2606814 - Custom workflow template behavior for direct mapped and rule mapped fields

Symptom

Custom workflow template with direct mapped and rule mapped fields shows blank values in the received email.

Environment

SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central
SAP SuccessFactors HCM Suite

Reproducing the Issue

Create configuration for custom workflow notification email with placeholders.
Create direct mapping for the placeholders.
Now trigger the workflow and notice that direct mapped/rule mapped fields show blank values in the received email.

Cause

For the following workflow types, Document Generation's direct mapping will display empty values:

FO (foundation object) workflow types
New hire
Rehire
GO (generic/custom MDF object) workflows (non-user-based)

Resolution

This is an expected behavior. As pre-product design, the workflow types mentioned above will not show values for direct mapped fields.

For new hires,

If only CC users are available in workflow, custom notification will fetch values correctly for directly mapped fields
If Approver and CC users are available in workflow, custom notification will fetch blank values for directly mapped fields

For direct, future-direct and rule mapping in New/Rehire workflow, subjectUserID will not be sent to DocGen as subjectUser is not clear so that email token can't fetch the user's information and will be populate blank value for fetching the subject user's information such as user's personalInfo, jobinfo and so on.

Also for reference mapping, tokens like [[SUBJECT_USER_LOCATION]] will get old location from old employment at the time of rehire, since it works the same as the 'direct' mapping generally does, but the 'Reference' mapping type is just specific to workflows, as the direct mapping itself cannot gather information for hire/rehire workflows properly as above, the reference mapping as well exhibits similar behavior.

Please request an enhancement request as per KBA 2090228 mentioning the requirement and business needs so that product team can assess and implement the functionality based on feasibility.

Note: with enhancement ECT-196058 in 1H 2026 release, it is now possible to trigger Direct Mapping for user-based MDF objects, as well as pending data and data derivation based on workflow-triggering records. The enhancements for further customizing workflow notifications include the following:

Support for pending data
Pending data is a change awaiting approval, such as a new job title or an updated address. On the Manage Document Template Mapping page, select Pending Data in the Reference dropdown to map a token to a field of the workflow-triggering object and derive the pending value. Displaying pending data in notifications provides additional context about the workflow without requiring users to sign in to the system.
User-based MDF objects for the Direct mapping type
Previously, the Direct mapping type supported only HRIS entities, such as Job Information or Employment Information. You can now use tokens in your Document Generation templates to derive data from user-based MDF objects available in the Base Object dropdown, such as Employee Time and Payment Information.
Data derivation based on workflow-triggering records
When using the Direct mapping type to derive data from the workflow-triggering object, the system now resolves tokens using the original record that triggered the workflow. When deriving data from a reference object (one other than the workflow-triggering object), the system resolves tokens using records determined by both the user ID and the current date.

Keywords

direct mapping, Rule mapping, custom workflow, blank values custom workflow, blank placeholder, time off custom workflow, custom MDF, mapping, direct mapping, placeholders, custom email notification, ECT-196058, user-based , KBA , LOD-SF-EC-WFL , Workflows - Configuration, Tools, Objects & Rules , LOD-SF-MDF , Metadata Framework , LOD-SF-EC-DOC , Document Generation , Product Enhancement

Product

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

2606814 - Custom workflow template behavior for direct mapped and rule mapped fields - SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central