Tell us what you think

We want to create the best possible experience for our learners. Your feedback helps us to improve the experience for everyone.

SAP Learning Journey

Adding employees with the import process during implementation

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

Add employees with the Import Process during implementation

Employee import overview

Employees are added in multiple ways (for example: Add New Employee (New Hire) wizard, Manage Pending Hires, FTP, connectors, etc.). However, in this lesson, you will learn how to add employees using import. You can navigate to Import Employee Data tool by using Action Search.

Import Employee Data Tool

Business Keys

In SAP SuccessFactors, each record is identified by a unique identifier combination known as business keys.

Business Keys are typically a combination of the ID for the Person (Person ID / person_id_external) or Employment object (User ID / user_id ) potentially combined with a type of record for the entity. Finally, if the entity is effective-dated, the business key will include the start date and possibly a sequence number.

For example, the address block is part of the person object and is effective-dated. Additionally, you can have several types of addresses (home, mailing). Therefore, the unique combination of person_id_external, effective_start_date, and address_type make up the unique business keys in the Addresses template. However, the biographical information block is non-effective dated and does not have multiple entries per user, so the business key is person_id_external.

You must include the business key fields and values in your import file.

Employee Central Entity Import Permission

Using Role-Based Permissions, you can define who can perform an import at the entity level. To use this permission:

In Role-Based Permissions, enable Employee Central Import Settings → Import Employee Data.
Then grant the import permission for the selected entity in Employee Central Import Entities.

RBP for employee import

Basic Import RBP Restriction

You can use Role-Based Permissions to manage access to Basic User Import in Employee Central. In Manage Employee Central Settings, you can switch on the option to Enable Control on Basic User Import in Role-Based Permissions. When you enable this option, only users who are granted the Import Employee Data and Basic User Import Permission from Manage User Permission category can perform the basic import. If this feature is not enabled, then you cannot view or control the Basic User Import permission.

Employee Central Import Settings

Additional Permissions to control Employee Central Imports

Permission Name	Expected Behavior
Import Employee Data	Allows user to have access to Import Empoyee Data tool
Enable RBP Access Validation for EC Elements during Imports (Do not enable during first time import)	Enable RBP access validation during imports
Enable workflows for selected entities	Workflows assigned to the selected EC import entities are triggered when you’re importing employee data
Enable business rules for selected entities	Business rules assigned ot the selected EC import entities are triggered when you are importing employee data
Enable execution of rules against NO_OVERWRITE	Business rules assigned to the selected EC import entities will also update fields that are marked as "NO_OVERWRITE" in your import file template
Enable Forward Propagation during Incremental Import	Data is propagated to effective-dated records when you’re importing data with the selected Employee Central Import Entities
Support cumulative update of country/region-specific data for global information import in full purge mode	Country-region-specific data existing in the Employee Profiles is retained when you’re importing Global Information in full purge mode

Addition of employees via import

New Employee Import Process

Changes to existing employee records can be imported as needed without regard to import sequence. For additional details about each import file, go to Employee Central Mass Changes guide in the SAP Help Portal.

Import tips

Here are some tips to prevent the import from failing. Before importing the CSV import file:

Ensure that all the required fields are entered in the file. Also, verify that the value in each column is correct/valid.
Validate that the columns in your import file correspond to the import template's columns. If not, you need to download a new import template from Import Employee Data.
Verify that the field you have enabled for an HRIS-element is valid. See the Data Object Tables handbook on the SAP Help Portal to know more about field configuration.
Check that the fields are configured correctly. For example, if the field is a picklist or an object-related field, ensure that the related picklist/object is configured to the HRIS-field.
Check if the failed row has an End Date. If the End Date in the CSV file you’re importing does not correspond to the End Date value present in the system, importing the CSV file will lead to an error. While the system calculates the end dates based on the hierarchy of event start dates, you can remove this value and try importing the file again.
Make sure all the effective-dated employee records are in a single CSV file. This is applicable only when importing multiple batches in parallel.

Exercise: Add new employees using the Import process

Business Example

Ace Corporation needs to import three employees.

Note

Consider, where do you download the templates? In which order do you upload?

Hint

When referring to individuals in imports (Managers, HR, and so on) always use the USERID. To find codes and IDs for legal entities and job codes check Manage Data.

Steps

Download the basic user file and the six import templates: Basic Import, Biographical Information, Employment Details, Job History, Compensation Info, Personal Information
1. Log in to your instance.
2. Navigate to Employee Export.
3. Select Export user file.
4. Save and unzip the Employee Data File. You can use this file to verify the employee ids for Carla Grant and Alan Chin is correct. Locate Carla Grant in the file and determine the User ID. Do the same for Alan Chin.
5. Go to Import Employee Data.
6. Select the action you want to perform: Download Template. Download blank templates by choosing each one under Select an entity. You can choose the appropriate data fields to populate your template. Go ahead and select all data fields by choosing the white check box next to Available Data Fields. You can then select the Generate Template button to create the import file.
7. Download the six import templates:
  - Basic Import
  - Biographical Information
  - Employment Details
  - Job History
  - Compensation Info
  - Personal Information

Complete and upload the employee import files according to the table Import File Information.

Import File Information

UserID/Username/Person ID	jmctavish	ssautron	jclements
First Name	`Jean`	`Stephen`	`John`
Last Name	`McTavish`	`Sautron`	`Clements`
Gender	`F`	`M`	`M`
Date of Birth	`03/26/1961`	`10/21/1982`	`08/30/1968`
Email	(use your email)	(use your email)	(use your email)
Manager	`Carla Grant – (cgrant1)`	`Carla Grant – (cgrant1)`	`Carla Grant – (cgrant1)`
HR	`Alan Chin –(achin1)`	`Alan Chin –(achin1)`	`Alan Chin –(achin1)`
Event Reason	`New Hire` (HIRNEW)	`New Hire` (HIRNEW)	`New Hire` (HIRNEW)
Hire Date	`07/01/2010`	`07/01/2010`	`07/01/2010`
Start Date	`07/01/2010`	`07/01/2010`	`07/01/2010`
Company/Legal Entityl	`Ace USA – (ACE_USA)`	`Ace USA –(ACE_USA)`	`Ace USA – (ACE_USA)`
Job Code/Classification	`Engineer – (ENG)`	`Engineer – (ENG)`	`Engineer – (ENG)`
Pay Group	`North America (NA_GROUP)`	`North America (NA_GROUP)`	`North America (NA_GROUP)`
Business Unit	`Corporation Industries (ACE_IND)`	`Corporation Industries (ACE_IND)`	`Corporation Industries (ACE_IND)`
Division	`Industries (IND)`	`Industries (IND)`	`Industries (IND)`

Use the information in the table, Import File Information, to fill out each of the six import files. Some fields will be used in multiple files.
Note
Use the codes or ids inside the parenthesis listed in the table, Import File Information (when mentioned). The system cannot read names or labels.
Go to Import Employee Data.
Validate and upload each file in the order dictated by the course content.
If you need extra help, look for the Module 4 Instructional Videos in the Video Tutorial Library of the Employee Central Academy Learning Room.

Validate your uploaded employees.
1. Log in to your instance.
2. Search for your new users in the People Search tool.
3. Do you see the three new team members? Can you access their Personal and Employment Information?
  Note
  Make sure you complete all six imports before searching for the users. There might be a delay before the employees are searchable or appear on the Org Chart.

Result

Save progress to your learning plan by logging in or creating an account

Continue to next lesson