Friday 2 December 2016

29 TOP SAP SUCCESSFACTORS INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 2016

29 TOP SAP SUCCESSFACTORS INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 2016

Q. How do you integrate Employee Central with other SuccessFactors Products?

Employee Central integrates internal with other SuccessFactors products through HRIS Sync.


Q. How do you integrate Employee Central externally with other products?

There is a cloud -based integration platform available for external integration.


Q. What does the Succession Data Model contain?

The Employee Records are contained in the Succession Data Model. The succession data mode configures the fields that will appear in the Employee’s Personal Information (outside of work) Employment Information (inside of work).


Q. What is configured in the Country -Specific Succession Data Model?

Address formats, country specific fields and international standards are set in the country-spe, succession data model.


Q. What does the Corporate Data Model define?

Foundation Objects and their relationships are defined in the corporate data Model. Foundati, Objects are also called Foundation Tables. They include Organization, Job and Pay.


Q. What is defined in the Country -Specific Corporate Data Model?

In here foundation objects fields for a separate country are defined.


Q. What is the propagation data model used for?

HRIS Propagation Data Model is used for the Auto Population from Foundation Tables





Q. What other two data models are used?

Data Model Workflow Rules Data Model, Event and Event Derivation Rules Data Model


Q. How many data models are there in Employee Central?

7


Q. How do you masked sensible data in a field?

Set the attribute pii=”true”


Q. How do you set a field so the user can edit it?

Set the attribute visible=”both”


Q. How do you make a field to be required to be filled?

Set the attribute required=”true”


Q. What is a DTD?

Document Type Definition of the data model
My vision is to build a truly integrated HR in the cloud. A truly integrated HR is the key enabler for Organizations to maximize their business outcomes.


Q. Why are they called ‘Success Factors’?

Because they are behaviors which lead to successful performance in the job.


Q. Why are there three levels within the framework?

They describe a range of different types of behavior which are relevant to a range of different job roles. However, the levels are not hierarchical.


Q. Are the levels linked to job grades?

No. Just because someone is on a certain job grade, it doesn’t rule out any of the levels. However, if a job is more senior you would expect to see more of the university level behaviours.


Q. Are they going to apply to academic staff as well?

There is a similar framework for Strategic Leaders Framework and one for researchers which have been based on Success Factors. The idea going forward is to have something similar for all staff groups in the university.


Q. Will Success Factors be used to ‘get rid’ of people?

That is not why they have been developed. They are used to develop individuals. However, if the behaviour(s) are essential to the job and there continues to be no development then it could become a performance issue.


Q. What if the employee doesn’t agree with the Success Factors that their manager has chosen?

The manager uses the job analysis information to determine the Success Factor for the role in conjunction with discussions with the individual. However, it is ultimately the manager’s decision.


Q. Once a Success Factor has been chosen for a role can it be changed?

Yes; it depends on the requirements / needs of the role at any point. It is fluid and therefore may change year on year.


Q. If a Success Factor is changed during the year how do you know what you will be reviewed against at the next PDR?

Through dialogue / communication between the manager and the individual. The change can also be flagged on the PDR form.


Q. Do you have to choose the same level (e.g. self) for all the Success Factors identified?

No. However, it may be that they tend towards one level.


Q. If Success Factors are important – how do you pick the right ones?

Use the job analysis information and advice from your HRO and other managers with the same roles to determine the 3-5 core success factors. It will become easier with practice.


Q. What if the Success Factor for a role is what the job requires as a technical output e.g. communicating for a careers’ adviser?

There may be a ‘technical’ requirement to do that but success factors are about ‘how’ the job is done / the behaviours required in carrying out their job.


Q. If an individual achieves all the Success Factors does that mean they will get promoted / get more pay?

Not directly. Obviously the more successful the individual is in their role / can demonstrate effective job performance / demonstrates additional behaviours, then this can be used as evidence in any job application or pay review case.


Q. What support will I have in using the Success Factors?

Managers will receive training; Success Factor documentation and guidance on its use will be available on the HR web site; members of the HR team will be able to provide advice.


Q. Won’t the choosing of the Success Factors be too subjective?

There is always an element of subjectivity in any process dealing with people. However, Success Factors are objective standards or benchmarks with good examples.


