2315601 - Employee Central

Symptom

This is a collection of useful articles related to Employee Central General Issues.

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

Environment

Reproducing the Issue

General Considerations and Tips for any Implementation

With any issue you encounter during implementation, it is important that you, the implementation specialist, try first to reproduce the issue you are encountering, and document the replication steps, timestamp, errorId, etc, as thoroughly as possible so that if you do need to engage with Cloud Product Support, the team can review and investigate quickly.

With every implementation of Employee Central, there are some extra considerations that you need to take into account and plan for during the implementation cycles. The most important are:

Configuration Backup - It is common that you may be implementing part of Employee Central whilst colleagues are implementing other areas of Employee Central. As this increases the risk of overwriting configuration and greater risk of creating incorrect/invalid configuration scenarios, it is strongly advised that you take a backup copy of any XML or Data before replacing it with the latest version (meaning take a backup immediately before you import). There is no way to roll back changes.
Release Cycle - You will need to plan ahead for Release deployments in both the Preview and Production Data Centers. During any Release, there will be new Features, Enhancements Migrations and Bug Fixes to consider that may impact your implementation
Configuration Issues - Most cases raised as Product Defects by Partners result in a Configuration Issue. Please be diligent and check/test your configuration thorough, and in line with the Best Practices mentioned in the related Implementation Handbook. Note: If you are trying to configure a feature in a manner not described in the Implementation Handbook, it is quite possibly not supported. Therefore thorough investigation and testing should be conducted before raising Product Support cases to avoid unnessecary delays
Data Issues - Typically the result of an ongoing implementation, where configuration is changing all the time - note that data issues are typically caused by configuration changes where downstream impacts were not considered when making the change
Requests that will require Engineering or Operations Intervention - When purging users from an instance, to re-test pre-golive data imports/exercises, you will need to consider the turn-around time required by these teams to fully purge a UserID from the instance

If you are working in multiple instances, make sure you verify whether the issue exists in all instances or just the one. As per the above, most issues we encounter are due to Configuration Issues or Data Issues caused by Configuration Issues. So it is important that you do conduct some tests on the configuration, such as removing Business Rules, Workflow Triggers, etc, and verifying that the base configuration is working correctly. Product Support as well as Development Engineering will expect this to have been done before being engaged, so to avoid delays and pushback, please be as thorough as possible.

Application Errors can be thrown in all cases (Configuration Issue, Data Issues, Product Defect), so to ensure Cloud Product Support can help as quickly as possible, please be diligent and make sure you perform the above checks first before engaging with support.

Before opening an case with Product Support

Please be sure that before you open a support case with Product Support, you have performed the following sanity checks on your configuration/data - bearing in mind most issues are due to a configuration issue -:

Have you checked and verified the configuration is correct?

Check that the configuration for the area/feature you are configuring is correct according to the related Implementation Handbook. The handbooks always provide clear Best Practice configuration examples, which should be used as the basis for any customization.
Be sure that if Picklists or Objects are involved, that they are also configured correctly

Has the configuration changed recently?

If so, can the recent change be un-done

If so, please try revert any recent changes and see whether the problem persists?

Can the issue be reproduced for just 1 or multiple users?

If the issue is reproducible for all users it is still likely to be a configuration issue.
If it seems to be related to 1 or a small user population - the next step is to check and verify that the data is correct.

Have you checked the related Tips & Tricks (FAQ) document from Product Support?
Have you search the Support Portal in case a Note already exists for the issue you have encountered?

Cause

Please note - this article is aimed at providing quick reference to commonly encountered Implementation Issues, which could be encountered at any stage of implementation. Each issue mentioned in this article has a documented solution path. A couple may require the intervention of Development Engineering but most are related to common configuration misconceptions that result in undesired behavior.

All of the issues below are either the result of Configuration issues, or incorrect use of the system.

Do note - these are the most commonly encountered - but do not cover everything. Please do search the Support Portal for other Knowledge Base Articles that could further help you resolve your Implementation Issue.

