A dynamic, AI-powered
approach for talent
development that
improves retention
Data-driven strategies to help your organization close talent gaps and boost employee satisfaction
Table of Contents
Zack’s story
3 | Aspiring to my dream job
4 | An automated reminder to review my skills
5 | Dissatisfied with the path at my last job
6 | The career growth app has everything I need
7 | An aspiration to define my career plan
8 | The path becomes clear
9 | The whole process is fast and easy
Andrea’s story
10 | Happy employees stay with the company
11 | Tracking employee development is a snap
12 | All set for a productive conversation with Zack
13 | A single, comprehensive view of Zack’s growth
14 | Career aspiration turned into a plan of action
15 | Automated prompts help us stay on track
16 | Close talent gaps, improve employee experiences, and increase retention
A dynamic, AI-powered approach for talent development that improves retention | 2
ZACK’S STORY
Aspiring to my dream job
Nothing beats the rush of smacking that ball just right and watching it fly across the
court. I’m at the park for my epic weekly pickleball match with my friend and co-worker,
Johan. For me, it’s a great way to take a break during the workday and get in some
healthy competition.
We’re enjoying a breather between games when I tell Johan about my dream job—
portfolio manager. Though I like my current job as a financial analyst, I’m ready for
more. He smiles and nods, encouraging me to go for it. He knows that I’m a hard worker
with a great track record at our company. We talk about the things I can do to take
this next step in my career.
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An automated reminder to review my skills
I check my phone and see an alert from Teams. It’s a reminder for me to review my skills
list in the personalized employee portal. The link takes me to my list of skills, and I add
proficiency levels to each one: statistical analysis, Microsoft Excel, financial modeling,
etc. The skills review process is customized just for me—no extra work required. I’m
amazed at how easy it is to check my skills and add my proficiencies. Now that I’m
done, it’s time to finish my match with Johan and get
back to business.
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Dissatisfied with the path at my last job
It’s no surprise to me that more than 50% of employed workers say they are watching
for or actively seeking a new job. I remember at my last company, getting ahead
wasn’t easy. Internal job listings were hard to locate, and I felt like I didn’t have much
support for my career development. Even when I found an open job and applied, I had
to upload my resume into the system and spend a lot of time filling out forms—it just
wasn’t efficient.
Once, I was rejected for a position that was basically identical to what I was
More than 50% of employed already doing. I was told that I lacked the required skills, but they couldn’t give me
detail about what I was missing. And that’s when I started applying for jobs at
workers say they are watching
other companies.
for or actively seeking a new job.1
1
Half of Your Employees Are Looking to Leave, Gallup, July 23, 2023
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The career growth app has everything I need
Back at the office, I realize that although I updated my skills, I’m still not sure which
ones are necessary for me to become a portfolio manager. I’ve heard that the average
life of a skill is about 18 months. Are there any new skills I need?
I go to my company’s career growth app in the employee portal. I love this AI-based
self-service tool: It’s a handy place for me to access a wide range of personal
development resources, all in one location. The tool, tailored to my journey, is my
destination for the support and guidance I need to achieve my professional goals.
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An aspiration to define my career plan
When I’m in the career growth app, I see smart suggestions and task reminders. It’s
reassuring to have the app as my own personal career coach, helping to drive my
career aspirations and stay on top of my professional development. I read online
that 75% of workers say that they are more likely to stay with a company that offers
continuous learning and development. It’s definitely true for me.
More than 75% of workers I add my aspiration to become a portfolio manager into the career growth app.
say that they are more likely Creating an aspiration is exactly what I need right now. I want to grow into the new role
of portfolio manager, and this will help define my plan.
to stay with a company that
offers continuous learning and
development.2
2022 Workplace Learning & Development Trends, Society for Human Resource Management
2
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The path becomes clear
With the aspiration in place, the career growth app recognizes my current skills and
shows me the additional skills I’ll need. This is a much better tool than the ones I’ve
used at other companies. It guides me through the information so I can clearly see the
path I’ll follow to become a portfolio manager.
Plus, I can easily set the time frame for my aspiration and even select how I want to
share it and with whom. I’ll share it with Johan so we can talk about it after I beat him
at pickleball next week.
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The whole process is fast and easy
So now it’s official: I created an aspiration to become a portfolio manager. And my
timing is excellent, since I have a growth conversation tomorrow with my manager,
Andrea. I don’t want to forget to talk about my aspiration with her, so I’ll add it as a
talking point to the agenda.
