Now, the countdown is on. By June 7, all 27 EU member states are expected to adopt the directive into national law, marking what many HR leaders are calling “Day One” of a new era in workplace transparency.  

But while the deadline is fast-approaching, many organizations are still far from operationally ready. Even though employers will be required to share pay information with both employees and candidates during the recruiting process, current practices suggest a significant gap. For example, across Europe, salary disclosure in job postings remains inconsistent and often limited, according to .

For HR leaders, the challenge is no longer understanding the directive—it’s executing on it with confidence.

The barrier to execution 

For many organizations, the challenge often starts with the state of their HR and compensation data. In multinational organizations, compensation data often spans multiple systems, payroll providers, spreadsheets, and local processes. Job classifications vary across countries, salary bands are not consistently defined, and workforce data remains siloed across regions. 

As a result, many organizations struggle to produce consistent pay comparisons, define standardized salary ranges, explain compensation decisions clearly, and generate accurate reporting across multiple countries.��

Without a connected and reliable workforce data foundation, pay transparency becomes difficult to operationalize at scale. 

Building a foundation for continuous transparency����

The organizations making the most progress are focusing first on data consistency, workforce visibility, and connected HR processes. 

This is where technology is becoming critical. AI can help organizations move beyond manual reporting by identifying pay anomalies, surfacing unexplained pay variance, and accelerating workforce equity analysis across large, complex data sets. 

With pay transparency insights (generally available on June 5),  a capability within the  package in , organizations can unify compensation and workforce data across systems while applying AI-assisted analysis to help identify inconsistencies, support explainable pay decisions, and improve reporting readiness. 

Instead of relying on fragmented systems and disconnected reporting processes, organizations can move toward a more consistent and scalable approach to transparency. 

Three areas HR teams need to execute now 

With the right data foundation in place, organizations are better positioned to address the directive’s three major operational requirements. 

1. Enabling employee pay transparency 

Under the directive, employees have the right to request information about average pay levels by gender for comparable work. For many organizations, this��immediately exposes data consistency issues. Comparable roles may be classified differently across countries or��business units, while compensation data��often lives in disconnected systems that were never designed to work together.��

��helps organizations provide employees with pay transparency statements through����while supporting more consistent comparisons across worker groups.��These statements can give clear insight into the employee’s annual pay and the average pay of the same worker��category��broken down by gender.����

2. Preparing for candidate pay transparency 

The directive also requires employers to disclose salary ranges in job postings or before interviews and prohibits asking candidates about salary history. While this may sound straightforward, many organizations are discovering they lack standardized pay ranges, consistent job architecture, or alignment between recruiting and compensation systems. 

 allows organizations to display salary ranges directly within job postings and support more transparent hiring experiences. AI-driven recommendations can also help organizations establish more consistent pay ranges aligned to internal equity, external benchmarks, and evolving workforce needs. 

3. Meeting gender pay gap reporting obligations 

Mandatory gender pay gap reporting represents one of the directive’s most operationally demanding requirements. Annual reporting obligations begin in 2027 based on 2026 workforce data, meaning organizations need to prepare now.  

For many HR teams, the challenge is turning complex, multi-country workforce data into accurate and defensible reporting. With��, organizations can use AI-assisted analysis to��identify��potential drivers behind pay gaps, surface workforce equity insights more quickly, and support more proactive decision-making��before reporting deadlines arrive.����

What HR should do now 

The EU Pay Transparency Directive is not just introducing a new compliance requirement. It’s accelerating a broader shift toward continuous transparency in how organizations manage compensation, hiring, and workforce equity. 

The organizations best prepared for this shift are taking action now to: 

• Unify workforce and compensation data��
• Standardize job and pay structures��
• Improve reporting readiness��
• Build more consistent, explainable compensation processes across the business

As transparency expectations continue to grow among employees, candidates, regulators, and business leaders, pay equity can no longer operate as a periodic reporting exercise. It is becoming an ongoing operational capability. 

Watch the  to learn how to move from policy to execution and prepare your organization for EU Pay Transparency requirements at scale.  

Maryann Abbajay is chief revenue officer for �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors.

With the����1H 2026 release,��we’re��deepening those connections across the HR lifecycle. This release focuses on��four��core priorities:��connected,��suite-wide��AI; unified experiences that adapt to how organizations work;��processes designed for clarity, accuracy, and compliance; and stronger foundations for skills and long-term growth.��Together, these innovations help organizations��anticipate��needs earlier, reduce friction in daily work, and move forward with greater confidence.��

Connected AI that works across HCM

AI in HR delivers the greatest impact when it works continuously across the entire workforce lifecycle—not as isolated features, but as connected capabilities that share context and insight.

