Load Data Using a HCM Data Connector

Learn how to extract employee data from your source system and load it into Visier using a HCM data connector.

Introduction

Visier's data connectors simplify the data loading process. Using an automated workflow, data connectors connect and extract the raw data directly from your source systems, subsequently transforming and processing it within the Visier platform.

Visier seamlessly connects to multiple data sources using the different connector types below.

• Human Capital Management (HCM) data connector: Connects to Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) and Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) with a fixed data model. Leverages templates to load data into Visier.

• Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) data connector: Connects to generic data warehouses/databases that hold any data type. Requires some manual configuration to load data into Visier.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to load employee data for the first time into Visier using a HCM data connector. For a list of data sources compatible with this connector, see below.

• Dayforce
• iCIMS
• Greenhouse
• Medallia
• Qualtrics
• SAP SuccessFactors

To learn more about the data sources we support, see Data In Connectors for more information.

Objectives

We will first walk you through the connector setup and configuration, and then show you how to run a data extraction job to retrieve the data from your source system. By the end of this tutorial, you will have extracted data from your data source and loaded it in your Visier solution.

In our example, we will be loading data from UKG Pro so we can analyze employee starts and employee exits in Visier.

You will learn how to:

• Setup connector credentials
• Create a data connector
• Run a data extraction job to retrieve data from your source system
• Preview the data in the solution

Prerequisites

Before beginning this tutorial, you will need:

• A Visier account that has the following profiles. If you don't have an account, contact your administrator.

  • Data Engineer

• A Visier account with a permission that allows the user to access Guidebooks, analyses, the Explore room, and data access to view the data you’re loading. For more information, see Permission Management.

  • Ad Hoc Analysis

  • Create Analysis Context

  • Change Analysis Context

  • Guidebook

  • View Details

Steps

Set up a service account in the source system

To start using Visier's data connectors, we first need to create a service account in our source system. This is an important step as it enables Visier to connect to our source data.

When creating a service account it's recommended to use an integration user for integration with third-party systems like Visier.

Please refer to your source system's documentation to create an integration user and provide the integration user with all the required permissions to perform integration actions. Depending on the source system, the required permissions may be different. For more information, see Supported connectors and requirements.

In this tutorial, our source system is UKG Pro.

Create a project

Next, sign in to Visier. After you sign in to Visier, you are directed to the solution experience or the studio experience. This is dependent on capabilities, permissions, and if you've previously loaded data into Visier. If you start in the solution experience, on the navigation bar, click Studio , where we can create a project.

Next, we need to create a project in the studio experience to hold our work. A project is a workspace that allows you to define and edit the solution apart from the current production version of the solution. For more information, see Projects.

1. On the global navigation bar, click Projects.
2. In the Projects room, click New Project.
3. In the New Project dialog, type a name and description for the project. We can name our project Visier Tutorial with a description of Load, configure, and publish essential Employee data.
4. Click Create.

   Result: The project home appears.

Provide connector credentials in Visier

After our service account has been created in UKG Pro and we have a project in Visier, the next step is to connect it to Visier by creating a set of connector credentials.

The connector credentials are used to authenticate Visier with our source system and are created within Visier's studio experience, which serves as the administrative design space. To learn more about the studio experience, see Studio Navigation.

1. In your project, on the navigation bar, click Data > Connectors.
2. Click Create Connectors.
3. In Select Credential, click Add new.
4. Type a display name and description. We can name our connector credential UKG Pro with a description of Tutorial sample data.
5. Click Next.
6. In the list of connectors, select UKG Pro, and then click Next.
7. Type the requested information:
   • Domain name
   • Username
   • Password
   • User API Key
   • Customer API Key

     Note: The required credentials differ by source system. For more information, see Supported connectors and requirements.

8. To ensure the credentials work as intended, click Authenticate.
9. Once the authentication is successful, click Next.

Create a connector

In the same dialog that we provided connector credentials, we can create the connector to extract data from our source system.

1. In Basic Information, type a display name and description for the connector. In this tutorial, we can name the connector Tutorial Sample Data with a description of Essential employee data.
2. Click Create.

Determine what data we want to extract

After the connector has been created, we need to determine what data we want to extract from our source system by selecting from the list of imported tables.

Each table represents an analytic object in Visier's analytic model, such as Employee or Compensation.

For our first data extraction it is recommended to include a subset of core data to start with, such as employee, employee start, and employee exit. This approach keeps data load times at a minimum.

