All you need to know about Custom HR Center of excellence

Customers and ServiceNow Consultants often have this question on whether they can use an existing HR COE or they need to create a new one. Out of the box HR COE comes with a set of configurations which is not the case for custom HR COE. This article will explain the difference between out of the box and custom HR COE and things you should know before deciding to go with custom HR COE.

What is HR Center of Excellence (COE)?

ServiceNow organizes HR data, services and processes by functional discipline with a data model called HR Centers of Excellence (COEs). Each HR Center of Excellence is an extension of the HR Case [sn_hr_core_case] table and is organized around a functional discipline, such as employee relations, lifecycle events, payroll, talent management, workforce administration, total rewards, and HRIT operations.

Which out of the box COEs are available?

The COEs available to you may differ depending on the HR package you have.

More details about HR COEs : https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/newyork-hr-service-delivery/page/product/human-resources/concept/hr-centers-of-excellence-coes.html

Configuration that comes with out of the box HR COEs and how it differs for custom COEs

•  HR Topic category, Topic detail and HR Services

Each COE is further organized by HR topic category and detail, which defines the first- and second-level of categorization for HR services under that COE. Every out of box COE comes with a set of topic categories, topic details and HR Services which can be updated depending on client requirements. Custom COE requires you to create new topic category, topic detail and HR services under it.

• COE configuration

COE configuration allows you to enable or disable an HR Center of Excellence (COE) for use. When you disable a COE, the corresponding HR services associated with that COE are also disabled. Custom COE do not appear in this list hence this feature is not available for custom COEs.

• Notifications

Every out of box COE comes with its own set of notifications. Creating a custom COE will require you to create all the notification manually.

• Security Rules

Every out of box COE comes with its own set of security rules. Creating a custom COE will require you to create all the security rules manually.

• Licensing

Custom COE is a custom table extended from parent HR table (sn_hr_core_case). There is a limit to number of custom tables that can be created in ServiceNow depending on the licensing agreement between ServiceNow and customer. Speak to your ServiceNow account manager before creating a new COE.

• Forms and Related Lists

Every out of box COE comes with a pre-defined form along with related lists on the form. For custom COE, the form needs to be configured manually along with related lists.

• Module

Every out of box COE comes with a dedicated module in left navigation. E.g Employee Relations Cases, HRIT Cases, etc.

For custom COE, new module needs to be created under HR case management application.

Written by –
Bhavesh Jain
PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT
Tribe – CSM