Global ERP environments are under increasing pressure. Regulatory requirements continue to evolve, compliance processes are moving to digital channels, and authorities expect structured electronic reporting delivered in prescribed formats and on local timelines. At the same time, IT teams are responsible for keeping ERP platforms current, reducing custom code, and supporting expansion into new markets without increasing operational complexity. 

Dynamics 365 ERP applications are built to support these needs through comprehensive localization capabilities and extensible, upgrade-safe tools. As part of our ongoing investment, we are introducing localization for Türkiye. This addition expands Microsoft’s out-of-the-box localization coverage to 58 countries and regions, helping organizations address local regulatory requirements while maintaining a consistent, standardized ERP platform. 

A modern foundation for localization: Globalization Studio 

Globalization Studio is the extensibility framework in Dynamics 365 ERP apps for configuring and extending localization-related functionality without extensive custom development. It provides a consistent set of tools and services to support financial, tax, and regulatory processes while maintaining application upgradeability. 

Key capabilities of Globalization Studio include: 

• Electronic Reporting (ER) for defining regulatory reports and electronic documents using configurable formats. 

• No-code and low-code extensibility to adapt formats, business rules, and calculations without modifying core application code. 

• Centralized management of localization functionality aligned with Microsoft-delivered country and regional solutions. 

• Support for regulatory changes, enabling updates to be applied as requirements evolve. 

This approach allows organizations to manage localization at the legal entity level while maintaining a common application foundation across regions. It also provides partners with a consistent framework for delivering additional localized functionality. 

Introducing Türkiye localization in Dynamics 365 ERP  

With the 2025 Release Wave 2, Dynamics 365 ERP introduces built-in localization for Türkiye. This release expands Microsoft’s country and regional coverage and provides a supported starting point for organizations operating in the Turkish market. 

The Türkiye localization is built using Microsoft Globalization Studio tools and services and works across Dynamics 365 ERP applications. It follows Microsoft localization patterns and is designed to support updates as local regulatory requirements evolve. 

Considerations for IT and partner teams 

For organizations operating in Türkiye, or planning future expansion, this localization can reduce the need for custom-built solutions or separate localization add-ons. From an IT perspective, this can support: 

• Faster configuration using Microsoft-delivered localization functionality. 

• Reduced reliance on custom code that can complicate maintenance and upgrades. 

• Use of extensible tools to adapt localization as regulatory requirements change. 

• Alignment with localization approaches used across other Dynamics 365 ERP countries and regions. 

For partners, built-in localization provides a solid foundation for focusing on industry-specific or customer-specific requirements, rather than developing baseline regulatory functionality. 

Türkiye localization highlights 

The Türkiye localization includes capabilities designed to address common regulatory and operational scenarios, including: 

• Import of currency exchange rates from the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye. 

• Continuous serial numbering for packing slips and invoices. 

• Currency conversion in purchase and sales orders. 

• Exchange rate difference invoices. 

• Generation of electronic packing slips and invoices. 

• Enhancements for cheque and promissory note processing. 

• Prorated depreciation and allocation of final-year depreciation across months for fixed assets. 

• E-Ledger generation in XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) format. 

These capabilities are designed to help organizations meet local reporting and operational requirements when using Dynamics 365 ERP apps in Türkiye. 

Getting started with Türkiye localization 

Localization functionality in Dynamics 365 ERP apps operates at the legal entity level. To enable Türkiye localization: 

1. Set Türkiye as the primary address for the relevant legal entity. 

2. In Feature management, enable the Globalization expansion – Türkiye feature. 

Once enabled, Türkiye-specific fields and user interface elements become available within the legal entity. For example, you can configure serial prefixes and enable continuous serial numbering of various documents, such as sales invoices or product receipts for purchase return orders. 

You can also complete the monthly closing process by creating an e-Ledger journal and exporting an e-Ledger file in XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) format. Using the Globalization Studio’s Electronic Reporting tool, you can easily extend the format to meet your integrator’s requirements. 

