What's New in SAP SuccessFactors Onboarding: 1H 2025

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The 1H 2025 release for SAP SuccessFactors Onboarding brings several significant enhancements designed to streamline the onboarding experience, improve administrator efficiency, and prepare organizations for the future of work. These updates focus on enhancing the user experience for both new hires and HR professionals, while also introducing powerful AI capabilities and improved integration options. Let's explore the key highlights and dive into the details of how these changes can transform your onboarding processes.

Key Highlights at a Glance

Here's a quick overview of few enhancements in SAP SuccessFactors Onboarding for 1H 2025 before we dive deeper:

Feature/Enhancement & Description:

Alumni Experience	Gives former employees access to personal and payroll information after employment ends
Document Migration from Onboarding 1.0	Administrators can migrate all documents to the latest Onboarding solution before Onboarding 1.0 sunset
Enhanced Internal Hire Process	Automatically enabled enhancements with additional support for workflow, cross-entity rules, and position updates
Onboarding Integration Setup Enhancements	New business rule option to define eligibility for onboarding initiation from job requisitions
Simplified Print Forms Service	P-User ID no longer required, eliminating password renewal requirements
Enhanced Document Flow Support	New document versions generated after data corrections in Final Review
Custom Task Attachments in New Hire Details	Documents uploaded to custom tasks now visible from Onboarding Documents
Legal Entity Transfer Flow Changes	New employment can only begin after Manage Pending Hire completion
AI-Assisted Writing for Nudge Feature	AI capabilities for composing messages in Nudge Assignee and New Hire tasks
SAP Build Process Automation Templates	New wizard-like guided experiences for onboarding and crossboarding

 

Major Enhancements in Detail

1. Alumni Experience

A comprehensive solution that gives former employees continued access to their personal and payroll-related information after their employment ends. This feature enhances the offboarding experience and maintains connections with valuable alumni.

Key Benefits:

• Former employees can access personal information and documents
• Organizations can maintain relationships with alumni
• Simplified compliance with data access regulations
• Support for alumni networks and potential rehiring

  

 Image Source: SAP

Configuration: Enable Alumni Experience in Admin Center > Manage Permission Groups and Manage Permission Roles. The system automatically creates an alumni permission role, "Alumni External User," for further configuration.

Why it matters: Creates a positive final impression of your organization, potentially turning former employees into brand ambassadors while simplifying compliance requirements for personal data access.

2. Document Migration from Onboarding 1.0 to Onboarding 2.0

As Onboarding 1.0 approaches its sunset date, administrators can now seamlessly migrate all documents to the latest Onboarding solution, ensuring continuity and preservation of important documentation.

Key Benefits:

• Preserves historical onboarding documentation
• Streamlines transition to the latest Onboarding solution
• Eliminates manual document transfer processes
• Ensures compliance with document retention policies

Configuration: Access the migration tool from Admin Center > Onboarding Administration > Document Migration Tool. Follow the guided process to select and migrate documents.

Why it matters: Protects your organization's document history and ensures a smooth transition to the latest Onboarding solution without data loss or manual effort.

3. Enhanced Onboarding Process for Internal Hires

The internal hire process has been significantly improved with two key switches:

Switch 1: Enable Enhanced Internal Hire Process

• Automatically ON from 1H 2025 release (Universal)
• Provides core functionality for internal hire onboarding

Switch 2: Enable Additional Internal Hire Activities

• Supports advanced functionalities:
  • Workflow support
  • Cross-entity rule support
  • Position updates

Configuration: No action required for Switch 1 as it will be automatically enabled. For Switch 2, navigate to Admin Center > Onboarding Administration > Feature Settings and enable "Additional Internal Hire Activities."

Why it matters: Streamlines the internal mobility process, ensuring consistent experiences for both external and internal hires while maintaining appropriate differentiation where needed.

4. Enhanced Onboarding Integration Setup

A new option called "Apply Onboarding to Job Requisitions via Business Rule to Define Eligibility for Onboarding Initiation" has been added to the Onboarding Integration Setup page. This allows administrators to configure a dedicated business rule to define the eligibility for onboarding initiation.

Key Benefits:

• Greater flexibility in determining which job requisitions trigger onboarding
• Rules-based approach to onboarding eligibility
• Consistent application of onboarding policies

Image Source: SAP

Configuration: Navigate to Admin Center > Onboarding Administration > Integration Setup. Enable the option and configure the associated business rule. Note that New Applicant Management Experience must be turned ON to utilize this feature.

