Using the Succession Org Chart

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
  • Understand the SOC layout
  • Add successor nominees
  • Configure recommended successors
  • Manage external successors

Understanding the SOC Layout

You can easily search for positions or people using the Succession Org Chart, and then navigate through the position hierarchy to review succession plans for the reporting line you selected. Key positions are clearly marked, making it easier for you to manage your succession strategy. And the information you see for people and positions on the SOC is controlled by your various role-based permissions and target populations, ensuring sensitive information remains protected.

To open the SOC:

  1. To navigate to Succession, use the Main Menu.
  2. Select the Succession Org Chart tab.
  3. Select if you wish to find a hierarchy by Position or Person.

    The system remembers which method, either by People or by Position, you used to search the last time and defaults to that option the next time you access the SOC. This setting can be changed by navigating to Succession Settings.

  4. Enter the name of the person or the position to access the SOC.
  5. Once the SOC opens, you can navigate up or down the position hierarchy and zoom in and out.
Search by Positions or People option is highlighted.

The Succession Org Chart contains Position Nodes for each position in the hierarchy that you’re viewing. The Position Node displays information about the:

  • Position
  • Position's incumbent
  • Position's successors
  • Team size

Position Node

When the SOC opens, each position in the hierarchy is listed with a Position Node.

The SOC Position Node is displayed.

The Position Node contains the following elements:

  1. Position Information, including the Position Title and Key Position icon. Additional values such as Department can be enabled through Org Chart Configuration.
  2. Incumbent Information, including the user’s photo and full name. If multiple incumbents are set up with Employee Central, only the first incumbent (longest in position) will be shown.
    1. The incumbent’s Talent Flags are displayed. If you mouse over the name area a window opens with additional user details.
  3. Successor Information. The total number of successors and each nominee’s photo and full name are displayed.
    1. The incumbent’s Talent Flags are displayed. If you mouse over the name area a window opens with additional user details.
    2. The number of Talent Pools associated with the position is displayed.
  4. Number of direct reports and the total team size.

Position Card

Selecting a position opens the Position Card. Position Cards include talent information from the position, rather than the employee, point of view.

The Succession Position Card is displayed.

The Position Card contains the following elements:

  1. Position Header includes information like Position Title, Position Code, Bench Strength, and Key Position indicator. Bench Strength only shows if it is configured, and the position has successors. Additional information about configuring Bench Strength is available in the Configuring Bench Strength lesson.
    1. Selecting the arrow next to the key position indicator opens the Position Criticality list to change the value.
  2. Position Card Action Menu lists actions that can be taken from the Position Card. The list is determined by the Succession Nomination Method and the other SAP SuccessFactors modules that are enabled.
    1. Show and Edit Position: Available for MDF Positions only. If the only has the View Current Position permission, it displays "Show Position."
    2. Delete Position: Available for MDF and Legacy Positions.
    3. Nomination History: Shows the change history for nomination data in the position.
    4. View Lineage Chart: Pens the Lineage Chart in a new window.
    5. View Role Details: Displays the Job Profile associated with the Position (in case you have Job Code stored at the Position Object) or with the incumbent. Only available with Job Profile Builder.
    6. Create Job Req: Only available if Recruiting is enabled. Users with permissions to create job requisitions in Recruiting will see this option.
    7. Hide Position or Hide Profile: Hides the position or user until you choose the Show All Positions option, next to the Display Options icon.
  3. Incumbent. Select the section to expand the Incumbent information.
    1. On instances using Employee Central, you can have more than one incumbent for a position. Upon expanding the Incumbent section, you can see all incumbents to the position, including their full name and job title.
  4. Named Successors. The default view of the Position Card is to show the successors, which lists all the nominees for the position. The section header lists the total number of nominees and how many are Ready Now.
  5. +Add Successor. Select to add new successor nominees to the position.
  6. Successor Nominees. Choosing a name will open their Talent Card (additional information about Talent Card is available in Configuring Talent Cards and Creating Presentations).
  7. Successor’s Readiness Level. Selecting the Readiness Level opens the Successor Menu to manage them by changing the readiness, edit the nomination, remove the successor, or evaluate readiness (if configured this action will launch the Role Assessment Form based on the job role associated to the position’s job code).
    1. If the nominee is in Pending status, the menu will include options to accept or reject the nomination if the user has Succession Approval permissions.
  8. Talent Pools. Any Talent Pools associated with the role are listed, with the total number of members in the Pool and how many are Ready Now. Selecting the section will show the members of the Pool with the ability to add successor nominees directly from the Talent Pool panel. It also offers a link to manage the Talent Pool, which opens a second window with the Talent Pool page.

