SAP SuccessFactors — Interview Questions Booklet (50 Q&A)
Employee Central • Time Off/Tracking • Recruiting & Onboarding • Performance & Goals • Compensation & Variable Pay • Learning • Succession & Career • People Analytics • RBP & MDF • Integrations & Security
1) What is SuccessFactors and how does it differ from on-prem SAP HCM?
Answer: SuccessFactors is SAP’s cloud HXM suite. Unlike on-prem HCM, it’s multi-tenant SaaS with quarterly releases, metadata-driven objects (MDF), OData/ODP APIs, Role-Based Permissions, and Fiori UX across modules.
2) What are MDF objects and why are they important?
Answer: MDF (Metadata Framework) lets admins create/configure objects (e.g., custom fields, lookup tables, workflows) without code. It underpins Position Mgmt, Business Rules, Workflows, and custom extensions.
3) How do picklists work in SuccessFactors?
Answer: Centralized picklists store code/display values with effective-dating and translations. They map to EC data model fields and must align with integrations to avoid code mismatches.
4) What is the relationship between data models and CSF?
Answer: Employee Central uses XML data models (Succession, Country/Region-Specific Fields, Corporate Data). CSF adds country-specific fields/rules (e.g., ID formats) on top of the global model.
5) How are workflows triggered in the platform?
Answer: Workflows are started by Business Rules (onSave/onChange/Init) or events (e.g., hire). Routing uses role relationships (manager, HR, matrix) and can support CC/Delegate and escalation.
6) How does RBP grant access?
Answer: Permissions are bundled into roles and assigned to target populations (e.g., “All reports of manager”). Access is controlled by domain (EC, PMGM, etc.) and can be filtered by conditions.
7) What’s the difference between Permission Roles and Permission Groups?
Answer: Roles define rights; Groups define who gets them. Groups can be dynamic (criteria-based) or static and are referenced by roles for assignment.
8) How do you secure PII and sensitive HR data?
Answer: Use field-level permissions, view/edit separation, audit trails, DRTM retention rules, purge requests, and SSO with IAS/IPS. Limit API scopes and report sharing.
9) What are common RBP pitfalls?
Answer: Overlapping roles causing excessive access, circular target populations, missing “view” when “edit” is granted, and forgetting proxy/delegation scopes. Always test via “View User Permissions”.
10) How does IAS/IPS fit into authentication?
Answer: IAS provides identity/auth (SAML/OIDC, conditional access, MFA). IPS handles identity provisioning/sync between IAS and SF tenants or external IdPs/HRIS.
11) How is hiring configured in EC?
Answer: Configure Hire/Rehire/Global Transfer transactions, event reasons, workflows, and business rules. Maintain job/comp/pos data with effective dating and sequence numbers.
12) What are Event and Event Reason used for?
Answer: Event is the action (hire, transfer, termination). Event Reason refines it (e.g., transfer due to promotion) driving workflows, permissions, and downstream integrations/reporting.
13) How does Position Management work?
Answer: Positions are MDF objects tied to org units. Rules govern auto-creation, synchronization with incumbents, and hierarchy validations. Vacant positions drive recruiting.
14) How are pay components modeled?
Answer: Recurring/non-recurring pay components with currency/frequency; comp info rules validate ranges, proration, and eligibility. They feed Compensation/Payroll integrations.
15) What is the purpose of Foundation Objects?
Answer: Foundational MDF (e.g., Legal Entity, Business Unit, Division, Department, Location, Job Classification) provide master data referenced by EC job information and security/scoping.
16) How do you configure Time Off?
Answer: Define time types, calendars, accrual/entitlement rules, carry-over, and workflow. Business Rules handle accrual schedules, caps, and validations (blackout dates, negative balances).
17) What’s the difference between Time Off and Time Tracking?
Answer: Time Off manages absences/entitlements. Time Tracking adds clock time, attendance recording, timesheets, premiums, and advanced valuation for payroll.
18) How are public holidays and work schedules set?
Answer: Create holiday calendars, work schedule variants/patterns, and assign to employees via job info or position; rules evaluate entitlements against schedules.
19) How do you prevent overlapping or invalid absences?
Answer: Validation rules onSave/onChange, collision checks, quota balance checks, and workflow approval with manager/HR roles.
20) How does Time data integrate to payroll?
Answer: Export timesheets/absences via Integration Center or APIs to EC Payroll/on-prem payroll; map time types to wage types with valuation in payroll schemas.
21) What are key Recruiting objects and flows?
Answer: Job requisitions → job postings → candidate applications → interviews → offer → hire. Templates, Operator roles, and Permissions drive who can view/edit at each step.
22) How do Candidate and Employee Profiles relate?
Answer: Candidate profiles store application data; mapping rules transfer fields to Employee Profile/EC at hire, ensuring data continuity and compliance.
23) What changed with Onboarding vs. legacy Onboarding 1.0?
Answer: Modern Onboarding leverages MDF/Business Rules, cross-module workflows, document management, and deep EC integration for Day-1 readiness and compliance.