Q. How much evidence in assessing Success Factors will we be expected to produce?

Look over the previous 12 months for examples and pick out the 2 or 3 which demonstrate the Success Factors the most.


Q. Won’t the assessment of Success Factors take too long?

Initially, making the assessment may take some time because it is a new process and we’re dealing with new concepts but it is worthwhile for the benefits they bring.


Source: mindmajix


Is SAP SuccessFactors Managed Payroll a Really Fit for my Organization?

In August 2016 SAP announced a new offering for customers who wished to keep their SAP Payroll ‘as is’ without a reimplementation via a new offering called SAP SuccessFactors Managed Payroll, see more here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/keep-your-sap-payroll-while-you-journey-cloud-danielle-larocca?trk=mp-author-card.
The most challenging concept for customers making the journey from SAP to SuccessFactors is that it is not a ‘like for like comparison’ between solutions in SAP and SuccessFactors. The best way to describe this is to say that SAP HCM systems are often designed based on elaborate implementations with detailed blueprints including customizations and modifications as opposed to SuccessFactors systems that do not require blueprints and do not permit modifications or customizations, rather they are designed based on best practices. Listen to the Mike Ettling, President for SAP SuccessFactors describe how it is not simply a swap of modules using the link http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Videos/2015/March/Mike-Ettling-HR-2015-Keynote.
With that said, there are some areas of overlap as depicted in the graphic below.
Another big area of confusion is that SuccessFactors does not offer a new payroll solution, rather they leverage the world class multinational SAP Payroll in at least two different ways as depicted below.
SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll
The first option, SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll, allows customers to reimplement a simplified version of the SAP Payroll based on best practice standardization of a traditional SAP Payroll in a hosted “Cloud” environment by SuccessFactors. To move to this model customers are required to do 5 things:
1.      Choose from two options for deployment Customer Managed or Partner Managed
2.      Purchase a SuccessFactors Employee Central license
3.      Purchase a SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll license
4.      Re-implement and simplify (remove customizations) in their existing SAP Payroll
5.      Build integrations (as needed) to partners for Time and or Benefits processing
SAP SuccessFactors Managed Payroll
The second option, SAP SuccessFactors Managed Payroll, allows customers to ‘lift and shift’ their current SAP Payroll (warts and all) into a cloud hosted environment by a selected SAP Partner. To move to this model customers are required to do 3 things:
1.      Purchase a SuccessFactors Employee Central license
2.      Select a Partner (i.e. EPI-USE)
3.      ‘Lift and Shift’ the Payroll
This offering was well received by SAP Payroll customers who were wedded to keeping their SAP Payroll systems and leverage the large investments that they made in them. Prior to this offering SAP Payroll customers were told that as part of their migration strategy to the cloud they would be required to re-implement and simplify (remove the customizations) within their SAP Payroll. This new model allows for a "lift & shift" of their SAP Payroll from on-premise to the cloud without requiring a reimplementation and/or simplification. This is by far one of the most innovative ways of managing payroll systems through a cost-effective pathway to the Cloud, whilst retaining the functional richness of the client’s existing systems.
What are the Benefits of SAP SuccessFactors Managed Payroll?
  • Clients can stretch their existing investment in their on-premise SAP Payroll. This solution doesn't require a payroll re-implementation as it would with SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll.
  • Clients may significantly decrease the cost of running payroll in-house, eliminate the need for costly HR IT infrastructure, and they have the opportunity to move from a CAPEX to an OPEX model.
  • Managed Payroll costs may replace the continued cost of maintenance, hosting, AMS and other related IT costs (integration, audits, analytics, etc.).
  • It's lower risk option than a complete re-implementation.
  • It gives clients a way to move their on-premise SAP HCM into the cloud at a managed pace. They can move their whole SAP HCM installation and turn off functionality as they implement the equivalent SuccessFactors Employee Central functionality.
  • Clients don't have to manage the SAP/EC licensing, hosting, basis or functional support with different vendors, as it will all be under one SAP contract.
The business case may be different per client. If you consider the vast majority of companies using the SAP platform have multinational operations, the pressure remains to gather data in real time for processing across multiple jurisdictions. Organizations need to consider the very real challenges of managing payroll and what role cloud technology can address in the evolving disconnects between data privacy, privacy, finance, HR, payroll and tax compliance.