The 1H 2026 release expands��suite-wide��agentic AI��across �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors solutions, helping��employees��get clearer answers, act sooner, and keep��work moving��across roles and responsibilities.��A connected network of����now supports areas such as recruiting, workforce administration, payroll, learning, performance, and talent development—working together behind the scenes to help��anticipate��next steps and surface relevant guidance.

This release also introduces a growing��workforce knowledge network, bringing trusted external expertise and research directly into the flow of work through Joule.��Teams can now access expert-backed global employment guidance and��research-driven��insights without leaving their workflows—supporting��faster, more��confident decisions.

To��further��support learning in the flow of work,��intelligent Q&A in����now helps employees find information more easily. AI��can deliver instant,��context-aware��responses drawn directly from an organization’s learning content,��along with relevant links and resources,��so employees can get answers quickly without searching through courses or documentation.��

Unified experiences that adapt to how work gets done��

As HR��tasks��become more embedded in��day-to-day work, experiences need to feel intuitive, connected, and responsive��wherever work happens. In the 1H 2026 release,���鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors solutions continue to unify experiences across the suite, giving employees, managers, and HR teams what they need��in��the moment.��

• Connected recruiting and onboarding:��Native integration between�� solutions, , and����can bring AI-enabled��recruiting, core HR, and onboarding together into a single, continuous experience, helping hiring teams move faster while��maintaining��consistency from candidate through new hire.��

• Tailored experiences,��built faster:��The new��extensibility wizard��can provide guided, step-by-step support for creating custom extensions on����(�鶹ԭ�� BTP) directly within���鶹ԭ����SuccessFactors solutions, making it easier to adapt experiences to unique business needs while preserving governance.��
• Simpler, clearer employee moments:��A redesigned, configurable 401(k) experience��in����for U.S.��employees helps simplify enrollment and management by clearly explaining employer contributions and guiding deferrals and beneficiary setup, helping employees make informed decisions with confidence.��

Processes designed for clarity, accuracy, and compliance��

In the 1H 2026 release, �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors introduces new capabilities that help organizations bring greater clarity and rigor to pay practices.

With��pay��transparency insights��in the , organizations can analyze compensation patterns and potential pay gaps, supporting transparent, data-driven pay practices in-line with evolving regulatory expectations,��including in the EU.��

Skills governance��for sustainable growth��

Preparing for��what’s��next requires trusted, consistent skills data that organizations can rely on across HR, talent, and workforce planning.

In the 1H 2026 release,��we are��strengthening��the����with enhanced��skills governance, providing a centralized interface to help manage skills, apply governance standards, and ensure alignment across �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors solutions and partner applications. This helps organizations improve��skills��data quality, maintain consistency at scale, and make more confident,��skills-based��decisions.��

A connected foundation for the future 

This��release��reinforces���鶹ԭ��’s continued focus on an intelligent, connected HCM��foundation—one designed to evolve with your organization and support confident decisions at every stage of work. By bringing together data, AI, and experiences across the HR lifecycle, these��enhancements help organizations reduce friction today while��laying��the groundwork for��tomorrow.

To explore what’s included in this release, check out the or watch the overview .

Bianka Woelke is group vice president and head of Application Product Management for �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors.

“When we give, we gain” is this year’s , and in the workplace, giving can take many forms: mentoring, advocacy, visibility, resources, and transparency.

For organizations, pay transparency is one of the most tangible ways to “give” in service of gender equality. When employees better understand their compensation, historically underrepresented groups gain clarity and fairness. And when organizations commit to equitable practices, the benefits ripple across the business—from greater trust and engagement to stronger talent outcomes and overall performance.

Transparency starts with accountability

Many organizations are still early��in��their pay transparency journey.��At �鶹ԭ��,��this has been a��multi-year��effort��grounded in data, accountability, and action.��Each year, we conduct global internal pay equity analyses��comparing��employees in comparable roles, levels, and��geographies��to ensure compensation is fair, market-aligned, and internally��consistent. When outliers are��identified, centrally funded adjustments bring��pay��in-line.

This reflects �鶹ԭ��’s fair pay philosophy: equitable compensation that is transparent and free from bias, forming the foundation for performance-based differentiation.

