Creating and applying business rules for Data Synchronization

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to create business rules to ensure synchronization of changes between position and incumbent data.

Synchronization of Position Changes to Incumbents

As you create positions and fill incumbents into those positions, maintaining shared fields between an individual’s job information and the position can become cumbersome. Therefore you might want to configure data synchronization between positions and jobInfo.

Administrators can specify which common fields between the Position object and the jobInfo employment object are synchronized when changes are made to a Position Record from the Position Org Chart or from Manage Positions tool. A business rule must be created to define which fields will sync between the Position object and the Job Information block. You can then decide if the sync process is automatic, or if it allows the user making the change to the position to decide if the sync should occur.

Caution

The Position Synchronization will NEVER work if the position is updated via Manage Data.

Steps for setting up Position Sync:

Create a Business rule. Navigate to Configure Business Rules and choose Create New Rule.
Select the rule type: Synchronize Position Changes to Incumbents.
Determine which fields should sync in the rule.
In the Synchronization section of Position Management Settings tool, choose your rule in the Rule for Synchronizing Position to Job Information area.
In the Position Synchronization option in the same area, determine if the sync should be automatic or up to the user making the change.

Considerations when Synchronizing Position Changes to Incumbents

This rule scenario will specify which common fields between the Position object and the Job Information employment object will synchronize when changes are made in the Position from the Position Org Chart, via Edit and Manage mode, or changes made via Manage Positions.

The business rule will determine which fields will be derived from the Position updates into the equivalent fields in Job Information. Additionally, the option Position to Job Information Synchronization will determine whether the synchronization should be automatic, based on user decision, or never (not recommended).

SAP SuccessFactors rule to synchronize position changes to incumbents, mapping Job Information fields to corresponding Position attributes.

Create the rule using the Synchronize Position Changes to Incumbents scenario
Assign the rule in Position Management Settings→Synchronization→Rule for Synchronizing Position to Job Information
Determine the Position to Job Information Synchronization to be Automatic, User Decision, User Decision If Required, or Never.

Note

The field order is essential to ensure the Position changes synchronize correctly to Job Information, particularly for Foundation Objects. Since a Business Unit is higher than Division, and Department is lower than Division, the order in the business rule should follow this hierarchy (Business Unit > Division > Department).

Caution

Fields that should not be used in this rule

The following Job Information fields should not be part of the rule for Position to Job Information Synchronization as it could lead to data inconsistencies (Whenever you adapt an existing rule created with this scenario, the system checks whether one of these Job Information fields is used in the rule, and display an error message):

Company (*see note below)
Any field of type attachment
Position
Sequence number
Workflow configuration
Start date
Event Reason
Full-time equivalent (FTE)
Effective latest change
Supervisor
Matrix Manager
PositionCostAssignmentItems

Note

*Company/Legal Entity should ONLY be mapped via the business rule, if the parameter "Use Company Filter for Positions in Manager Self-Service Job Information, History, and Quick Actions" option is set to "No" on Position Management Settings→UI Customizing tab. For more information, you can check the following KBA: 2386613 - When can you include Company/Legal Entity in the Position to Job Information Sync Rule

Synchronize Position Changes when Importing Positions

When importing positions via Import and Export Data , the Position to Job Information synchronization will not trigger by default. The following steps should be done to ensure the new position data will update the incumbent's information even when importing positions:

When importing positions, add the technicalParameters column to your position import file, and enter "SYNC" or "sync" as the value for those position records that should trigger a synchronization to the Job Information object.
Those records to be imported with no technicalParameters=SYNC, will be ignored for the synchronization. The Position will be updated, but the incumbent's Job Information won't.
The technicalParameters field in the Position Object, is by default, not visible. You have two options on how to set this field in the object definition:
1. Leave the technicalParameters field as Not Visible. You will need to add a technicalParameters column manually in the import file.
2. Set the technicalParameters field as Editable, and make sure that the field is hidden from the UI. You can achieve that in Manage Permission Roles→User Permissions→Miscellaneous Permissions→Position→Field Level Overrides and ensure that technicalParameters is set to No Access.

Hint

With the second option, the field will still be not editable or visible in the UI, but the technicalParameters column will be included automatically in the CSV import template.

Synchronize Incumbent's Changes to Position

You can also automatically sync changes from a incumbent's Job Information section out to the Position. This is less commonly used and only recommended for setups with strict 1:1 relationships between employees and positions.

