HDL versus HSDL, and when to use each

The spreadsheet loader is not a lesser HDL. It suits a different volume and a different author, and choosing between them honestly is a five-minute conversation rather than a preference. HSDL is a spreadsheet interface: an HR person opens it, types or pastes, validates in the sheet, and uploads. The author is somebody who knows the DATA and not the file format, which is exactly the right division of labour for twenty new starters or a batch of assignment changes. HDL is a file interface for volume and for repeatability. Thousands of records, a conversion, an interface that runs monthly. The author is somebody who can produce a correct .dat file, which is a technical skill. CHOOSE BY WHO WILL DO IT AFTER YOU LEAVE, not by what is easier this week. An HR administrator who can maintain their own joiners through HSDL is worth more than a slightly faster…

In this module: Module 8 · HDL for HCM data

1. 1Why HCM has its own loader
2. 2The .dat file format
3. 3Business objects and their dependencies
4. 4Effective dates: the part that catches everyone
5. 5Source keys and matching existing records
6. 6Loading, monitoring and the error report
7. 7Corrections and the delete you cannot do
8. 8HDL versus HSDL, and when to use each
9. 9What breaks: four HCM load failures
10. 10Lab briefing · Load a workforce, then correct it