OOTB New Hire Onboarding (demo) issue

ChunjiJ · 3 weeks ago

The following issue is really troubling me, and I hope to get help.

It's still about the HRSD OOTB New Hire Onboarding (demo) issue.

submitting a record from the Employee Center should automatically create entries in the user table and HR profile table due to the script under the item.

However, I found that if I delete the

Account Notification activity from the lifecycle, although it can create an entry in the user table, the user ID remains empty.

If I keep the Account Notification activity , the user ID is created normally. I don't understand what relationship exists between user generation and the Account Notification activity. I request your assistance. Thank you！

SP22 · 3 weeks ago

Hello @ChunjiJ,

I believe below link can answer you.

https://www.servicenow.com/community/hrsd-forum/user-id-not-populating-automatically-when-new-user-i...

If this helped to answer your query, please mark it helpful & accept the solution.

Thanks
Santosh.p

View solution in original post

Ravi Gaurav · 3 weeks ago

Hi @ChunjiJ

In OOTB New Hire Onboarding (demo), the Account Notification activity in the Lifecycle Event is not just a “notification” step — it actually triggers parts of the account creation / provisioning flow.
Specifically:
- When you submit onboarding, a Lifecycle Event execution plan runs.
- The Account Notification activity calls the HR integration / provisioning subflow (sometimes referencing the Create HR User or Provisioning - Create User activity).
- That subflow is responsible for filling in details like User ID on the sys_user record (based on HR profile and new hire details).
If you remove that activity, the record in sys_user is created because the initial script on the catalog item inserts a stub, but the logic to generate and assign a unique User ID never runs.

Catalog Item Script: Creates HR Profile + Sys_user shell entry.
Account Notification Lifecycle Activity:
- Calls into OOTB subflow Generate User ID (uses transform logic or naming convention from config).
- Populates user_name field.
- Ensures proper sync with HR profile.

So, the dependency is: User ID generation is tied to Account Notification flow → not just email sending.

What You Can Do

If you must delete/replace the activity:
- Copy the subflow logic from Account Notification that handles user_name generation.
- Add it as a standalone activity in your lifecycle.
- Or call the OOTB subflow sn_hr_core.Create HR User / sn_hr_core.Generate User ID before sending your own notifications.
If you just want to suppress the email:
- Keep the Account Notification activity but disable or replace only the notification action inside it.
- That way, the user creation logic still runs, but you won’t spam with unnecessary notifications.

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View solution in original post

Bhuvan · 3 weeks ago

@ChunjiJ

You can refer below articles that should help to understand the relationship

https://www.servicenow.com/community/hrsd-forum/new-hire-onboarding-demo-auto-generate-account-in-ta...

https://www.servicenow.com/community/hrsd-forum/user-id-not-populating-automatically-when-new-user-i...

https://www.servicenow.com/community/hrsd-forum/auto-create-new-hire-when-a-lifecycle-is-initiated-f...

As per community guidelines, you can accept more than one answer as accepted solution. If my response helped to answer your query, please mark it helpful & accept the solution.

Thanks,

Bhuvan

Bhuvan · 3 weeks ago

@ChunjiJ

Thanks for marking the post as helpful.

As per community guidelines, you can accept more than one answer as accepted solution. If my response helped to guide you or answer your query, please accept the solution.

Thanks,

Bhuvan

kaushal_snow · 3 weeks ago

Hi @ChunjiJ ,

The reason the User ID / HR profile remains empty if you delete the Account Notification activity is that the account/user creation logic in the OOTB Lifecycle Event depends on that activity, and specifically on the HR Service being included in the hr_CaseUtils._requiresUserOrProfileCreation mapping, so when the Account Notification activity is removed the workflow that generates the login / subject_person (HR profile) doesn’t get triggered; re adding the Account Notification activity under the Lifecycle first Activity Set with the proper HR Service name ensures the user record is fully created with the subject_person / user_id populated.....

If you found my response helpful, please mark it as ‘Accept as Solution’ and ‘Helpful’. This helps other community members find the right answer more easily and supports the community.

Thanks and Regards,
Kaushal Kumar Jha - ServiceNow Consultant - Lets connect on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaushalkrjha/