Integration Add-on 2.0 for SAP HCM and SuccessFactors
The second integration package for integrating SAP HCM and SuccessFactors – Integration Add-on for SAP ERP Human Capital Management and SuccessFactors Business Execution 2.0 – was released for Ramp Up on SAP Service Marketplace on March 13th, running until mid-July. The first package introduced one-way employee and organizational data transfer from SAP HCM to SuccessFactors and bi-directional compensation data transfer to support Hybrid model Talent Management processes. Extractors for analytics data to SuccessFactors Workforce Analytics to support workforce planning and workforce analytics were also included. A brief overview of all of the packages and the strategy for integration can be found in my blog SAP HCM and SuccessFactors Integration Packages: a brief overview.
The Package
The integration package builds on functionality that has been delivered previously and introduces integration for the attract-to-hire recruiting process. It provides customers of SuccessFactors Recruiting with the ability to perform Hiring Actions in SAP with data from completed Job Requisitions from SuccessFactors Recruiting. The process leverage middleware only (e.g. CSV file upload is not available).
The add-on provides transfer and mapping of 32 fields used with 4 objects in SuccessFactors Recruiting. Only 19 of these fields are mapped to SAP HCM fields and are used in the Hiring Action process – the remaining fields are used to provide a PDF overview of the Job Requisition. However, there is scope to map additional fields if required.
The package itself comprises of ESR content for SAP NetWeaver Process Integration (NWPI) and the reports, function modules, and BAdIs to perform the integration activities. As with the previous packages, the integration process is started from SAP. And unlike previous packages, some additional configuration is required on the SuccessFactors side.
Process Flow
The add-on provides process integration with the following process flow:
In more detail, the process steps are:
- The Status of the Job Requisition is set to SendToSAP in SuccessFactors Recruiting
- Data import is initiated from SAP HCM using report RH_SFI_IMPORT_RECRUITING_DATA (either manually or as a scheduled job) for all Job Requisitions marked with the Status SendToSAP
- SAP HCM sends data to SuccessFactors Recruiting to update the Status of the Job Requisition to either TransferredToSAP or TransferredToSAPError
- Imported data is processed in transaction HRSFI_RCT_HIRE (report RH_SFI_RECRUIT_PROCESS_APPL)
- A Hiring Action is initiated in transaction HRSFI_RCT_HIRE and performed in transaction PA40
- SAP HCM sends data to SuccessFactors Recruiting to update the Status of the Job Requisition to HiredAtSAP
Report RH_SFI_IMPORT_RECRUITING_DATA is fairly straightforward and can be scheduled using a variant. Below you can see the selection screen when running the report in transaction SE38.
Transaction HRSFI_RCT_HIRE (report RH_SFI_RECRUIT_PROCESS_APPL) is used by HR administrator or hiring administrators to process the Job Requisition data. This involves correcting data, finding possible duplicates, and launching a Hiring Action to hire the individual from the Job Requisition into SAP HCM. The program can be seen below.
If a Job Requisition is missing required data (Country Grouping and Personnel Action type) or if an individual has possible matching Personnel numbers then the Job Requisition will have a red light in the Check column and the Status will be To Be Checked. The Job Requisition can then be selected and opened to correct the missing data and/or select the individual or any potential duplicate employees that the system has found. Duplicates are identified based on first name, last name, and date of birth.
Job Requisitions that have a green light in the Check column can be processed using the Start Action button. This will launch a Hiring Action in transaction PA40 for the Personnel Action type defined in the Job Requisition (or corrected, as above) and will pre-fill data in the Hiring Action in the Create Actions screen, Personnel Data screen, and Create Addresses screen. This data, by standard, includes start date, position ID, Personnel Area, Employee Group, Employee Subgroup, first name, last name, and address details. Once the Hiring Action is complete then the record will be removed from the list of Job Requisitions in transaction HRSFI_RCT_HIRE.
