2315275 - Employee Central - Workflows & Alerts

This is a collection of useful articles related to Workflows & Alerts.

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

Important: Before opening a case with Product Support, please perform the following sanity checks on your configuration/data, bearing in mind most issues are due to a configuration problem.

1. Workflows

• Check the Workflow objects configuration.
• If the first approver in the approval chain is the same user that initiated the request, the step will be skipped. If the workflow is only one step, it will appear that the workflow does not trigger, and the request is approved automatically. This is expected behavior.
• If using one of the Role based approver types such as HR Manager, make sure that the user you are testing with actually has an HR Manager defined in Job Relationships.
• Also make sure that HR Manager is correctly synchronized to the Basic User Data - which is where the system will be looking for the user associated with the role
• Have configured the Respect RBP field correctly?
• Check the Contact information of the Users listed in the Workflow configuration.
• Ensure that they have a Business E-mail address listed.
• If they do not have a Business E-mail address listed, a workflow will not be triggered by the system and the email notification will not be able to be sent to the recipient.
• When testing, best practices suggest that each involved system user should have a unique email identifier.
• Even if the email address is masked, they should still be unique. For example:
• Example user 1: test.unique.email.1@noemail.com
• Example user 2: test.unique.email.2@noemail.com
• Have you tried to Decline the workflow and raise the request again (either in the workflow or via Admin Center > Manage Workflow Requests)?
• Does the issue persist?
• Sometimes the original error could have been caused by a configuration issue in the related element that has since been resolved.
• Has the configuration changed recently?
• Can the recent change be un-done? If so, please try to revert any recent changes, and see whether the problem persists.
• Can the issue be reproduced for just one or multiple users?
• If the issue is reproducible for all users, it is likely to be a configuration issue.
• If it seems to be related to one or a small user population, the next step is to check and verify that the data is correct. 
• Can the Workflow Details Page be modified?
• No, the workflow details page cannot be modified. It can only be controlled via Role Based Permissions.

2. EC Alerts and Notifications

• Business Rule: Have you configured the saveAlert rule correctly?
• Is the saveAlert rule supported for the element you are trying to trigger it from?
• It is not best practice to use the Date Plus() parameter in the If Statement of a SaveAlert rule, as it can sometimes cause unwanted behaviors for the alerts triggering or not triggering to deliver desired outcomes.
• Workflow: Have you configured the Workflow correctly?
• Check the Contact information of the Users listed in the Workflow configuration.
• Ensure that they have a Business e-mail address.
• If they do not have a Business e-mail address listed, an Alert e-mail or To-Do notification will not be able to be sent to the recipient.
• When testing, best practices suggest that each involved system user should have a unique e-mail identifier.
• Even if the e-mail address is masked, they should still be unique. For example:
• Example user 1: test.unique.email.1@noemail.com
• Example user 2: test.unique.email.2@noemail.com
• Provisioning Jobs: Make sure that the HRIS Sync Daily job is running once a day.
• The HRIS Sync job should be scheduled to run prior to the EC Alerts and Notifications Job.
• If the HRIS Sync job is not running, or occurs after the EC Alerts and Notifications Job:
• This has potential to cause alerts to not trigger.
• In this scenario, this would be caused due to the data not yet being synchronized by the HRIS Daily Sync.
• This is caused the system to not recognize the effective date of the record for the employee .

3. Check the FAQ below

Tips & Tricks

Below are some tips and tricks recommended by Product Support, which you should consider first before opening a Support case

FAQ Index

• Workflows - Implementation Guide Overview
• Workflow FAQs and Tips
• Extra Configuration Information/Examples
• Workflow Reporting
• Workflow Common Issues
• Workflow Reminder Notifications
• Custom Workflow Notifications
• Workflow Deligation
• Workflow Escalation
• Workflow Derivation - Business Rules
• EC Alerts and Notifications
• Open a Support case 

Workflows - Implementation Guide Overview 

Please click here and review the chapter "Setting Up Approval Workflows". This chapter covers the following content -:

• What are approval workflows?
• Prerequisites - what you must do before creating workflows
• Setting Up Workflow Objects
• Setting Up Dynamic Roles
• Setting Up Dynamic Groups
• Using Advanced Workflow Parameters
• Setting Up Workflows, Alerts and Reminders (EC Alert and Notifications) 

Workflow FAQs and Tips

Below are some general FAQ's and Tips in relation to Workflows. Please review each of them, and if applicable, test them in your DEMO instance