Designed for global scale with local flexibility 

With this release, Dynamics 365 ERP apps continue to expand Microsoft’s localization footprint while maintaining a consistent approach to extensibility and upgradeability. Equipped with Globalization Studio tools, organizations can support operations across multiple countries and regions while addressing local requirements within a unified ERP platform. 

The post Expanding global reach with Globalization Studio and new Türkiye localization in Dynamics 365 ERP  appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly served as a wake-up call for many businesses. Not only has it highlighted the need for better insights across the entire operational experience, but this global stressor also exposed vulnerabilities in business models and workforce strategies.

The pandemic also brought to light the importance of agility and adaptability in the face of change. In order to survive and thrive in the new normal, businesses must be able to pivot quickly and effectively to meet the ever-changing needs of their customers. Enterprises are increasingly focusing on service-centric business models that provide recurring revenue streams.

To better understand these trends, Microsoft commissioned Forrester Consulting to investigate where companies are succeeding, struggling, and investing in their quest to move toward service-centric business models and project-based operations. In the study, Foster Business Model Innovation To Achieve Growth Goals, Forrester Consulting explored how this trend impacts the global business landscape and associated business teams.

Business model innovation

Learn how to achieve growth goals with business model innovation.

Read the Forrester report

Forrester highlights three areas of need

In March and April 2022, Forrester conducted an online survey of 509 global financial leaders who have decision-making influence within service and project teams or businesses.¹ They also performed two qualitative interviews with global practice and financial leaders. The research participants were asked about project-centric business tools. Companies ranged in size from 500 to more than 20,000 employees.

Forrester Consulting’s study highlighted three areas of need that organizations are struggling with.

Societal and business trends

With more employees working from home, the line between personal and professional life has blurred. This change compelled organizations to focus more on employee well-being, inclusion, and connectivity. Organizations are pushing for greater connectivity and convergence to foster an always-on culture.

These trends have pushed more than 75 percent of respondents to invest in the cloud, infrastructure as a service, software as a service, and the Internet of Things. By investing in these areas, organizations can provide their employees with the resources they need to succeed both at work and at home.

Multiple roadblocks

Macroeconomic trends, such as supply chain issues and staffing shortages, prevent organizations from adopting service-centric business models. About 42 percent of respondents reported struggling to keep up with demand due to external supply chain disruptions. Companies are also facing internal challenges, such as a lack of clarity and connectivity, which are preventing them from optimizing project delivery.

Unlocking new revenue streams

Revenue recognition is the main driver for business model transformation, with businesses looking to refine their product offerings as well as their pricing. About 40 percent of respondents are working to evolve their financial models, including how they charge customers and structure their entities.

This insight corresponds with a focus on improving strategy and planning that respondents are prioritizing. Improving team collaboration and connectivity also ranks highly with organizations investing in this area. Finally, workforce well-being is also a key concern, with organizations investing in improving the well-being of their employees.

Key takeaways to embrace service-centric business models

Let’s briefly touch on a few key takeaways you will find in the full study that can help companies address these challenges to embrace service-centric business models.

Beyond financial monetization

Forrester recommends that organizations take a comprehensive approach to business model innovation. Ideal innovation offers better insight into operational processes. It also gives employees modern workplace tools and environments, resulting in a holistic approach to critical process improvements.

Profit visibility

By investing in technologies that enable connectivity, organizations can improve communication and collaboration across their businesses. Forrester highlighted the importance of understanding how businesses can embrace service-centric business models. Companies improve profit visibility by focusing on customer outcomes through end-to-end project tracking. The right tools are necessary for organizations to fully understand their profit drivers. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance enables businesses to maximize financial visibility and profitability.

Finding the right partner

The study indicates that the right partners are essential for successful platform innovation and improved project-based operations. The right partner will have a deep understanding of the project requirements and the ability to effectively communicate and collaborate with the project team. Furthermore, technology investments and performance metrics should be aligned with business objectives.

