Configuring Bench Strength

Bench Strength must be defined as a Standard Element in the Succession Data Model XML to enable the Bench Strength indicator. To define the Standard Element:

1. Navigate to Import/Export Data Model under Succession Management in Provisioning.
2. Select Export File and choose Submit.
3. Open the data model file in your XML editor.
4. Use CTRL-F to search for bench.
   1. If the benchStrength standard element is found, confirm it includes the benchStrength picklist id. If everything is there, close the data model file.
5. If you do not have the standard element in your data model, or if it’s missing any elements, copy the code listed below and add it after the last standard element.
   1. Select Save As and save the data model with a v2 to track changes.
   2. Return to Provisioning, select Import File, enter a description, and choose Submit.

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<standard-element id="benchStrength" max-length="100" 
 required="false" matrix-filter="false">
     <label>Bench Strength</label>
     <picklist id="benchStrength"></picklist>
   </standard-element>

A Bench Strength picklist must be created to enable Bench Strength. The Bench Strength picklist should match the values of the Readiness Rating Scale, to keep these two features in sync.

To create the picklist:

1. To navigate to Picklist Center, use Action Search.
2. Search to see if there is already a benchStrength picklist created and select it. Then, select Edit. If there is not one already, choose Create a Picklist (+).
   1. Code: Must match the picklist ID in the standard element, typically benchStrength.
   2. Name: Bench Strength
   3. Status: Active
   4. Effective Start Date: As a best practice, it should be 01/01/1900 to make sure there are no conflicts related to the effective start date of positions and of the picklist.
   5. Enter the same values that are used in the Readiness Rating Scale.
      1. The "minValue" of each picklist option should match the Score value used in the Readiness Rating Scale. If a "minValue" is not entered, Bench Strength will not be shown. Enabling the minValue is detailed in Lesson 4.
3. Save your picklist.

The final step is configuring the Succession Org Chart XML to display the benchStrength indicator. Configuring the "benchStrength" indicator in the Succession Org Chart follows the same process as defining the "Readiness" indicator, but using the key=benchStrength instead of readiness, and type titlegradient instead of readiness.

To define the readiness level:

1. In Provisioning, select your company instance.
2. Navigate to Edit Org Chart Configuration under Succession Management.
3. Unlike other XML pages like the Data Model, you don’t have an export/import option for the Org Chart XML. The XML code is listed on the page, but you don’t want to make changes directly in Provisioning. You should make changes in an XML editor.
   1. Copy the entire Org Chart XML code. "Select All" using a right-click or CTRL-A, and then "Copy" the code using a right-click or CTRL-C.
   2. Open your XML editor and paste the XML into a new document using a right-click or CTRL-V. Be careful that the very first line (<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>) isn’t duplicated.
   3. Save the XML document with a Version 1 so you can return to it if necessary.
   4. Make your changes to the XML code.
   5. Save your XML Document with a Version 2.
   6. Copy all of the XML code from the Editor.
   7. Return to Edit Org Chart Configuration in Provisioning.
   8. Paste the new code in it’s entirety to the Org Chart XML page (CTRL-A and CTRL-V are ways to paste the code).
4. Choose Save Content to save the new code. You should receive a green confirmation. If you receive a red message, there’s a problem with the code.

The <gradientOption> and <gradient> tags are used to create the Bench Strength scale. A sample code is shown below, for a Bench Strength of 3 levels (that matches the Readiness XML). You can customize the number of levels and labels, as long as it matches the Readiness Rating Scale and XML.

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<gradientOption index="2" key="benchStrength">
         <type>titlegradient</type>
         <label>Bench Strength</label>
         <gradientset>
             <gradient> 
                 <label>3-5 years</label>
                 <label lang="fr_FR">Entre 3 et 5 ans</label>
                 <value>1.0</value>
                 <index>3</index> 
             </gradient>
             <gradient>
                 <label>1-2 years</label>
                 <label lang="fr_FR">Entre 1 et 2 ans</label>
                 <value>2.0</value>
                 <index>2</index>
             </gradient>
             <gradient>
                 <label>Ready Now</label>
                 <label lang="fr_FR">Prêt Maintenant</label>
                 <value>3.0</value>
                 <index>1</index>
             </gradient>
          </gadientset>
      </gradientOption>

Other options that must be defined for Bench Strength:

• Label: The label for the readiness rating. Localized labels can also be included.
• Value: The Picklist option ID. The lowest number is the least ready, and the highest number is the most ready. The bench strength calculation and other features expect that the highest number equals the most ready.
• ＜icon＞Index: Indicates which color from the readiness color scheme is used for that rating, and the colors must match the colors used for your Readiness levels. (The <gradientOption> index lists the order of your <gradientOption> elements.)