2091409 - Import & Export Process for Extended User Information in SuccessFactors HXM Suite

Symptom

This KB article reviews the process for importing and exporting Extended User Data (Personal, Trend and Background Information).

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

Environment

SAP SuccessFactors HXM Suite

Resolution

Extended user information consists of supplemental data about users in your SAP SuccessFactors system beyond the "basic" user information such as name, job title, and department.

To add or update extended user data for multiple users in one go, you can upload user data files respectively for:

Personal information
Trend Information
Background Information

To access the Extended User Information page:

Go to Admin Center
Update User Information
'Export Extended User Information' or 'Import Extended User Information'

Remember all the options and file types discussed here also apply to the FTP process. You can import or export these files on an automated schedule, and can choose what format and options to select just like we could do with manual import or export.

Data Backup

It is recommended to perform periodic exports of all three data files and save them external to the application in case you ever need to refer back to historical data/need to restore old records that were deleted.
SuccessFactors does not retain historical records deleted by users, so it is important to backup this information regularly.
Any time a manual import is done of any live profile data, backup the data by export first.
This way, if a mistake is made (with the Overwrite Existing Data option), the user can easily recover the previous data.

Personal Information Files

Personal information consists of supplemental "one-to-one" data about a user, meaning data for which there is only one record for each employee.

Personal information might include:

Personal data, such as date of birth or veteran status;
Job information, such as start date;
Talent flags, such as risk of loss or willingness to relocate.

Personal information in your instance is defined by standard elements and user-info elements in Succession Data Model. Every employee has a database record for each personal information field in your instance, even if it is blank.

The personal information import file does not include "basic" user information that is included in the Basic Employee Import file used to add new employees to the system.

You can limit employees (rows) and data fields (columns) to import by omitting them from the import file. For example, if you do not want to import date, remove the date column from the import file. If you include an employee and a column in the import, it will overwrite any existing data, even if left blank.

This file will include custom fields, if created one to one custom fields for live profile.

Trend Data Files

Trend information consists of "one-to-many" rating data from your talent review process, meaning data for which there may be multiple records for each employee.

It usually includes the following rating data:

Performance
Potential
Competency
Objective

It may also include up to two custom rating types (Custom01 and Custom02) if defined in the Succession Data Model for your instance.

Each type of trend information (such as performance ratings) can include multiple records for each employee (such as for each performance review cycle).

The trend information export, by default, only includes those ratings that have been entered manually in the employee profile or the ones that are imported. It does not include ratings that come from forms. To include form ratings, the option "Include Form Data (Export Extended Data with User Attributes)" must be selected under Specify Additional File Export Options.

Background Data Files

Trend information consists of supplemental "one-to-many" background data about a user - that is, data for which there may be multiple records for each employee.

Background information might include:

Previous work experience
Education history
Languages spoken

Background information is entirely customized and different in every instance. It is defined by the background elements in the Succession Data Model. Each type of background information (such as education) can include multiple records for each employee (such as for different educational degrees).

The background information import file can include multiple sections, on for each type of background data. You can limit the import to certain sections and exclude others, but you must include all columns for each included section.

In the import process, if the option Overwrite Existing Data is not selected, all records will be added as new records, even if they are a clone of a record. If the option Overwrite Existing Data is selected, all records, in sections you are importing, will be deleted before importing. Via FTP, this affects ALL employees. Via the UI ("Import Extended User Information"), if your Overwrite option is "Overwrite the data of all users", this affects ALL employees, and if your Overwrite option is "Overwrite the data of users in the import file", only the users included in the import file will have the elements included in the file overwritten.

Complete information on Validation of the Import File of Background Information is available in the Managing User Information Guide.

Exporting Extended User Information

PREREQUISITES

User exporting must have the role-based permission of Export Extended User Information under the Manage User admin permissions.

EXPORT DATA FILE PROCESS

Go to Admin Center
Export Extended User Information
Specify the type of data you want to export:

Personal Information
Background Information
Trend Information

Specify the locale and character encoding you want to use in the export file.

Note: If you are exporting data in a language that uses special character types, such as Chinese, be sure to select the relevant character encoding so that the data is displayed correctly.

Specify additional export options by selecting one or more of the following:

Export Option	Description
Export as a batch process (only applicable to data and report)	Select this option if you want the export to be run as a batch job instead of downloading the file now. Exporting as a batch allows you to leave the export page and return to pick up the file later. If it’s a large report, it will automatically become a batch. You will be notified when the export is complete.
Valid users only	Select this option if you want to exclude inactive users. If checked, the export only includes data for active users.
Remove carriage returns and line breaks on export	Select this option to remove any carriage returns and line breaks from the export file.
Include Form Data (Export Extended Data with User Attributes)	Select this option if you want to include user attribute data from forms in the trend information export.
Export selected background information	This option is visible only when you choose to export background information in step 2. If you want to export only a particular section of background information, select this option and choose the section from the drop-down list.

Select one of two export options to trigger the export.

