Picture this: Your company already runs SAP SuccessFactors (SF) for HR. When it's time to set up compensation management, the obvious choice seems clear - "Why not just handle it all in one place?"

This makes sense on the surface. One platform should mean less complexity and fewer tools to manage. 

However, here's what most HR teams discover after embarking on this path: compensation is unlike other HR processes. It's highly dynamic, needs constant adjustments, and requires tools that can adapt quickly to changing business needs.SAP SuccessFactors wasn't purpose-built for the nuanced world of compensation planning. 

Let's explore five reasons why trying to force your comp processes into SAP SF often creates more headaches than solutions.

Common Hesitations about Switching from SAP SuccessFactors to Compensation Platforms

Before diving into the specific problems, let's acknowledge the elephant in the room. Many HR leaders hesitate to move away from SAP SuccessFactors compensation for understandable reasons. 

"We want to keep everything on one platform," they say. This feels like the safe, integrated choice.

But here's what HR leaders are realizing: true integration isn't just about system uniformity — it's about experience, agility, and impact. 

A specialized compensation solution can still integrate tightly with SAP while delivering far more configurability and insight.

Reason 1: Clunky interface drives managers back to Excel

The problem: SAP SuccessFactors' compensation module feels clunky and unintuitive. One Reddit user described it as "a patchwork of independently developed modules" that's "surprisingly slow and buggy."

What it means

• Managers often avoid the complex interface and revert to using Excel spreadsheets. You end up paying for a digital solution while people use manual workarounds.
• Planning cycles slow down. Managers make mistakes, miss deadlines, or refuse to engage. HR spends time troubleshooting instead of making strategic decisions.

The alternative

• Modern platforms prioritize user experience because adoption drives accuracy
• When managers can navigate easily, the entire planning process runs smoothly

Reason 2: Every simple change requires IT tickets

The problem: Setting up workflows means long IT projects. Templates and route maps cannot be easily migrated between environments, forcing manual rebuilds each time.

“Standard reporting tools can be less flexible than other HCM systems, often requiring IT support for custom reports.” - Muralidhara H 

Source

What it means

• Simple changes become weeks-long projects. To add an approval step or change eligibility rules, you'll need IT involvement and extensive testing.
• HR teams often struggle to respond quickly to business changes. A process adjustment that should take hours becomes a multi-stakeholder project.

The alternative

• Purpose-built platforms enable compensation administrators to configure, test, and deploy changes independently, eliminating the need for IT dependency.

The "we'll just build it ourselves" trap

Many teams think, "We already have SAP — maybe we can just build comp there too." It's tempting to extend SAP for compensation, thinking it will be cost-effective and straightforward. 

But building compensation configurations and workflows in SAP often means lengthy projects, limited flexibility, and high IT dependency.

Modern compensation platforms are purpose-built, faster to deploy, and far more adaptable — without needing deep SAP customization or constant IT involvement.

The post-launch rigidity problem

Here's where SAP SuccessFactors becomes particularly challenging for enterprise clients: once you launch a compensation plan, you're essentially locked in. 

Need to fix an error? 

Edit country-specific data? 

Adjust budget allocations mid-cycle? 

You can't make these changes in SAP SuccessFactors without starting over or using complex workarounds.

This rigidity kills the agility enterprise organizations need. 

Business conditions change, errors get discovered, and budgets shift - but SAP SuccessFactors can't adapt in real-time. Employees are left to look at outdated information while HR scrambles to manage the disconnect between what the system displays and what's actually happening.

Modern compensation platforms, such as Compport, handle this differently. 

• Changes can be made at any point, even after launch, and employees immediately see the updated version. 
• Budget adjustments happen in real-time without breaking the entire planning cycle.

Reason 3: Modules don't integrate with each other despite the same vendor

The problem: Even though all modules are SAP-owned, they don't integrate smoothly. The same Reddit user noted, "integration options are shoddy considering it should be a master data source."

What it means

• Compa-ratio calculations differ between Employee Central and Compensation. Data requires manual reconciliation instead of flowing seamlessly
• Teams lose confidence in their numbers. They spend time cross-referencing data instead of analyzing insights. One user needed "multiple API calls, then piece the data together in Web Methods" just for basic reports

The alternative

• Best-of-breed platforms integrate tightly with SAP while maintaining internal consistency, designed as reliable data sources

Reason 4: Basic reports require workarounds and manual fixes

The problem: Obtaining fundamental insights, such as performance-to-pay correlations or gender pay gap analysis, requires complex workarounds.

