I spoke with HR Tech keynote speaker Josh Bersin last week about the Mercury release, which he says transforms The Josh Bersin Co.’s AI agent Galileo “from an AI assistant into a sophisticated reasoning agent for HR professionals.”
According to Bersin, Galileo now functions as a consultant that can analyze company documents, benchmark against best practices, provide transformation roadmaps, identify vendor solutions, redefine roles and build compelling ROI models.
New ‘chain of thought’ reasoning model
The upgrade features a “chain of thought” reasoning model that breaks big questions into manageable steps, according to Bersin, allowing users to track the reasoning process. “What this allows you to do is give Galileo more difficult problems,” he said.
Another development is the tool’s “consultant mode,” which Bersin says “will ask users what they need,” prompting based on the research and maturity models developed by The Josh Bersin Co. “People aren’t asking hard enough questions, so Galileo will go there,” nudging users to apply the tool in complex ways.
Expanded data sets
New data sets make Galileo “even smarter,” he says. The tool now includes expanded partnerships with:
- Lightcast (providing comprehensive salary, job and skills data)
- SHL (offering a 90+ competency framework for soft skills assessment)
Bersin says the expansion of Lightcast data enables Galileo to perform salary benchmarking, delivering “real-time data on average pay levels that refresh every week.”
He described the SHL Universal Competency Model as the “most comprehensive ‘soft-skills’ model we’ve seen,” developed through “millions of assessments in hundreds of jobs.”
The data enhances Galileo’s understanding of leadership, management and teamwork by building on the Heidrick Leadership Framework. It also adds insights from Oyster’s global employment practices, Visier’s retention benchmarks and Josh Bersin Co. research across multiple industries.
Meeting assistant functionality
The release introduces two key operational tools. A meeting assistant that records, summarizes and stores meetings for future reference and “Intelligent Benchmarking,” which assesses organizations against Bersin Company maturity models.
Galileo can be customized for business partners with specialized versions and manager-specific prompts, trained on high-quality HCM data, according to Bersin. Applications include interview assessment, skills/location/culture sorting, vendor selection and addressing complex HR challenges.
HR tech in the news
Payroll Integrations, a company that provides API solutions connecting payroll systems with benefits providers, has announced a new partnership with UKG. This collaboration is expected to improve both employee experiences and overall business outcomes.
Corporate wellness platform Wellhub will launch Wellhub Challenges—a new feature that lets employees create personalized wellness challenges through the app. These challenges are designed to help users stay active, motivated and connected.
The Microsoft 365 Copilot spring release brings an updated Copilot app, focused on supporting more effective collaboration between users and AI agents. The new version includes advanced models, adaptive memory and reasoning agents.
At the learning and upskilling platform Degreed‘s LENS Conference, the company announced a new partnership with SAP. The Degreed Learning solution is now an SAP Endorsed App and can be purchased online through the SAP Store.
WorkStep, a frontline employee engagement platform, has acquired WorkHound, a feedback platform for the supply chain. The move boosts WorkStep’s AI-driven engagement tools and expands its reach in trucking and logistics.
Payroll and payments platform Papaya Global has partnered with AKT, a global SAP SuccessFactors and Fieldglass expert, to deliver integrated workforce payment solutions. This collaboration intends to streamline the global workforce and payment management.
Enterprise fintech company Intuit announced it will acquire GoCo, a leading HR and benefits platform for SMBs. The acquisition will enable Intuit to offer a comprehensive HCM solution for hiring and workforce management.
IRONSCALES, a provider of AI-powered email security, has announced the launch of its deepfake protection solution. The tool is designed as a proactive means of reliably detecting and preventing deepfake-driven attacks before they cause harm.
Coaching management solution Coaching.com and Hogan Assessment Systems have partnered to integrate Hogan’s personality assessments into Coaching.com’s platform. This collaboration aims to bring data-driven insights to coaching sessions.
Beeline, a provider of technology for managing the global extended workforce, has launched Beeline AI. This new platform uses a diverse proprietary data set in contingent labor to deliver advanced insights and automation.
Global talent marketplace Upwork Inc. has launched its first Future Workforce Index. This report examines the growing role of skilled freelancers in knowledge work and their impact on the workforce, economy and business innovation.
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