A business rule to specify which common fields are synchronized to the position object when changes are made in the Job information employment object can be defined. For example, a rule can be defined to synchronize Department, Cost Center, Location and Job Code of the incumbent to the assigned position.

Conditional rule mapping Position attributes (e.g., Department, Location) to Job Information fields, based on non-terminated and active statuses.

This allows the manager to amend a key subset of data on employee level which is more intuitive than maintaining position data and then syncing to the person. The data elements synced to position here are the elements that are deemed to have higher volatility and are acceptable not to be driven by Position data and which can validly be driven by employee data changes.

Note that this will only apply to changes that the system regards as Position Reclassification or Position Transfer. Event Reasons will follow up activity maintained as Position Reclassification/Position Transfer are checked for this identification.

Caution

Fields that should not be used in this rule

Just like the previous rule scenario to synchronize Position changes to Incumbents, the following Position fields should not be part of the rule for Job Information to Position Synchronization as it could lead to data inconsistencies (Whenever you adapt an existing rule created with this scenario, the system checks whether one of these Position fields is used in the rule, and display an error message):

Any field of type attachment
Matrix Relationships
PositionCostAssignmentItems
Position Type
Source of Creation
Position Controlled
To Be Hired
Workflow Configuration

The following fields were excluded from the THEN section to ensure they are not in the business rule.

Change Reason
Criticality
Higher-Level Position
Incumbent
Multiple Incumbents Allowed
Pay Range
Status

Complete Exercise - Create and Assign a Business Rule to Synchronize Position Changes to Incumbents

In this exercise, you will create a Business Rule to Synchronize Position Changes to Job Information and Incumbents for the Position.

ExerciseStart Exercise

Steps

Create a Position to Job Info Sync Business Rules.
1. Navigate to Configure Business Rules using Action Search.
2. Select the + option to Create New Rule.
3. Select on Position Management to expand the section and display the available scenarios.
4. Select the first scenario Synchronize Position Changes to Incumbents.
5. Type Position_to_JobInfo_Sync on the Rule Name. The name will be copied to the Rule ID. You can leave it as-is.
6. Leave the default Start Date as 01/01/1900.
7. In the Description add "Assigned to jobInfo, Position field, onChange; and to Position Management Settings/Synchronization".
Add the conditions and statements following the example on the image below. Choose Save when finished, to save changes.
Assign the Business Rule
1. Select the "Dot" symbol beside the rule name to assign the rule from the Rule Assignment wizard. Alternatively, you can navigate to Position Management Settings using the Action Search, and select theSynchronization tab.
2. Change the Position Synchronization field from Automatic to User Decision If Required to test how the system will trigger a confirmation dialog and let the user decide on whether synchronization should occur.
3. On the Rule for Synchronizing Position to Job Information, select the Position_to_JobInfo_Sync rule that you just created
4. Choose Save.
Test the rule by making changes in one of the Positions and verify how a confirmation dialog will trigger a user decision on synchronization of position changes to the incumbent's job information.
1. Navigate to Home menu→Company Info→Position Org Chart tab.
2. Search By Positions and Search for Sales Director, NE position whose incumbent is Marcus Hoff.
3. Select the Position card to open the Position Key Information, and select the Show Details button.
4. Select Edit to make changes on the position
5. Enter Effective Date for this change. You can use today's date, and select Proceed.
6. Change Job Title into Sales Director, North East Area.
7. Choose Save. A Synchronize Incumbents confirmation dialog will display to confirm that you want to synchronize the position data as of today's date (example: 01/01/2025) to the following incumbents. Select Yes to confirm and accept these changes.
8. When finished, close the Position Dialog.
9. Select on the incumbent Marcus Hoff to open the Public Profile view, and locate the All Actions menu.
10. Search for Employment Information on the links menu to navigate to Marcus profile.
11. Verify the changes on the Position have been synced to the incumbent job information. You can see the new Job Title in the Job Information block, as well as in the Employee File header.
As an optional step, you can navigate back to Position Management Settings→Synchronization to set back Position to Job Information Synchronization to Automatic. With this option, the synchronization will always occur and will not be a user decision anymore.

Summary

Administrators can specify which common fields between the position object and the job information are synchronized when changes are made to a position.
The business rule for synchronization between position and job information will not work when the position is updated via Manage Data. When importing positions, you should add the technicalParameters column on the import file with the SYNC value, if those records should trigger the business rule to sync to the job information.
The field order is essential for the position to job information synchronization business rule, particularly for the Foundation Objects. The order in the business rule should follow the hierarchical order for the organizational foundation objects.

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