Overview of

Benefits Alerts
Oracle Fusion Benefits

WHITE PAPER / JANUARY 27, 2020

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 4

OVERVIEW of UNDERSTANDING BENEFITS ALERTS ............................ 4

PREREQUISITES ....................................................................................................................... 4

AVAILABLE BENEFITS CLOUD ALERTS .................................................................................. 4

CONFIGURING BENEFITS CLOUD ALERTS ............................................................................ 5

CONFIGURING EVENT ALERTS IN BENEFITS CLOUD ........................................................... 6

CONFIGURING EVENTS BASED ALERTS ................................................................................ 6

ENABLE THE ALERTS ............................................................................................................... 6

MODIFY AN EVENT ALERT TEMPLATE ................................................................................... 7

SET RUN OPTIONS .................................................................................................................... 9

VIEW ALERTS HISTORY ........................................................................................................... 9

RESOLVE ALERT RUN ERRORS .............................................................................................10

RESOURCE ALERTS BASED ON REST ..................................................................................11

RUN AND TEST THE RESOURCE ALERTS ON BENEFITS CLOUD ......................................13

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ........................................................................................17

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INTRODUCTION

This white paper gives an overview of Oracle Benefits cloud alerts and how
you configure, enable, and troubleshoot alerts.

OVERVIEW OF UNDERSTANDING BENEFITS ALERTS

Oracle Benefits Cloud uses the Alerts Composer tool within HCM to send
personal notifications to users by email.
The email notifications are triggered based on conditions for two types of
alerts.
 Event Alerts - these are based on the context provided by the calling client. They're
triggered when a specific event occurs in the application, such as a participant’s
uploaded document being approved. You can't modify the triggering criteria for
notifications.

 Resource Alerts: Resource Alerts are based on Oracle HCM Cloud REST API
resources. The resources must be deployed in the environment. You can schedule
these types of alert notifications to Benefits Cloud users to notify them of specific
events, such as upcoming open enrollment. You can modify the triggering criteria for
notifications by defining filters on the resource attributes if you have the required
privileges to access the REST resources. The resource alert executes a REST query
that extracts the recipients and alert data, and then binds this information to the
message (template). The REST endpoints are delivered by Oracle, and you build the
alerts.

PREREQUISITES
It is recommended that you read the following documents, located on the
Oracle Help Centre.
1. BenefitEnrollmentOpportunities REST API Documentation

2. Alerts Composer User Documentation - this document provides detail about

configuring events and resource alerts and such

AVAILABLE BENEFITS CLOUD ALERTS

You can search for Benefits Cloud alerts by Alert Name or Alert Code. All
Benefits notifications start with "BEN". For example,
BEN_ELECTIONS_SUMMARY is the Summary of the participant elections
at open enrollment Benefits alert. We deliver the Benefits alerts below.

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Table 1. Oracle Benefit Cloud Alerts

ALERT NAME ALERT CODE DESCRIPTION TEMPLATE TYPE

Open Enrollment BEN_OPEN_NOTI Notification to Notification to Resource

FICATION eligible participants eligible participants
of upcoming open of upcoming open
enrollment. enrollment.

Summary of BEN_ELECTIONS_ Summary of the Notification of Event

Elections at SUMMARY participant elections Summary of
Open Enrollment at open enrollment Elected Benefits

Open Enrollment BEN_OPEN_REMI Reminder to eligible Reminder to eligible Resource

Reminder NDER participants of the participants of the
closing date of closing date of
open enrollment. open enrollment.

Document BEN_DOCUMENT Notification to Notification to Event

approved or _APPROVAL participants that participants that
rejected their uploaded their uploaded
document has been document has been
approved or approved or
rejected. rejected.

CONFIGURING BENEFITS CLOUD ALERTS

You configure Benefits Cloud Event and Resource alerts in the Alerts
Composer tool. The access level of an alert determines the extent of
configuration that can be done for the alert.

You can enable the individual alerts you want to use in Benefits Cloud. For
example, you could just enable the notification to participants about the
open enrollment period, or to send a summary of their selected benefits, but
not enable the notification about reminders.

You can also define multiple templates for the same triggering criteria.

Event type alert notifications are sent automatically, triggered when a

specific event occurs, such as the administrator approving or rejecting a
document. However, you need to schedule resource alert notifications, as
they are not triggered automatically like the event alerts. You can schedule
the resource alerts to suit your business needs, for example, you could
schedule the email notification to go to participants about open enrollment a

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fortnight before open enrollment (after the open enrollment event is
processed, but not before), with a reminder a week later.

You can modify the message text in the templates we deliver – you can
change the text itself or re-format the message text. You can select options
such as font, size, style, and so on. You can add graphics or change the
links for example. You can even add or remove the values in parenthesis.

CONFIGURING EVENT ALERTS IN BENEFITS CLOUD

The following are the high-level steps you need to follow to enable event
alerts and make them available to users in Benefits Cloud.

