The right man, in the right project, at the right time: an app created by joint teams from .msg group redefines managing talents in IT companies and beyond.
The last few years have brought many challenges for HR people and team leaders in building teams for projects in IT companies. The hybrid working system, the pace of work, and the demand for new people above the supply level on the job market have made them look for a way to streamline the use of in-house talent and, more importantly, to give them the best career opportunities. For .msg Group, the solution came by developing msg.ProfileMap: a machine learning-based application that quickly processes thousands of candidate profiles and proposes the best HR formula for a project.
How does msg.ProfileMap works?
It all starts with the creation of individual employee profiles in the application. The app lists the skills of the people on the team, from hard to soft skills (professional or project experience, education, certificates, languages, etc.). The process is automated; all you need to do is upload a document, and the app will "read" the skills based on pre-established keywords, which are then automatically added to the app. The procedure is kept just as simple when you want to update or refine an employee's data, with the intuitive interface allowing selection and editing options.
When a new role arises, or you need to form a team for a new project, the application generates the most suitable profiles from the database for the tasks to be covered, comparing requirements with data in user profiles.
What are the advantages of msg.ProfileMap?
The entire process is assisted by artificial intelligence, which reduces the likelihood of human error in matching skills to job requirements. The time and effort required are significantly less than manually processing the data. The level of refinement is maximized, with the application being able to provide not just general data about a profile but also data about employee availability for a one-off project or data suggesting a timeline for including a person in a team. Access to such detailed data covers the company's job needs and helps match employees to roles that align with their skills and career aspirations.
As importantly, the app knows what skills exist and are missing. By interlinking data at the macro level, the tool can discover 'gaps' and suggest steps for a development plan. This way, a manager can better understand what skills are needed in their team, how they can help their colleagues grow, and work with them to determine the best way to fill existing needs.
For employees, ProfileMap is an excellent source of career development. For example, if an employee's profile indicates growth potential in a particular area, the application can recommend specific training or learning modules.
The people and technologies behind the app
The .msg Romania team has been involved in the development of msg.ProfileMap since 2020, when it was just an idea. Also, in Romania, through a partnership with the Technical University of Cluj (UTCN), "maps" that underpin the system were made, and the configuration and integration of some of the most powerful open-source tools.
As it is natural for such a complex application, the number of technologies used is large, from Angular for the front end, AWS, Neptune Graph dB, and Amplify for the back end. Known for its natural language processing (NLP) capabilities, Hugging Face is used for tasks involving text analysis, language understanding, or other AI-based text operations. Other AI technologies include sklearn and MLflow.
This mix of technologies was challenging for everyone on board in Cluj (1 architect, two frontend developers, one data engineer, and one backend developer) who worked on the app development. Still, it also helped them to develop new skills quickly. In total, 16 colleagues (developers, QA, and architects) are involved in the project in Romania and Germany.
What are the next steps for msg.ProfileMap?
Currently, the application is used in several departments of the .msg group in Romania and Germany. Still, it is also ready to be implemented in other companies for which .msg can provide end-to-end support, from the initial contact with the customer to the final version, aligned with the organizational structure and financial management needs.
Intensive work is also being done on improving the reporting capabilities of this tool to provide deeper insights and more sophisticated analysis. This could include more detailed workforce analysis, predictive modeling, and trend analysis to help strategic decision-making.