Resolution

Tips & Tricks

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

System Requirements

If you have any questions about system requirements to use EC in end users desktop, you can refer to HCM Suite End User System Requirements.

FAQ Index

Below are some Tips and Tricks you should be aware of or plan for during any Employee Central Implementation. Some are frequently encountered configuration issues and others are best practice considerations when Implementing Cloud Products. Please consult these Tips and Tricks first before opening a Support case.

General Configuration Issues
Data Retention Management
Employee Data Import
HRIS Sync
Job Information
Compensation Information
EC Alerts & Notifications
Instance Refresh

Opening Support cases

1. General Configuration Issues

The key to avoiding Configuration Issues is to keep it simple, and ensure every change you upload, you first take a backup. Do not start with the most complex configurations - start with getting the groundwork done and working before you move on to building complex Business Rules or adding complex associations to object fields.

The other part is to ensure you are using the latest Data Models, Picklists and MDF files. You can keep track of the latest information by reviewing the following handbooks under the "Reference Information" section

Field Configuration - It is always best practice to check and verify that the field you have enabled for a particular hris-element is valid for that element. Please refer to the "Data Object Tables" handbook under the section "Reference Information" which details what fields are supported, and how the field should be configured. Some of the more common issues encountered are due to trying to re-purpose delivered fields to do something else. Please note - the following is a list of things you should not do when configuring fields

Do not configure a pre-delivered field to use a custom picklist > Always use the exact picklist that has been delivered. If the customer has other requirements - use a custom field instead
Do not configure an Object field to use a picklist - for example do not add a picklist to the field "company" in the jobInfo hris-element - this is not supported and not best practice
Do not change an existing field from String to Picklist/Object or Vice Verse - this will lead to Data Inconsistency and possibly even unexpected behavior - for example you are capturing data in custom-string16 with a picklist assigned to the field, and you decide to change approach and turn the field into an Object field - the best practice is always to use a new custom-string field for the new approach - do not recycle fields, ever.
Do not delete fields from the XML to "tidy it up" - use the visibility="none" switch to turn the field off - Deleting the field from the XML does not disable the field - potentially it will still show in the UI/RBP/etc. Also when it comes to future configurations, you do not want to accidentally re-use a field that was once a picklist, but now is an Object field. This would again lead to Data Inconsistency and potentially unexpected behavior

Business Rules - Most common issues are due to incorrectly configured Business Rules, which can cause undesired behavior or even application errors. Typically if a rule is causing an error message -

Configuration: The rule is not configured correctly - 2277956
Trigger: Has the wrong Base Object defined for the HRIS Element the rule has been assigned to - 2163077

2. Data Retention Management (Purge Inactive Users)

What you must consider when performing a user purge is contained in the following KBA. Please be sure to read through the article carefully. Things to note:

LMS - If LMS is also enabled - you need to make sure that the SF User used to perform the purge in the SF suite, is also created in the LMS system. Username / UserID must be identical in both systems, or the purge will fail
PMGM/CVP/RCM - Make sure the employee is not part of an open form process (Performance Management, Compensation, Recruiting, etc).
After Purge - Understand that when a user is Purged - they cannot be re-used again. You must open a support case with the Platform team, and request the UserID be unblocked or fully purged. Understand this request can take 3-4 weeks to complete - so please plan accordingly. Cloud Product Support do not accept expedite requests on purge unblocks, so make sure you are making the request as early as possible to ensure it is completed in time for your project schedule. The process to unblock a purged user is documented in the following article - 2088065 - Data Retention Management - Purge Data - Platform

3. Employee Data Import

Import Performance and Guidance: Please review the Administration Guide "Employee Central Imports" which provides great insight into the Best Practices for importing Employee Central data, covering the following topics extensively:

Working with Data Imports
Performance Benchmarks
FAQs: Importing Data
Workaround for Job Info Mass Data Import with Time Off Enabled