Previously completed Job Requisitions can be viewed using the Show Completed button. Any applications that, for some reason, require a manual Hiring Action can also be marked as completed using the Completed button. A PDF overview of a Job Requisition can also be displayed and contains a substantial amount of detail. It is worth noting that a number of fields transferred from SuccessFactors Recruiting for the PDF overview document are not used for any other purpose.
Configuration and Setup
This package requires configuration activities on both the SuccessFactors side and the SAP side. Most of the SAP configuration is within the IMG under Personnel Management > Integration Add-On for SAP ERP HCM and SuccessFactors BizX > Integration Scenario For Recruiting Data.
In SuccessFactors, an Ad-Hoc Report needs to be created with the necessary fields for the data transfer. The ID of this Ad-Hoc Report is then imported into SAP using report RH_SFI_SYNCH_METADATA. Please note that any time the Ad-Hoc Report is changed this report must be re-run.
Also in SuccessFactors there are several settings that need to be made, including making the sapError field available for the JobApplication object and defining the four statuses (SendToSAP, TransferredToSAP, TransferredToSAPError, and HiredAtSAP) used for the Application Status field.
In the IMG, the following customizing activities need to be performed:
- Map the imported Ad-Hoc Report to field sets (customizing activity Assign SuccessFactors BizX Objects to Field Sets or transaction S_NWC_37000012) *
- Define the fields in the field sets to be used, their mapping mode, whether they are required, and whether they are country group dependent (customizing activity Define Fields for Importing Data from SuccessFactors BizX)
- Map fields in the field set to SAP HCM fields (customizing activity BAdI: Mapping of SFSF Fields to SAP ERP Infotype Fields)
- Map fields that can be mapped to more than one field in SAP HCM (customizing activity BAdI: Mapping of SFSF Fields to ERP IT Fields: Change of Mapping Result)
*Note that this activity is not transportable
Once this configuration has been completed then the add-on is ready to use.
Support Packages
Support Package 1 will be purely bug fixes. Support Package 2 will introduce additional process integration content for the define-to-hire process. This introduces the triggering of a requisition creation in SuccessFactors Recruiting based on the information of a vacant position in SAP HCM.
There may be further Support Packages released for this iFlow, but it is likely that they will provide bug fixes rather than introduce any further functionality.
Summary
SAP have delivered the first of 2 integration packages to enable parts of the Recruiting process in SuccessFactors Recruiting to be integrated into an on-premise core HR hiring process. This package provides a simple and effective process for managing the hiring process in both SuccessFactors Recruiting and SAP HCM. Although there is some setup required on both the SuccessFactors Recruiting and SAP HCM side, the operation of the package is straightforward and easy-to-use for hiring managers and HR professionals who are responsible for hiring new staff.
Future integration for the define-to-hire process and also with SuccessFactors Onboarding and SAP Jam (for the social onboarding process) will provide additional benefits. In the meantime SAP have provided a comprehensive integration package for the Hybrid model to ensure that candidates sourced in SuccessFactors Recruiting can be hired into the SAP HCM system of record.
Further Reading
Since this is largely an overview of the add-on, further detail can be found in this SAP presentation on SAP Service Marketplace (S-User required) and on the SAP Online Help website. In-depth detail on the add-on and configuration steps can be found in the forthcoming SAP PRESS book SuccessFactors for SAP ERP HCM, due out in September 2013.
*Updated information on the Support Packages for the Integration Add-on:
Integration Add-on 2.0 for SAP HCM and SuccessFactors: Support Package 2
Luke thanks for the very detailed explanation, this is extremely helpful. We're currently running the 1.0 version of the Integration Add-On, however based on your write-up it is clear we need to plan for 2.0 as SF Recruiting is on our deployment schedule for the next several months. I understand from your Integration Packages Overview that SP2 is due for release in Q3/Q4 2013. Any insights on a more specific date?
Hi Sean,
Thanks for your comments. Plans are for it to be released on General Availability this month (July), but there is a chance that it is delayed into August.
