7.1 Person and Employment Objects, Effective Dating, and Employee Identifiers
Key Takeaways
- HR data is split into person objects (such as personalInfo and homeAddress) and employment objects (such as jobInfo and compInfo).
- personInfo (Biographical Information), phoneInfo, and emailInfo are not effective-dated; personalInfo, homeAddress, jobInfo, and compInfo are.
- When a new effective-dated record is added, the previous record's end date becomes one day before the new start date; the current record ends 12/31/9999.
- A person has one person-id-external but can have several employments, each with its own user-id.
- The user-id cannot be changed once generated, while person-id-external can be changed in the Biographical template.
7.1 Person and Employment Objects, Effective Dating, and Employee Identifiers
Quick Answer: Employee Central stores person data (who someone is: name, birth data, addresses, national ID) separately from employment data (their job, compensation, and relationships). One person has one person-id-external and can hold several employments, each with its own user-id. Many objects are effective-dated, keeping history through start and end dates. Others, such as personInfo, are overwritten.
Features of EC HR Data
HR data in Employee Central:
- can be effective-dated
- connects with the rest of the SAP SuccessFactors HCM suite
- is reportable and exportable
- is controlled by Role-Based Permissions
- is configurable through HRIS standard, custom, and country-specific fields
The structures are defined in the Succession and Country-Specific Succession Data Models, or in Manage Business Configuration.
Person Objects
| HRIS element | People Profile card | Effective-dated | CSF support | Workflow support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nationalIdCard | National ID Card | No | Yes | Yes |
| homeAddress | Addresses | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| personalInfo | Personal Information | Yes | Yes (configured in globalInfo) | Yes |
| globalInfo | Personal Information | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| personInfo | Biographical Information | No | No | No |
| phoneInfo | Contact Information | No | No | No |
| emailInfo | Contact Information | No | No | No |
| imInfo | Contact Information | No | No | No |
| emergencyContactPrimary | Personal Contacts | No | No | No |
| personRelationshipInfo | Dependents | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| workPermitInfo | Work Permit Info | No | No | Yes |
Note that personalInfo's country-specific fields are configured in globalInfo, which displays in the same Personal Information card (Section 7.3).
Employment Objects
| HRIS element | People Profile card | Effective-dated | CSF support | Workflow support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| jobInfo | Position and Organization Information and Job Details | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| jobRelationsInfo | Job Relationship | Yes | No | Yes |
| employmentInfo | Employment Details | No | Yes | Yes |
| compInfo | Compensation Information | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| payComponentRecurring | Compensation Information | Yes | No | Yes |
| payComponentNonRecurring | Spot Bonus | No | No | Yes |
Add-on employment objects such as globalAssignmentInfo (expatriates, with home and host assignments) and pensionPayoutsInfo apply only when those Employee Central features are activated.
How Effective Dating Works
THR81 uses Marcus Hoff's address:
| Address | Start date | End date (not shown in the UI) |
|---|---|---|
| 214 E 6th Ave, Conshohocken | 3/20/2011 | 12/31/2019 |
| 315 W 10th Ave, Conshohocken | 1/1/2020 | 12/31/9999 |
When the new record effective January 1, 2020 is added, a new row is created and the previous record's end date becomes one day before the new start date. The current record runs to 12/31/9999. The History UI (clock icon) shows the change, with new values highlighted in green, old values struck through, and the submitting user and time stamp.
Non-effective-dated objects have no History (clock) icon. The system stores no start or end dates, so a change overwrites the existing record. The Biographical Information block (personInfo) is the classic example.
Field Types for Custom Fields
HRIS elements deliver standard, country-specific, and custom fields. Custom field types are:
- custom-string for text
- custom-long for integers
- custom-double for decimals
- custom-date for dates
Employee Identifiers
| user-id | person-id-external | username | |
|---|---|---|---|
| This ID is… | the system's unique identifier for employment data such as job history and compensation | the system's unique identifier for personal data such as address, e-mail, phone, and national ID | the ID a user signs in with |
| A user can have… | several employments (main, concurrent, global), each with a unique user-id | only one person-id-external, which maps person records to all of that person's employments | several employments, each with a unique username |
| You can… | assign it manually in the Basic Import template (required) | assign it manually or have it system-generated | assign it manually in the Basic Import template (required) |
| Created when… | a new employee is hired | a new person is defined | a new employee is hired |
| Once generated you… | cannot change it | can change it in the Biographical template | can change it |
A User ID can also be generated from an MDF sequence with the rule scenario Generate Employee ID for Hire/Rehire (Section 5.2).
Putting It Together: Multiple Employments
Because person data is keyed on person-id-external and employment data on user-id:
- A rehire with new employment keeps the person record and creates a new user-id. The previous employment stays isolated (Section 8.1).
- In concurrent employment, one person holds more than one active employment, and in Position Management can hold several positions (Section 12.2).
- In global assignments, employment data exists in home and host assignments, and the home assignment can be set to a status such as Dormant while the employee is away (Section 12.2).
- Home address, national ID, and other person data are stored once, at person level.
Exam Tip
Look for the History clock icon to decide whether a block is effective-dated. Remember the special cases: employmentInfo is employment-level but not effective-dated, and jobRelationsInfo is effective-dated but has no country-specific fields.
Which Employee Central element is NOT effective-dated?
An address record starts 3/20/2011. A new address record is inserted effective 1/1/2020. What happens to the first record?
Which employee identifier cannot be changed once it has been generated?