24) How do you prevent duplicate candidates?
Answer: Use candidate duplicate detection (email, national ID), recruiter review queues, and data privacy approvals; integrate with background checks as needed.
25) What are common recruiting compliance needs?
Answer: EEO/OFCCP reporting, GDPR consent/retention, data privacy notices, and audit trails across requisition approvals and offer processes.
26) How are goal plans and weights configured?
Answer: XML/Template config defines categories, weights, cascade rules, and visibility. Aligns goals top-down and supports measure fields and due dates.
27) How do performance forms route?
Answer: Route maps define steps (self, manager, matrix, calibration, signature). Permissions per step control edit/comment/ratings, with reminders and due dates.
28) What is Calibration and why use it?
Answer: Calibration sessions normalize ratings to reduce bias. Live grids compare performance vs. potential and can lock forms while in session.
29) How do Continuous Performance Management (CPM) features help?
Answer: CPM captures ongoing achievements/1-1s and links to goals. It improves feedback loops and can feed performance evaluations.
30) How do PMGM and Comp link?
Answer: Final ratings flow to Compensation/Variable Pay as guidelines inputs, impacting merit/bonus/stock recommendations via eligibility and budget rules.
31) How are compensation templates designed?
Answer: Define columns (merit, promo, lumpsum), guidelines, eligibility, proration, budgets, and statement templates. Rollup supports planner/executive hierarchy.
32) What drives eligibility and guidelines?
Answer: MDF rules using job/tenure/grade/rating; comp groups; and budget models (percentage of pay, lump sum). Validation prevents over-budget allocations.
33) How does Variable Pay differ from Compensation?
Answer: Variable Pay manages incentive programs with business goals, weights, period splits, and individual performance multipliers; it calculates payouts into payroll.
34) How do statements (letters) work?
Answer: Generate personalized PDF statements with tokens (salary, bonus, stock) and translations. Control visibility via RBP and release timing.
35) How is pay data exported to payroll?
Answer: Use Integration Center/API extracts mapping comp/variable pay outputs to EC Payroll or on-prem wage types; include proration and currency conversions.
36) What are core components of SAP SuccessFactors Learning?
Answer: Items, curricula, programs, assignments, instructor resources, and compliance tracking. Supports AICC/SCORM/xAPI content and approval workflows.
37) How do you manage compliance training?
Answer: Use curricula with retraining intervals, assignment profiles, automated reminders, and completion audits; report with People Analytics LMS stories.
38) How does Succession & Development support talent pipelines?
Answer: Talent Pools, Nomination forms, and Career Worksheet map competencies/gaps; MDF roles/positions allow 9-box grids and bench strength analysis.
39) How do competencies work across modules?
Answer: Central competency libraries are referenced by PMGM, Succession, and Learning. Ratings feed development plans and calibration.
40) What is Career Worksheet?
Answer: It compares an employee’s profile to target roles, highlighting skill gaps and suggesting learning or assignments to progress.
41) What People Analytics options exist?
Answer: Stories (embedded analytics), Table/Canvas reports, and Workforce Analytics/Planning (strategic). Stories leverage live SF data with RBP-aware models.
42) How do you secure reports and data exports?
Answer: Reports inherit RBP; restrict scheduling/export to secure destinations; use row-level filters and watermarks; audit who ran/shared reports.
43) How is data retention handled (DRTM)?
Answer: Data Retention Time Management defines object-specific retention rules and purge workflows (soft/hard delete) with audit evidence for GDPR/CCPA.
44) How do translations and locales work?
Answer: Enable languages at tenant level; maintain translations for MDF, picklists, templates, and email notifications. Date/time/number formats follow user locale.
45) Which KPIs demonstrate HXM value?
Answer: Time-to-fill, Quality-of-hire, Offer-acceptance rate, Internal mobility, Learning compliance, Performance distribution, Attrition risk, and Diversity metrics.
46) What integration tools are available?
Answer: Integration Center (no-code), OData/ODP APIs, SAP Cloud Integration (CPI), event-based webhooks, and SFTP scheduled jobs for file-based loads.
47) How do you choose between CPI and Integration Center?
Answer: Use Integration Center for simple row-based extracts/imports. Choose CPI for orchestrations, mappings, transformations, multi-system flows, and error handling.
48) What are common OData API issues?
Answer: Insufficient RBP/technical user scopes, wrong entity navigation, date/timezone mismatches, and $expand limits. Test with API Hub/queries and check audit logs.
49) How do you extend SF with side-by-side apps?
Answer: Build BTP apps using CAP/UI5, consume SF OData, secure via IAS; use MDF objects for admin-managed configuration and expose via APIs.
50) A hire failed midway and user is partially created — what’s your recovery?
Answer: Check Monitor Jobs/workflows, resolve picklist/mapping errors, roll back orphan records (positions/profile), re-run hire with corrected event reason; if integrated, reconcile with downstream systems.