Next steps

In today’s business environment, it is critical for businesses to be able to implement service-oriented business models. To accomplish this, companies need visibility and connectivity into all aspects of their operations—including their projects, processes, and data. Due to siloed systems and data, many businesses lack this visibility and connectivity.

Businesses that can optimize their systems and implement service-oriented business models will be better positioned to succeed. Organizations can use tools such as Dynamics 365 Finance and Dynamics 365 Project Operations to support their progress toward project-based operational models.

Learn how Dynamics 365 Finance can improve your business’s financial decision-making and sign up to try it out yourself. For Dynamics 365 Project Operations, visit us online and check out the free one month trial offer. To read more about the rise of the services economy, check out Forrester’s study in full.

¹Forrester Consulting study, 2022. Foster Business Model Innovation To Achieve Growth Goals. Commissioned by Microsoft.

The post Enabling rapid business model innovation and growth appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

This week, Microsoft will be at the SHRM 2019 Annual Conference and Exposition to share best practices on how to unlock talent success, connect to collaborate, and drive culture change. The event theme, creating better workplaces, aligns with our focus on creating a modern workplace where people thrive.

In recent years, we’ve seen an exponential growth of digital connectivity, devices, technology, and data. And yet, our workplaces and workforces still operate according to the early 20th-century assembly line models of repetition, efficiency, and scale.

Modern workplaces are more than just exceptional places to work—they are cultures where people are inspired and empowered to innovate, create, and collaborate. Achieving this vision requires human resources to build a modern workforce, bringing people together to pursue their passions and realize their purpose. A modern workforce is made up of connected people.

Microsoft is helping HR leaders to digitally transform the employee experience to create a workplace where people can thrive. As SHRM 2019 attendees will learn, organizations can break down barriers that prevent talent success with the tools needed to connect and engage with employees—not only in the office, but all over the globe.

Microsoft is helping human resources professionals to accelerate success with three solutions showcased at SHRM 2019:

Connect to collaborate with Microsoft 365

Boost productivity and empower employees by giving them the modern tools to create and innovate, enabling them to deliver amazing results and do their best work together. Microsoft Teams is the hub for teamwork in Office 365; a shared workspace where you can chat, meet, share files, and work with business applications.

Explore Microsoft 365

Drive cultural transformation with Workplace Analytics

Cultivate success with an engaged and efficient workforce using insights from everyday work in Office 365. Empower teams to collaborate effectively, free up time to work on their most important work, and create a healthy work-life balance. Identify and promote the right skills and behaviors to meet organizational goals, develop careers, and grow new leaders.

Get intelligent insights with Workplace Analytics

Unlock talent success with Dynamics 365 for Talent

Hire, develop, and retain people who can deliver impactful results. Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Talent empowers you with tools to land top candidates and accelerate their success. Meanwhile, your employer brand will stand out thanks to a fast, seamless experience that’s optimized for mobile and integrated with LinkedIn, the world’s largest talent marketplace. With Dynamics 365 for Talent, you will develop a nuanced understanding of your employees and capture data to improve their experience.

Learn more about Dynamics 365 for Talent

Attending SHRM 2019?  Connect with Microsoft!

If you’re attending SHRM, we invite you to stop by our booth to speak with experts from Microsoft 365, Workplace Analytics, and Dynamics 365 teams, get a free professional headshot, and learn how we’re digitally transforming the employee experience.

We also invite you to attend two sessions hosted by our team:

Test your Microsoft for HR Tech IQ
Sunday, June 23 | 5:45 – 6:15pm | Exhibitor Solutions Theater
Speaker: Michele Ballinger, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, Dynamics 365

Enjoy a fun game and test your knowledge of how Microsoft is helping to transform the HR function. Show your Modern HR smarts and learn along the way. There will be lots of fun and prizes at this session – don’t miss it!

