Describing Key Features and Enhancements in SAP SuccessFactors Time Management for 1H 2024

The new Profile Preview and Spotlight include out-of-office information for employees when they're away from work. In addition, the Spotlight shows an Upcoming Absence card to indicate when the employee will be away from work next.

To enable the out-of-office information on the People Profile and Spotlight, you need to enable Show current absence status under Company System and Logo Settings.

For the out-of-office information on the People Profile and Spotlight, in addition to enabling Show current absence status, you need to grant the View permission for the Employee Time object.

To enable the Upcoming Absence card on the Spotlight, you need to grant the View permission for the Employee Time object. This is also required for the out-of-office information.

In the current version, the out of office information considers absences, holidays, and non-working days according to the work schedule. These are used to derive the "Back on" information shown in the People Profile.

The current version also includes an upcoming absence card with information on when the employee will next be absent from work.

In the previous version, the out of office information only considered absences.

New Experience for People Profile

New Experience for People Profile Now in SAP SuccessFactors Mobile

Using employee self-service (ESS), it is now possible to generate forms using templates based on absence data stored in the system.

With the Time Form employee self-service (ESS) scenario, an employee can perform the following tasks:

• Generate and preview the template.
• Download the forms in PDF format.
• Email the forms in a PDF format or as an HTML message.

We've made this enhancement to support employee self-service (ESS) for generation of the forms.

Enable the Document Generation and Time Off feature.

The new Time Forms Eligibility configuration object needs to be configured.

• You have the Manage Permission Roles → Time Management User → Generate Time Forms permission. This provides access to the Generate Time Forms link in the People Profile.
• You have the Manage Permission Roles → Manage Time Form Templates .
• You have the Manage Permission Roles → Time Management Object → Time Forms Eligibility → View Currentpermission.
• You have the Manage Permission Roles → Time Management Object → Time Forms Eligibility.Available Time Forms (Available Time Form) → View permission.
• You have theManage Permission Roles → Time Management Object → Time Forms Eligibility.Available Time Forms.Assigned Time Types (Assigned Time Type) → View permission.

You now have access to the Generate Time Forms link in the people profile. Select the link to go to the Generate Time Forms page.

You can now add data to all the mandatory fields on the Generate Time Forms page, such as language and template. Once you add the data, the Template Description, Time Period, and Time Type will be displayed.

Select the time period, the time type will be displayed and choose Preview. You can also Download the form in PDF format and email the form in a PDF format or as an HTML message.

Generating a Form Using Self-Service

We are delivering a number of REST APIs in Time Off. You can use these APIs to build your own UI integrations.

This list below shows the use cases covered by these APIs. Note that APIs for creating absences are not available.

• Available Time Type
• Instructional Text
• Time Account Balance
• Time Type Balance
• Upcoming Time Off and Holidays
• Upload Attachment

REST APIs in Time Off

REST APIs in the Business Accelerator Hub

You can now create a Story report with the planned working time data.

The Planned Working Time table in the Time Management schema allows you to create reports on the planned working time of the employees for specific periods, considering the work schedule information, temporary time information, and holidays.

The Planned Working Time table includes the following fields:

We've made this enhancement to include the actual planned working time in the Story report. This enables users to create individual reports whether internally for tracking planned working time, making them available to the affected employees or for reporting to external parties or government organizations.

Perform the following steps:

1. Run the MDF sync DB changes job from Provisioning. The Job Type is MDF Object Definition To DB SYNC.
   Note

   As a customer, you don't have access to Provisioning. To complete tasks in Provisioning, contact your implementation partner or Account Executive. For any non-implementation tasks, contact Product Support.
2. Run the Save Changes to Reporting Config job from Provisioning. The Job Type is called Save Changes To Report Configuration Object Job.
3. Check if the Planned Working Time object appears in Configure Object Definitions.

Ensure you have the View permission for User → Time Management Object → Permissions → Planned Working Time.

In the current version, the fields of planned working time are reportable with Story reports.

Available Data (Schema) in Story Reports

Creating a Story Report

Reporting of Planned Working Time

You can now approve time sheets on a monthly rather than on a weekly basis. We've also added a monthly calendar view in Time Sheet that allows employees as well as managers and administrators in on-behalf mode to get an overview of the employees' attendance and absence recordings in a calendar month.

