Identifying the HCM Reporting Requirements and Toolsets

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
  • Outline HR reporting roles
  • List the differences between flat and analytical reporting levels
  • Summarize the available reporting tools

Roles for HCM Reporting

SAP Human Capital Management for S/4HANA (H4S4) consists of the following areas:

  • Talent Management (TM)
  • End-user service delivery
  • Workforce process management

Human Resources Analysts are Human Resource (HR) experts. They are regarded as strategic partners of HR managers and managing directors of the company. They provide information that enables the monitoring of HR data with regard to the strategic goals of the company. This information is used as a basis for personnel planning, and enables the enterprise to satisfy statutory reporting requirements.

Human Resources Analysts perform the following tasks:

  • Create, execute, and format numerous reports.
  • Format and retrieve, in a timely manner, the relevant HR data to help HR managers and the managing directors of the enterprise to devise plans and make decisions. 
  • Process and retrieve in a timely manner the HR statistics required by law.

The following international single roles provide the authorizations required by Human Resources Analysts:

  • Human Resources Analyst (SAP_HR_REPORTING)
  • Time and Labor Analyst (SAP_HR_PT_TIME-LABOR-ANALYST)

To depict country-specific activities of the Human Resources Analyst composite role, single roles are provided for Canada (SAP_HR_PA_CA_HR-ADMINISTRATOR) and USA (SAP_HR_PA_US_HR-ADMINISTRATOR).

HCM Reporting Levels

The levels of reporting are as follows:

  • Flat reporting

    Flat reporting means reporting on uncompressed raw data from tables.

  • Analytical reporting

    Analytical reporting means using compressed data (key figures) as the basis for reporting.

Flat Reporting

When flat reporting is performed, data is retrieved from various infotypes. The results are displayed in a flat list, which means that each line of output corresponds to one database entry. There are no views of different levels or segments of an InfoCube (IC) and its key figures and characteristics.

Query Views

When multidimensional reporting is performed using SAP Business Warehouse, data is prepared in a way that is particularly suitable for reporting. Data is stored and displayed in ICs. ICs contain key figures (such as headcount and leaving rate) and characteristics (such as gender and personnel area).

A single query, such as headcount, can be used to create different views of one or more ICs.

For example, a single query enables you to depict the number of employees (key figure) according to different criteria (characteristics) in a variety of views, and therefore for different target groups. 

In the preceding figure, the query view for Head of Sales depicts the headcount of the organizational unit for Sales by branch and year.

Query View for Management

The query view for management depicts the headcount for a particular year by branch and organizational unit.

Query navigation is a special feature of SAP Business Warehouse. Once a query has been determined, it is not frozen. Instead, you can use the navigation functions to create different query views. You can navigate through data, create various ad hoc data views, and drill down to the individual characteristics.

Query View for Head of the Controlling Department at a Branch

The query view for the head of the Controlling department at a branch depicts the headcount of a branch by organizational unit and year.

Ad Hoc QueryView

The preceding figure shows the headcount for the Financials organizational unit by year and branch.

Tools for Reporting

Depending on the system environment in which they are used, reporting tools are divided into the following categories:

  • Reporting tools in the SAP ERP application (flat reporting)
  • Reporting tools in SAP Business Warehouse (analytical reporting)

The following tools are used to execute existing reports and queries:

  • Manager Self-Service (MSS) through the SAP portal
  • Information Systems in the SAP Easy Access screen

You can create queries and change existing queries using the following reporting tools:

  • Ad Hoc Query in HR (InfoSet Query)
  • SAP Query

The tools included in SAP ERP for flat reporting enable you to perform the following tasks:

  • Execute existing reports and queries.
  • Create new queries and change existing queries.

SAP Business Explorer (SAP BEx) tools are available in the front end in SAP BW.

Manager Self-Service (MSS)

Manager's Desktop (MDT)

MDT is tailored to the daily needs of managers such as line managers. It helps them to perform their administrative, organizational, and strategic tasks.

MDT offers decision support to managers to help them make HR decisions and perform strategic planning activities. It does this by providing them with swift access to the required HR data of directly and indirectly subordinate employees. It then enables them to report on this data.

Manager Self-Service (MSS)

MSS helps managers perform their managerial tasks.

