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xavierlegarrec
Product and Topic Expert
Product and Topic Expert
2,274
Introduction

Compensation Reviews are high-stakes so in this blog we look at important configuration items to double check to make sure the Compensation cycle runs as smoothly as possible, especially when it is a first cycle with a new template.

 

Checklist for Compensation, Total Compensation and Variable Pay templates:

  1. Make sure Compensation worksheets are never sent right away to planners' inbox after launch. A compensation workflow should always have a first step called Process Setup where all worksheets are sent to Comp Admin user's inbox. Once they are all there Executive Review can be permissioned for HR to spot check data before worksheets get released to planners. More on the leading practice workflow can be found at the bottom of this blog.

  2. Make sure the Delete worksheets notification isn't selected for the template by following instructions in this blog. (credit Lesley Roper, SAP)

  3. Make sure the Routing notification is selected before mass routing forms to planners otherwise nobody will receive a notification letting them know that compensation planning has begun (see link shared in #2 for more information on how to check this notification).

  4. Make sure all required custom columns are marked as Reloadable and Reportable in Comp Home > [template] > Plan Setup > Design Worksheet.

  5. Make sure columns that need to be hidden for everyone are hidden with Field Based Permissions instead of the "Hide this column on the form" checkbox in Comp Home > [template] > Plan Setup > Design worksheet. FBP permissions can be edited after worksheets are live and will allow compensation administrators to show the value on screen (vs through reports only if that checkbox is checked) for troubleshooting purposes in the Process Setup step.

  6. Make sure to check the Enable Planner Audit feature (see demo in recording #2 here) in Comp Home > [template] > Plan Setup > Settings. Once it is checked we can then navigate to Comp Home > [template] > Plan Setup > Design worksheet and select which column should be auditable (we recommend making all editable columns auditable at the minimum). This feature adds a "Export Changes History" button in worksheets (and soon also in Executive Review- see conversation in comments) allowing planners to see the detail of all recommendation columns changes thereby adding great value to the decision making process. See recording #2 of this blog for a demo of this feature.

  7. Make sure to check the Enable Bulk Print Statement in Executive review feature in Comp Home > [template] > Plan Setup > Settings.

  8. Do we need to prevent statements from being generated in case an employee doesn't receive any increase ? in that case we need to make sure we have a dedicated column in design worksheet marked as reportable with the following formula: if(curSalary=finSalary,’FALSE’,’TRUE’) and then that the Enable Suppress Statement checkbox is checked in Comp Home > [template] > Plan Setup > Settings.

  9. If we don't want to have data refreshed from EC everytime a worksheet is opened by a planner from their Inbox (before they submit to next step in which case it becomes read-only and moves to the En Route folder), we should make sure to check the box Only reload user data on mass update in Comp Home > [template] > Plan Setup > Advanced Settings. This means that data will only be updated on worksheets when Comp Admin decides to run a Mass Update Worksheets job (either scheduled as an overnight job or manually from Comp Home > [template] > Manage Worksheets > Update All Worksheets). This will also increase the performance of the system (see this blog).

  10. Make sure there is no requirement to have the merit % (or adjustment % or any other percent from a standard recommendation column) shown on statements. Standard recommendation columns only store the amount value and in order for us to pull increase percentages on statements we need to create custom columns on the template to recalculate them (for example formula= merit/curSalary for Merit % and extra/curSalary for Adjustment %, etc). In case this was missed and the cycle is already completed, please see this conversation on the HXM community forum.

  11. For Variable Pay only:

    • Make sure Variable Pay Individual View is turned off (during planning) in Plan Setup > EC Settings.









    • If the template Default Currency view (in Plan Setup > Settings) is "User" (recommended) then we should check the following setting in XML : liveprofile-indiv-currency-view and make sure it is set to 1 which aligns the individual view with the User default currency view and can prevent questions from employees and managers when they access the individual view.





 

 

Additional ideas of important things to check are welcome in the comments.

Not mentioned above are actions that are always needed for a new cycle such as:

  • Creating the new template by clicking on duplicate template then in the duplication popup give it a new name for the new year and update all dates to reflect the new fiscal year (for example 2023 becomes 2024 everywhere there is a date including for lookup tables names at the bottom)

  • Creating the new lookup tables (under Actions for all plans) we just changed the date for. There is no Save As button for lookup tables so we need to manually create new ones, edit the name to reflect the new year, respect the number of inputs and outputs, then update new values in it.

  • Editing the Rating Source in Plan Setup to point to the right performance template.

  • Creating new eligibility rules (in case they have references to specific dates) then click on Apply.

  • Updating guidelines table (plan setup > guidelines)

  • Updating publish back to EC dates (plan setup > EC settings)


 

 

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Other links in connection with this topic (some are referenced above already):

 

 

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All the best,
Xavier

 

(If you found this blog useful please consider giving it a Like)

 
6 Comments
Fernando_Silva
Participant
Hi Xavier

I thought "Download audit" (Export Change History) was not available in Executive Review but only on Forms View. Has that changed, or is it going to change in future releases?

Thanks for all the tips!
xavierlegarrec
Product and Topic Expert
Product and Topic Expert
Hi fernandosilvaortiz

Good catch: it is indeed currently not yet available in Executive Review but it should be available with 2H 2023, I just checked with our product team. I edited the blog, thanks.

All the best,

Xavier

 
xavierlegarrec
Product and Topic Expert
Product and Topic Expert
0 Kudos
fernandosilvaortiz Confirming it will be available in Executive Review with 2H 2023
emiliemarlier
Explorer
0 Kudos
Hi Xavier,

When we choose to have this feature, we need to make auditable some columns + update permissions. In worksheets we see the button and different changes made during the campaign depending on columns selected for it.

If we export it, we have a column named "comment" but we don't have the possibility in Column Designer to make auditable a comment column (it don't exist) !
Why we have this column ?
How export comments tied to proposals by Change History export ?

Thank in advance for your advices 🙂

Emilie
xavierlegarrec
Product and Topic Expert
Product and Topic Expert
0 Kudos
marliere

I am not sure but I would think that if you didn't manage to make it auditable then it is not supported at this time. I reached out to the Product Management team for confirmation.

Since this blog there have been improvements with 2H 2021 to the planner audit with the details of changes being now available directly in the UI. See recording #2 of this blog.

All the best,

Xavier
emiliemarlier
Explorer
0 Kudos
Hi Xavier, I speak well about new Planner Audit deployed with H2 2023. A column "comment" is visible when we export but without any comment inside whereas when we export worksheets we found them. I think SAP can improve agin this new feature.

I'm looking forward to hearing from the Product manager.

Emilie