Best regards,
Luke
Hi Luke,
great to read you. I really like the process description, and it is nice to see the visibility for potential re-hire identification. This makes the process a lot smoother, as during manual hire actions it is easy to overlook the existance of previous record for the employee.
With the option of running the report as a batch job, the process is very smooth, with minimal human intervention only when required for decision making. 😘
Thanks Chiara. The process flow is simple and really only involves a hiring manager or HR admin running the transaction to hire individuals. This is definitely an easier process than the previous integration and therefore provides more customer value.
Hi Luke,
This is a very well-structured blog providing pertinent information on Add-on 2.0 at our fingertips, so thank you for taking the time. I would encourage readers to definitely take a peek into the SAP presentation on the SAP Service Marketplace that you reference in your blog. I had the opportunity to share your blog with one of my customers and they appreciated the process and content you have shared so I bring kudos to you from them. It definitely saved me a lot of time to get a quick and dirty on Add-On 2.0 by just reading your blog. This integration package definitely gives customers and partners something to chew on for integrating the recruiting process while we wait for more.
I can easily see Add-on 2.0 converting many customers who were on the fence between Taleo vs. SuccessFactors Recruiting as prior to this there really wasn't an obvious differential advantage for a customer to opt for SFSF recruiting if they were on an existing SAP on-premise landscape.
Warm Regards,
Jyoti
Hi Jyoti,
Thanks for your comments. I'm pleased that customers are getting value out of my blog already 🙂
Best regards,
Luke
Hi Luke,
I am new to SCN and have only started reading your blog since a month ago. Yet I have already learnt so much about SAP and SFSF just by following you. Some of your writings explain much better than the dozens of SI demos I have watched. For some reasons, most SIs are very good with SAP HCM but clearly have a knowledge gap and struggle with SFSF especially in terms of the available integration options. This blog along with your "Integration Packages Overview" and the recommended video demos are extremely helpful and thorough.
We are having a core system transformation project which involves the implementation of SAP and potentially SFSF. I am just wondering if you know of any clients who have implemented the two systems together. The implementation methodologies are very different. What are the key challenges from your experiences? What are some of the CSF's? Is there a best practice/tested implementation order for the SF modules? SIs have recommended to implement Learning and Performance Management first while leaving Recruitment to later phases. Many SF clients also said that they implemented all modules except Recruitment. Do you see SF Recruitment as the most challenging module to implement? Or was it because of the lack of 'real' time integration previously? Would add on 2.0 have an impact on the SF implementation strategy?
Any feedback is highly appreciated 🙂 Thanks a lot in advance!
Best Regards,
Vera
Hi Vera,
Thanks four comments. I'm pleased to have provided value to you with my posts and I will be continuing to post on this topic going forward. If you haven't already seen the SuccessFactors - Useful Resources and Documents document then I recommend that you have a look through there.
Many customers have implemented both and I have a customer currently that is implementing SAP HCM for core HR and SuccessFactors BizX suite for Talent Management. The key is always the process and technical integration. The old EMPOWER methodology and the new BizXpert methodology both provide a very good framework for providing a quick and successful implementation. The agile elements of the methodology and the ease of configuration of the system means that customers can see their new system very quickly and can fine-tune it over the 3 iterations. My customers have found this very flexible, quick, and powerful in implementing the BizX modules. They certainly preferred it to the ASAP methodology and didn't find any particular conflicts between the two.
Regarding implementing different modules, I have customers that are implementing the entire suite in one go. Learning and Recruiting are more "complex" than Performance & Goals or Compensation, but I wouldn't see it necessary to implement at a later stage from the customer perspective, but for an SI that isn't experienced (or might not have trained resources for all solutions yet) then it might be easier for them to use this approach. I don't necessarily see that real-time integration is a problem here and a lot of customers are not using this approach. The new add-on would speed up the integration side of a Recruiting implementation since it is standard content that doesn't require too much effort to setup (as long as you NWPI in place already).
I hope that has helped shed a little light for you 🙂
Best regards,
Luke
Hi Luke,
Thank you so much for your very helpful feedback and tips.