Technology is central to this approach. �鶹ԭ�� operationalizes fair pay through����and��, embedding��pay analysis, job architecture, and range guidance, so managers can consistently apply structured, explainable decisions during hiring and annual cycles.

Today,��over 99% of �鶹ԭ�� employees worldwide have transparency into their pay��range through��a compensation assistant��tool built on (�鶹ԭ�� BTP). This tool��integrates �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors data to display salary ranges across career levels, which��can replace��guesswork with confidence and can give employees clear insight into their value, career progression, and how pay decisions are made.

From compliance to strategic intelligence: the EU Pay Transparency Directive

The shift from voluntary transparency to regulatory mandate is already underway. For European Union member states, the EU Pay Transparency Directive is driving change by requiring salary range disclosures in advance of the first interview, employee access to pay information, and gender pay gap reporting, with corrective action mandated when unexplained gaps exceed 5%. As implementation timelines approach, HR, legal, and finance teams across the EU are racing to operationalize new transparency requirements, making pay governance a board-level issue for many organizations.

“One of the most meaningful shifts introduced by the EU Pay Transparency Directive is giving employees clearer tools to understand their own compensation. With capabilities like individual pay transparency reports generated through �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors Employee Central, employees now have a self-service way to see how their pay compares within their role and organization. That level of visibility is a major step forward for pay equity because it brings clarity to something that historically has been difficult for employees to question or address.”

Anita Lettink, Future of Work and Pay Expert

Compliance is just the starting point. Organizations that embed transparency into everyday HR processes ensure pay decisions are consistent, equitable, and aligned with skills, performance, and business priorities. �鶹ԭ�� is already preparing customers for this shift, with tools designed to help meet these new requirements confidently.

With EU Pay Transparency Insights, a new capability within the , organizations can:

• Identify structural pay gaps and outliers before they become systemic issues.
• Connect compensation data to job architecture, skills, and performance to inform decisions and governance.
• Generate directive-aligned, ready-to-use reports without heavy manual effort.
• Turn transparency into action, guiding adjustments, equitable promotions, and workforce planning at scale.

These insights complement established fair pay practices—such as structured job architecture, peer-based analysis, and centrally funded adjustments—enabling customers to implement transparent, equitable pay practices while meeting regulatory requirements.

Giving to gain: the leadership opportunity

This International Women’s Day, transparency should be treated as a strategic priority, not a compliance task. Clear, consistent pay practices help employees understand their value and help leaders make smarter, data-driven workforce decisions.

Pay transparency is accelerating, and organizations that act now will be the ones that lead. Don’t miss our upcoming webinar, EU Pay Transparency: Turning Fair and Equitable Pay into Your Strategic Advantage, where Future of Work and Pay expert Anita Lettink will break down the latest regulatory expectations and share best practices for building fair, equitable, and motivating compensation structures. .

Maryann Abbajay is chief revenue officer for �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors.

To date, many employers have approached pay equity at their own pace, but a new era is beginning, one that will redefine pay practices and workplace culture for organizations across the European Union (EU). Set to take effect across EU Member States in 2026, the (EU Directive 2023/970) strengthens the principle of “equal pay for equal work or work of equal value” as enshrined in EU law, requiring employers to adopt transparent pay practices and close gender pay gaps or face potential legal and financial consequences.

can provide a single source of truth for the critical data-driven insights needed to help organizations meet EU pay transparency requirements. Today, �鶹ԭ�� is announcing new capabilities that can make it even easier for organizations to meet their requirements across EU countries.

Launching in 1H 2026, EU Pay Transparency Insights is a new capability within the , an intelligent, AI-powered application that can deliver ready-to-use, actionable insights to help leaders make more informed decisions. EU Pay Transparency Insights enables organizations to analyze compensation, identify outliers, and address pay gaps, helping them meet reporting requirements while unlocking the workforce and business performance benefits of achieving true pay equity.

Three requirements every employer must meet—and how �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors HCM supports them

The EU Pay Transparency Directive represents one of the most sweeping changes to workplace compensation in decades. To meet its requirements, organizations will need to reassess their current HR data management capabilities and processes and begin planning now. As countries move toward putting the directive into law by June 2026, some obligations may already apply, with others set to take effect as soon as national laws are enacted. And because pay gap reporting deadlines vary by organization size—starting in 2027 for employers with 150 or more employees and based on 2026 workforce data—organizations must act now to be ready.��

�鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors HCM is uniquely positioned to support organizations in addressing the three key requirements outlined in the directive—gender pay gap reporting, employee pay transparency, and candidate pay transparency—with several capabilities already available today and advanced analytics for gender pay gap reporting delivered through EU Pay Transparency Insights in 1H 2026.