Cultural Transformation at Microsoft
Monday, June 24 | 4:15 – 5:15pm | LVCC N109-114
Speaker: Joe Whittinghill, CVP, Talent, Learnings and Insights

In this session, we will share what Microsoft has learned throughout its ongoing cultural transformation. Over the last three years, Microsoft has been on a journey to rediscover its soul, transforming its culture from one of “know-it-alls” to one of “learn-it-alls” grounded in a growth mindset. Hear from Microsoft HR key leader and learner Joe Whittinghill, about this ongoing process.

We look forward to meeting you!

The post Essential tools to create a better workplace – Microsoft at SHRM 2019 appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

 In my previous blog, I highlighted the importance of incorporating culture into your recruiting and hiring processes.  I wanted to drill in a bit deeper to provide a step-by-step actionable approach to culture-centric talent acquisition.

Step 1: Make a list of the essential elements of your company culture.

This can include your vision, values, preferred behaviors and work styles, motivations, even the language, habits, and beliefs that fuel success at your organization. Many employers find it useful to write a sentence or two about each element. This helps capture why these things are important and how they support the success of the organization and its people. If your company values spirited debate, for example, that should be clearly stated along with why and what that term means to you.

Step 2: Map these cultural elements to your job descriptions.

In addition to spelling out the hard skills and previous experience required for a role, your job descriptions for talent acquisition should tie back to your company culture. You can achieve this by:

• Identifying specific challenges candidates will face in getting the job done. This can provide real insight into your company culture and how work actually gets done. These challenges can relate to the preferred work style, communication skills, personality attributes, personal interests and motivations—anything that’s necessary for success in the job and at your company in general.
• Describing how the job contributes to your company’s overall mission and success. This ensures new hires don’t go into their jobs disconnected from the bigger picture and from what drew them to your company in the first place. Having a clear understanding of how and why their contributions matter keeps them motivated and engaged in their day-to-day tasks.
• Crafting a section of the job description that actually describes your culture. Remember, candidates are looking for an organization where they’ll fit in. Once you’ve given them the specifics of the job itself, tell them about your company culture, including your values, your mission, your leadership and managerial styles, what current employees love about working there, etc.
• Asking current team members to collaborate on writing job descriptions. This is a great way to make certain your culture shines through in your job descriptions. Employees can speak from first-hand experience about the skills and attributes needed for success. If you allow them to do it in their authentic “voices,” it will speak volumes about your culture.

Step 3: Tie your culture to your candidate interviews.

To achieve this step, you must ensure that every recruiter and hiring manager has a clear grasp of your company culture. That’s why Step 1 (making an actual culture-related list) is so critical. Without a clear and uniform understanding among your talent acquisition recruiters and hiring managers, gut instinct and cultural disconnects can easily creep in, which undermines the entire process.

To tie your culture to your interviewing process:

• Openly discuss your company culture during the interview. As stated above, candidates want to find an organization where they’ll feel comfortable and fit in. Use your culture list to talk about the company’s values, preferred styles of collaborating and communicating, the habits of successful employees, and the like. Also consider addressing issues such as the company’s approach to career development, opportunities for reach assignments and personal development, and work-life balance.
• Ask questions that probe around issues of culture. These questions might include: What drew you to our company? Why are you interested in this job? What kind of work environment do you prefer? Which management styles do you like to work under? What type of culture do you thrive in personally? What concerns would you have coming into this job and this company?
• Ask questions about the candidate’s own values and motivations. These kinds of questions might include: What kind of work gives you meaning and satisfaction? What excites you most about this job? Is there something that excites you most about this company? What was your best job and why? Who was your best boss and why? How many hours do you normally work each week? How do you handle pressure, periods of heavy workload, and personal conflict?
• Encourage candidates to ask your interviewers questions in return. Questions from candidates can be every bit as insightful as their answers to your questions. Often their questions will help you assess how well they’ll fit into their prospective teams. And whether they’ll thrive or struggle under a specific manager. But just as frequently, their questions can help you discern whether they truly are personally aligned with your organization and not just interested in securing a job.