May I please ask one more question about the integration between SAP and SFSF BizX? Could you please confirm the number of currently available integration options? What are the advantages and disadvantages of choosing one method over another, say why would an SI proposing Boomi RDS over NWPI?
By the way, a silly question, why “SFSF”? I have seen many consultants using SFSF instead of SF, just curious what the second “SF” stands for 😳
From your recommended list of SF readings, it seems that the current integration options are as below:
1.
If we are not implementing EC but only the talent suites, would you recommend NWPI over the other options? We spoke to some SF clients (in Australia), they all seem to have some pain points around integration yet all of them are still using flat file, do you think it is because installing NWPI is complicated? Are customers waiting around for more robust integration solution? It is also interesting when we approached SF directly, we were told SF does not provide integration solutions even if they are our SI partner; it is up to the clients. Yet different SI’s proposing different middleware. Also from Pim’s blog, it is predicted that HCI would overtake or even replace NWPI in the near future. Would it still be worth it for new clients to invest in NWPI or should clients really be looking at SAP HANA Cloud integration?
Once again, thank you very much in advance!
Vera
Hi Vera,
I'll do my best 🙂 .
The integration options are as follows:
SAP's standard content leverages SAP technology (the SAP-based Middleware above). Boomi is offered as part of an Employee Central subscription and SAP have chosen to continue with this technology for Employee Central and Employee Central Payroll. Without trying to give a shameless plug, the SAP PRESS book covers all of the options in some detail.
SFSF was the stock exchange code for SuccessFactors and is no longer used. SF is the general abbreviation for SuccessFactors that is now widely used. Some people are just used to it as it was used up until the acquisition by SAP.
I still see a lot of clients using flat-file, although some are using NWPI to transfer the CSV files to SuccessFactors. I think at this stage an investment is ok in NWPI because SAP HANA Cloud Integration can use content created in NWPI, so you could just re-use your content if you decide to switch to SAP HANA Cloud Integration.
I think SIs suggestions will always be based on their experience and their competence level, not necessarily the best solution for your needs. I advise that you speak to someone that doesn't have a vested interest financially, which may be difficult to seek out.
Personally I would recommend NWPI for now and then re-evaluate once SAP HANA Cloud Integration is on General Availability. It's worth noting that for the foreseeable future only SAP Consulting can configure SAP HANA Cloud Integration.
I hope that helped.
Best regards,
Luke
You are absolutely wonderful! The information is very clear and extremely helpful.
I wish you are in Australia, so we can appoint you!! 🙂 companies have you as their solution architect are extremely lucky!
Thank you so much!
Thanks very much Vera - I really appreciate your comments 🙂
And yes, we will definately be purchasing many SAP Press books 🙂 and will also be looking at courses through SAP university alliances.
One factoid that you might find interesting. The origin of the "SFSF" as the abbreviation for SuccessFactors was due to the fact that there was already another well known cloud company using the "SF" abbreviation--"SalesForce". Time will tell if people truly stop referring to SuccessFactors as SFSF. It's too easy to type! 🙂
Aha "SalesForce"! Now it makes perfect sense 🙂
Thank you very much Brandon!
Well now Salesforce is SFDC so I hope people use SF for SuccessFactors! 😉
Luke-
Great blog as always. One interesting dependency we discovered when going through testing of this Add-On is that (as you mention) employee group, subgroup, and personnel area are brought over from SuccessFactors. This is so that customers can limit who can have access to see new hire data based on these 3 attributes. However, this means that customers must store these attributes on the requisition in SuccessFactors. For companies who want to drive every thing off of position and then let SAP sort out attributes when the new hire comes across, this can be a hassle.
For companies that don't want manage security this way because they're HR Admin groups are allowed to see all employee types, there is a simple solution involving overriding the inbound security BADI.
My only other complaint (and it's a big one) is that the new hire integration does NOT integrate with HCM Forms or any other element of HR Renewal. I'm working with a customer right now where we're having to do this part of the integration ourselves. Hope that SAP corrects this soon!
