The challenge
HSBC is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organizations. With some 4,400 offices, we serve around 46 million customers through our four global businesses: Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Commercial Banking, Global Banking and Markets, and Global Private Banking.
Facing into the challenge of building the skills we need for the future, we wanted to enable our 220,000+ employees located across more than 60 countries, with the skills they need for the roles they hold today and for the future. We also needed to engage colleagues around internal mobility opportunities, in pursuit of the most critical skills needed for the Bank.
Our key objectives were to:
• Enable a dynamic workforce where talent and skills are quickly aligned with the work that needs to get done.
• Empower employees to take ownership of their own development, feeling motivated and relevant as the bank delivers on its strategic objectives.
• Open up opportunities across the Bank by extending access to skill and learning experiences for our people beyond their immediate team.
• Secure greater insights into the skills we have and those we need, driving informed action to bridge any gaps.
• Leverage the power of our global network, unlocking capacity as managers source skills and time from across the workforce to support part-time projects.
The action taken
The implementation of our Talent Marketplace was key to deliver on these objectives. The platform uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to connect colleagues with networking and part-time project opportunities based on their skills, experiences, and aspirations. The platform was deployed in phases and is live to all employees this year.
The implementation of the Talent Marketplace formed part of a wider Future Skills movement, which included the implementation of a global learning experience platform (Degreed), a new curriculum, and mobilization of a global Influencer Network.
Skills are increasingly seen as key currency in the workforce, and using AI, our Talent Marketplace encourages networking and part-time project opportunities by connecting colleagues, based on the skills individuals have and want to develop, rather than current job role, grade, or business area. At the same time, managers get better insights into their team’s skillsets and where development might be needed, as well as immediate access to a global pool of talent.
Talent Marketplace enabled a skills-based approach to connecting colleagues and creating opportunities and we can now match supply with demand of skills in a way that is transparent, digitized and at scale.
As employees interact with the Talent Marketplace, the AI learns and improves its understanding of their preferences and suggests opportunities that are better suited. As project owners review and make decisions on candidates, the AI also better understands what requirements are needed and adapts. The AI has helped bridge the gap between human intervention with its powerful skills-based matching engine and learning capability.
“I was able to get a resource within a day, which normally takes months to identify. The exciting part is that we can access talent from across HSBC and are not restricted to our Global Businesses or Global Functions." user soundbite
The impact
Whereas traditionally individuals have searched out opportunities based on role title, domain or department, the Talent Marketplace’s ability to match based on skill, means it is able to surface opportunities that an individual may never have found on their own.
Integration with Degreed means that we can better close the feedback loop for people who want to develop and grow their skills. For example, where they are unsuccessful being matched to an opportunity, the platform will connect them to Degreed to undertake additional learning or access relevant content.
Benefits for individuals
- Employees are empowered to own their development and gain skills and experiences in different and fulfilling ways.
- Employees can build a wider professional network for the future, by collaborating and meeting people outside their immediate team.
- Individuals can make more informed decisions about their future career by taking part in short term projects and developing skills on the job.
- Employees can showcase their hidden talents, benefiting not only the individual but also HSBC.
Benefits for leaders and teams
- Leaders have quick and easy access to relevant talent and skills from across HSBC.
- Freed up capacity across teams and increase in unlocked hours - when employees take on part-time project opportunities.
- Engages and helps to retain top talent by giving employees confidence they can fulfil their career and development goals at HSBC.
- Enables teams to plug skills gaps while bringing fresh perspectives and energy into the team.
Case Study
A colleague Greg in M&S Bank, UK was looking to build his network – he used Talent Marketplace to connect with another colleague, Kate, working in our Wealth and Private Banking business who was looking for support with a web project.
Kate needed support with an internal Future of Work initiative and needed someone with web design skills for the UK Test and Learn Hub.
Gregg then used TMP to find someone with the skills Kate needed and within 24 hours, 12 people from across the globe registered interest in the project.
TMP helped Gregg build his network and gain experience outside of his business area; and the successful candidate shared their web design skills to create a new digital hub.