The bottom line

Your recruiters and hiring managers want to make high-quality hires. They want to bring in people who have the greatest chance of success. And who will sustain high levels of performance, job satisfaction, and retention. Hiring for culture fit empowers all of that—but it isn’t without its risks.

When done incorrectly (by placing too much emphasis on personality type, for example), it can reinforce conscious and unconscious biases among recruiters and hiring managers, hamper diversity, and limit your organization’s potential. When done correctly, however, hiring for culture fit considers the candidate as a whole and in the context of your unique and specific work environment.

In its best practice, hiring for culture fit is a progressive endeavor, one that embraces the notion of “culture add” by identifying and welcoming people from a spectrum of backgrounds and experiences. After all, these are the individuals who can fill critical gaps and move your culture forward.

Learn more about how Dynamics 365 for Talent can help your organization improve talent acquisition, hire top talent, and enable their success from our demonstration experience.

[msce_cta layout=”image_center” align=”center” linktype=”blue” linkurl=”https://dynamics.microsoft.com/en-us/talent/demo/attract/” linktext=”Watch the demo” ][/msce_cta]

The post 3 ways to incorporate culture in your talent acquisition strategy appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

Last week, as I walked through the trade show exhibit halls at Hannover Messe, I was awespired.  Yes, I had to create a new word to capture the moment.

I was in awe of not only the sheer size of the conference, but also the excitement in the air generated by the thousands of attendees. At the same time, I am inspired by the amazing stories of innovation and digital transformation.

Industry 4.0 is here, now, and organizations are looking to break through the barriers that prevent them from delivering exceptional new products for their customers. And while most of the focus at the conference was on product and production innovation, the Dynamics 365 for Talent team showcased the importance of workplace culture and modern workforce management.

Keeping the pace of innovation requires the right people in the right roles at the right time, as well as the HR operational programs required to support a modern workplace and workforce. To address the myriad of challenges facing manufacturers—the challenge of an aging and multi-generational workforce, the gig economy, shortage of skilled talent, and the need to up-skill workers—HR needs a new approach to workplace culture to lay the foundation of the talent life cycle.

Maybe you’ve seen the articles imploring you to stop hiring for culture fit. How to Hire from the Harvard Business Review, is a perfect example. It calls hiring for culture fit a “misguided strategy” that can contribute to a company’s lack of diversity. It highlights that individuals with different personalities can be great at the job you need done.

That’s absolutely true. But the problem here and in many similar articles is that it conflates hiring for culture fit with hiring that’s based solely on personality type. In fact, hiring for culture fit is far more encompassing and it requires a rigor that many companies lack.

What is hiring for culture fit and what isn’t it?

First off, hiring for culture fit is not about hiring candidates whose personalities all fit a similar mold. That would create a talent echo chamber that shuts out diversity, creativity, and valuable alternate viewpoints. As a recent  article in the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) observed, hiring managers define culture fit in terms of personality traits, favoring certain job candidates because they are friendly or have a good attitude, those managers hinder their organization’s ability to innovate because of its homogenous workforce.

Hiring for culture fit also is not about relying on gut instincts—i.e., selecting candidates who feel right for the organization.  Companies that do a good job of leveraging a culture fit in making high-quality hires do so by acknowledging the culture and making it translate to specific skills, abilities, values and motivators of candidates, the SHRM piece notes.

That insight cuts right to heart of hiring for culture fit. In order to do it properly, you must be able to:

• Identify the essential elements of your company’s culture including your vision and values, preferred behaviors and work processes, even the language, habits and beliefs that fuel successful performance.
• Map these elements to your open jobs.
• Use your interviewing and assessment processes to determine which candidates best fit your culture/jobs—and, equally important, which candidates can add to your culture, bringing in qualities that fill gaps and help your company progress.

Clearly, the process of hiring for culture fit is the antithesis of hiring based on gut instincts or on personality type alone.

