Configuring Permissions

Role-Based Permissions are considered the best practice as they allow for creating dynamic groups. This means that users who change roles or positions within the organization can automatically lose or inherit permissions.

For SAP SuccessFactors Succession, this means that rather than individually granting each permission to each Succession Planner, a Succession Planner role can be created that contains all succession-related permissions and granted to the Succession Planners in the organization.

This section describes how to enable various Succession-related permissions using Role-Based Permissions (set up in Admin Center → Manage Permission Roles) .

Permission to access the Succession Org Chart and Lineage Chart is controlled by the Succession Org Chart Permission within a permission role.

There is no independent permission for the Lineage Chart. It is controlled by the Succession Org Chart Permission found in the Succession Planners category; therefore, if a person has access to the Succession Org Chart, they will also have access to the Lineage Chart. A person can't have access to the Lineage Chart only. If you do not see the Lineage Chart, the implementation consultant did not enable it during configuration.

From the Admin Center, use the Action Search to find Manage Permission Roles.

Talent Search Access: This option determines access to the Talent Search sub-tab in Succession and the Advanced search link when adding successors from the Succession Org Chart.

You can give permissions to any number of roles. Users in multiple roles with access to Talent Search can choose between relevant roles on the Talent Search screen.

The system remembers the role a user selects so that it does not change between sessions. For example, if a user is a manager and a succession planner, they can choose their preferred role for performing talent searches but can always switch to another role if their task requires it.

This option allows users to see the Export button in the Talent Search Result page.

Although Talent Search v2 was already fully compliant with security and permission settings, this option offers additional convenience for customers who do not wish to provide an easy export function, regardless of whether the user roles have access to the data within the system.

Exporting employee data is often considered a sensitive privacy task and should not be easily available for all Talent Search users.

Within the Talent Search Field section in Manage Permission Roles, we can specify search fields desired for each role.

The permission categories include:

• Standard elements
• Userinfo elements
• Background elements
• Employee Central Job information fields (if the customer has EC enabled)
• Other options (Inactive User and Talent Pool)

Due to these simple configuration capabilities, each role may have vastly different field options.

The Matrix Report Permission grants access to both the Performance-Potential Matrix and the How vs. What Matrix.

There is no separate permission for each matrix; the Matrix Report Permission controls access to both. If you do not see one of the matrices, it was not enabled for your organization during configuration.

The Succession Management and Matrix Report Permissions allow a succession planner to view employees within the Succession Tools.

The target population of employees that the succession planner can view is defined within the permission role and controls visibility within ALL of these tools; therefore, it is impossible to give different levels of visibility to the different tools.

The visibility granted to a user within SAP SuccessFactors Succession will vary by organization. Some companies have clearly defined rules and processes for visibility across the organization, while others may have more transparency.

The Succession Planning Permission grants access to a target group of users for whom a succession planner can nominate successors. This is often confused with the Succession Management and Matrix Report Permission. While both permissions require that a target population is defined, the Succession Planning Permission essentially allows a succession planner to nominate a successor for an employee or position.

For example, a succession planner may have visibility across the entire organization (granted through the Succession Management and Matrix Report Permissions) but can only nominate successors for employees or positions within a particular line of business (granted through the Succession Planning Permission).

Once these features are configured correctly in your system, please ensure that the Succession Planner or designated approval role holds the correct permissions. To verify this information, utilize the Action Search and type Manage Permission Roles.

Select the appropriate role and then edit the role. After completing these steps, select Succession Planners to view the Succession Approval Permission. Enable the permission by checking the box and clicking Done.

Additional permissions are needed when utilizing the Succession Nomination Method: MDF Position. These permissions are located in Manage Permission Roles.

The Metadata Framework permissions allow the administrator to utilize MDF features inside the Admin Center. The most commonly used features are Configure Object Definitions and Manage Data.

Some of these permissions are primarily used when integrated into SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central (EC), and others, such as miscellaneous permissions, are specific to Succession objects like Position or Talent Pool.