Hi Brandon,
Great insights, as always 🙂 . It can be a real pain to maintain those values and I hope once the MDF is rolled out to Recruiting (hopefully in the August release) that this nuance can be tidied up a little with the help of the next integration package. I don't know the details yet, but I do know that it will bring vacancy data over and hopefully it will include these fields. Watch this space!
I know HCM P&Fs are close to your heart and we'll briefly discussed this via Twitter, so I see your frustration. I'm going to speak to the SAP team about this and see if they are going to look at it. I'll mention your name!
Best regards,
Luke
Luke -
Thanks for this information.... Very informative. 🙂
- Steve
HI Luke,
Again thank you for your articles, which make us move forward.
I have a question about SP01, do you know if there are some bugs on this version.
On my installation i have a bug on RH_SFI_RECRUIT_PROCESS when i use check and change data.
Regards.
Nciolas
Hi Nicolas,
Yes there. Please check the SAP Notes under component PA-SFI-TM. Also, you can implement SP2 which was released this week.
Best regards,
Luke
Hi Luke,
I have an another question.
I tried the transfer of Job Requisition (ECC to SFSF) with SP02.
Do you know if this new Scenario works, because i didn't see the configuration on PI side, or maybe there are a configuration to do on PI.
Regards.
Nico
Hi Nico,
Did you import the PI content?
Best regards,
Luke
Hi Luke,
I was just that the configuration scenario and action was not create on PI in ESR content.
I created that and that's works.
Thanks
Luke,
Useful blog - thanks.
Small note ... this link doesn't appear to work any more:
Stephen
Thanks Stephen - the document has moved since I published the blog. Here's the latest link:
https://service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700000734152013E/RecruitingAddon2_0.pdf
Hi Luke:
Thanks for such a nice blog. It gave me such a nice overview of what is Successfactors BIZx.
I have a question regarding custom fields that can be defined. Our company is looking at implementing at successfactors recruitment with BIZx add-on, but at my company in New hire process, we need bank information( routing number, account number, bank name ), which are not available in standard BIZx add-on sfsf fields. So can we define those missing fields both in SAP HCM with bizx addon and expect SFSF to transfer those values?
Thanks,
Ratna.
Hi Ratna,
Are these fields gathered as part of the recruiting process or the onboarding process? I would expect it to be the onboarding process, in which case you would enter these details directly into SAP HCM when performing the hiring action.
Best regards,
Luke
Hi Luke:
Thanks for your reply. Sorry if I understood SFSF BIZX recruitment process wrong.
From my understanding that I am thinking SFSF will have all the information/fields while recruiting internal(re-hire)/ external candidates for open positions at a Company, which will be sent to SAP HCM via PI, and then HR administrators will perform the new hire action, if all the required fields are availabel.
So if my above understanding is right, all the required information for a new hire should be available in form of fields in SFSF right.
Please correct me if I am wrong.
Thanks,
Ratna.
Hi Ratna,
The field sent to SAP HCM are just those that come directly from the recruiting process (e.g. position, address, etc). Onboarding information would be sourced after recruiting has been completed. Although the processes are interlinked, technically they are done separately. SuccessFactors has an onboarding application that can be used for this part of the process, but it is not done in Recruiting.
Best regards,
Luke
Hi Luke
Excellent work once again. I see many useful tips from this Blog, Especially Vera Yang made some Interesting points which answered my doubts Initially. Thnx for such a wonderful discussion. Keep coming more... 🙂
Cheers 😉
Pradyp
Luke,
My company has been running SAP HCM for roughly 13 years and we are currently in the process of implementing SuccessFactors. We will be rolling out Performance Development first and I would love to hear your insight and direction on integrating SAP HCM and SF.
We have Business Objects Data Services and SAP PI 7.3.1 in our product landscape. These are the tools our middleware team would like for us to use. I understand that there is the SAP Integration Add-On, which can be installed as a Rapid Deployment Solution.