1. In the left-hand panel next to Tables, click Edit.
2. Depending on the data source, some tables will be selected by default. In the upper-right corner of the Selected list, click Clear.
3. Select the data you want to extract from the Imported Tables list. In this tutorial, we are selecting Employee, Employment_Start, and Employee_Exit tables.

   Note: Table names differ by source system.

4. Click Done.
5. In the upper-right corner of the connector definition, click Generate Objects. This will create the data category, rules, and behaviors Visier uses to extract and transform the data from your source system to fit into Visier's analytic model.

Run a data connector extraction job and generate a data version

Once we've selected the data from the imported tables list and generated template artifacts, it's time to extract the data from our source system by running a data extraction job. Jobs define the tasks needed to load your data into Visier. For more information, see Jobs.

Within our job, we will enable Process data which will generate a data version after the data extraction job is complete. A data version is a instance of uploaded data with a unique release number. For more information, see Data Versions.

1. In the connector, click Schedule Job > Custom.
2. In the Schedule job dialog, enable Run now, Extract data, and Generate objects.
3. In Connectors, make sure that UKG Pro Connector is selected.
4. Enable Process data.
5. In Data Category, select the data category in which to run the job. The data category was created in the previous step by clicking Generate Objects. For more information about data categories, see Data Categories.
6. Click Schedule.

   Result: The job begins immediately. To see the job's progress, navigate to Data > Jobs on the navigation bar. For more information about jobs, see Jobs. If successful, a release number appears in the Data Version column of the Jobs room. This means a data version is generated and the job is complete.

Set the data version

If the data version release behavior is set to manual release or custom release, you will have to change the data version of your project in order to preview the new data version.

To set the data version:

• In a project, on the navigation bar, click Data > Data Categories. For more information, see Set the Data Version.

Check that data is available in the solution

Now that we've generated a data version, we need to confirm that data has been loaded and appears in the solution. At this point, we are not concerned about the accuracy of the values that we see in the solution because we still need to set up the analytic model for the metrics to work correctly. In the next tutorial, we will configure concepts and validate our data.

To preview the solution:

• In the project, on the navigation bar, click Preview Solution.

  Result: A preview version of the solution opens in a new tab.

We will use the Explore room to check that data has been loaded. The Explore room is where you can conduct most of your ad hoc analysis in the solution and customize visuals to suit your needs.

To navigate to the Explore room, click Explore on the navigation bar.

Use the various elements to analyze your data and build a visual to suit your needs.

1. Visual title: Describes and controls the data that is displayed in the chart. Click the Metric picker, Visual picker, and Group By picker in the visual title to change the data that is displayed. For more information, see The Visual Title.
2. Analysis Context toolbar: Change the Analysis Context to select the population and time period for analysis. For more information, see The Analysis Context.
3. Chart: Graphical representation of one or more metric.
4. Side panel: View contextual information about selected metrics and data points, customize the appearance of your chart, and change chart configurations.
5. Visual Actions menu: Use these quick access buttons to perform chart actions and open chart customization and configuration options in the Side panel. For more information, see Visual Actions Menu.

To build a visualization and check data in the Explore room:

1. In the visual title, click the Visual picker and select the Breakdown visual.
2. In the visual title, click the Metric picker and select a metric. In this tutorial, let's select the Headcount metric.
3. In the visual title, click the Group By picker and select an attribute to organize the data. In this tutorial, let's select Organization.
4. Check that the visualization loads and you values appear for your groupings.
5. In the analysis context, click the Time picker. Click to change the granularity, time period, and time window to ensure data has been loaded for the time periods that your source data covers.

If our visualizations load and we see values, then we have successfully loaded data into Visier.

Commit project changes

Now that we’ve confirmed that data has been loaded, it’s a good time to commit our changes. Committing changes acts as a save point for your project.

1. In the project, on the navigation bar, click the Home button .
2. Click the Changes tab in the project home.
3. Click Commit All.
4. In the Commit Changes to Project Revision dialog, type a name and description for the project revision. We can name our revision Initial Data Load with a description of Generated data version.
5. Click Commit now.

Next steps

Now you know how to load data into Visier using a HCM connector! This tutorial walked you through how to set up, create and run the tasks needed to extract the data from your source system.

After loading data, you can configure concepts to connect your data values to Visier's analytic model.

In the next tutorial, you will learn how to configure concepts to connect your data values to Visier’s analytic model. For more information, see Configure Concepts After Loading New Data.