I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot, very quickly. From an automated message in Teams, I
was able to update my skills, create an aspiration, and add it as a talking point to the
agenda for my upcoming meeting with Andrea. The whole process to get on the career
path to portfolio manager was fast and easy.
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ANDREA’S STORY
Happy employees stay with the company
As a team leader, I’m constantly working to make sure my employees are growing
and developing their skills, because I know that if they’re happy in their jobs, they’re
more likely to stay with the company. And, to be honest, I hear that job openings still
outnumber candidates by almost 2 to 1, so it’s a better choice to develop the people I
already have than to go through the hassle of the hiring process.
Job openings still outnumber
candidates by almost 2 to 1.3
3
The demand for skilled talent – 2023 hiring and employment trends, Robert Half
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Tracking employee development is a snap
A Teams message just popped up, reminding me of an upcoming growth conversation
with one of my team members, Zack. Productivity tools in the manager area of the
career growth app, such as automated alerts, make it super simple for me to oversee
the development progress of each person on my team, especially since some of them
work at another site across the country. It’s like having a virtual assistant helping me
with my day-to-day management responsibilities.
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All set for a productive conversation with Zack
In the manager area of the career growth app, I can find the tools and resources that I
need to be a good manager—all in one location. It’s a dedicated space with lots of
helpful insights about my team, actionable tasks, analytics, and even coaching
guidance during conversations with employees.
As I get ready for my growth conversation with Zack, the app provides me with an
agenda that will help us have a successful discussion. What’s even better is that I can
see the aspiration Zack has added to his growth plan. With so many useful resources
at my fingertips, I’m all set for a productive conversation. Our internal HR newsletter
More than 80% of companies
reported that more than 80% of companies plan to adopt education and workforce
development technologies in the next five years—I love working for a company that’s
plan to adopt education
already doing it.
and workforce development
technologies in the next
five years.4
4
Future of Jobs Report 2023, World Economic Forum, May 2023
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A single, comprehensive view of Zack’s growth
I take a moment to review Zack’s skills: statistical analysis, Microsoft Excel, financial
modeling. The skills look familiar since they are the same ones that Zack was asked
to review and assess his proficiency in. I also take a minute to review some feedback
about Zack included from a third-party feedback tool. This gives me a single,
comprehensive view of Zack’s growth in his role. I really appreciate that in the manager
area of the growth app all these things are pulled together into one interface,
shielding me from the craziness of navigating the myriad talent applications other
companies use.
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Career aspiration turned into a plan of action
I’m impressed: Zack was so motivated by the development conversation we had
about his career goals that he’s already finished a growth plan to become a portfolio
manager and is ready to get started. He told me it was easy to follow the step-by-
step guidance in his area of the growth app to turn his aspiration into a plan of action.
In the career hub, Zack’s growth plan includes learning courses and development
opportunities—such as check-ins with some of our leadership team and conversations
with his peers—to strengthen the skills he needs and set him up for success.
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Automated prompts help us stay on track
Of course, none of us ever intends to set a growth plan and then forget it. But
sometimes in our hectic work environment, things happen quickly and we’re in back-to-
back meetings or working intently to meet an urgent deadline.
Fortunately, automated prompts from the career growth app—via text, email, or
Teams—will help Zack and me continue our progress on his growth plan and integrate
career development into the flow of our work. I’m glad to be able to help him get on
track to achieve his dream of becoming a portfolio manager.
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EPILOGUE
Close talent gaps, improve employee
experiences, and increase retention
For a business to thrive, leaders need to enable their employees to grow their careers
in equitable and dynamic ways. ServiceNows® Talent Development offers employees a
seamless and personalized experience, so they can easily navigate their professional
development plans and propel their careers forward. And managers can enjoy a
comprehensive toolkit right at their fingertips—from insightful analytics to timely task
prompts—enabling them to coach their teams more effectively along their career
paths and to greater satisfaction with the company. Using dynamic, AI‑powered skills
intelligence, you can embrace the future of workforce management to close talent
gaps and improve employee experiences with Talent Development from ServiceNow.
A dynamic, AI-powered approach for talent development that improves retention Back to TOC | 16
For a deeper exploration of ServiceNow solutions,we recommend the following content:
Talent development data sheet
If leaders don’t focus on skills development, they risk losing talent to companies that do. Read this data
sheet to learn more about the benefits of data-driven talent management strategies.
Read Data Sheet
Future updates on talent development
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