In addition, hiring for culture fit doesn’t ignore traditional job fit criteria such as career history, relevant experience, or the core competencies required for a role. It also does not ignore personality type or soft skills such as communication style and emotional intelligence. It actually takes all of these qualities into consideration but they must be mappable to specific aspects of your company culture.

By ensuring that personality is just one component of hiring for culture fit, employers protect themselves from creating homogenous work forces that lack diversity and the capacity for continuous creativity and innovation.

Why hire for culture fit

Even in the current talent environment, where workers are changing employers with greater frequency, you want to onboard people who will stay with your company and add value for a reasonable period of time. That’s crucial to holding down costs, maximizing employee productivity and engagement, maintaining continuity within departments and functional areas, and building a strong employment brand.

By hiring for culture fit, you’re bringing in people who are intrinsically aligned with your company’s mission and values. These individuals want to join your company, not just for a paycheck but because they’re passionate about the work being done and eager to contribute to it.

People who are naturally aligned to your company culture are far more likely to understand your priorities, your customers’ needs, the needs of their teammates, and how they can personally facilitate success for everyone. What’s more, these individuals are more likely to gel with the rest of their teams faster, start making meaningful contributions quicker, and willingly give you their very best day after day.

Manufacturing leaders, as well as those in retail, banking, and professional services can gain a competitive advantage in the fight for top talent by incorporating culture into their employer brand.

In part two of this blog series, I’ll drill in a bit deeper to provide a step-by-step actionable approach to culture-centric talent acquisition.

Learn more about how Dynamics 365 for Talent can help your organization hire top talent and enable their success from our demonstration experience.

The post Talent at Hannover Messe 2019—Hiring for culture fit: Should you or shouldn’t you? appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

The war for talent is more than a trending headline–it’s a reflection of an increasingly competitive landscape where people with the right skillset are in short supply. Savvy business leaders are embracing a talent success mindset, as they know how important employer brand and culture are to attracting A- players that deliver business results. This is putting tremendous pressure on HR leaders to rethink how they recruit, engage, and retain talented employees.

Creating a modern workplace where people can thrive is the top priority for businesses across all industries. The first step requires a complete overhaul of talent acquisition. Finding, recruiting, and hiring the right talent requires intelligent tools that automate processes and use AI to create an engaging candidate experience while helping people managers make smarter hiring decisions.

Watch this essential webinar for recruiting and HR professionals to get a compelling overview of the state of the digital workplace, learn what candidates and employees expect from employers, and gain tips to attract highly skilled people to your organization.

Learn how Dynamics 365 for Talent is your secret weapon to create a compelling recruiting experience that engages candidates and facilitates collaboration across the hiring team.

This introductory webinar will cover how to:

• Digitally transform talent acquisition with a configurable process that empowers hiring managers
• Use LinkedIn Recruiter with Dynamics 365 for Talent to help foster collaboration
• Engage applicants and build quality candidate pools
• Improve your time-to-hire and quality of hire

[msce_cta layout=”image_center” align=”center” linktype=”blue” linkurl=”https://aka.ms/D365-Talent-Intro-Webinar-Series” linktext=”Watch the on-demand webinar today!” ][/msce_cta]

The post Webinar: Introduction to Dynamics 365 for Talent appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

This week, Microsoft will be at the world’s leading conference and expo for HR and IT professionals—HR Technology Conference—to share best practices to adopt technology to accelerate culture change.  Our event theme—Big Data. Small Data. All Data.—will  showcase Microsoft’s complete platform that connects and operationalizes HR data.

If you’re headed to Las Vegas for the show, we invite you to stop by our booth and attend three engaging sessions featuring experts from the Microsoft 365, Workplace Analytics, Microsoft HR, and Dynamics 365 teams. Take note of our exhibit location and sessions below and read on for a preview of what to expect.

Expo Hall

Visit our booth to meet the Microsoft team, get a demo of upcoming features, and learn how to modernize hiring, engage employees, and get people insights. We look forward to meeting you!