1. Gender pay gap reporting

Once national laws are in place, employers will be required to disclose their gender pay gaps on a predefined schedule, and any gap of 5% or more must be explained or mitigated with a joint pay assessment. With EU Pay Transparency Insights within , organizations will be able to access rich workforce insights to analyze compensation and identify drivers behind pay gaps, giving them the information they need to generate actionable reports with a complete view of workforce equity in a single place.

2. Employee pay transparency

In accordance with the directive, employees have the right to request information on average pay levels by gender for comparable roles. By leveraging the powerful document generation capabilities in �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors HCM, employers can provide employees with a self-service experience to display individual pay transparency statements directly from the People Profile in . These statements can give clear insight into the employee’s annual pay and the average pay of the same worker category broken down by gender.

3. Candidate pay transparency

Employers will be required to disclose pay ranges in job advertisements or before interviews. They will also be prohibited from asking applicants about salary history. �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors solutions help enhance pay transparency by enabling employers to display pay ranges directly within job postings published through �鶹ԭ��’s recruiting solutions, including �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors Recruiting and .

In addition to these �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors capabilities, �鶹ԭ�� continues to work with our vast partner ecosystem to support pay parity and pay transparency efforts.

An opportunity to lead with accountability

The EU Pay Transparency Directive sets a new baseline for accountability in how organizations manage and disclose pay. By preparing early and partnering with �鶹ԭ��, organizations can deliver transparent compensation insights, empowering employees with a clear view of their total rewards and career journey and supporting HR professionals in making consistent and measurable decisions with confidence. With continuous innovation and trusted localized expertise, �鶹ԭ�� helps organizations stay on top of changes and build a sustainable, employee-centered approach to pay equity across the EU.

Learn more about how �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors HCM can help your organization stay compliant with the EU Pay Transparency Directive in the

Dan Beck is general manager and chief product officer for �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors.

The impact of getting people analytics right is undeniable. According to , organizations that prioritize insights models and performance processes rooted in people data are more likely to see meaningful gains across the board: 98% continuously realize stronger employee satisfaction, 90% experience a boost in workforce performance toward strategic goals, and 87% see improved employee retention.  

Yet for many organizations, the challenge isn’t recognizing the value of people data—it’s unlocking it. Data lives in silos, systems don’t connect, and insights that could drive strategy often stay buried in spreadsheets or dashboards. And let’s face it—the power of AI rests on data. Without harmonized data in one place, organizations can’t fully tap into AI’s potential to deliver proactive insights, predictive intelligence, and personalized recommendations that drive better business decisions.  

That’s why �鶹ԭ�� announced , now generally available, earlier this year. Built on , People Intelligence is an AI-driven application that can bring together people, skills, and business data—from �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors solutions and beyond—into actionable insights that help leaders make more informed people and business decisions.  

At Success Connect at �鶹ԭ�� Connect earlier this month, we announced in People Intelligence for recruiting, learning, succession, career development planning, and performance and goals management—helping to make it even easier for organizations to translate workforce data into measurable impact. 

Turning data into decisions 

People Intelligence combines unified data from across the enterprise with AI-driven predictions to help forecast workforce needs, anticipate labor costs and risks, and strengthen workforce planning. And with , �鶹ԭ��’s AI copilot, HR teams can instantly get contextual, actionable answers to critical business questions such as:  

• What’s the total count of our workforce?  
• Are employees being compensated equitably across similar roles and demographics? 
• What are the key skills gaps within my workforce, and what teams are most affected?  
• What’s the most effective way to acquire high-demand skills?  

Too often, workforce data exists in isolation from finance, supply chain, and operational metrics, which makes it nearly impossible to see how people decisions impact business results. People Intelligence can change that. By linking workforce insights to core business data in �鶹ԭ�� Business Data Cloud, leaders can understand how talent strategies affect productivity, compliance, profitability, and agility, and they can act in real time. 

Building a future-ready workforce 

The future of work will be defined by rapid change: accelerating AI adoption, shifting skills requirements, and evolving employee expectations. Organizations that are hamstrung by siloed data or manual analysis will always be a step behind. 