1. Enable the alerts you want to use in Benefits Cloud.

1. Modify the templates if you want to change the wording or format, add graphics, and
so on.

2. Set the Run Options if you want to change the delivered runtime settings for an alert

CONFIGURING EVENTS BASED ALERTS

Functional access to the Alerts Composer and rest resources is through the
existing job role, the Human Capital Management Integration Specialist. For
custom roles, for functional access you have to include 'Use REST Service -
Benefit Enrollment Opportunities Read Only'. For accessing the
EnrollmentOpportunities rest service, you have to include 'Review Benefit
Enrollment Opportunities Data'.

ENABLE THE ALERTS

The first thing that you need to do is to enable the alerts you want to use.
1. Select Alerts Composer from the Tools menu.

2. Search for the alert you want to enable. You can search using the alert name or
code, for example, Summary of Elections at Open Enrollment/
BEN_ELECTIONS_SUMMARY.

3. Either click on the name of the alert, or select Edit alongside the alert to edit it, and
you are taken to a page to edit the alerts.

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 4. Select Yes from the Enabled list at alert level, then Yes from the Enabled list at
template level. If the alert has more than one template that you want to enable,
ensure you enable them all.

5. You can modify the templates, or save and close if you’ve finished.

MODIFY AN EVENT ALERT TEMPLATE

Templates enable you to define the format for alert notifications. You can
also add new templates for a predefined alerts too.
1. On the Templates tab, click Edit and select Manage Recipients and Message for the
template. The following page displays.

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 2. In the Communication Method column, leave Mail displaying. You cannot change the
communication method for Benefits alerts because Oracle Benefits Cloud doesn’t
use HCM Cloud Worklist.

3. Leave the details in the Expression field. Emails will automatically be sent to the
primary email address of the participant.

4. In the Message section, set up the notification format.

Select the HTML or Text format for the message text.

Edit the message subject if required. You can also include expressions in the
subject.
 Use the rich text editor to format the message text. You can select options such
as font, size, style, and so on.
 Edit the message text. You can also include expressions in the text.
Use the Insert Expression option to build expressions and insert them into the
message text.
5. Click Apply to save the changes and return to the Edit Event Alert page.

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SET RUN OPTIONS
Run Options enable you to specify the runtime settings for an alert.

To set the run options for the alert:

1. On the Edit Event Alert page, click the Run Options tab.

2. Check that Stop Duplicate Messages is set to Yes.

3. Check that Log Activity History field is set to Yes to enable activity logging for the
alert on the Alerts History page.

4. Set the Simulate Run option to Yes to do a test run of the alert. Notifications are not
triggered in a nonproduction environment. However, you can review the notification
content on the Alerts History page.

5. Click Save and Close to return to the Alerts page.

VIEW ALERTS HISTORY

You can view the history of alerts that are enabled for activity logging on the
Alerts History page. You can view statistics such as alert status, start date,
duration, messages, and processing errors. Click the alert name to view
detailed information about an alert.

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Alerts on the Alerts History page are classified into three categories.
 Processed: Displays the alerts that are processed.
 Running: Displays the alerts that are currently being processed.
 Scheduled: Displays the alerts that are scheduled to run on a future

RESOLVE ALERT RUN ERRORS

You can identify and resolve errors that may occur when running alerts.
1. Enable the Log Activity History option on the Run Options tab when setting up an
alert.

2. Use the Alerts History page to review the success, warning, and error messages for
the alert.

3. Review the alert log to identify any processing errors of templates and filters.

4. Verify the application logs for event alerts if required and take necessary action.

5. Verify the diagnostic logs on the Scheduled Processes page for resource alerts if
required and take necessary action.

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RESOURCE ALERTS BASED ON REST
Resource alerts let you configure when and how alerts are sent to users
based on Oracle Benefits Cloud resources. Unlike the pre-defined event
alerts, you define the events that trigger a resource alert. Resource alerts
use the Oracle Benefits Cloud REST endpoints in Fusion.
BenefitEnrollmentOpportunities REST API

The benefitEnrollmentOpportunities resource identifies the benefits that are

available as electable choices for a person as a result of a life event. It
identifies the programs or plans in which a participant can enroll in a given
enrollment window. The resource also identifies the life event that provides
these opportunities. In this context, the enrollment window might be due to
open enrollment or any other life event excluding unrestricted events. This
resource returns a JSON document with collections or individual enrollment
opportunity records and filters can be applied on all the query-able
attributes. It contains the following query-able attributes:
 ElectableChoicePoplId
 PersonId
 PersonNumber
 PersonName
 LegalEntityId
 BenefitRelationId
 LifeEventName
 LifeEventOccuredDate
 LifeEventTypeCode
 ProgramId
 ProgramName
 PlanId
 PlanName
 EnrollmentPeriodStartDate
 EnrollmentPeriodEndDate

Open Enrollment and Open Enrollment Reminder are the two seeded alerts
which can be used to send the notifications and reminders to all the eligible
participants. The filter criteria, and the message templates can be modified
according to the requirements. Access Level for these two seeded alerts is
extensible; which means:

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 ACCESS CONTROL YES/NO

Alert can be YES

viewed/edited

Alert can be Disabled NO

Templates can be NO
Disabled

New Templates can be YES

added

Templates can be YES

Modified

Templates can be NO
Deleted

Filters can be Modified YES

Note: Make a copy of the seeded benefits resource alerts to make any
customizations so that the changes can persist.
Access the Resource Alerts on Benefits Cloud
1. Click Navigator > Alerts Composer.