Sessions

Wednesday, September 12, 2018: 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM

HR3 | Modern HR: 8 Ways Technology Accelerates Culture Change

Room: Delfino 4102 Session Number: HR3

Digital transformation and people transformation go hand-in-hand. Yet in this environment of change, how do you evolve your workforce and at the same time, shape your culture for success? Technology can be a great force multiplier in change management and communication, helping shift the mindset and behavior changes you want to see in your workforce. In this session, Justin Thenutai, Senior Director, Global Talent Acquisition for Microsoft, will discuss 8 ways companies can use technology to connect and communicate at scale, measure and refine cultural transformation initiatives, and accelerate culture change efforts.

Thursday, September 13, 2018: 2:20 PM – 2:40 PM

HR Tech Talk | Modern HR: Test your Microsoft for HR Tech IQ

Room: Expo – HR Tech Talks Theater 2928 Session Number: HR Tech Talk

Lydia Williams and Michele Ballinger from the Dynamics 365 for Talent team, will host a fun game that tests your knowledge of how Microsoft tech is helping to transform the HR function—lots of fun and prizes are in store, so don’t miss out.

Thursday, September 13, 2018: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Microsoft Demo: Modern HR – Microsoft Technology in Action

Room: Demo Room #1 (Rear of Expo)

Come see how to modernize your workplace with Microsoft solutions for HR. We’ll show live demos of how you can screen in talent, connect to collaborate and turn people data into insights. Leave here and hit the ground running with Dynamics 365 for Talent, Microsoft 365 (including Teams) and Workplace Analytics.

What you’ll learn

We have seen an exponential growth of digital connectivity, devices, technology, and data. And yet, our workplaces and workforces still operate according to the early 20th-century assembly line models of repetition, efficiency, and scale. Modern workplaces are more than just exceptional places to work—they are cultures where people are inspired and empowered to innovate, create, and collaborate. Achieving this vision requires HR to build a modern workforce—bringing together people to pursue their passions and realize their purpose. A modern workforce is made up of connected people. At this year’s HR Tech, we are excited to showcase how to:

• Connect to collaborate and communicate at scale with Microsoft 365
• Connect collaboration to business outcomes and make better business decisions with Workplace Analytics
• Connect your entire hiring team and transform talent acquisition with Dynamics 365 for Talent

Connect to engage employees

The workforce of today thrives in an environment of collaboration and engagement, yet research shows that an astonishingly high percentage of full-time employees are disengaged at work. Learn how you can improve employee engagement in your organization and empower people in the modern workplace with Microsoft 365.

• Foster agile collaboration with modern tools for teamwork.
• Provide employees with the tools to work from anywhere while keeping employee and company information secure.
• Accelerate cultural transformation through effective employee engagement and communications.

Connect to deliver people insights

Workplace Analytics uses everyday work from Office 365 to connect collaboration patterns to business outcomes. It gives business leaders new visibility into the way work happens across their organization and shows how collaboration influences people productivity and engagement.

• Quantify your organization’s collaboration patterns like meeting quality, manager engagement, and employee network depth and breadth.
• Visualize insights and track changes over time with built-in dashboards.
• Map behaviors to manager performance, employee engagement, and other outcomes data.

Connect to modernize hiring

Elevate your employer brand and increase offer acceptance by optimizing your candidate experiences. Increase quality of hire with streamlined job postings, assessments, interviews, offers and onboarding. Dynamics 365 for Talent empowers your HR organization and people managers with the tools they need to win top talent and enable their success.

• Quickly find the right people by connecting to LinkedIn Recruiter.
• Improve offer acceptance rates and time-to-hire by connecting candidates, recruiters, and hiring teams.
• Drive talent success with connected onboarding experiences.

