3805724 - ExternalUser API Email Update Overwrites Personal Email Address - Onboarding

When the ExternalUser API is used to update a candidate's business email address during the Onboarding process (e.g. during the Personal Data Collection step), the system overwrites both the Business Email Address and the Personal Email Address.

• Expected: Only the Business Email Address is updated; the Personal Email Address remains unchanged.
• Actual: The Personal Email Address is overwritten with the value passed in the API request.

SAP SuccessFactors Onboarding

1. A candidate is actively in the Onboarding process (not yet hired — prior to the Manage Pending Hires step or start date).
2. An API request is sent via the ExternalUser API to update the candidate's email address.
3. After the request completes, both the Business Email Address and the Personal Email Address reflect the value passed in the request.
4. The candidate's original Personal Email Address is no longer present.

This is not an issue, but the designed system behavior.

Updating HRIS fields via the ExternalUser API while a candidate is still an external user (i.e., actively in the Onboarding process, prior to being hired) is not a supported use case. While the API may technically accept the request, the system is not designed to handle business email updates at this stage. As a result, the personal email address can be unintentionally overwritten.

The only supported update via the ExternalUser API during the Onboarding lifecycle is a username update, and even that is only supported after the Manage Pending Hires (MPH) step has been completed.

ExternalUser, API, email, address, business, personal, onboarding, ONB, OBX, 2.0, overwrite, candidate, external, user , KBA , LOD-SF-OBX-ATS , ATS Integration , Problem