Microsoft announces Dynamics 365 for Talent technical preview, with LinkedIn integration

By:  Dann Anthony Maurno

Microsoft is promising a “holistic approach to attracting, onboarding and growing talent” with Dynamics 365 for Talent, designed for HR organizations, now in technical preview. The company promises that you can:

Connect the dots between the talent you have, the people you need to meet strategic goals, and top candidates in the market to ensure you always have the best person for the job.

Dynamics 365 for Talent is designed to enable organizations to engage “digitally and professionally with candidates from first contact to offer acceptance and throughout their employee journey,” beginning on LinkedIn and then via Office 365 and other Microsoft tools.

First announced by EVP Scott Guthrie of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise Group on his blog, the application is designed to offer a 360-degree view of your workforce, with features/functions including:

  • LinkedIn Recruiter integration, aimed at enabling dynamic candidate that provide managers and interviewers the most up-to-date information
  • Office 365 integration to enable hiring managers to quickly set up the right interview team and interact with both the candidate and hiring team’s availability (see figure).
  • Skype integration
  • Strategic HR workflows, through the creation of comprehensive checklists for HR to execute strategic plans and optimize HR processes
  • Candidate engagement, with a personalized guide that shows candidates their application status, allows them to input their interview availability, and more
  • Personalized onboarding experiences with, for example, targeted activities and learning resources, plus access to relevant like team members and key contacts (such as a mentor)
  • Consolidated HR profiles that encompass information from Office 365, Dynamics 365 and LinkedIn profiles
  • Employee self-management, with administrative tasks such as requesting vacation and manage their direct deposit

Integrated and extensible

Dynamics 365 for Talent features key integrations to Office 365, best of breed service providers, Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, and LinkedIn. It further leverages the common data services platform with built-in extension points for Microsoft Flow, Power BI, and Power Apps.

Closer to general availability, Microsoft will offer integrations to:

  • Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3
  • Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise Edition
  • Background screening
  • Global payroll providers
  • Applicant tracking system (ATS) providers
As we previously reported, Dynamics 365 for Talent is among a new generation of Microsoft business apps that will utilize the Common Data Services as its data storage and extensibility model.
About Dann Anthony Maurno

Dann Anthony Maurno is a seasoned business journalist who began his career as International Marketing Manager with Lilly Software, then moved on as a freelancer to write for such prestigious clients as CFO Magazine; Compliance Week;Manufacturing Business Technology; Decision Resources, Inc.; The Economist Intelligence Unit; and corporate clients such as Iron Mountain, Microsoft and SAP. He is the co-author of Thin Air: How Wireless Technology Supports Lean Initiatives(CRC/Productivity Press, 2010).

Dann can be reached at dmaurno@guidepointmedia.com.