The length of a time sheet period can vary. In some organizations, time sheets are submitted and approved on a monthly rather than a weekly basis. When you set up such monthly time sheets, the new calendar view of the time sheet is the default view. This view shows all relevant time entries (absences, working times, on-calls, and allowances) in a calendar month. In addition, to enable the monthly approval of time sheets, we've adapted the Time Valuation Period object and renamed it to Time Recording Approval Period. We've also changed the Time Valuation Period field on the Time Recording Profile object to Time Recording Approval Periodand added two persistence objects called Time Recording and Allowance Recording. For monthly time sheets, working and on-call times as well as allowances are stored in these separate objects rather than in the Employee Time Sheet Entry and Allowance sections of the Employee Time Sheet object. Therefore, even though a monthly time sheet contains working times, on-call times, or allowances, theEmployee Time Sheet Entry and Allowance sections of the Employee Time Sheetobject are not filled. The only section of the Employee Time Sheet object that is filled by a monthly time sheet is the Time Valuation Results section.

This new feature is from Customer Community Idea 44814

To activate monthly time sheets, please contact Product Support using the contact details mentioned in the linked blog post. Do not open a support ticket. After Product Support activates monthly time sheets, the calendar view is available automatically. Monthly time sheets are only available for SAP SuccessFactors Time Tracking customers. In addition, the following configuration requirements apply:

• The length of the Time Recording Approval Period object is set to Calendar Month.

• The Time Recording Approval Period field is added in the time recording profile.

• No time sheets, no time recordings, and no allowance recordings exist in the period that is affected by the Job Information change from weekly to monthly time sheets.
• If you implement custom fields on the Time Recording and Allowance Recording objects, these custom fields must have the same names as the custom fields on the Employee Time Sheet Entry and Allowance objects to allow copying between days as well as reporting.

You have the User → Time Management Object Permissions → Allowance Recording permission.

You have the User → Time Management Object Permissions → Time Recording permission.

The approval period of a time sheet can now be a calendar month. The default view for such monthly time sheets is the new calendar view. However, you can switch between the calendar and the list view.

Previously, the approval period could only be a week and only the list view was available.

Setting Up Monthly Approval Periods for Time Sheets

Monthly Time Sheets in SAP SuccessFactors Time Tracking

You can now set up flexible periods that are 1, 2, or 4 weeks long.

Let's says you want to calculate overtime for a biweekly period with a threshold for this period. For example, you need to pay a 25% premium for up to 6 hours of overtime and a 50% premium for overtime worked in excess of 6 hours. Therefore, you create a time container that stores overtime recorded during a biweekly period. Time type groups for such time containers contain a new field called Time Container Period Result Type. This field is automatically filled with the value One Value at the End of the Period.

We've introduced weekly period calculation to support scenarios that require weekly, biweekly, or time data covering 4 weeks to be processed.

To use weekly period calculations productively, you need to set up flexible periods.

You have the User → Time Management Object Permissions → Time Container permission.

You have the User → Time Management Object Permissions → Time Type Group.Time Container Group permission.

When you create time type groups for flexible periods, you can now select the base unit Week. When you select the base unit week, you can set the number of base units to 1, 2, or 4.

Previously, you could only select the base unit Month.

Setting Up Time Containers for Flexible Periods

Consolidated Time Recording offers consolidated time management processes across SAP S/4HANA and SAP SuccessFactors.

Consolidated Time Recording (CTR) with SAP S/4HANA is a cloud successor for the Cross Application Time Sheet. With the Consolidated Time Sheet processes, the activity-based time recording in the existing SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition ’My Timesheet’ will be offered with an integration to SAP SuccessFactors Time processes like Time Off, Regulatory, and Payroll Time recording. This feature allows you to benefit from a single Timesheet interface with centralized and streamlined time tracking across various SAP S/4HANA and SAP SuccessFactors business processes like project monitoring, billing, costing, ensuring HR regulatory compliance and payment to employees.​

Using this feature, you can:

• Identify the CTR users in SAP SuccessFactors Time and replicate this information in SAP S/4HANA.

• Display target hours computed on the SAP S/4HANA timesheet UI, based on work schedule or temporary time information, holiday calendar and absences maintained in SAP SuccessFactors.

• Use the S/4HANA time sheet user interface to access the SAP SuccessFactors Time Off UI and enter the absence details.

• Perform basic attendance recording against SAP SuccessFactors Time Types (Attendances, On Call, Breaks, and Extra).

• In real-time, you can simulate time valuation and regulatory checks, perform collision checks in SAP SuccessFactors for the time sheet entries, and correct any errors and review warnings before submitting the time sheet entries.

• The time sheet entries submitted and approved in SAP S/4HANA are sent to SAP SuccessFactors. Time valuation is performed on the time sheets that are received in SAP SuccessFactors from SAP S/4HANA.

• Alerts generated from the Time Valuation process in SAP SuccessFactors is displayed in the SAP S/4HANA time sheet UI.

We've developed this feature for the following reasons:

• Existing and potential customers have a cumbersome activity-based time recording process, and some employees of our customers fill out two time sheets (one for payroll, and another for activity-based time recording).