What it means

• HR teams revert to manual processes. They create custom extracts and build analyses in Excel because managers can't access decision-ready reports
• Manual approaches introduce errors and consume strategic time. The system creates barriers to understanding your data instead of providing insights

The alternative

• Modern platforms treat analytics as core functionality with built-in dashboards, scenario modeling, and compliance reporting

The hidden cost of "free"

"We already paid for SAP; why add cost?" 

This is a common trap — but the real question is ROI, not cost. If planners avoid the tool or spend hours building offline workarounds, then the "free" solution is costing you far more in productivity, errors, and frustration.

💡Try our ROI calculator to calculate your compensation ROI

Reason 5: Worksheets fail during critical planning cycles

The problem: Compensation worksheets fail to generate properly due to misconfigured rules or system quirks. SAP's own knowledge base documents recurring worksheet creation errors.

“Another downside of SAP SuccessFactors is its limited customization capabilities and reporting functionalities. Some users complain about the slow and outdated interface and having to deal with occasional bugs and system crashes.” - Megha N. 

Source

What it means 

• Planning cycles stall during critical periods. HR troubleshoots technical issues instead of focusing on compensation strategy
• Delayed cycles compress decision-making timeframes. Managers lose system confidence and disengage from future planning

The alternative

• Purpose-built tools handle complex eligibility rules and workflows reliably, explicitly built for compensation planning demands

Why user experience and scalability matter

Two more objections we hear: 

• "Only a few people use the tool, so UX doesn't matter much" 
• "Our comp processes are not so complex."

Even if compensation is centrally managed, your managers, HRBPs, and executives expect intuitive, transparent experiences. UX isn't just nice-to-have — it's a multiplier for adoption, accuracy, and decision quality.

As for complexity, that may be true today, but organizations evolve. When that happens, SAP's rigidity becomes a blocker. Purpose-built platforms grow with your complexity without requiring IT involvement in every change.

Addressing security and IT concerns

Two final hesitations: 

• "Our data is sensitive; we prefer to keep it inside SAP" 
• "IT prefers to manage fewer tools."

Security is non-negotiable — but today's leading compensation platforms are enterprise-grade, GDPR compliant, ISO-certified, and offer better audit trails than native SAP modules. Data doesn't become safer by limiting innovation; it becomes safer by managing it intelligently.

For IT concerns, modern comp platforms like Compport are cloud-native, admin-friendly, and SAP-compatible. The best compensation teams don't wait for IT to build logic — they build, test, and launch changes themselves.

At a Glance 

The Better Way Forward

SAP SuccessFactors may be a solid HR suite, but its compensation module consistently falls short on the fundamentals that matter - usability, flexibility, integration, analytics, and reliability. For organizations serious about compensation strategy, "good enough" simply isn't good enough. These decisions directly impact your ability to attract talent, retain top performers, and maintain pay equity.

The solution isn't abandoning SAP entirely. 

Purpose-built compensation platforms, like Compport, integrate seamlessly with your existing SAP infrastructure while delivering the agility and configurability that HR teams actually need. 

With over 300 companies and 2 million users already using modern compensation tools, the question isn't whether to make the switch - it's how quickly you can move beyond the limitations holding your compensation strategy back.

Ready to see what compensation management looks like when it's built for the way you actually work? 

The technology exists to make your planning cycles faster, your data more reliable, and your managers more engaged. The only question left is whether you'll keep settling for workarounds or start demanding better.

Schedule a demo with Compport!

FAQs 

What are the disadvantages of SAP SuccessFactors?

SAP SuccessFactors struggles with clunky user interfaces, rigid configuration processes, poor module integration, limited reporting capabilities, and reliability issues during critical planning cycles. 

Users frequently report slow performance, complex workarounds for basic tasks, and a heavy reliance on IT for simple changes, leading many to seek purpose-built alternatives.

What is SAP SuccessFactors compensation?

SAP SuccessFactors compensation is a module within the SAP SuccessFactors HR suite designed to manage salary planning, bonus allocation, and merit increases. However, it's not purpose-built for complex compensation needs, often requiring extensive customization and IT support to handle dynamic business requirements that modern organizations demand.

How does Compport integrate with existing SAP systems?

Compport connects seamlessly with SAP SuccessFactors and other SAP modules through robust APIs, ensuring data consistency without the integration headaches commonly associated with SAP's native compensation module. Employee data flows seamlessly between systems, eliminating the need for manual reconciliation while allowing Compport's advanced compensation features to integrate smoothly with your existing HR infrastructure without disruption.