To learn more about Managed Payroll and understand why it may be a good next step for your organization and your journey to the cloud, please visit: http://www.epiuselabs.com/en/cloud-solutions/services/sap-successfactors-managed-payroll.  

Data Access Tools in SAP SuccessFactors - Source: 3D Results Blog

For the past few years, the integration capabilities of SAP SuccessFactors have expanded significantly. With the introduction of Intelligent Services, there is now support for real-time integrations and a platform to improve cross-module integrations and updates.
Intelligent Services does a lot more than support real time integrations. Its primary objective is to automate dependent tasks that can be triggered by an HR event. Since we are looking at data access tools in this blog series, I will focus on the four steps used by Intelligent Services to provide access to the data in the SAP SuccessFactors system:
  • A user updates information in the system
  • This change triggers an event notification
  • A dependent system subscribing to the event receives the notification when the event is triggered
  • The subscribing system then executes its own process once it receives the notification
Here is a visual representation of the four steps in this process.
IS image 1.png
Note that not all data changes will trigger an event. Each event notification must be made available for consumption by both internal and external processes, typically during the quarterly release cycle. Currently, most of the event notifications supported are in the Employee Central module and are triggered when there is a new hire, termination, job change and leave of absence. As you can see in the list below, Event Notifications are now supported in many of the other modules as well. The triggering events are in the left column and the subscribing system is in the right column.
IS image 2.png
Based on the way SAP SuccessFactors has set up the events, the system can trigger both internal and external notifications. The internal notifications are sent to internal subscribers —other modules or processes within the SAP SuccessFactors HCM suite. External notifications are sent to external systems― typically an integration platform, such as Boomi or HCI.
The internal subscribers are pre-delivered and SAP SuccessFactors pre-defines the activity that occurs when an internal subscriber receives an event notification. The diagram below shows the various internal systems that can be updated and notifications that can be triggered when a new hire is added to the Employee Central module.
IS image 3.png
In the case of the first two internal subscribers “Notification of Job change” and “Notification to create goals for new hire,” the subscribing system generates a notification to the manager to inform them of the change. A screenshot showing some sample notifications is displayed below.
IS image 4.png
If the specific internal system update that you would like to trigger is not currently available, you can still create it using an integration platform along with external notifications.
IS image 5.png
The above notification from the New Successor change shows an event that is only generating an external notification. In this case, the external notification can trigger a Boomi process that registers the new successor for a course in the LMS. Another example is whenever there is a Leave of Absence, you can use the Boomi or HCI integration platform to send an update to your benefit providers to indicate that there is a change in benefit eligibility.
The use of external notifications is not limited to external actions. You can use the same integration platform to make changes back into SAP SuccessFactors. For example, whenever there is a new hire, you can use the external notification to execute a process in Boomi that will add a specific development goal to the Career and Development Planning module. For more details on the specific setup when building an external integration, you can reference this blog post written by Bhargav Gogineni.
The setup for Intelligent Services varies by module and by whether an internal subscriber or external system will receive the notification and trigger a process. Many of the internal subscribers can be easily set up in Admin Tools. The screen shot below shows how you can use the On/Off toggle switch from within the Event Center in Admin Tools to enable or disable Intelligent Services for a particular subscriber. Some of the internal subscribers such as Requisition updates may require additional setup.
IS image 6.png
Enabling external subscribers is more complicated since it requires sending a notification to an external system. There is a separate External Event Notification panel that must be used in conjunction with the integration platform or external system receiving the notification. If you use the Boomi platform, there is a web listener component that needs to be enabled to receive the event notification from SAP SuccessFactors. The screenshot below shows where you can set up the external event notification in the system.
IS image 7.png
Regardless of it whether the event notification is internal or external, you will want to track events. This is where the Event Center dashboard is helpful. It keeps track of the subscribing system and keeps a running count for each event type. Below is a screenshot of the Event Center dashboard.
IS image 8.png
Conclusion
Intelligent Services has a lot of potential to address unique client requirements around integrating SAP SuccessFactors with other modules and external systems. It provides additional flexibility and tools to extend system capabilities. As mentioned earlier, if there is a need for real time integration, then consider Intelligent Services and determine if it can support your needs.
Learn more about data access tools in SAP SuccessFactors.