Display Options

Selecting the Eye Icon () opens the Display Options for the SOC. Users can keep the panel open for reference and as a legend. It can also be moved to anywhere on the screen.

The SOC Display Options eye icon.is displayed.

The following options are available with Display Options:

  1. Report Type. Choose between three display modes for the Succession Org Chart.
    1. All Reports displays direct reports and matrix reports.
    2. Direct Reports only displays direct reporting relationships, based on the Manager field in the User Data File.
    3. Matrix Reports only displays matrix reporting relationships, based on the Matrix Report Relationship in User Data File.
  2. Sort Successors By is only available if you’ve enabled ranking across readiness levels in Nominations Setup.
  3. Show on Card. Select the elements you’d like to show on the SOC, including Talent Flag icons.
  4. Number of Successors Per Card. Choose whether to display the default position node size, including information for up to three successors, or to display up to 12 successors directly in the Position Node.
  5. Others allows you to highlight critical/key positions. Additional information about configuring position criticality is available in the Configuring Position Criticality lesson.

Note

The Report Type, Show on Card, and Number of Successors Per Card sections remember the options that users chose last time. But the Highlight key positions option in the Others section doesn't have this stickiness.

Adding Successor Nominees

Nominating successors to positions is key to supporting your organization's talent management strategy. Internal or external (recruiting candidates) nominees can be added from the Position Card by selecting +Add Successors.

When adding internal users as successors, you can directly search by the users' name or choose Advanced search... to open a Talent Search dialog.

When adding external users as successors, you can directly search by the user’s name that exists in Recruiting or create a new external candidate. For more information on this functionality, see Managing External Successors in this lesson.

To add new successor nominees:

  1. Navigate to the Succession Org Chart and search for a position or incumbent.
  2. Select the position to open the Position Card and choose +Add Successor.
  3. Find a successor using one of the following options, depending on how your application is configured:
    1. Search by name for internal candidates.
      1. If you have Recommended Successors enabled, a list of Suggested Successors and their readiness for that position is shown. Choose Add to add a Suggested Successor. Additional information about configuring Recommended Successors follows.
      2. Choose Advanced Search to find successors using Talent Search.
    2. Search by name for external candidates. Additional information about External Candidates is available in the next lesson.
  4. Once a name is selected, additional options become available.
    1. Select a Readiness Level.
    2. Optional: Choose whether to set the successor as an Emergency Cover for the position (if the Emergency Cover feature is enabled in Nominations Setup).
    3. Optional: Enter a Rank (if the successor ranking feature is enabled in Nominations Setup).
    4. If a Career Development Plan is enabled, the employee's development goals may be listed. Additional information on this feature is available in lesson 8 of Utilizing the Succession Org Chart.
    5. Optional: Add any Notes that you may have regarding the nominee.
  5. Save your changes.
The Successor Nominees screenshots are displayed.

Successor Nominees can also be added directly from a Talent Pool. With the Position Card open, you can access the Talent Pool nominees by selecting the Talent Pool name from the bottom of the Position Card. Then choosing Add (+) opens the same Add Successor Nominee options of Readiness, Emergency Cover, Rank, and Notes.

The successor nomination from talent pool screenshots are displayed.