The functions are delivered in business packages, and are intuitive and easy to use. Extensive Customizing options enable you to make changes without the assistance of a developer.

The prerequisites for implementing MSS are as follows:

Organizational Management needs to be active and the manager must hold the chief position. An organizational structure consisting of organizational units, positions, and person assignments must exist in the system.

Ad Hoc Query

Ad Hoc Query is a simple and efficient tool for selecting and processing HCM data. It is best suited to line item (flat) reporting.

Ad Hoc Query has the following advantages:

  • Makes the report definition simple using drag and drop
  • Enables you to report on data from Personnel Administration, Organizational Management, Training and Event Management, Recruitment, and Personnel Development
  • Enables you to select output and selection fields as required
  • Provides numerous report design options
  • Displays the resulting set before output
  • Selects and outputs the real data on one screen
  • Enables you to determine results quickly because the database is accessed directly
  • Creates logs

SAP Query

SAP Query performs the following functions for reporting in HCM:

  • Creates InfoSets which are the basis for defining reports using Ad Hoc Query and SAP Query
  • Defines reports if they cannot be created using Ad Hoc Query (for example, if local fields are required)
  • Uses InfoSets and user groups

SAP Business Warehouse

SAP BW is used to meet analytical reporting requirements such as key figures and benchmarking.

The main components of SAP BW are as follows:

  • SAP BW Server
  • Data Warehousing Workbench
  • SAP BEx

Reporting can be done using data extracted from SAP systems, non-SAP systems, or from external sources such as databases, online services, and the Internet. This data is managed on the SAP BW Server.

The Data Warehousing Workbench manages the various source systems. SAP BEx is used to display, analyze, and process the reports.

How to Run an Employee List

DemoStart Demo

You require a list of your employees. You create this list with the report of the same name (Employee List) in the Info System of Personnel Administration.

Execute the report in two different ways.

Variant 1: To select persons, use the Personnel area field (and  personnel area 1000/Hamburg).

Variant 2: To select persons, choose organizational structure and the organizational unit inOrganizational Units Training Group → Training International → Controlling).

Steps

  1. Hide the PersIDNo., Name at birth, and Leaving columns so that they are not included in data output.

    1. On the SAP Easy Access screen, choose Human Resources → Personnel Management → Administration → Info System → Reports → Employee → Employee List.

    2. To select persons using the Personnel area field, enter 1000 in the Personnel area field and choose the Execute pushbutton.

    3. To select persons using the organizational structure, choose the Org. structure pushbutton.

    4. In the Choose Organizational Unit dialog box, choose Organizational Units Training Group → Training International → Production and S&D → Controlling.

    5. Choose Continue. This takes you back to the selection screen. The Org. structure pushbutton is now highlighted in a different color. This indicates that you used the pushbutton to make your selection.

    6. Choose the Execute pushbutton.

    7. Position the cursor on PerslDNo., Name at birth, and Leaving columns, or hold down the CTRL key and select all three columns together.

    8. Right-click the columns and choose Hide from the context menu. (Alternatively, choose Settings Layout → Change to hide all three columns in one step.)

  2. Once you have hidden these columns, save the layout as Variant##.

    1. Choose Settings → Layout → Saving.

    2. In the Layout and Name fields, enter Variant##.

    3. Select the User-specific checkbox.

    4. Choose Adopt.

    5. Go back to the selection screen.

  3. Execute the report again. When the result is output, switch to the Variant## layout you have just defined.

    1. Enter 1000 in the Personnel area field.

    2. Choose the Execute pushbutton.

    3. Choose Settings → Layout → Choose and select your Variant## and choose Adopt.

  4. Define Variant## as a default setting.

    1. Choose Settings → Layout → Manage.

    2. Select your Variant## (by clicking the first column to select the appropriate row).

    3. Choose Edit → Define default setting.

    4. Choose Save.

    5. Go back to the output screen.

    6. Go back to the selection screen.

  5. Execute the report again.

    1. Enter 1000 in the Personnel area field.

    2. Choose the Execute pushbutton. When the report is executed, data is automatically output in accordance with the layout you have just defined.

Learning

SAP FacebookSAP YoutubeSAP LinkedIn