2085316 - Worksheet Workflow & Hierarchy Based Approvals (HBA) - Compensation

Hierarchy-Based Approval (HBA) is a traditional approach to route worksheets for approvals or rejection. It provides tree-like navigation flow for the organization hierarchy and a simplistic approval process based on the hierarchy. While planning is at a worksheet level, approvals or rejections is at company level at one time if HBA approach is followed.

Image/data in this KBA is from SAP internal systems, sample data, or demo systems. Any resemblance to real data is purely coincidental.

• SAP SuccessFactors HCM Suite
• SAP SuccessFactors Compensation

You can enable Hierarchy-Based Approval on the Advanced Settings page in Compensation Home to approve Compensation worksheets in a simple process, without having to route forms to next levels. Please also refer to the guide Approval Workflows for Compensation Forms for more information.

Benefits

• Improved navigation with organizational tree.
• Eliminates the need to use Rollup Report and Executive Review during the planning process.
• It is a simple approval model.
• All the budget metrics in one place.
• Potentially eliminate the worksheet paradigm for senior management.
• Compensation planning for Direct Reports and the Organization can be achieved on a single page.
• Eliminates having to navigate to worksheets from Inbox.

Process Highlights

• Admin launches forms, and they are routed to a single user for holding during the process.
• Compensation Planners log in and Navigate to their Compensation Approvals tab.
• From approvals tab you can use the buttons to display Direct Reports only, or the Entire Organization.
• Compensation planners can approve for everyone in their team (direct reports), for review of the leaders above, or can approve their entire hierarchy below, with one click.
• Once the approval is submitted to and level above, no one below this point in the hierarchy can edit the Comp data anymore.
• If it was approved at the top level then no one will be able to edit the comp data anymore.
• Approvals always flow upwards and can be submitted only one level above.
• Admin uses mass routing feature to route all of the forms to Complete once the process is finalized. An alternative is to have all worksheets auto-route on a certain date preset at time of launch in your route map.
• In Hierarchy-Based Approval (HBA), the Status column in the compensation data view indicates whether the planner has submitted their compensation data. The status reflects the submission state of the data, while the approval status is displayed separately through the icons in the view.

Org Tree View

• Planners can also navigate through the organization via the org tree on the left. This org tree is just a visual representation of the same data in your Manager Planner column via your data import.
• If the data is changed via your import, it also changes this visual org tree.
• When you select a person in the org tree the selected planner’s budget metrics and their one level below budget metrics are displayed.

Budget

• The budget information which the planner sees on their worksheet is only for those showing on their worksheet.
• Budgets do not update automatically upon save. You need to open and save the actual worksheets.

HBA View Mode Only

• The feature can be found in Advanced Settings as "Enable Compensation View Only Mode for Hierarchy Based Approvals".
• If you do not want to plan by HBA mode you can still leverage it for view purposes only which can make planning easier.
• The enablement of "Enable Compensation View Only Mode for Hierarchy Based Approvals" will remove Approve All, Reject and Approval History buttons.
• It doesn't prevent managers from EDITING forms. 

Considerations for HBA

• Not available in Variable Pay or Total Compensation. You will note that the option to enable this feature will be disabled for both of these types of templates.
• The rejection is one level at a time.
• "Compensation Planner" Hierarchy is not currently supported. 
• In the traditional form-based process, HR or Admin user may be part of the approval process. Currently HR or Admin is not admitted in the Hierarchy Based Approvals views and is not able to participate in an approval step without proxying into a user within the hierarchy.
• A few validations are not enforced. For example, the budget warnings, Required comments, Intro text are not enforced when you enable HBA.
• Compensation Administrators will not be able to view completed or approved worksheets and that are outstanding as well.
• Certain items are not configurable such as:
  - The Forms tab still appears even though the planner does not have forms.
  - The Summary screen does not automatically refresh when changes are made. Click Refresh to reflect the updated changes.
  - E-mail notifications about worksheet routings cannot be triggered using HBA.
• User’s Performance ratings were changed on the Performance form but the compensation form is showing the old rating.
  - Please note HBA doesn't support automatic refreshing of Performance rating from PM forms. Only opening compensation form supports this.
  - Best practice is to complete the PM forms before launching the compensation forms.
  - But if this is not feasible there are two ways to sync the Performance ratings on the compensation forms:
     1- Open the compensation forms and click save.
     2- To perform Mass Update of Compensation Form.