Wednesday 2 November 2016

The Importance of Workforce Analytics

Did you know that, all the data you've been collecting also has a secret life? And once this is revealed, it can provide the information which you need, to make better& more strategic business decisions. A strong analytics tool is one of the major key to see your present data's value.

Workforce Analytics is one of the easy ways to start organizational performance tracking. On-demand dashboards &Data transformation plus hundreds of performance indicators are some of the features which may help you to measure and analyze workforce performance and eliminate any surprises. Data exploration and visualization enables users to easily create dashboards which have a variety of interactive graphs and charts, like geographic maps, scatter plots, as well as built in filters and progressive disclosure.

An automated workforce analytics tool uses your present data to provide continuous visibility into labor costs and track key performance indicators that which would impact your productivity and labor costs. This is basically a combination of methodology and software which applies statistical models to worker-related data, finally allowing enterprise leaders to have an optimizedsuccessfactors HRM (human resource management).


Workforce analytics would help business leaders to improve and develop recruiting methods, which would make general and specific hiring decisions, and keep the best workers with the company. In addition, workforce analytics also help management personnel to:

  • Identify the need for new departments and positions
  • Assign and delegate responsibility for tasks and goals
  • Determine which departments or positions can be reassigned or eliminated
  • Analyze and predict current and future technological needs
  • Identify and quantify factors that influence employee job satisfaction
  • Predict the probability of an individual employee's success
  • Help the enterprise to identify, encourage, and cultivate its future leaders
  • Identify and quantify physical risks to employees in specific positions
  • Optimize the enterprise's organizational structure

An Enterprise compensation Management Strategy

An enterprise compensation management strategy is very crucial for dealing with the rapidly changing business environment and also for making the most of human resources in the best – and also the worst – of economic times. The SAP Sucessfactors ERP Human Capital Management (SAP ERP HCM) solution provides a thorough and complete solution for all enterprise compensation management, budget handling, long-term incentives, compensation administration, reporting and job pricing.

As Enterprise Compensation Management is a very new module and it is very different from that of the old Compensation Management, a complete new implementation is always recommended. This can be skillfully done by standardizing processes as far as it is possible to do, based on inputs and current configuration from all the departments in the Company.

The following of the functionalities are available in ECM

Compensation:
  • The Compensation Plan Structure
  • Compensation Planning for Front-End User Processes
  • Compensation Statement
  • Reporting Functionalities
  • The Back-End Flow of the Compensation Process                  
  • Long-Term Incentives
  • Compensation Administration

Benefits:

  • Strategic personnel management and support for your full enterprise strategy
  • Business Intelligence reports and ad hoc query functionalities
  • Flexible customizing to meet your business specific needs.
  • Broad, real-time and reliable information exchange and availability for decision making
  • Improved productivity through user-centric applications that ensure HR professionals and
  • managers have  all the right tools with an easy-to-use interface

Ways to Stand Out From Other Candidates in a Job Interview

Well... Job interviews are exciting, challenging and sometimes breathe holding experiences too. We all know a saying “if something seems too good to be true, then it probably isn’t true”. Finding a job requires lot of hard work and dedication. Everyone who are going for job interview wants to give their best anyways, but in reality most individual’s success varies significantly.
No matter where you are in your career, these tips, tricks, secrets for success will get you on the way to making and keeping your mark in the business world:
Research the Company
You should be on clear idea about the company like what is main motto of that company to exist, what are their products, services, customers and their reputation in the market. List out all positives of the company and make an effort to put down in front of your interviewer if possible. Because this will show them how interested you are about to get into their company.
Do more than show up
When a company drives an interview, they invite almost all the candidates who are looking for a job opportunity. If you are one from the remaining candidates, think about how you should impress your interviewer with your skills, what make them to remember about you? You can create or have an opportunity before, during and after the interview to become memorable, in a right way.
Understand the role
You just cannot apply all kind of interview adverts, without knowing the actual requirement of the company. So, first understand what is the role you are attending an interview for? Is that offered role is best fits to you or whether you fit for that position? It might be surprise you that most of the candidates doesn’t even bother about the job requirement and start applying for the job.
Understand the Success Factors
Demonstrate yourself with the success factors of a company and know whether you match to them are not. There are certain things in every job which are going to contribute to someone being a success in an offered role.
This is more likely that it will be a blend of experience, knowledge, hard and soft skills that will contribute to success in a role.
Be Self Confident
Self confidence is what matters to crack an interview. Create a comfort level within you and maintain a good eye contact with your interviewer. Discuss what make sense with confident.
The truth is that there is awful lot of simple but effective things that you can do to stand out from the crowd in job interviews. So try these simple things while you are preparing for your interview. Any simple techniques with you? Don’t forget to mention in the below comment section.

