As we know the generic objects fields cannot be added as a filter option in the position tile. However, many clients need department, division, business unit, location, etc. fields in the position tile search to filter the positions for Succession Planning. To meet this requirement, I have found a solution which is explained below in detailed steps, so that if anyone has the same request by the client, they can also benefit from this and fulfill the client’s request.
In this example, I have used the Department field to be added as a filter.
Configuration Steps:
- Create Picklist for Department: Initially, we need to create a picklist to capture the values of the department (generic object) field.
Admin Center>Picklist Center

Picklist Center
Select the
+ icon to create a new picklist

Picklist Detail Page
Provide the Code, Name, Status, and Effective Start Date details and click on the
“Save” button.
- Create Custom Field for Department: Then, we need to create a custom field for the department in the position object.
Below are the steps to configure the custom field in position object:
Admin Center>Company Settings>Configure Object Definition.

Configure Object Definition
In “Configure Object Definition” search Object Defination and select
Position.
Edit the
Position” object and add a new custom field
cust_newdepartment as
Picklist Type

cust_newdepartment
Click on
“Details” to link the picklist which was created on the first step.

Details
Once updated, click on the
Done button to save the data.
- Add custom department field in Searchable Fields: The next step is to add the newly created custom department field in the position object.
Below are the steps to configure the searchable field in the position object:
Admin Center>Company Settings>Configure Object Definition>Select Position Object

Searchable field
Update the
External Code of the custom field in the searchable fields.

Searchable field
Once, the above configuration is completed, save the object.
- Create an Integration job: The last step is to create an integration job using Integration Center to pull the generic object (Department) values to the picklist.
Below are the steps to build integration using the integration center:
Admin Center>Company Settings>Integration Center>My Integrations

Integration Center
Select
My Integration to access the existing integrations.

My Integration Page
Click on
+Create to create a new integration and select the
More Integration Type option.

+ Create and More Integration Type
Choose Integration Type, select Trigger type as
scheduled, Source Type as
SuccessFactors, and Destination type as
SuccessFactors and click on the
Create button.

Choose Integration Type
Select
EC- Foundation/Organization as
Tag for the integration.
EC- Foundation/Organization as Tag
Select
Department from Recommended Starting Entities and click on the
Select button.

Department
Update the basic details of the integration such as
Name, Description, and Page Size and click on the
Next button.

Updated the basic details of the integration
Under Configure Fields View, click on the
Switch to field mapping view icon to start the mapping of Department generic object values to the picklist.

Configure Fields View

Switch to the field mapping view
Click on the
+ Icon and search Picklist as an
Entity, Select
Picklist Value (PickListValueV2), and click on
Add button.


Add Entity Screen

Entity Visible
Now, map the
Department External Code to
External_Code, and map the
Department Name to
Picklist Label by performing the drag and drop from the Department object to the picklist value.


Field Mapping View
Click on
Switch to the detail view and click on
Picklist_Effective Start Date and enter
1900-01-01T20:00:00Z as the
default date and Click on
Picklist_Code (PickListV2_id) String(128) and enter
Department as the
default value.

Field Mapping View
Once the above steps are done click on the
Next button to set the filter if required.

Filter and Sort Screen
Click on the
Next button to
Schedule the integration.

Scheduling Screen
Click on the
Next button to complete the integration schedule.


Review and Run Screen
Once, the job is successfully completed without any error. Access the
Picklist Center and check the
Department Picklist.
It should show you all the values of
Generic Object (Department).

Department Picklist
End User Action:
End users can access the SuccessFactors’ Position Tile to filter the data based on the department field.
Below are the steps to access the Position Tile.
Home>Succession>Position Tile

Position Tile
Click on the
Filter icon to see the filter options.

Filter Options
Select
Department and check the
Drop-Down Values.

Drop-Down Values
References:
All images are taken from SAP SuccessFactors Sales Demo with Dummy Data
https://wiki.scn.sap.com/wiki/display/SAPSF/Position+Tile+View+-+Overview+and+Getting+Started
Succession Management Implementation Guide.
Note:
The system will display only 200 values for a picklist field.
In Part-2 of this blog, I'll explain how to map the department field value to a custom field so that the system automatically captures the same value when creating a new position.
Please feel free to provide your feedback or thoughts in the comments.