Biographical Information: One of the most common errors when importing employee data is when importing Biographical Information, you encounter an error message [There is already another person in the system with the same Person ID External] when validating/importing Biographical Information for a user. This issue can exist for 1 of 2 reasons:

User was created via Import and the data has been imported in the wrong order, causing the Person ID not to be mapped to the UserID (effectively treating the Person ID as a Dependent instead of an Employee). Please refer to article 2080146 - Employee Data Import Steps for a quick reference.
User was Purged via DRM prior to the b1511 release, in which a defect caused the Person ID External not to be purged when the UserID was. Hence the Person ID is orphaned.

The resolution is detailed in the following article - 2287959 - Person ID External already exists - please note that because Development Engineering need to be engaged to remove the Person ID via script, please understand this will take between 5 and 10 business days to complete.

Job Information: The second is related to Job Information import. As Job Information supports triggering Business Rules on import, as well as it will kick off some background processing jobs to create object data for Time Off or synchronize a Parent Position Incumbent to the Manager field, you can imagine that the job can sometimes take some time to complete. If you are implementing Time Off, Position Management and have multiple onChange/onSave rules configured in Job Information, you may find the the job run time can be extremely long. But, needless to say, it could also be that 1 invalid/incorrectly configured rule is also causing the performance to degrade. Some tests you can conduct before contacting Product Support are:

Optimizing Performance of Imports - refer to the chapter in the Administration Guide "Employee Central Imports"
Turn off Business Rule execution on Job Info import - Navigate to Admin Center > Company System and Logo Settings > and untick the box "Execute business rules on Job Info import" > click "Save" and then try the import again - 2236350
Remove the Time Off related data from the import file
Turn off the Hierarchy Adaption features for Job Info Import for Position Management in Admin Center > Position Management Settings
Size - Reduce the overall size of the import file (keep it within the recommended size mentioned in the Imports handbooks).

4. HRIS Sync

This can be caused by different configuration issues, and does typically occur at some stage during implementation. Please follow the guidance below to avoid issues at GoLive as well as avoiding any early stage testing that can cause testing to stop:

Certain data is not being synchronized to Basic User Data - this is typically due to creating a custom sync-mapping that is identical to a hard-coded sync mapping. Please refer to article 2172427

Job Code is not synchronized
Manager is synchronized but the data in the MANAGER field shows strange value - {"userDisplayValue":,"userId":"1615"}. Please refer to article - 2174070

No data is being synchronized - Usually due to the Daily HRIS Sync job not being configured - Please refer to the Employee Central Master implementation handbook, section "Managing HRIS Sync"
Daily Synchronization is inconsistent - API or Import jobs are run before the Daily HRIS Sync job runs for the 1st time that day - Please refer to article 2080813
Initial Synchronization is inconsistent - Typically this is because a Full HRIS Sync was not run after importing all Employee Data prior to GoLive - This is important - as you are importing a lot of data during GoLive activities, it is always a good idea to run a Full HRIS Sync after the import exercises are completed, to ensure all current data is correctly synchronized. Please refer to the Employee Central Master implementation handbook, section "Full Sync" and note that the Full Sync should only be run once, and never scheduled as a recurring job. The difference between the Daily and Full Sync jobs is explained here - 2080728

5. Job Information

Product Support often see Implementation related cases raised regarding Object filtering or Application Error messages encountered in Job Information when editing/inserting data. This is most commonly due to missing field-criteria configuration for Object fields where the Object has an association with another object. The most common causes are as follows -:

Custom Fields - custom-stringXX field has been configured with type="ObjectName" - for example you add custom-string20 with type="BusinessUnit" - but BusinessUnit object has an association to Legal Entity - you must still include the field-criteria for this field
Field Criteria - sourceFieldName is not correctly defined
Association - field-criteria is missing on another Object further down the page - filtering will work from the ground up (literally) so if a field further down the list is missing field-criteria, it can cause even

