Using Generative AI to accelerate innovation in Total Rewards  

At Mercer, AI is not new to us. We pioneered the use of machine learning in survey submission with our award-winning Mercer Data Connector. The proprietary job matching AI built into Mercer Data Connector, allows us to predict matches to Mercer’s Job Library based on census data and other inputs, and learns from the millions of data points submitted through the annual survey submission process. This technology has not only revolutionized survey submission processes, but also creates a more structured and streamlined process for our consulting work with clients. Today, we’re getting more efficient and expanding our capabilities in Rewards via a proprietary job matching tool, MercerMatch, which brings the power of GenAI to the job matching process.

You know us for the largest and most comprehensive compensation surveys in the world — covering 40k organizations, 20 million employees, and a robust job taxonomy through Mercer Job Library of over 26k jobs. Using the expansive database you’ve always trusted, we now can layer deep learning AI with GenAI for job matching to streamline survey submissions, clean data to ensure validity, and deliver more agile consulting processes.

Our company culture is based on embracing AI and other new technologies, and as we’ve been investing in Gen AI and building infrastructure, we see the possibilities it can bring to our Total Rewards clients. Here’s what’s on the horizon for you. 

Much of the discussion around AI in Rewards up to this point has been about content creation, such as job descriptions. But GenAI is a reasoning engine, unlike machine learning (ML), and it can make decisions based on a broad set of inputs the same way humans can.

We’ve long been able to use machine learning to predict job matches to Mercer’s Job Library, but those algorithms have limitations. GenAI can use logic and reasoning to drive that further, as well as intake broader data sets (such as job descriptions) to produce more accurate matches. In addition, the process of matching and evaluating jobs today is subjective, and there’s a huge opportunity for a more objective, consistent, bias-reducing approach with GenAI. Practitioners in total rewards have long said that job matching and evaluations are both “art and science” – and as a result, inconsistencies persist across human evaluators. Properly trained AI will significantly reduce that variation, providing a more consistent “first pass” for human review.

The combination of our machine learning capabilities, our mass datasets, and GenAI in MercerMatch will allow for not only matching jobs to surveys to facilitate speed in benchmarking, but numerous other use cases including job evaluation, job architecture and job mapping, and aligning skills to jobs. This is all made possible through the Mercer Job Library taxonomy, which is underpinned by our job evaluation methodology (Mercer’s International Position Evaluation, or IPE) and Mercer Skills Library.

These capabilities allow us to partner with our clients to deliver on strategic initiatives with speed and agility, in unprecedented ways. Further, it allows us to focus our consulting time on the strategic needs of a project, and spend less time on the transactional analysis. For example, when an acquisition happens, integrating people into new job and compensation structures is a massive undertaking, and the two companies often keep operating as standalone organizations for a long time. With AI, we can support organizations to combine at speed, identifying overlaps in jobs, skills and capabilities, and allowing for seamless integration.

Building this full suite of capabilities around AI takes time and deep expertise. Our AI is underpinned with a taxonomy and structure that makes it usable and consumable because we know how our clients’ organizations work. We build custom GenAI solutions using our proprietary data—not what ChatGPT pulls from the internet. And we use these capabilities in our consulting work and integrate the feedback to strengthen our models. 

Most organizations recognize the power of the speed and agility AI can bring. But many are wary — we’ve all seen AI tools that hallucinate absurd outputs and/or don’t live up to the marketing promises.

But at Mercer, we’re not using ChatGPT, we’re using closed models trained with our own deep datasets that we’ve been building and leveraging for our clients for decades. The accuracy of the data is the outcome. As consultants, we’re also thought leaders in AI itself; we have a group working on AI best practices so we can help you understand what AI truly is and does, and define where it fits within your goals and ecosystem.

Further, the use of GenAI in benchmarking and job evaluation is about augmenting human intelligence, not replacing it. At Mercer, we always use AI with what we call the “human in the loop” approach. GenAI can complete the cumbersome, transactional work, but a consultant will always review and validate the AI outputs.

Organizations can refocus their efforts when they free up time from transactional work. The newly-found capacity will enable Rewards teams to deliver on more strategic initiatives and drive value to the business.

Skills is a huge opportunity for AI with the current evolution of work. Many organizations are working on validating skills to jobs, but some are holding back because the process can feel overwhelming. Mercer can take the groundwork and busywork out of the process, allowing clients to get to a baseline of skills through intuitive mapping of skills to jobs, driven through a framework of a job architecture. This top- down approach enables you to quickly build skills at scale across your entire organization, and align to your organization’s strategic transformation at both the organization and functional level.

We’ve been leveraging AI in this way that won us an award: our industry-leading Mercer Skills Edge solution has been honored with the "Best Advance in Practical AI" award. What sets us apart is our holistic approach and innovative use of technology, exemplified by our interconnected products: Skills Library, Skills Map, and Skills Pricer. These products offer comprehensive skills coverage, customization, and adaptability, leveraging AI and expert-curated data to provide accurate market insights and align with each organization's unique needs and talent management strategies.

Here’s how AI works across our entire workforce ecosystem, from survey submission, to compensation, job architecture and work design: when you give us your jobs, we can use AI to quickly map your jobs to our large data sets, enabling you to receive information on compensation target market rates, a market-driven job architecture structure through Mercer’s Job Library Taxonomy, reference job evaluations through Mercer’s International Position Evaluation (IPE) System, job descriptions and job tasks through Mercer’s Work Design Tool, and the baseline of skills you should start with through our Skills Library. Ultimately, you’ll be able to shift teams from evaluating jobs to evaluating work.

In today’s environment, it’s easy to get caught up in the hype surrounding AI. But at Mercer, we believe it’s not about the bells and whistles of AI driven tools – it’s around how we work with you to deliver tangible results.

Partnering with us means gaining a strategic ally who will leverage AI to accelerate your success. We don’t just deliver tools, analysis and reports; we drive action. Our AI-powered approach ensures that you:

• Stay Focused on What Matters: We cut through the noise to stay laser focused on your core strategic objectives, avoiding getting caught up in the operational minutiae.  
• Achieve Results Faster: Our AI and automated workflows enable us to deliver solutions rapidly, ensuring you meet your goals on time and on budget.
• Lead with Market Expertise: Our deep industry knowledge and data, combined with AI-powered insights, ensures your programs are designed at the leading edge.
• Built for the Future: With leading capabilities in digital transformation, we’ll ensure our solutions are not only future-fit, but seamlessly integrate within your existing technology stack, ensuring a smooth transition and maximizing your return on investment.

The use cases of GenAI in Rewards are multifold: faster and more accurate benchmarking, job architecture work, and job description development, to name a few. Your investment in Mercer opens up a suite of AI-driven solutions and insights.

We’ve always been your trusted advisor in Total Rewards. Now with Generative AI, you can continue to trust us to use it to your best advantage. Partner with us and experience the true power of AI – not in empty promises, but in measurable results that drive your business forward.

• Give your pay strategy a raise with PayAI®
• Enhance your job architecture with skills data through Mercer’s Skills Map
• Evaluate and optimize work based on the impact of AI with our Work Design solution
• Automate job architecture design workflows through Mercer's job architecture tool