Why it matters: Provides granular control over which positions and candidates go through the onboarding process, allowing organizations to tailor experiences based on role, location, or other criteria.

5. Simplified Print Forms Service Credentialing and Provisioning

The Print Forms Service (PFS) has been streamlined by removing the requirement for a P-User ID, eliminating the need to renew its password every six months. Finally 😀

Key Benefits:

• Reduced administrative overhead
• No more password renewal requirements
• Simplified service management
• Improved system reliability

Configuration: The transition is planned in the preview environment in a phased manner starting from May 5, 2025. No specific configuration is required for this enhancement.

Why it matters: Reduces administrative burden and eliminates a common point of failure in the Print Forms Service, ensuring more reliable document generation.

6. Enhanced Document Flow Support for Corrections After Final Review

The system now generates a new version of the document in Document Flow each time data correction is requested in Final Review, improving document management and version control.

Key Benefits:

• Clear audit trail of document changes
• Improved visibility into correction history
• Better compliance with documentation requirements
• Enhanced user experience for document reviewers

Configuration: This enhancement is automatically enabled with no additional configuration required.

Why it matters: Provides greater transparency in the document correction process and ensures that all versions of documents are properly tracked and accessible.

7. Custom Task Attachments Available in New Hire Details

Documents uploaded to custom tasks are now visible from Onboarding Documents in the New Hire Details page, enhancing document accessibility and management.

Key Benefits:

• Centralized view of all new hire documents
• Improved document accessibility for HR and hiring managers
• Streamlined document management
• Enhanced user experience

 Images Source: SAP

Configuration: This enhancement is automatically enabled with no additional configuration required.

Why it matters: Creates a single source of truth for all new hire documents, regardless of where they were originally uploaded, simplifying document access and management.

8. Change in Legal Entity Transfer Flow

Employees who are transferred on Legal Entity Transfer can't begin their new employment on the day of their employment unless Manage Pending Hire is completed. This ensures proper process completion before employment transition.

Key Benefits:

• Enforces proper process completion
• Prevents data inconsistencies
• Ensures accurate employment records
• Improves compliance with internal policies

Configuration: This enhancement is automatically enabled with no additional configuration required.

Why it matters: Ensures data integrity and proper process completion for legal entity transfers, preventing potential issues with employment records and system data.

9. AI-Assisted Writing for Nudge Feature in Onboarding

AI-assisted writing capabilities have been extended to the Onboarding module, specifically for:

• The Nudge Assignee Quick Action on the home page
• The Nudge button in new hire tasks on the New Hire Details page

Key Benefits:

• Improved message quality and consistency
• Time savings for HR and hiring managers
• Enhanced communication with new hires
• Reduced writer's block when composing messages

Configuration: Requires AI units license and enabling the AI Services Administration > Assisted Writing option in Admin Center.

Why it matters: Helps HR professionals and hiring managers create more effective, professional communications with new hires and task assignees, saving time while improving message quality.

10. Onboarding with SAP Build Process Automation Templates

SAP has introduced SAP Build Process Automation (SBPA) templates to provide new wizard-like onboarding and crossboarding guided experiences for onboarding employees in SAP SuccessFactors Work Zone.

Key Benefits:

• Guided, step-by-step experiences
• Consistent onboarding processes
• Improved new hire experience
• Better integration with SAP SuccessFactors Work Zone

Configuration: Access the templates through SAP Build Process Automation and configure them according to your organization's specific onboarding requirements.

Why it matters: Provides a more guided, consistent onboarding experience that can be tailored to different roles and departments while maintaining overall process integrity.

Deprecations to Note

While the 1H 2025 release brings many new features, it's important to be aware of upcoming deprecations:

Features & Status: 

Onboarding 1.0

Approaching sunset date. Document migration to Onboarding 2.0 is recommended.

 

Final Thoughts

The 1H 2025 release for SAP SuccessFactors Onboarding introduces meaningful enhancements across the entire onboarding experience, from initial process setup to alumni management. With AI-assisted writing, improved document management, enhanced security, and better integration options, these updates are designed to drive smarter, faster, and more engaging onboarding processes.

Take time to explore these features in your preview environment (available from April 14, 2025), adjust configurations as needed, and collaborate with your HR and IT teams to ensure a smooth rollout and optimal impact when the production release arrives (May 16-18, 2025).

For full technical documentation, please visit SAP SuccessFactors What's New Viewer