• Supported Objects for Workflows
• Which E-mail Address is used by the system for Workflow notifications?
• How to Manage & Modify Workflows that are in process
• What are the different types of roles that can be used in workflows?
• Explanation of how Workflows treat field specific permissions of an approver
• How to include the previous and current Managers of an employee in a Workflow
• Request Type values are missing in Manage Workflow Requests
• Multiple Workflows for one Employee On same Effective Date 

Extra Configuration Information/Examples

• Setting Up Workflow e-mail Notifications - Setting Up Workflow e-mail Notifications Page in the Guide
• National ID country/region-specific Workflows
• Configuring Workflows for Home Address changes
• List of tags supported in workflows and EC Alerts and Notifications
• Request Type values are missing in Manage Workflow Requests 

Workflow Reporting

It is only possible to report on Workflow transactions via the Online Report Designer - EC Advanced Reporting tool. Use the following reports to report on Workflow transactions:

• Open Workflow Requests
• Workflow Request Analysis
• Workflow Audit Statistics
• Workflow Processing Time Statistics

Please review the following KB articles for further information on the current Workflow reporting possibilities:

• Reporting on Workflows
• Workflow Reporting in ODS 

Workflow Common Issues

• Workflow does not respect CC user’s Role Based Permissions
• Workflows no longer trigger
• Workflow Data Validation for a Required Field 

 

Workflow Reminder Notifications

How do they work and how are they configured?

• Reminder Notifications for Stalled Workflows

Custom Workflow Notifications

How do they work and how are they configured?

• 2558070 - Workflows: Custom Workflow Notifications 

Workflow Delegation

How Workflow Delegation works and can be enabled/configured

• Employee Central - Workflow Delegation

Workflow Escalation

How to manage the Workflow Escalations feature

• Automatic Escalation of Workflows 

Workflow Derivation - Business Rules

Some helpful Tips / FAQ's for using Business Rules Workflow Derivation

• Triggering Event Reason Derivation or Workflow Derivation when Pay Component Amount changes 

EC Alerts and Notifications

For general configuration guidance, please refer to the Employee Central Workflows handbook, section for Alerts and Notifications.

Images are not supported in e-mail content triggered via EC Alerts and Notification. (Company Logo will appear if configured in system for all emails).

Important: EC Alerts and Notifications Job Execution

Please refer to the "Job Execution Overview" section in the handbook to better understand how the EC Alerts and Notifications job will execute. This is very important to understand before planning to implement EC Alert rules.

General configuration and behavior advice - please be sure to review the first five articles as they are all relevant and explain expected behavior.

How To's:

• 2156278 - How to set up EC Alerts and Notification using Business Rules
• 2532558 - How To Configure MDF Alerts and Notifications for MDF Objects
• 2431478 - Example Configuration of an EC Alert and Notification Rule.
• 2471834 - How to configure an EC Alert Rule for Global Assignments
• 2468444 - EC Alerts: Work Permit Expiration Alert Rule
• 2757243 - Termination reminder alert
• 2856599 - 1911 - Rule Scenario Base Objects Used in Alert Triggering Rules for Employee Central Data Objects - Generate Alerts for Employee Central Data
• 2667012 - Employment Details vs Employee Information Alerts
• 2537602 - Does EC Alerts and Notification Business Rules Work with Base Object Employment Detail Model
• 2757243 - How To Create Termination Reminder Alert Rule
• 2424360 - EC Alerts on the new Home Page
• 2462997 - EC Alerts and Notification Job Failing
• 2666252 - Can email templates created in document generation be used for EC and MDF Alerts?

Job Failure due to Execution Limit: 

If the job fails due to execution limitations, it will detail the following error in the Job Details:

• job failed because it exceeded the daily scheduling threshold for execution

If a job fails due to this job execution guardrails, it is recommended to review the configuration of the job and adjust the recurrence to ensure it complies with the job execution guardrails detail in the WNV: ECT-207756: More Employee Central Jobs on Job Scheduler in Scheduled Job Manager.

To do this, please ensure you have the required permission to access Scheduled Job Manager from the Admin Center.

This requires you have the permission:

• Administrator > Admin Center Permissions >  Monitor Scheduled Jobs
• Administrator > Admin Center Permissions > Manage Scheduled Jobs

Different job types might have additional module-specific permission controls. Check module guides to know all the details. Please review the links with the "Related Information" of the WNV page for links to each of these relevant jobs: ECT-207756: More Employee Central Jobs on Job Scheduler in Scheduled Job Manager.

