Name: Introducing Variables in SAP SuccessFactors Incentive Management
Uploaded: 2025-6-27
Duration: 517 s
Description: In this video, you'll learn how Variables can be used in Compensation Plans to add flexibility, and learn the various ways to assign values to Variables at the Default, Plan, Position and Title levels.

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<div><div>In this video, you'll learn how Variables can be used in Compensation Plans to add flexibility, and learn the various ways to assign values to Variables at the Default, Plan, Position and Title levels.</div></div>

Introducing Variables in SAP SuccessFactors Incentive Management

Hello and welcome. In this video, I'll discuss what Variables are and how you can use them in compensation plans in SAP SuccessFactors Incentive Management. A variable is a placeholder in a rule within a compensation plan. Variables allow diversity across positions.  They make compensation plans flexible and easy to manage. Without variables, you would have to create a separate rule whenever payees have compensation based on different values. A variable is used as a placeholder in your rules for four different types of rule elements – territories, fixed values, rate tables, and lookup tables. When you create a variable, you can add it to the rule in place of the rule element. You can then assign that variable to the appropriate rule element. Let's look at an example of where we would use variables. SmartLogic is a multinational corporation that does business in both North America and Europe. Two sales reps, Mike and Mary, have the same title and perform similar jobs. However, they both have different sales territories, commission rates, and bonus amounts. Let's say Mike has a territory that includes all sales of software in the eastern USA, while Mary's territory includes software sold in France and Belgium. The plan also includes a bonus component that varies among positions. Mike's bonus is $5,000 and Mary's is €4,000. We could have two separate plans to accommodate the difference. And if we only had two sales reps, that would be fine. But what if we had 200 or 2,000? That would be impossible to manage. Therefore, we need a way for Mike, Mary, and all our other sales reps to share a single set of rules. Let's start by looking at the steps to create and work with variables. The first step is to create or import your actual rule elements. This includes any territories, fixed values, rate tables, or lookup tables that will be used in your compensation plans. Next, create the variables that will act as placeholders for each rule element. Once you start building the rules in your compensation plans, insert the variable in place of the rule element. Finally, once you're done creating the compensation plans,  it's time to assign the variable to the appropriate rule element for each position. For the plan that Mike and Mary share, I've created two territories, Software_US East and Software_FRBE. I've also created two fixed values to hold each person's bonus amounts. Let's create our two variables. The first is a territory variable.  I'll start in the Variables workspace. I'll select Create, then I'll make sure to select Territory as the type. I'll leave the effective dates at the default and select OK. I'll name it TV_Software. Notice that I don't need any other settings, so I'll save the variable. Now I'll create the variable for the fixed values. Again, I'll select create, but this time I'll select Fixed Value as the type. Again, I'll select OK. I'll name it FVV_Software Bonus. Notice this one has a few other settings including the return type and period type. I'll set this to Currency. The period type matches the period in the fixed value.  Our fixed values didn't have a period type, so I can leave this blank. Now that we have our two variables set up, let's see where we would insert these in our rules. The first step will be adding the territory variable to the credit rule. I've already created the compensation plan, now I'll edit the credit rule. The territory is inserted on the credit tab, so I'll go there. In the territory field, I'll reference the territory variable I just created. I'm not making any other changes to the rule, so I'll select Next, then Finish to save the change. Now let's see where I can add a fixed value variable to an incentive rule that calculates a bonus. Here is the incentive rule. I'll edit the rule and go to the Output tab. I'll edit the incentive amount and finally select Apply. Notice right now the amount of the bonus is set to the fixed value for the US East bonus. This is technically fine, but it would only work for Mike's bonus and wouldn't be accurate for Mary. To correct this, I'll remove this reference and replace it with the fixed value variable I created earlier. Now it's time to assign the variables. In our scenario, each position has different territory and bonus, so I'll be assigning these on the position level. However, you don't have to assign variables only on the position level. You can also assign a variable on the title level or the rule level. You can also assign a default value to a variable. For example, let's say you have three titles that share a plan but have different bonus amounts. Junior sales reps have a $1,000 bonus, associate sales reps get $3,000, and senior sales reps get $6,000. In this case, there is no need to assign a different variable for each position. Instead, you can assign the variable on the title level. What if a variable is assigned on two levels? The rule here is, the more granular the assignment, the higher the priority. Therefore, variables assigned on the position level have highest priority, followed by title, plan, and finally default. Let's see what assigning variables looks like. From the Positions workspace, I'll start with Mike Mitchell's record. I'll select the Assignments tab. Now I'll edit the record. Notice that both variables are displayed in the right column. This is because Mike's title is assigned to a plan that includes these variables. Let's assign the territory variable to his territory and the fixed value variable to his bonus. I'll save the record. Now I'll select Mary's record and do the same. editing the record. I'll assign the territory variable to Mary's territory and the fixed value variable to her bonus. Then I'll save the record. Before we conclude, here are a few best practices when it comes to using variables. The first one is use variables even if you don't need them. For example, if all the sales reps had the same bonus amount, you wouldn't need to use a variable. You could just insert a fixed value in the amount field. Technically, this would be correct, but using a variable will make your plans more scalable for future growth. Second, it's a good idea to have a rule element that you can use as a default for your variables. Having a default will prevent your plan from returning errors in cases where a position doesn't have a rule element assigned. Third, don't be afraid of variables. They may seem a little confusing at first, but they're a very powerful tool that can make your compensation plans easy to manage, even in large, complex environments. In this video, we showed you an introduction to variables. Using the example of two software sales reps, we created two different types of variables and demonstrated how to use them in a compensation plan. Thanks for watching!