Implementing SAP Employee Self-Service (ESS) for Benefits Enrollment

Clay Molinari C&C Savant

2006 Wellesley Information Services. All rights reserved.

Employee Self-Service (ESS) for Benefits Enrollment

Is easy to install Gives your employees more information and better control in the benefit election process Relieves the HR department of many administrative tasks Can be customized to improve the user experience Is still supported in mySAP ERP

What Well Cover

How SAP makes enrollment available on the Web Required R/3 configuration steps Publishing services and templates Improving on the standard delivered services Lessons learned Upgrading ESS to mySAP ERP Wrap-up

What Well Cover

How SAP makes enrollment available on the Web Required R/3 configuration steps Publishing services and templates Improving on the standard delivered services Lessons learned Upgrading ESS to mySAP ERP Wrap-up

ESS Architecture

Application Server (R/3)

Web Server

Internet Server (ITS)

Web Browser Presentation Layer

Application Layer

WGATE

AGATE

Database Network Layer

Caution
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Web Browser and Web Server

A browser, such as Netscape or Internet Explorer, runs on the users local PC The Web server receives and processes http requests that arrive over the network The WGATE intercepts http requests with certain URL patterns and transfers them to the AGATE for processing These components know nothing of R/3

Internet Transaction Server (ITS)

This server translates http requests into SAP function calls The AGATE on the ITS server accepts inbound http requests and converts them into Remote Function Calls (RFCs) to the corresponding transaction in R/3 The AGATE knows which function on which server should handle the request The ITS service formats outbound responses from R/3 using the templates and MIME files The http response returns to the AGATE on the Web server for delivery to the browser
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Application Server (R/3)

The ESS services are transactions in R/3 that are able to accept RFC requests from the AGATE Think of the ESS service for benefits enrollment, PZ14, as a wrapper for the familiar HRBEN0001 enrollment transaction

You can run PZ14 in the GUI if you use command /n to exit the easy access menu
Tip

Application Server (R/3) (cont.)

The business logic that PZ14 uses is the exact same logic that HRBEN0001 uses This ensures that employees on the Web and benefits administrators in R/3 see the exact same options and prices

Tip

If enrollment in HRBEN0001 generates error messages, the ESS users will likely receive those same error messages in their browsers

Components of ESS Enrollment

Service files on the ITS server Templates on the ITS server named SAPLHRBEN00ENROLLMENT* Corresponding transactions on the R/3 application server Configuration in R/3 Master data in R/3

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ESS Services for Benefits

PZ07 Participation Overview PZ12 Family/Related Person Overview PZ14 Enrollment

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What Well Cover

How SAP makes enrollment available on the Web Required R/3 configuration steps Publishing services and templates Improving on the standard delivered services Lessons learned Upgrading ESS to mySAP ERP Wrap-up

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Standard Benefits Configuration

You should set up all configuration steps in the benefits section of the IMG Pay special attention to cost, coverage, and eligibility rules Rules need to work for 100% of the employees who perform online enrollment
You must configure all cost, coverage, and eligibility rules before you allow employees to perform their own enrollments

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Annual Enrollment Configuration

The Administrative Parameters screen activates open enrollment for both the GUI and ESS enrollment transactions

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Administrative Parameters
Client Issue
Possible source of confusion for users

Future dated records will cause the system to display multiple time periods for each plan in the enrollment transaction
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ESS-Specific Configuration

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ESS Parameters

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Define URLs

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Assign URL to Plan Types

These links would point to a Summary Plan Description (SPD) document

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Assign URL to Benefit Plans

These links would point to the providers Web sites

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What Well Cover

How SAP makes enrollment available on the Web Required R/3 configuration steps Publishing services and templates Improving on the standard delivered services Lessons learned Upgrading ESS to mySAP ERP Wrap-up

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Publishing Enrollment Service

Transaction SE80 is the Object Navigator

Choose Object Type and Service Name

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Setting the ITS Server

Menu Path Utilities Settings Internet Transaction Server

Select the ITS server name

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Publishing Enrollment ESS Service

Right-click on service name and choose Publish Complete Service

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What Well Cover

How SAP makes enrollment available on the Web Required R/3 configuration steps Publishing services and templates Improving on the standard delivered services Lessons learned Upgrading ESS to mySAP ERP Wrap-up

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Ideas for Improving ESS Enrollment

Modify the ESS templates and/or services Add an Instructions page to the Web site Do not activate PZ12 for family member maintenance Use an adjustment reason in lieu of open enrollment

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Example: Template Changes Only

Standard Enrollment

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Example: Template Changes Only (cont.)

Limited list of eligible plans

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Hiding Data via Template Changes

Use this code to hide undesired plan types

Note

You could also get this feature by using an adjustment reason

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Changing Messages via Template

Code like this can modify SAP messages

Note

You can avoid most messages by adjusting master data prior to the enrollment period
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Flexible Spending Plan End Dates

The standard enrollment screen shows a target contribution period of one year It also shows the validity period ending on 12/31/9999 These two dates can be confusing
Caution

You must employ a user exit to make the saved election valid for one year only
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Hiding Validity Period on Detail Screens

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Example: Heavily-Customized Enrollment

Significant changes to the ESS templates and services files Partial rewriting of the PZ14 transaction in R/3 Significant redesign of the HR_BEN_GET_OFFER function module Custom functions and tables to support evidence of insurability options

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Sample Customized Enrollment Site

Tab motif

Link to confirmation statement

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Sample Customized Enrollment Site (cont.)