• Customers were asking for a cloud-based, improved and streamlined activity-based time recording and Regulatory/ Payroll time recording process between SAP SuccessFactors and SAP S/4HANA.

• Ensure your system is updated to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition - release 2023 FPS1, and S4HCM 101 SP6 and you are using version 4.0 ‘My Timesheet’.

• Integrate Workforce Person from Employee Central to SAP S4/HANA Private Cloud using either:

  • SAP Master Data Integration

    or

  • SFSF EC S4 HCM INTEGRATION (ECS4HCM)

• Integrate SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud with SAP SuccessFactors Workforce Availability Solution. For more details, see the Related Information section.

• Ensure that you have migrated to SAP Cloud Identity Authentication (IAS/IPS). For more details, see the Related Information section.

• Configure the SAP SuccessFactors Time Sheet based on the HR, Regulatory, and Payroll business requirements of your organization:

• Enable Consolidate Time Recording in Admin Center.

• Create External Time Recording Groups.

• Enable External Time Recording Group in the employee Job Information page.

To create an External Time Recording Group, ensure you have the View, Edit, and Import/Export permissions for User → Time Management Object Permissions → External Time Recording Group permission.

Information that is received from SAP SuccessFactors Time Integration. It shows target hours for each day, absence information, holiday information, time valuation or regulatory error message when recording time, and accessing Time Off .

Collision error.

List of alerts returned from SAP SuccessFactors after the time sheet entries are submitted.

CATS Consolidated Time Recording: Integration with SAP SuccessFactors

Access Configuration for Integration with SuccessFactors

Consolidated Time Recording with SAP S/4HANA

Migration to SAP Cloud Identity Authentication (IAS/IPS)

Workforce Availability

SAP Community blog on S/4HANA My Timesheet v4 powered by SAP SuccessFactors

Time Sheet Approval Center provides a single comprehensive overview for managers to view important contextual information and perform mass approval of their employees' time sheet requests, in an easy and efficient manner. The information on the Time Sheet Approval Center page includes details of the submitted and non-submitted time sheets, time sheet key facts, missing time punches, absences, related approvals, alerts, and amendments.

Using the Time Sheet Approval Center page, a manager or an approver can perform the following actions:

• Approve all the time sheets submitted by their employees with a single operation, using the Approve All button.

• Select multiple time sheets and send them for approval with a single operation.

• Take a decision to approve or decline a single time sheet.

• View the status of the time sheets.

• Use the in-line approval functions to review pending requests related to time off, time event corrections, or single attendance record approvals.

• When an employee is blocked from submitting the time sheet due to a pending single attendance record approval request, action can be taken directly from this page to approve the request and unblock the employee.

• Navigate to the Time Sheet user interface or Time Workbench of the employee to get further information.

• Review alerts or amendments that are associated with time sheets. Take the necessary action by navigating to either the Time Sheet or the Time Admin Workbench.

• Review the configured Time Sheet Key Facts which can include details like Time Type Group, Allowance Type, Unpaired Time Event, Time Off in Lieu Account balance, and Working Time Account balance. Use these Time Sheet Key Facts to create a Time Sheet Key Fact Configuration and vice versa.

In the current scenario, managers have to manually go through each time sheet for every direct reportee and verify multiple details before approving the time sheet. However, all of these details are not available on a single page. Time Sheet Approval Center provides a holistic view of all the time sheets along with key details in a single place allowing the manager or approver to confidently approve the time sheets in an easy and efficient manner.

The Time Sheet Approval Center feature is currently Restricted Availability. For more details on how to subscribe to this feature, refer to the SAP Community blog in the Related Information section.

• You have a license for SAP SuccessFactors Time Tracking.

• Create a Time Sheet Key Fact Configuration before you link it to a Time Recording Profile. This is optional.

• To view the Time Sheet Approval Center, you have the Administrator → Manage Time → Access Time Sheet Approval Center permission.

• To perform mass approval of time sheets, you have the Administrator → Manage Time → Access Time Sheet Approval Center → Enable Approve All permission.

• To create Time Sheet Key Facts, you have the View, Edit, and Import/Export permissions for User → Time Management Object Permissions → Time Sheet Key Fact .

• To create Allowance Type Key Fact, you have the View, Correct, Create, Adjust Order, Delete, and Import/Export permissions for User → Time Management Object Permissions Time Sheet Key Fact.Allowance Types (Time Sheet Key Fact Allowance Type Detail).

• To create Time Type Group Key Fact, you have the View, Correct, Create, Adjust Order, Delete, and Import/Export permissions for User → Time Management Object Permissions Time Sheet Key Fact. Time Type Groups (Time Sheet Key Fact Time Type Group Details) .

• To create Time Sheet Key Fact Configuration, you have the View Current, View History, Create, Insert, Correct, Delete, and Import/Export permissions for User → Time Management Object Permissions → Time Sheet Key Fact Configuration.

