage of the HR process,” adds his colleague, Vera.
Important insights
Smart technology can help facilitate this more effectively, although HR remains primarily a human endeavor, the SuccessDay consultants emphasize. Tom knows that Oracle’s technology has only just arrived on the market, but thinks the prospects are promising. “Oracle ME is all about aggregating information, also from external systems, thereby offering important insights based on data. It facilitates step-by-step workflows—inside and outside the system—from pre-boarding to employee exit. The platform gives organizations the ability to provide each employee with a unique employee experience.”
Other vendors already offer capabilities within their HRIT systems to map and optimize the employee experience as well, but often do so ad hoc and across different systems. With ME, Oracle accomplishes this in an integrated and dynamic fashion. According to Vera, the platform offers organizations new opportunities to listen to, communicate with and support employees. “You have to think of it as a platform that supports all interactions digitally, whether it’s between employees and their manager, or among employees. In addition, Oracle ME enables managers to track employee sentiment in real time and conveniently present it in dashboards. This allows them to respond more effectively. In addition, HR teams can provide better personalized communications.”
These are the most promising aspects of Oracle ME:
- Oracle Touchpoints
This is a solution that allows managers to regularly capture employee sentiment by viewing surveys, questionnaires, and feedback moments from across the team in a dashboard. They can monitor this closely and act accordingly to build trust with their teams and promote an inclusive workplace.
- Oracle HCM Communicate
HR teams can use this solution to easily communicate personalized content to individuals and groups with very specific characteristics. In addition, they can measure content engagement with open rate analytics and seamlessly send follow-ups or create campaigns to drive more effective and engaging communications.
- Oracle Journeys
This solution makes it easy to create custom workflows, regardless of whether they are inside or outside the system. It helps the user navigate system and business processes, or a combination of both. For example: How do I reset my password? How do I sign up for a company event? How do I onboard an employee at company x in Oracle? In addition, Oracle Journeys can be extended with workflow actions and resources from other applications. Onboarding, claims or leave application—processes that frequently involve processes beyond an HCM system alone—can be standardized using Oracle journeys in a way that reflects the organization’s identity. That way, you offer each staff member a unique, guided digital journey.
- Oracle Connections
This interactive employee directory with organizational chart promotes collaboration and increases opportunities for inclusion and internal mobility. In fact, it becomes easier for employees to connect with others within the organization. Stefan: “Employees can import their LinkedIn profiles, which means that data in the HCM is always up-to-date. In addition, you can record video introductions, highlight unique skills and achievements, share feedback, exchange knowledge, and grow your professional network.”
Foundation in order
In conclusion, Oracle HCM and therefore the ME component is an open platform that can also link with external systems, making it easier to automate your HR processes, communicate more easily, and increase engagement. It works through multiple channels, such as email, SMS, web browser, collaboration tools and video conferencing. Tom: “A very promising tool. But it’s important to mention that you need to have the foundation in order first. Your data and processes must always be correct. Once you have the fundamentals in place, Oracle ME can be the icing on the cake. It will make it easier to provide employee experiences that reflect your organization’s unique culture. Who would not want that?”