About SAP Modules – Introduction to SAP and it’s Modules

SAP stands for System, “Applications and Products in Data Processing” SAP is the fouth largest company in the world, providing various end to end solutions for manufacturing, financials, logistics, distribution etc.., SAP is best known for their ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software, SAP BW ( Data Warehouse Product), SAP Business Objects Software and SAP HANA(High Performance Analytic Appliance). SAP consists of two modules, each SAP module is integrated with other SAP modules, these modules are named as Functional Modules and Technical Modules.

The following are the most important modules which are used by many organisations:

1. SAP FICO (Financial & Controlling) Module
2. SAPMM (Material Management) Module
3. SAP SD (Sales & Distribution) Module
4. SAP HR (Human Resources) Module
5. SAP PP (Production Planning) Module
6. SAP Project Systems
7. SAP ABAP
8. SAP Success Factors
9. SAP Security and so on..


INDUSTRY SPECIFIC MODULES:
  • SAP IS Aerospace & Defense – Air and military industries
  • SAP IS Automotive – Automobile manufacturing industries
  • SAP IS Banking – Financial Industries, Banking, and Market Risk Management
  • SAP IS Chemicals – Chemical industries
  • SAP IS Consumer Products – Consumer product industries
  • SAP IS Defense & Security – Defense and security industries.
  • SAP IS Engineering, Construction, and Operations – Construction and engineering companies
  • SAP IS Healthcare – Hospitals and healthcare institutions
  • SAP IS Higher Education & Research – Campus management
  • SAP IS High Tech – High tech industries
  • SAP IS Industrial Machinery and Components – Heavy machinery manufacturing companies
  • SAP IS Insurance – Insurance companies and Currency Markets
  • SAP IS Life Sciences – Life sciences industry
  • SAP IS Media – Communication and Publishing industries
  • SAP IS Mill Products – Mill product industries
  • SAP IS Mining – Mining industries
  • SAP IS Oil & Gas – Oil and Gas Industries
  • SAP IS Professional Services – Professional services industry
  • SAP IS Pharma – Pharmaceutical industries
  • SAP IS Public Sector – Public Sector and Administration
  • SAP IS Retail – Supermarkets and Retail industry
  • SAP IS Telecommunications – Telecommunication operators
  • SAP IS Transportation & Logistics – Transportation and logistics industry
  • SAP IS Utilities – Utility industries
  • SAP IS Wholesale Distribution – Wholesale distribution industry
SAP Modules as a career path:

When you go for learning SAP modules, you need to have a clear picture on understanding which module relates to what and whether you better fit for the selected module or not. Select your interested module based upon your educational background, do your own research on each module so that you will get enough idea on what to work on most.

The most important thing you should keep in mind is which SAP module is high in demand now? Whether its a temporary or permanent in the market. This you’ll get to know only when you reach a certified SAP training partner. It’s not a big deal in finding a right coach to guide on factors in SAP. Now-a-days there are many institutes who are providing trainings on various SAP modules like SAP success factors, SAP ABAP etc., If you want to get clear idea on SAP trainings you can go through this SAP success factors online trainings.


Go for SAP certification program so that you can attempt for a certification exam. This certification is just a proof that your trained under this module but note that doing certification does not help you in getting a job nor it wont give 100% guarantee to obtain a job. This certification is only a point of proof to the employers that you are trained on related module. Your work experience and professional recomendations will demonstrate your proficiency with SAP modules.