• To create Time Sheet Key Fact Configuration, you have the View, Correct, Create, Adjust Order, Delete, and Import/Export permissions for User → Time Management Object Permissions → Time Sheet Key Fact Configuration. Key Facts (Time Sheet Key Fact Details).

Time Sheet Approval Center view for a manager with the Approve All button enabled.

Time Sheet Approval Center page with the Approve All button disabled. The Approve button at the top-right corner becomes Approve All only if you have the required permissions and you select the check box on the top-left corner to select all the time sheets. You can perform approval of individual time sheets by clicking Approve on the row for the relevant time sheet.

Time Sheet Approval Center page when you select specific time sheets to do a mass approval. Note that out of the four selected time sheets, only three can be approved as one of them has a pending related approval request. For example, the pending related approval could be a time off request, a single attendance record request, or a time event correction request which is within the time sheet period.

A pop-up for the related approval showing the various possible actions by the manager or approver.

Related Approvals dialog box showing a time off request and an approved time event correction request on the Time Sheet Approval Center page.

Time sheets with associated alerts aren't sent for approval when you perform a mass approval.

Using the More Actions button, you can:

• Open Time Sheet UI.

• Open Time Workbench.

• Approve the relevant time sheet with comment.

• Decline the relevant time sheet.

In the current version, Time Sheet Approval Center provides a holistic view of all the time sheets along with key details on a single page.

In the previous version, managers or approvers had to navigate to multiple pages to gather key information before approving or declining a time sheet submitted by employees.

Time Sheet Approval Center Overview

SAP Community blog for Time Sheet Approval Center

We've added a processing user to the time recording calendar. The processing user lets you automatically approve time sheets with pending workflows.

In some organizations, time sheets need to be approved by a certain date to ensure that employees are paid on time. You can now ensure that pending time sheets are automatically approved by a certain date by assigning a processing user in the time recording calendar. The processing user is a user with permissions to manage workflows. This user performs all workflow actions and saves objects related to the time sheet. If no processing user is provided, auto-approval of time sheets is only possible if the submission date is equal to the approval date. Auto-approval is possible for positive, negative, and overtime recorders.

We've added this functionality to help customers pay their employees on time.

The Processing User field is automatically available in the time recording calendar for SAP SuccessFactors Time Tracking customers. However, you need to set up a user with the permissions required to approve time sheet workflows. You also need to assign the processing user in the time recording calendar. If you haven't set up a time recording calendar yet, you need to create one and assign it to a time recording profile.

You can now assign a processing user in the time recording calendar. Therefore, you can now automatically approve time sheets with workflows. Previously, you couldn't assign a processing user. Therefore, auto-approval of time sheets was only possible if the submission date was equal to the approval date.

Creating a Calendar for Automatic Time Sheet Submission and Approval

Automatic Time Sheet Submission and Approval Capabilities in SAP SuccessFactors Time Tracking

It's now possible to hide allowance types from the selection drop-down when recording an allowance by assigning an allowance type filter rule to the corresponding Available Allowance Type on the time profile.

This feature can be used, for example, to hide meal allowances types for employees from a certain legal entity.

This enhancement is from Customer Community Idea 309694

• SAP SuccessFactors Time Tracking needs to be enabled.

• An allowance type filter rule must be assigned in the Allowance Type Filter Rule field that's in the details of the Available Allowance Type section of the time profile.

In the current version, the available allowance types can be restricted based on certain conditions, such as legal entity.

In the previous version, all available allowance types from a time profile were shown.

In the previous version, all available allowance types from a time profile were shown.

Configuration Options for Available Allowance Types in the Time Profile

With the generative AI copilot Joule integrated into your SAP SuccessFactors system, users can now accomplish more daily tasks in Joule.

Leveraging its generative AI capabilities, Joule can help managers generate insights into an employee's compensation as well as talking points to guide discussions about compensation. In addition, through the assisted Q&A capability, Joule can answer user queries about the HR policies and user guides of your organization.

Joule in SAP SuccessFactors now supports three conversational patterns: transactional, navigational, and informational. For more information, refer toConversational Patterns in Related Information.

The following table lists all the newly supported use cases.

Expanding the range of supported use cases within Joule, we enhance users' experience by streamlining their interactions with SAP SuccessFactors modules.

• You've enabled Joule in SAP SuccessFactors.
• For the use case "answer user queries about HR policies and user guides", you must have enabled the SAP AI service of Document Grounding with the help of your Account Executive.
• A use case is applicable only when you have access to the specific product or feature. See Related Information for details on how to obtain required access.

Users have the User Permissions → General User Permission → Access to Joule permission.

What is Joule?

Joule in SAP SuccessFactors

Conversational Patterns