Use the Export Extended Data only to export the data you want to edit and import again. This option exports data in exactly the correct format required for import.
Use the Export Extended Data with User Attributes to export the data in a more readable report. This option includes additional user data (such as name and manager) in the export file, to make it easier to read.
All existing data in the system of the selected type is extracted and downloaded in CSV format.
The user exporting the Background Information file must have edit permission to his own background information (certificates, education, etc.) in order to see his records on it. Otherwise, his records will not be listed in the extracted file.

EXPORT TEMPLATE FILE PROCESS

Go to Admin Center > Export Extended User Information
Specify the type of template you want to export:

Personal Information
Background Information
Trend Information

Ignore the local and export options. They are irrelevant to the template export.
Click Export Template to export the template.
A blank CSV template file is opened.

The template contains column headers indicating the user data fields that should be entered in each column. For background and trend information, there may be more than one row of headers, one for each type of background or trend element configured in your system. The exact user data fields available in the template are based on the configuration of your instance's data model.

You can now add rows of data for any existing user in your system. For background and trend information, you can add multiple rows for each user, one for each type of background or trend element configured in your system.

Importing Extended User Information

PREREQUISITES

You have the role-based permissions of Export Extended User Information and Import Extended User Information under the Manage User admin permissions.

Note: Make sure users, added in the csv file, are included in the target population of the role-based permission.

The Employee Data user permissions do not affect the import.
As long as the users have the Import Extended User Information role-based permission and define the corresponding target population, they are able to import user data.

IMPORT DATA FILE PROCESS

Go to Admin Center > Import Extended User Information;
Click Choose File and select the CSV import file prepared on your local machine;
Specify the type of data contained in your import file:

Note:

Personal Information in the Extended User Information Import
- Personal information consists of supplemental "one-to-one" data about a user— that is, data for which there is only one record for each employee.
Trend Information in the Extended User Information Import
- Trend information consists of "one-to-many" rating data from your talent review process— that is, data for which there may be multiple records for each employee.
Background Information in the Extended User Information Import
- Background information consists of supplemental "one-to-many" background data about a user— that is, data for which there may be multiple records for each employee.

Specify the locale and character encoding used in your import file.

Note: If you are importing data in a language that uses special character types, such as Chinese, be sure to select the relevant character encoding so that the data is displayed correctly after import. It is recommended to use the consistent locale setting with overall language setting.

Expand the Specify Additional File Options section and set the desired import options.

Note: Always expand and verify the options in this section to make sure that they are correct.

Select or deselect the Stop import if invalid users found.

Select this option to stop the import process if an invalid user or reporting relationship is found in the import file.
This is useful when troubleshooting new files to make sure that they are formatted properly.
If you haven’t selected this option, the import continues, but the invalid user data isn’t imported into the system.

Select the overwrite behavior:

Select Import by incrementally adding data if you want to add new records only without deleting any existing data.
Select Import by overwriting existing data if you want to overwrite existing records with data in the import file, including blank values.

IMPORTANT:

For background information, the Import by overwriting existing data option is enabled by default and overwrites all data in each background element that is included in the import file for all users in your instance even if they are not included in the import file. You do not have to import every background element in your instance; you can import a file that contains only the background elements you want to update. If you exclude background elements from the import file, this background data is not impacted or overwritten by the import.
For trend information, the Import by overwriting existing data option overwrites all ratings data (performance, potential, competency, objective, custom1, & custom2) that does not come from forms, for all users in your instance, even if they are not included in the import file. But that is only valid for active users. As per the current product design, it is not possible to overwrite trend data for inactive users.
For personal information, this option is required and is always checked. There is only one record of personal information per user, so all new records must overwrite the existing ones.
For background information, you can also select Import by overwriting existing data but skipping unchanged data (Recommended) if you want to update existing data with only new, modified, and deleted data in the import file. Unchanged data remains untouched in the system. This is the recommended option to improve task efficiency.

Click Import Extended User Data File to start the import. If you choose to overwrite existing data with your new changes for background or trend information, a pop-up window is displayed, asking for confirmation to overwrite existing data.

Note: The import job needs some time to finish. While one import job is running, do not start another job until the current one is finished. Otherwise, it leads to data corruption, especially when you run jobs with the option to overwrite existing data.

The extended user information in the import file is uploaded to the system for relevant users.
If you uploaded background information, you might receive two e-mail notifications, one is for Background Sync, and the other is for Background Import.
This is expected behavior because a background sync job is triggered automatically in the backend as well as the import job.

IMPORTANT:

Job Import for:

Personal information (Handled by Platform team)
Background Information (Handled by Employee Profile team)
Trend Information (Handled by Employee Profile team)

Trend Data

Live Profile as source, Config of sysOverall background portlets: Employee Profile team
Forms as source: Performance Management team
Calib sessions as source: Calibration team
Matrix grid / 9box related queries: Succession Management team

Adding or Updating Extended User Information

Creating an Import File for Extended User Information
Create a CSV import file that you can use to add or update extended user information.
Editing Extended User Information in the Import File
Add or update extended user information in your CSV file to prepare it for import.
Importing Extended User Information
Import extended user information into your instance.

FAQ - Additional Information

Q) Where can I get information on this from the Guide?

A) Guide:Managing User Information

Keywords

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Product

SAP SuccessFactors HCM Suite all versions