Cornerstone Acquires Skills Engine for People Development Suite

Cornerstone OnDemand bought Clustree, a French technology company with an extensive AI-based skills engine and skills ontology.

Clustree’s engine, which Cornerstone says is the world’s largest, uses machine learning to help companies match their employees’ skills with specific job roles. Its ontology is based on the consolidation of more than 1 billion job skills, across multiple languages, into a library of 53,000 verified skills. The library describes any employee profile from any industry, the company said. Clustree has some 2.5 terabytes of career data.

In practical terms, Cornerstone said employers use the skills engine and ontology to analyze their workforce’s skill data and apply it to hiring decisions, employee development and workforce planning. Clustree’s customers include L’Oreal, Carrefour and Sanofi.

Closing Skills Gaps

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Not surprisingly, it’s all about closing the skills gap. “The future of work will require organizations and their people to continuously learn new skills to keep up with the pace of technology and fundamental industry shifts,” said Cornerstone CEO Adam Miller. “In order to prepare for the future, organizations must have a grasp on the skills and capabilities their talent has today so they can identify skills gaps and start developing their talent for tomorrow.”

Cornerstone plans to integrate Clustree’s technology into its People Development solution over the next year. Once that’s done, the company said, customers will be able to:

• Build a skills inventory: Organizations will have clearer insight into the skills and capabilities of their workforce, enabling them to better match employees to specific roles. Employees will gain a better understanding of the specific skills and capabilities they possess, as well as the specialized skills required for their role.
• Identify precise areas for growth and development: Using information on employees’ current positions and projected career paths, organizations and their people will be able to identify potential skills gaps and access personalized learning opportunities within the flow of work. 
• Make more informed recruiting decisions: The system will help employers detect hidden skills in a candidate’s resume based on their previous roles, credentials and accomplishments.

Cornerstone agreed to acquire Clustree for about $18.5 million in an all-cash deal. The transaction is expected to close during 2020’s first quarter.

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