Take the next step

• See Dynamics 365 for Talent in action—watch brief demo videos to attract and onboard talent.
• Watch our webinars: 7 Hiring Best Practices to Win Top Talent and 5 Steps for Effective Employee Onboarding and Engagement
• Learn more about Microsoft 365 and Workplace Analytics

The post Attending HR Tech? Connect with Microsoft! appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

The U.S. unemployment rate is at its lowest in nearly two decades, there’s a shortage of skilled candidates in numerous fields, and job hunters are savvier and more selective about who they’ll work for. After years of having the job market stacked in their favor, talent acquisition leaders and hiring managers now face stiff competition for talent. What does it take to land great talent these days? Well, you can start by building a talent acquisition process that’s both systematic and more engaging for candidates. Here are five general guidelines from the Five Steps to Landing Top Talent e-book that can improve your company’s hiring success.

1. Design an engaging candidate experience

Providing a great experience for your job candidates takes the art of diplomacy and the science of talent acquisition. You need to start with a clear understanding of the entire journey: From job discovery and application to offer acceptance and onboarding, it’s critical that you get it right every step of the way. During the interview stage, for example, ensure that everyone with skin in the game is on the same page and actively engaged. That includes talent acquisition leaders, who have a good sense of whether someone is a good cultural fit, and hiring managers, who know what it takes to perform a job effectively. Using scheduling, productivity, and collaboration tools can go a long way toward coordinating everyone’s schedules so you can focus on finalizing questions, putting your best foot forward for the prospect, and ensuring the candidate is the right fit for the role and your company.

2. Keep candidates informed

Job seekers don’t want to be kept in the dark. A survey by LinkedIn found that 94 percent of job candidates want to know how they did in their interview and what comes next. If there’s anything you can say about their last interview, your ideal candidate, or the timing of the next round of interviews, they’ll be genuinely grateful. Today’s top candidates expect to be coached for success during the process and look for companies that consistently communicate. This courtesy is also important for brand reputation. If they think you’re being cagey or withholding details, recruits might see that as a black mark against the company and pass their opinion along to friends or colleagues.

3. Know what questions to ask

You have a limited amount of interview time, so make your questions count. Avoid the usual platitudes about long-term goals and greatest weaknesses. Those questions don’t address the job’s practical considerations, determine how candidates solve problems, or divine whether they can work well with others even when co-workers don’t see eye-to-eye. Instead, ask questions about how they would handle an underperforming colleague or request an example of when they’ve gone the extra mile. Also, candidates are always curious about things like company culture and what’s expected of new employees, so allow time for them to ask a few questions of their own. The interview should be more of a candid conversation instead of an interrogation or test. Save skills questions for pre-interview assessments and focus interview time on determining mutual fit and discussing what success in the role looks like.

4. Listen and assess with care

There’s a lot riding on the candidate’s interview, so be deliberate when weighing their performance. Don’t get so distracted by their polished responses that you miss red flags such as negative comments about past colleagues, clients, or employers; taking sole credit for a team effort; or offering dodgy responses that don’t address your question. Also, interviews give you only part of the picture, so be sure to bring in other sources of information like online portfolios and social media profiles. That way, you can base your decision on more than just their resume, interview performance, and personal references.

5. Reject with respect and sincerity

Rejection is no fun, whether you’re the recruit or the talent acquisition leader. But although telling candidates they weren’t selected is one of the hardest parts of the hiring process, sending them a respectful and sincere communication will ensure they’ll consider your company in the future. Be sure to share positive feedback from the hiring team on the candidate’s strengths and ask for their candid feedback on what you can do better in the future. Ask them to join your career site, so they can become part of your talent pipeline, where you can recommend other roles that may be a better fit.

Finding the right candidate can be a challenge, but it’s important to take a long view. There’s no telling when someone you turned down today could become your number one choice for an opening tomorrow. That’s why it’s essential to track the careers of promising candidates and find out where they land. By following the guidelines above, and using a comprehensive hiring solution, you can more easily identify and attract promising candidates, and accelerate your company’s talent acquisition process.

[msce_cta layout=”image_center” align=”center” linktype=”blue” linkurl=”https://explore.dynamics.com/talent/talent-five-steps-to-landing-top-talent” linktext=”To learn more, download the Five Steps to Landing Top Talent. ” ][/msce_cta]

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