Button texts

Instructions

Plan types

Coverage level

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Service PZ12 for Family Members

Navigation in this transaction is difficult to understand Employees are likely to create duplicate family member records During enrollment activity, the enrollment transaction (PZ14) does not permit family member processing You can rarely add new family members during annual enrollment

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Open Enrollment Adjustment Reason

You can precisely control the list of plans and options the enrollment screen displays by using an adjustment reason Do not activate the open enrollment period Use a batch job to create IT0378 for all eligible employees

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What Well Cover

How SAP makes enrollment available on the Web Required R/3 configuration steps Publishing services and templates Improving on the standard delivered services Lessons learned Upgrading ESS to mySAP ERP Wrap-up

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A Strong Communications Strategy Encourages Participation

Send an email from the benefits department Post hot news on the portal Hold informational meetings Distribute posters and flyers Send reminder emails Paycheck inserts Publish a video training guide

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Enrollment During Payroll Processing

Employees will receive an error message concerning personnel number locking during payroll processing The message can be confusing and frustrating Help desk or benefits department may receive excessive phone calls Redirect the enrollment link to an informative Web page which tells employees when they should return to process their enrollment

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Garbage In

Garbage Out

Take steps to prevent error messages during enrollment

Pre-enroll employees in a new option when their existing election will become invalid Run the participation monitor using the plan year begin date just prior to enrollment (HRBEN0003) Search for any benefit plan records with begin dates later than the plan year begin date (SE16)

You should exclude employees with cost or coverage overrides from enrollment

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Authorization Profiles

Users with significant R/3 authority typically perform testing Users with very limited R/3 authority typically perform enrollment Establish a special user ID in your test client with the same authorization profile as most employees who will perform enrollment Process all testing scenarios using this special ID

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Staffing Your ESS Project

Basis support for installing ITS and Web servers ABAP support for changes on the R/3 side, if required Benefits configuration and master data analysis Web programmer (HTML not Java) for updating templates Communications coordinator to ensure consistent message across multiple media

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What Well Cover

How SAP makes enrollment available on the Web Required R/3 configuration steps Publishing services and templates Improving on the standard delivered services Lessons learned Upgrading ESS to mySAP ERP Wrap-up

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ESS Architecture in mySAP ERP

Application Server (ECC)

Web Browser

Presentation Layer

ICF

ITS

Application Layer

SAP Web AS Network Layer Database

Caution
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ESS in mySAP ERP

No need for a separate Web server or WGATE ITS is integrated as part of Web Application Server (Web AS) ITS registry entries replaced by SAP profile parameters The integrated ITS does not support flow logic and Web RFC

If you have modified the templates directly on the ITS server, you must copy them back to the ABAP Workbench
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Components of ESS Enrollment in mySAP ERP

Web services activated on SAP Web AS using transaction SICF Integrated ITS Templates in ECC database named SAPLHRBEN00ENROLLMENT* Corresponding transactions in ECC database MIME files in ECC database Configuration in ECC Master data in ECC

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Upgrading from Standalone ITS to Web AS

1.

2. 3.

4.

5.

Copy existing template and MIME files using transaction SIAC_UPLOAD (see SAP Note 678904) Edit URLs embedded in template files Set up Internet Communication Framework (ICF) services on Web AS Maintain ITS service parameters in transaction SICF Publish the ITS services to site INTERNAL using transaction SE80

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What Well Cover

How SAP makes enrollment available on the Web Required R/3 configuration steps Publishing services and templates Improving on the standard delivered services Lessons learned Upgrading ESS to mySAP ERP Wrap-up

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Resources

SAP help site* http://service.sap.com/ess SAP Employee Self-Service Implementation Guide R/3 Release 4.6C; SAP Labs, Inc.; ISBN: 1893570975 SAP help site* http://service.sap.com/sap-its

* Requires login credentials to the SAP Service Marketplace

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Resources (cont.)

SAP ITS Overview* http://service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700008230022002E SAP Web Application Server with Integrated ITS: FAQ* http://service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700000366792005E Integrated ITS in SAP Web Application Server* http://service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700009270802004E Migration of existing ITS services from standalone to Integrated SAP ITS* http://service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700009270782004E Sample Employee Communication Materials

* Requires login credentials to the SAP Service Marketplace

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7 Key Points to Take Home

Complete configuration of all business rules is necessary before you allow employees to perform their own enrollments Careful master data maintenance can significantly improve the enrollment experience by eliminating errors You can achieve many desirable changes through using an adjustment reason ESS enrollment is easy to activate

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7 Key Points to Take Home (cont.)

The ESS enrollment transaction uses the same processing logic as the GUI enrollment transaction You can customize ESS enrollment by changing the template files, underlying R/3 transactions, and functions You can easily migrate ESS enrollment from a standalone ITS to SAP Web AS

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Your Turn!

Questions?

How to contact me: Clay Molinari clay.molinari@verizon.net

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