People Intelligence helps provide the foundation and insights to move forward with confidence. By harnessing people data with the same rigor as financial or customer data, organizations gain clarity on how skills, roles, and costs are evolving—and the foresight to stay ahead of what’s next. 

to learn how data-driven insights can fuel your workforce strategy.  

Lara Albert is chief marketing officer at �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors.

gives organizations the tools to lead with confidence. Part of the , �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors brings together global core HR, AI-driven insights, and a unified skills foundation to connect people and processes, close skills gaps, simplify compliance, and build a workforce ready for what’s next.

With the second half 2025 (2H 2025) product release, we’re excited to introduce hundreds of new features and enhancements in �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors, many enabled by AI. Together, these innovations help HR teams, business leaders, and employees work smarter, move faster, and stay future-ready.

Drive better people and business decisions

Data about people, skills, performance, and business outcomes exists everywhere, but without a clear view, it’s difficult to act. , now generally available, is designed to help organizations make better workforce decisions by unifying �鶹ԭ�� and third-party data. Through intuitive dashboards, AI-assisted insights powered by Joule, and hundreds of HR metrics, leaders can now move from insights to action with unprecedented speed.

With pre-built use cases spanning critical areas like skills, compensation, recruiting, learning, performance, and succession, People Intelligence makes it easier to uncover trends, identify opportunities, and take action. By bringing together clean, centralized HR data and powerful AI, it equips HR and business leaders with the intelligence they need to drive meaningful workforce transformation.

Build a future-ready workforce

To stay competitive, organizations must continuously evolve alongside their people. This release introduces new innovations that align skills, performance, and development with future business needs.

We are excited that the in �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors is now available. This agent empowers managers to lead consistent, high-impact performance conversations by analyzing employee data, such as performance goals, activities and achievements, and continuous feedback, to create tailored conversation prompts for each employee. Using Joule, managers receive AI-guided insights like goal progress summaries, key accomplishments, growth focus areas, and development recommendations. Users can ask follow-up questions to dive deeper into any of these areas. 

Additionally, business rules integration in performance management support consistent and transparent performance reviews by automating feedback prompts and actions based on predefined conditions, such as dynamically exposing a comment field only when a rating condition is met.

Succession planning is also getting a boost with skills-based successor recommendations in , which analyzes skills, proficiency levels, and internal work experiences captured in employee growth portfolios to recommend potential successors who might have been overlooked using traditional metrics. And with the new person-based model for talent management, organizations can drive smarter talent decisions, faster reskilling, and greater workforce agility by unifying learning and talent data in a person-based view that follows employees across changing roles, teams, and assignments. 

Enable agile and compliant HR 

As regulations evolve and business needs shift, HR must stay both agile and compliant. This release introduces new capabilities to help teams adapt quickly while ensuring accuracy and trust.

The new solution,available to early adopters in January 2026, supports optimized shift planning in manufacturing and other production industries by aligning workforce skills and staffing levels with operational demand. Geofencing in �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors Time Tracking helps prevent fraud and ensure compliance by defining work site locations and ranges to govern where employees can clock in and out. �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors Employee Central simplifies U.S. leave management by connecting with FMLA service providers to automate leave deductions and improve tracking accuracy.

Across the suite, our updated home page delivers a more intuitive and personalized experience for users with streamlined navigation, targeted communications, and real-time insights across desktop and mobile.

Extend applications to easily adapt

As workforce expectations and business priorities evolve, flexibility is key. This release delivers new capabilities to help seamlessly connect and optimize HR processes, maximizing investments while supporting the changing needs of people and the organization.

is now enhanced by Joule and generative AI to deliver faster access to information, improved self-service, and more informed decision-making. Joule streamlines tasks with role-based self-service, workflow automation, and real-time insights, while generative AI simplifies feedback, coaching, and goal updates with context-aware insights. Employees can also quickly find company-specific knowledge through Joule for accurate, relevant information when they need it.

Lead the future of HR

With the 2H 2025 release, �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors HCM helps HR leaders navigate complexity with ease. By uniting global HR, AI-driven insights, and a unified skills foundation, organizations can make smarter decisions, develop future-ready talent, and stay agile in a rapidly changing world.

To learn about our latest innovations and enhancements, check out the or . ��

Bianka Woelke is group vice president and head of Application Product Management for �鶹ԭ�� SuccessFactors.