Is this the recommended method of integration between HCM and SF? Can you please provide further insight and information on whether the addons will provide all of the necessary data and how the HCM and SF systems are "tied together" with the SAP PI connectivity adapter?
I look forward to your reply and I will continue to explore all of the great information you have posted on SCN!
-Brian
Hi Brian,
For Performance & Goals I would recommending using the add-on to transfer the basic employee and organizational data from SAP ERP HCM to SuccessFactors via PI. The RDS might make sense for you given that you are not using any of the other process integration. If you need to transfer performance data back to SAP (.e.g to use with Enterprise Compensation Management) then you would need to build this integration yourself, but it can be done using PI.
Best regards,
Luke
Thanks for such a quick reply. Once we have the data from the Add-On I am curious what the SAP PI iFlow would look like to transfer the basic employee data for Performance & Goals. Does SAP PI use a Remote Function Call to run the add-on and then interface with SF through the SFAPI?
I was confused by this statement. Maybe we are not using the RDS. We are currently playing with the SAP Integration Add-Ons in our ECC sandbox. We will most certainly want to have interfaces from SF back into SAP HCM. Are you saying these will all need to be custom SAP PI iFlows?
We also plan to roll out the other SF modules over the next year.
Thanks Again,
Brian
The add-on transfers data to populate the basic employee import (Employee Profile) file. This gives the talent applications the employee data needed to run basic processes.
The add-on is just an ABAP program that generates a CSV file that PI transports to SuccessFactors to be imported.
This depends on what you want to transfer and what SAP provides by standard. For example, if you want to transfer the Performance rating back to SAP ERP HCM then you need to develop this yourself. If you need to transfer new hire data to SAP ERP HCM from Recruiting then you can use the standard iFlow.
Best regards,
Luke
Luke - when using Add-on 2 for the Employee Data we are planning to do Integration Using Middleware (Integration Using Middleware - Integration Add-On for SAP ERP Human Capital Management and Succ - SAP Library).
There is an integration scenario defined in the Help Documentation: http://help.sap.com/erp_sfi_addon20/helpdata/en/61/47b0cb5eab4e6b9cda5fbf8ce24a9c/content.htm
Our team is trying to wrap our head around the process and determine how SAP PI reads the data in a middleware scenario. Does PI interact with the SAP ECC (HCM) system using RFC calls or how does this work from a middleware perspective to get the data (no flat file, CSV, is created)?
Thanks!
PI uses web services
Hi Luke,
As always, thanks for detailed article.
I had one clarification, Suppose If I want to install Integration Add On 2.0.. is it required to install Add On 1.0 prior to installing Add On. 2.0 or can I install Add On 2.0 directly?
Does it include all the integration content delivered in previous add on packages?
Regards,
Vivek
Hi Vivek,
You don't need to install the previous version as far as I am aware, but check he Admin Guide. Every version of the add-on contains all previous content and bug fixes.
Best regards,
Luke
Dear Luke,
We completed the full cycle of Integration between SAP ECC and SFSF RCM via SAP PI and all the scenarios are working fine as per the STD SAP process.
But we have some specific client requirements as below:
Thanks a lot in advance!
Best Regards,
Mahesh Dudam
Hello Luke,
I'm building a integration for SAP HCM and SuccessFactors for EmployeeData and Goal Data.
In the documentation available in Integration – SAP Help Portal Page, i have found the IntegrationAdd-ON 3.0 Integration Add-On 3.0 for SAP ERP HCM and SuccessFactors HCM Suite – SAP Help Portal Page
My doubt is that in no moment i have found a clear specification on how or what can I do to GoalsModule.
More than once I have found posts saiyng thar this integration is possible to Performance & Goals. Can you appoint me any page or documentation so I can configure a AddOn3.0 to SAP HCM + PI to Goals?
There is no packaged integration for performance or goals data, just the employee data packaged integration. To integrate Goal data you can use the OData API.