Oracle has announced updates to Oracle ME, an employee experience (EX) platform that was launched about a year ago. Oracle ME is found within Oracle Fusion Cloud Human Capital Management and encompasses HCM Communicate, Journeys, Touchpoints, Connections, HR Help Desk, Digital Assistant and now Oracle Grow.

Oracle Grow offers a hub of sorts, for employees to have a clear view of the skills they need to advance in their current role, potential opportunities resulting from acquiring new skills, and possible career paths. The solution leverages AI to deliver personalized insights and intelligent guidance across all interactions from Oracle Learning, Oracle Dynamic Skills, and Oracle Talent Management in one interface. Managers will also be getting assistance by having a better view of skills gaps, what needs to be done to close them, and what progress is being made.

New capabilities found in Oracle Grow include:

• Unified Growth Experience: Delivers the most pertinent insights and AI-driven development opportunities that workers may need to adapt to changes in their roles, discover new growth options, and achieve career aspirations. People data is unified from across Oracle Cloud HCM and Oracle Grow can personalize guidance on the next steps employees should take based on their responsibilities, career interests, desired skills, individual learning styles, and changes in the business.
• Career Paths: Helps employees to find different career opportunities in the organization, and provides step-by-step guidance and development plans tailored to each individual based on their Oracle Cloud HCM profile.
• Personalized Development Playlists: Workers can create their own tailored development journey according to goals and career aspirations. The development playlists in Oracle Journeys provide guidance on finding coaches, classes, gigs, and internal and external development resources.
• Enhanced Team Skills Center: Managers and leaders can monitor skills needs and gaps across their teams and organization, assign specific skills needed to achieve business objectives, and automatically add them to every employee’s Oracle Grow experience.
• Personalized Development Preferences: Allows workers to decide how and what skills they want to develop by catering to different learning styles and preferences. Changes to personal preferences are automatically reflected within their Oracle Grow experience and continuously updated as individual growth continues.

Chris Leone, executive vice president, applications development, Oracle Cloud HCM says, “Every organization is currently being challenged to achieve more with less, and to do that successfully they need to increase productivity and retain their best talent. A critical part of that equation is professional growth, but with the unprecedented pace of change around skills and business needs, this has become one of the most difficult areas for HR teams to support. To help our customers address this challenge and guide their workforce to achieve their fullest potential, we are introducing Oracle Grow. Oracle Grow is designed to enhance the employee experience and improve performance by engaging with individuals to discover new growth opportunities and empowering managers to align upskilling and reskilling with business priorities.”  

Training and skills development is a growing area of focus for many organizations as they undergo changes in staffing levels that might result in employees being shifted or redeployed. The ability to quickly reskill and upskill is crucial to companies. For employees, having the ability for personalized training that could put them on a path for career growth demonstrates an investment in them from their employers. Development is also a driver of engagement and belonging. In addition, employees are increasingly craving communication and transparency in their work lives. Seeing exactly what specific skills are needed for different career paths within their organizations is a step in the right direction. Managers, many facing a laundry list of challenges and pressures, will also benefit from this consolidated view.