Problem
This article serves as a guide on how to handle a mass employee number change with respect to Connect to AD. There are use cases where the employee number field in UKG will be changed to suit some company requirements. If Connect to AD is using the employee number as the linking factor, this change will imply that all links will be broken and the sync will effectively be out of order. This may be problematic especially if standard provisioning logic is in use. This article is relevant not only to employee numbers being changed but any linking field (mail, employeeID, etc.)
Solution
The solution to this problem has multiple parts, since it is crucial to ensure that the link is not broken at all stages of the mass field change. The solution can effectively be broken up into two stages, Pre-Mass-Update and Post-Mass-Update.
The general solution involves using another field as a temporary link to ensure that UKG and [target-system] are still connected, updating the linking attribute in [target-system] after the mass update and finally ensuring all accounts are linked and switching to the standard link.
Step 1:
Firstly a temporary linking field will need to be identified. Due to the nature of [target-system] , this needs to be an employee unique value that does not contain sensitive data. The obvious choice is the EmployeeID field which is different to EmployeeNumber, however this is often made up of employees social security numbers. Hence, another option may need to be identified. The employees Email may also be a good fit. If there is no obvious fit, a platform config field can be created in UKG to house a temporary copy of the old EmployeeNumber value. This field should never be blank or optional.
Step 2:
Once a temporary linking field has been identified, an injection will need to occur to inject that value into each employees [target-system] user record. An attribute will also need to be identified that can house this temporary link. This can be an extension attribute or anything that is not in use.
Step 3:
Once the [target-system] attribute has been identified, a field mapping will need to be created to house this temporary linking attribute from UKG. An example is shown below, whereby the temporary linking field in UKG is the Person.EmailAddress and the housing attribute in [target-system] is mail.
This should be included in your main production sync and ran, ensure that all employees that are related to the sync have this attribute filled.
Step 4:
At this point, a temporary link is set up to be used. One can now adjust the link to use the temporary setup. Before doing that the sync should be switched off, therefore it is crucial to work with HR and understand when the mass update will occur, as to ensure there is not too much downtime. The original link on employeeNumber should be deleted, and a new link should be created based on the field and attribute used respectively. An example is shown below:
Once this is set up, and the schedule still disabled, the Link Explorer should be ran, to ensure all accounts are linked. If standard provisioning is in use, and there is no link (and the provisioning condition is satisfied) a new account will be created. Therefore it is crucial to ensure all accounts are linked.
Step 5:
At this point the following should be in place:
- A temporary link is set up in Connect to AD
- All accounts are linked
- The schedule is off.
If the conditions are satisfied, the schedule can be turned on and can run as usual. When the mass update occurs, the original linking attribute in [target-system] should be updated with the new value. Effectively, all accounts should be connected by the original linking factor.
Step 6:
This is the final step involved in this guide. One should disable the sync and revert the linking factor to the original link. If you were using employeeNumber then it should be reverted back, with the respective AD attribute.
At this point, the Link Explorer should be run once again, and all accounts should be linked. Ensure that any broken links are fixed. Once that is complete the sync can be turned on and should be running as it was before this process started. Optionally the field mapping that was created for the temporary link injection can be deleted, it may be wise to clear it first.
In conclusion, this guide serves as a method to ensure Connect to AD runs smoothly in the event of an mass employee number update. If there are any questions or confusion, a ticket can be logged at support@connecttoad.com for human assistance.
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