Please refer to the following articles to help troubleshoot this configuration issues:

Other general configuration issues related to Job Info errors or undesired behaviors are as follows -:

Invalid/Corrupt Business Rule(s) - Best practice is to first remove all rules from the field/element and see if the error persist without Business Rules enabled for that element
Invalid Fields - Fields are added to the element for a feature that is not enabled in the instance (such as Position Management, Time Off, Time Sheet)
HRIS Section is not correctly configured for the jobInfo hris-element in both Succession Data Model and Country Specific Succession Data Model - 2280824
Manager cannot be found - Unable to select user as a Manager in Job Information - 2080091

6. Compensation Information

There are several issues that can occur due to invalid/incorrect configuration that should be considered when implementing the Compensation Information portlet. The Compensation Info portlet has many different moving parts, and each with its own behavior. If something is not working as expected in this portlet, then it is most likely because of a configuration or a data issue. The more common ones include:

Pay Range (Compa-Ratio & Range Penetration) specific issues

How to determine which Pay Range is used in the Compa-Ratio and Range Penetration calculations - 2136061
How to export Pay Range Foundation Object for value check - 2271107
Determining Which Pay Range is Used in Compa-Ratio and Range Penetration Calculations - 2136061

Pay Component Groups

How does the system pick the Currency used to display PCG's in the UI and Ad Hoc - 2231635

Recurring Pay Components (Compensation & Target)

Compa Ratio and/or Range Penetration not calculating - Conversion not set up or FTE is Initial - 2224588

7. EC Alerts & Notifications

There are a few common configuration related issues encountered when trying to implement the EC Alerts and Notifications feature. Typically because either the hris-element does not support "saveAlert" rules or because the rule has not been configured correctly. The most common issues are:

Set up EC Alerts and Notification using Business Rules Quick Guide - 2156278
Receiving Multiple EC Alerts and Notifications instead of 1 - 2302229

8. Instance Refresh

When refreshing an instance (copying one instance over the other) you will find there are some actions that will need to be carried out in order to ensure Employee Central is working properly. Please refer to the following article, which covers the 2 main things to be aware of. This commonly happens after Development/Production instance completion, and you are refreshing the Test instance with data/configuration from Production/Development:

Instance Refresh - Employee Central Considerations

When opening Support cases for the above

When opening a support case, please ensure you have completed the above steps before opening an case. If an case must be opened, please ensure the following information is attached to the case. Information to provide to ensure fastest possible turnaround time is as follows -:

Replication Steps: Clear replication steps document, explaining the issue and how to reproduce (end to end - every step and screen), as well as any steps you have taken to try and resolve the issue yourself
Configuration: Any configuration XML or screenshots of MDF Objects or Business Rules in question or that are related to the UI/Page where you encounter the issue, should be attached to the case
Time stamp/ErrorId - If you are encountering an error, please provide the timestamp (Show version information at bottom of every page) or the full errorId from the popup. Please do not provide a screenshot, but copy/paste the text to the document/ticket

If the issue is with an import, ensure the import job is running as a scheduled job and then provide the job name and submission time (from Admin Center > Monitor Job). Again, copy/paste the text as screenshots are not always good enough

Import file/Test User Population: Provide the import file or names of a set of test users that the issue can be reproduced with
Knowledge Base Articles: Refer any KBA's you may have tried to use to resolve your issue
Approval: Permission and access to an instance where the issue can be reproduced by Product Support. If the instance in question is a Production Instance, please try to provide access to a Test/Development instance that can be used to reproduce the issue instead (if possible)

Keywords

General Implementation FAQ, EC, Employee Central, Implementation Guidance, FAQ , KBA , LOD-SF-EC , Employee Central , LOD-SF-EC-ADM , Admin Tools (EC Core only) , How To

Product

SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central all versions ; SAP SuccessFactors HCM Suite all versions

2315601 - Employee Central - General Issues