Action Plan for SAP SuccessFactors People Analytics (Part 1)

Introduction

If you are an SAP SuccessFactors customer, you’ve likely heard about the new SAP SuccessFactors People Analytics:  enhanced reporting and visualization tools are coming soon. What does this mean for your existing reports? What can you do to prepare for the transition? And when People Analytics arrives, how can you make the most of the new features and functionality?

SAP SuccessFactors People Analytics: The Basics

First, what is SAP SuccessFactors People Analytics? People Analytics brings together SuccessFactors reporting and analytics solutions into three editions: embedded, advanced, and planning.

The embedded edition comes free with all SAP SuccessFactors modules, while advanced and planning editions have additional license fees.

Note: This post is specifically focused on People Analytics, embedded edition.

People Analytics, Embedded Edition Quick Points

What is People Analytics, embedded edition all about? Here are some key highlights:

• SAP Analytics Cloud business intelligence and visualization tools are embedded within SuccessFactors.
• A single data model is created with transactional data from all SuccessFactors modules.
• Report Center will continue to be the starting point for SuccessFactors reports.
• Expected general availability is late 2019.
• Report migration tools will be provided in 2020.  Update September 2019: In the SuccessConnect People Analytics Roadmap sessions, SAP indicated that migration tools appear to be less likely. Learn more in my SuccessConnect People Analytics Roadmap Recap.

That’s People Analytics, embedded edition at a high level. Now, what steps can you take to be ready for the transition?

People Analytics, Embedded Edition Action Items

Step 1: Understand your existing reports.

To begin, take an inventory of your existing HR reports.

First, think about all reports that have SuccessFactors source data. This includes:

• Canvas/ORD
• Table/AdHoc
• Tile-based dashboards
• Reports from other tools, such Excel, Access, or another business intelligence tool

Then make a report inventory. Include the following:

• Title
• Business purpose
• Audience
• Key fields (you don’t necessarily need all fields at this time)
• Output type (list report, chart, pivot table, etc.)

Take this list and prioritize it. But wait—aren’t all the reports that you’ve created high priority? After all, you created them to meet a business need, right? That is true, but …

It may have been a few years since you rolled out your SuccessFactors modules; at that time, you created a suite of reports. How did you do that? You worked with your report consumers to understand the processes they support and their reporting requirements and created these reports with the tools you had available at the time.

Are those reports used as they were initially intended? Have the underlying business needs changed? Does the format (spreadsheet, chart, etc.) still make sense? Are the reports still necessary? Reach out to some of your key end users to understand which reports are important, what is working well (and not well), and what can be improved. They probably have some insights and will be happy to share.

Keep your prioritized report list handy and be ready to refer to it in the following steps.

Step 2: Explore the capabilities of the new tools.

Although People Analytics, embedded edition is not available until later in 2019, you can begin to learn new features and capabilities now. Here are some resources:

• Access the Reporting, Analytics, and Planning section in the SuccessFactors Community (S-ID required) for documentation, webinars, and collaboration with other customers and SAP product teams: https://community.successfactors.com/t5/Reporting-Analytics-and-Planning/ct-p/WorkforceAnalytics
• Also visit the preceding community to access recent reporting and analytics webinars (S-ID required): https://gateway.on24.com/wcc/gateway/elitesuccessfactorscustadopt/1892128/category/17355/reporting
• Join the People Analytics Jam Group for additional updates by sending an email to SAPSuccessFactorsPeopleAnalytics@sap.com with your name and work email.
• [NEW] Check out my colleague Erik Ebert’s excellent People Analytics embedded edition First Impressions blog post: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sap-successfactors-people-analytics-embedded-edition-erik-ebert/
• Attend SuccessConnect 2019 in Las Vegas for the latest product roadmaps, updates, and demos from SAP. I’ll also be there along with my GP Strategies colleagues; let’s chat!

With these resources, begin to think about the capabilities of the new People Analytics, embedded edition, and consider how you might be able to your existing reports. Could separate list reports and charts be combined into a dashboard? Can you enhance a pivot report with drill-down capability? How about emailing report output on a recurring schedule instead of running it manually? Can you combine data from multiple modules? Be creative! Collaborate with your end users again, think about how you can make their experience better, and improve how HR data is used in your organization.

Coming up–Part 2

In Part 2 of this blog, I’ll explore some of the new key features of People Analytics, embedded edition, and provide tips on how you can optimize your reports in the new tools.

Questions?  Comments?

I hope you found this useful.  Please drop me a note with any questions via email or leave a comment below.