Configuring Recommended Successors and Readiness Percentage

The Recommended Successors feature, available in the SOC, lists potential successors to a certain position based on how ready they are to take this future role. The Readiness Percentage of each successor is calculated by analyzing the Job Role competencies of the target position and the competency ratings of the potential successor. The SOC uses the calculation of the Career Worksheet template and, therefore, the Career Worksheet feature is required to take advantage of the Recommended Successors feature.

The Readiness Percentage of the successor is also displayed if you search directly for the successor by name.

The following requirements are necessary for Recommended Successors to be shown:

  • Career Worksheet template must be present and configured in the instance.
  • Job Role competencies must be defined.
  • Users/Positions should be correctly associated with a Job Role, so the system can retrieve the required competencies.
  • For the user to display as a recommended successor, the user should have a competency rating for at least one of the competencies required for the target role.

To enable Recommended Successors:

  1. To navigate to Manage Permission Roles, use Action Search and select the relevant permission role.
  2. Choose Edit to edit the role’s permissions.
  3. Choose Next to edit the permissions.
  4. Select the Career Development Planning section from the right.
  5. Enable Recommended Successors.
  6. Choose Next.
  7. Review and then save the permissions.

Note

The target population of this permission controls which users are visible as Recommended Successors for the Succession Planners.

The Recommended Succession Permission is displayed.

Managing External Successors

The Succession Org Chart allows you to add external candidates from the Recruiting module as successors to positions. It also allows Recruiters to create candidates from within the Succession Org Chart and then add the newly created candidates to the successors list.

To add external candidates from Recruiting Management, the following prerequisites must be met:

  • The Recruiting module must be enabled and configured.
  • Succession Planner has the required Recruiting permissions (to search on external candidates).

To enable the use of External Candidates:

  1. To navigate to Nominations Set up, use Action Search.
  2. Select Allow succession planners with recruiting candidate search permissions to nominate external candidates.
  3. Save your changes.
The external candidates are displayed.

Adding External Successors as Nominees

Once the feature has been enabled through Nominations Setup, it’s possible to search the existing candidates from Recruiting and add them as a successor in the Succession Org Chart:

  1. Navigate to the Succession Org Chart and search for a position or incumbent.
  2. Select the position to open the Position Card and choose +Add Successor.
  3. Select External Candidates and search for the existing candidate.

    The external candidate search is an autocomplete field that allows you to find a candidate by username, first name, or last name.

  4. Select the external candidate and follow the normal nomination workflow (select readiness, ranking, and note).
  5. Save the nomination.
Add External Successors as Nominees.

Creating New External Candidates

If the succession planner knows an external person who fits well as a successor to the position, but that external person is not yet officially a candidate, then the succession planner can create a new candidate profile for that person from the SOC without having to navigate to the Recruiting module. To create new external candidates directly within the position card nomination dialog as successors, you must meet the following prerequisites:

  • The external candidate features are only available if you also have Recruiting configured and the associated recruiting permissions assigned to your succession planner roles.
  • The succession planning user needs to have permission to create candidates in the Recruiting module.

To create a new candidate from the Succession Org Chart:

  1. Navigate to the Succession Org Chart and search for a position or incumbent.
  2. Select the position to open the Position Card and choose +Add Successor.
  3. Select External Candidates and then choose Create Candidate.
  4. Enter the name and contact information of the new candidate. All of the fields are required.
  5. Choose Create Profile. The contact is added to Recruiting as a candidate.
  6. Enter the additional nomination information (readiness, rank, notes).
  7. Save the nomination.
Select Create Candidate option to create new external candidates.

Immediately after creating the new candidate:

  • The external person can be added into the succession plan and is visible to all succession planners and managers who have access to the position.
  • Succession planners can then add succession nomination information in the same way that information is added for internal successors.
  • A notification email is sent to the newly added External Candidate when the candidate is created from the Succession Org Chart if the required Recruiting settings are configured to trigger this email (Recruiting Email Triggers).
  • Nominations of external candidates participating in the Nomination Approval Workflow (that are in a Pending status) are not included in the Pending Nominations notification email.

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