People seeing template under approvals when they should not?

• Once HBA is enabled, template links will get enabled for all planners within the plans hierarchy. We do not check whether the worksheets for certain planners has been created or not.
• For example, you may find employees seeing the link to a plan under approvals when they do not have a worksheets themselves.
• If the employee selects the template they will be greeted with the following message.
  

• When we list templates within approvals, the system is looking for forms created within the logged in users hierarchy for both 3 (first manager + inactive) and 4 (second manager + inactive).
• Please note this is by design and is the compromise between functionality and performance. The system will search the entire hierarchy of 3 and 4.
• Otherwise, the system will have to parse all templates individually as hierarchy is only available at template level.
• This does not impact security nor any functionality as you will get the above message and be redirected back to the approvals home page.
• Please note that based on the hierarchy chosen for the template the system will show or not the planners under the approval page, the system will look at the hierarchy of the planner, not the eligibility itself.  If the template is set to include inactive users and a planner has inactive users below hierarchy in the UDF, then the planner will be shown under the approval page, even though the inactive users are not eligible. If your template is set to include only active users, then the inactive users will not be taken into consideration.

Icons in HBA View

When viewing the form under HBA page, the below icons could be visible:

• No Icon: Form is present, but not yet approved nor rejected.
• Green Icon: Planners whose compensation data is submitted.
• Red Icon: Planners whose compensation data is submitted and then rejected.
• Warning Icon: Manager does not have a form launched where he/she is the planner.

HBA vs Traditional Route Map Feature

• Planner UI 
  - Form based: Worksheet and Executive Review screens.
  - HBA worksheet, one source for directs and indirect reports.
• Guideline hard stop
  - Form based will not allow the planner to continue.
  - HBA will provide a warning but will allow the planner to continue planning.
• Approval Levels
  - Form based has support up to 7 levels (EMMMMMMM).
  - Whereas HBA is Unlimited.
• HR Role
  - In Form based HR can be part of the approval process and route map.
  - But in HBA HR cannot be part of the approval process (unless you enable them to proxy in).
• Budgets
  - With form based process the data automatically updates.
  - With HBA the page needs to be refreshed to update.
• Approval of compensation recommendations
  - With Form based there is no official approval through Executive Review.
  -HBA allows roll up approval.
• Hierarchy support
  - Form based process supports compensation planner hierarchy, regular manager and 2nd manager hierarchy.
  - HBA only supports regular manager hierarchy and 2nd manager hierarchy.
• Force comments
  - Available with form based process.
  - This is NOT available via HBA as it would not be logical in a hierarchy type approach
• View Subordinate Budget Spend
  - Available in both models
• Form locked for editing once submitted?- 
  - Form Based: Yes – forms can be progressed by due date to the next step on the route map.
  - HBA: Yes but cannot be automatically progressed to the next level (on road map).
• Form Status
  - With Form Based workflow dashboards can be used to see which forms have been completed/approved and which are outstanding.
  - With HBA HR is not part of the approval flow; proxy access required to see form status.
• Interoperability (Compensation and Variable Pay)
  - Available in Form Based.
  - Not available with HBA; different processes results in different planner experience.
• Instructions
  - Form Based: Instructions on worksheet.
  - HBA: No instructions on worksheet.
• Notifications
  - Form Based: Manager notified on To Do list, email notifications available.
  - HBA: No manager notification on To Do list; email notifications not available.
• Worksheet Filters
  - Worksheet filters are available directly from the worksheets only
  - In HBA, these worksheet filters will not be available.

Approval Workflows for Compensation Forms

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