3809957 - Japanese Name Search Results when Full-Width, Half-Width, or No space is Used - SuccessFactors

• When searching by last name only or first name only, the target user does not appear at the top of the results, although the user is still shown in suggested results.
• When a full-width space is used between last name and first name, the target user does not appear at the top of the results, but is still shown in suggested results.
• When a half-width space is used between last name and first name, the target user appears at the top of the results.

SAP SuccessFactors HCM Core

1. Open SuccessFactors and head over to the Global Header search.
2. Enter only a Japanese first name (or only a Japanese last name) and review ranking: the target user is not at the top but appears in suggestions.
3. Enter first name + full-width space + last name and review ranking: the target user is not at the top but appears in suggestions.
4. Enter first name + half-width space + last name and review ranking: the target user appears at the top of search results.

Scenario with a sample name:

• Searching for ‘誠田中’ without space: the user is second to the results / not appearing as top result.
  • 
• Searching for ‘誠　田中’ with full space (Hiragana): the user is not displayed at all 
  • 
• Searching for ‘誠 田中’ with half-width (the usual space character without Hiragana): the user is top result.
  
  • 
• Searching for ‘誠’ first name only: the user is not appearing on the results. 

• Legacy People Search does not support full-width space handling for Japanese name search.
• Blank-space-free Japanese name search is not yet supported, which impacts scoring behavior.
• The ranking algorithm uses weighted scoring across multiple fields; single-field matches can rank below entries with more cumulative matches.

This is an expected behavior if you are using Legacy People Search since full-width space searching is not supported on legacy people search.

However, it is addressed correctly on the Enhanced People Search. Please see 3728404 - Enhanced People Search Enablement and Re-indexing Schedule – SAP SuccessFactors 1H 2026 - SAP for Me for more details on the feature and how to enable: 

1. Navigate to Admin Center > Company Settings > Company System and Logo Settings.
2. Enable the “Enable Company Onboarding for Enhanced People Search” switch.
3. Wait until the “Enable Enhanced People Search” switch is automatically activated once the indexing process is completed.

With enhanced people search enabled, you see the following scenarios now: 

• Searching for ‘誠田中’ without space: the user is top of the results. 
• Searching for ‘誠　田中’ with full space (Hiragana): user is top of the results
• Searching for ‘誠 田中’ with half-width (the usual space character without Hiragana): the user is top result. 
• Searching for ‘誠’ first name only: the user is not appearing on the results. 
  • The first matching person should receive a higher score for certain fields, which may be explainable because blank-space-free name search for Japanese is not yet supported.

• 3728404 - Enhanced People Search Enablement and Re-indexing Schedule – SAP SuccessFactors 1H 2026 - SAP for Me
• 3760915 - The system return unexpected Japanese name ranking without space after enabling Enhance People Search - SAP for Me

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