SAP HCM Interview Cheatsheet (Quick Revision Guide)

1. SAP HCM Overview

SAP HCM (Human Capital Management) manages all HR processes from hiring to retiring.

Core Submodules

  • OM – Organizational Management
  • PA – Personnel Administration
  • PT – Time Management
  • PY – Payroll
  • TM – Time Evaluation
  • BEN – Benefits
  • REC – Recruitment
  • ESS/MSS – Employee/Manager Self-Service
  • PD – Personnel Development
  • E-Recruitment

2. Personnel Administration (PA)

Key Concepts

  • Employee master information
  • Infotypes (IT0000, 0001, 0002, 0006, 0007, 0008, 0014, 0015, 2001, 2002, etc.)
  • Actions: Hiring, Transfer, Separation
  • Personnel Areas/Subareas
  • Employee Groups/Subgroups

Common Infotypes

  • IT0000 – Actions
  • IT0001 – Org Assignment
  • IT0002 – Personal Data
  • IT0007 – Planned Working Time
  • IT0008 – Basic Pay
  • IT0014/0015 – Recurring/One-Time Payments
  • IT2001/2002 – Absence/Attendance

3. Organizational Management (OM)

Key Objects

  • O – Organizational Unit
  • S – Position
  • P – Person
  • C – Job
  • K – Cost Center
  • T – Tasks

Relationships

  • A/B relationships (e.g., A003/B003 – reports to)
  • Positions assigned to org units
  • Persons assigned to positions

Transactions

  • PPOME / PPOCE – Org structure
  • PP01 – Maintain OM objects

4. Time Management (TM)

Key Components

  • Work schedules
  • Holidays and holiday calendars
  • Absences & Attendances
  • Quota generation
  • Time Evaluation (schema: TM00, TM01)

Time Data

  • IT0007 – Work schedule
  • IT2001 – Absence
  • IT2002 – Attendance
  • IT2006 – Absence quota
  • IT2011 – Time events

Time Evaluation

  • Schema: TM00/TM01
  • PCRs (Personnel Calculation Rules)

5. Payroll (PY)

Payroll Areas

Group of employees processed together.

Payroll Schema

  • SAP Standard:
    • For India: IN00
    • For US: U000
    • For UK: G000

Payroll Driver

  • RPCALC* (e.g., RPCALCU0 for US)

Key Concepts

  • Wage types: Primary vs Secondary
  • PCRs
  • Gross → Net calculation
  • Retroactive accounting
  • Off-cycle payroll

6. Integration Points

OM ↔ PA

  • Position assignment controls job, org unit, cost center.

PA ↔ PY

  • Basic Pay IT0008 → payroll calculation.

PA ↔ TM

  • Work schedule IT0007 → time evaluation.

PA ↔ FI/CO

  • Cost center assignment → payroll posting.

7. ESS / MSS

  • Self-service applications for employees/managers.
  • Based on SAP Portal / NetWeaver / Fiori.

Common ESS features

  • Leave application
  • Pay slip
  • Personal data update

Common MSS features

  • Approvals
  • Team calendar
  • Reporting

8. Personnel Development (PD)

  • Qualifications (object “Q”)
  • Appraisal system
  • Training & Event Management (TEM)
  • Career and succession planning

9. Important Tables

PA Tables

  • PA0000 – Actions
  • PA0001 – Org assignment
  • PA0002 – Personal data
  • PA0007 – Working time
  • PA0008 – Basic pay

OM Tables

  • HRP1000 – Object
  • HRP1001 – Relationships

Time/Payroll

  • CATSDB – Time sheet data
  • T510 – Pay scale
  • T512W – Wage types

10. Mandatory Interview Questions

  1. Difference between OM and PA?
  2. Explain employee master data and infotypes.
  3. Key infotypes in hiring.
  4. What is a payroll schema and PCR?
  5. How is retroactive payroll handled?
  6. What is relationship between position, job, and organizational unit?
  7. Difference between positive and negative time management.
  8. What are Time Evaluation schemas TM00/TM01?
  9. What is a wage type?
  10. How do you generate absences quotas?
  11. Explain ESS/MSS architecture.
  12. Integration of HCM with FI.
  13. What is off-cycle payroll?
  14. How to configure work schedules?
  15. What is a feature? (Examples: PINCH, ABKRS, TARIF)

11. Real-Time Scenarios

Scenario 1: Wrong cost center

  • Update position/org assignment → sync to IT0001.

Scenario 2: Retro payroll triggered

  • Check earliest retro date
  • Adjust payroll control record

Scenario 3: Employee cannot apply leave in ESS

  • Check IT0007, IT2006, workflow, and calendars.

Scenario 4: New wage type requirement

  • Create WT → Assign to pay scale → PCR if needed → Include in schema.

Scenario 5: New plant / location

  • Create personnel area → personnel subarea → link to grouping.

12. S/4HANA HCM Key Notes

  • SAP HCM continues as HCM for S/4HANA (On-Premise).
  • SuccessFactors is SAP’s strategic HR cloud solution.
  • Payroll & Time remain on-prem for most regions.
  • Fiori apps improve HR self-services.

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