Steps to change the recurrence of a job:

1. Ensure you have the required permission detailed above 
2. Navigate to Scheduled Job Manager
3. Select "Job Scheduler" Tab 
4. Filter for the desired Job Type
5. For the desired job select Actions> Cancel 
6. Once the job is canceled select Actions> Edit 
7. Adjust the recurrence to comply with the job execution guardrails
8. Ensure all required fields are filled out 
9. Submit

EC Alerts and Notifications Job: Common Errors

• 2601125 - EC Alerts: Which records are considered by EC Alerts and Notifications job and compared to Alert rules to create Pending Alerts?
• 2676210 - EC Alerts and Notifications - Exclude Alerts for Terminated Users
• 2408916 - EC Alerts: Rule Execution Error: No context object found to execute SET action
• 2447386 - EC Alerts: EC Alerts and Notifications job fails with "null object loaded from local variable 'conn'"
• 2843094 - Redirect CC Users To Workflow Approval Page - EC
• 2462997 - EC Alerts and Notification Job Failing
• 3487630 - EC Alerts and Notifications job is failing due to the error "Cannot invoke "java.util.Map.get(Object)" because "numAlertsMap" is null" - Employee Central
• 2156278 - How to set up EC Alerts and Notification using Business Rules
  2431478 - Example Configuration of an EC Alert and Notification Rule.
  2462860 - How to Configure EC Alerts and Notifications to be sent on Staggered Dates/Intervals
  2302229 - Receiving Multiple EC Alerts and Notifications

Configuration FAQ

• 2492826 - Alert Message Received in Incorrect Language
• 2471834 - How to configure an EC Alert Rule for Global Assignments
• 2537602 - EC Alerts and Notification Business Rules does not work with Base Object Employment Detail Model
• 2576274 - EC Alerts: Alert Notification e-mail Content Error - [[OBJECT_NAME]]
• 2449702 - Alert Notification is not being received by all the CC Roles
• 2354283 - EC Alert and Notification not Being Sent to the Members of a Dynamic Group

Alert Behaviour FAQ

• 2302229 - Receiving Multiple EC Alerts and Notifications
• 2354283 - EC Alert and Notification not Being Sent to the Members of a Dynamic Group
• 2506244 - Work Order Alert and Notification not triggering
• 2449702 - Alert Notification is not being received by all the CC Roles

Alert Rule Modify Behaviour FAQ

• 2697132 - EC Alerts: How to correct stored Alert after the Business Rule has been changed
• 2677124 - EC Alerts: System Logic for when a saveAlert Rule is Removed or Changed
• 2799601 - EC Alert Job With Specify Date

Note: Post 1H 2021 Release: 

• Using this new rule setting, you can delete unwanted pending alerts for several HRIS effective-dated entities when creating a new alert.

  After a new alert is created following a data change, old pending alerts become irrelevant and are not expected to be sent. You can update your alert rules by including the new setting Delete Old Pending Alert Flag. This will delete unwanted pending alerts and prevent them from being sent for future data changes. Three HRIS effective-dated entities are supported now: job information, compensation information, and pay component recurring.

  Guide and Chapter:New Rule Setting for Deleting Unwanted Pending Alerts for Effective-Dated Entities 

Take Action: Alerts (ToDos)

• 2589090 - EC Alerts: Can I set Due date in ToDo list for an EC Alert?
• 2676702 - EC Alerts and Notifications: What happens when the Alert Message definition used by a saveAlert rule is Deleted from Manage Data?
• 2676650 - EC Alerts and Notifications: Deletion of record used to trigger an Alert (Alert is Pending)
• 2757863 - Manage Alerts and Notifications tool
• 2792310 - Report to view the user received notification through EC alerts and notification job

 

Note: When opening a support case for Workflows or EC Alerts, please ensure the following information is attached to the case.

Workflows

• Screenshot of the Workflow configuration (Manage Organisation, Pay and Job Structures)
• Attach the Data Models related to the issue: Workflow Rules, Event Derivation (if enabled), Succession Data Model, country/region-specific Succession Data Model, Corporate Data Model, country/region-specific Corporate Data Model
• Business Rules - Screenshots of the onSave rule or onChange rule if there is any
• Timestamp - Copy/paste the text from the "Show version information" pop-up
• Workflow URL - The Address URL taken from the browser address bar after trying to open the workflow
• Steps to reproduce if the issue is reproducible

EC Alerts and Notifications

• Business Rule - Screenshot of the saveAlert Business Rule
• Attach the Data Models related to the issue: Succession Data Model & country/region-specific Succession Data Model XMLs
• Schedule Job - Screenshot of the job configuration. If the job is failing, also include screenshot of the failure, Submission Time and screenshot of the "Details" 

• 2315109 - Employee Central - Tips & Tricks from Support
• 2666252 - Can email templates created in document generation be used for EC and MDF Alerts?

Since B2305 release (Post release- 2305): customer can schedule some job such as: EC Alerts and Notification Via UI View: Creating a Scheduled Job Request in Admin Center

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