2. On the Alerts page, search for Open Enrollment [Alert Code:

BEN_OPEN_NOTIFICATION] or Open Enrollment Reminder [Alert Code:
BEN_OPEN_REMINDER]

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RUN AND TEST THE RESOURCE ALERTS ON BENEFITS CLOUD
The alert can be run on-demand, or scheduled on the Run Options tab. For
testing purposes, use the on-demand option and select Yes from the
Simulate Run drop-down list. This simulates how the alert is run, and how it
appears to end users. You can see the results of the run in Alerts History.
Once you are satisfied with how the message works and looks to end users,
the next step is to run the alert in live mode.
You can do this by selecting No from the Simulate Run drop-down list. You
can then validate that participant that had benefit enrollment opportunities
for the Open, received the email on the Alerts History page.
The detailed description of the Benefits Resource Alerts is given below:
1. Open Enrollment [Alert Code: BEN_OPEN_NOTIFICATION]:

Description: Send notification to all eligible participants - that is all

participants with an Open event in Started status, whether they are
employee, suspended employee, non-worker, terminated employee. The
driving factor is that the Open event is in Started status and the Life Event
Occurred Date. The notification will let the participants know that open
enrollment is due to start, within a certain period. On a date determined by
the Administrator (in setup). A personalized email to go out to every
participant to notify them that the enrollment period is open, with a link to
the enrollments page.
Seeded Filters:

1. Life Event Type Filter: ${LifeEventTypeCode} = 'SCHEDDO'

Definition: where Life Event Type is Open.

2. Life Event Occurred Date Filter: ${LifeEventOccuredDate} = to_date('01-01-

2020','dd-mm-yyyy')

Definition: where Life Event Occurred Date is 01-01-2020.

Note: Administrator needs to change the date manually according to their

Open setup.
Note: Seeded filters can be modified or new filters can be added in case of
some specific requirements. Please refer to Add Custom Filters region of
this document.

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Prerequisites for running Open Enrollment Alert

1. Open Enrollment participant process should be executed before running this

resource alert.

2. Participants should have Open life event in started state and should have some
enrollment opportunities.

3. Verify/modify the filters accordingly (ex: Life Event Occurred Date Filter) before
running this resource alert.

4. Test this resource alert using Simulate Run option before running it.

2. Open Enrollment Reminder [Alert Code: BEN_OPEN_REMINDER]

Description: Send notification to all eligible participants - that is all

participants with an Open event in Started status, whether they are
employee, suspended employee, non-worker, terminated employee. The
driving factor is that the Open event is in Started status and the Life Event
Occurred Date. The notification will remind participants to complete their
elections by a certain date (on a date determined by the Administrator in
setup). A personalized email to go out to every participant to remind them
to enroll in their benefits, with a link to the enrollments page.
Seeded Filters:
1. Life Event Type Filter: ${LifeEventTypeCode} = 'SCHEDDO'

Definition: where Life Event Type is Open.

2. Life Event Occurred Date Filter: ${LifeEventOccuredDate} = to_date('01-01-

2020','dd-mm-yyyy')

Definition: where Life Event Occurred Date is 01-01-2020.

Note: Administrator needs to change the date manually according to their

Open setup.
Note: Seeded filters can be modified or New filters can be added in case of
some specific requirements. Please refer to Add Custom Filters region of
this document.
Prerequisites for running Open Enrollment Reminder Alert:

1. Open Enrollment participant process should be executed before running this

resource alert.

2. This resource alert should be run within the Enrollment Window [within Enrollment
Period Start Date and Enrollment Period End Date]

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 3. Participants should have Open life event in started state and should have some
enrollment opportunities.

4. Verify/modify the filters accordingly (ex: Life Event Occurred Date Filter) before
running this resource alert.

5. Test this resource alert using Simulate Run option before running it.

Add Custom Filters

Custom filters can be added in case of any specific requirements like below:
1. Send the reminder notification to all eligible participants where 10 days are remaining for
Enrollment Window to end.

trunc(sysdate) <= ${EnrollmentPeriodEndDate} AND ${EnrollmentPeriodEndDate} -

trunc(sysdate) <= 10

2. Send the reminder notification to all eligible participants who have not
accepted/'ratified'/submitted the legal disclaimer.D

1=1 AND EXISTS (select 1 from ben_prtt_leg_discmr_actn leg, ben_pil_elctbl_chc_popl

pel where pel.per_in_ler_id = leg.per_in_ler_id AND pel.pil_elctbl_chc_popl_id =
${ElectableChoicePoplId} AND leg.status <> 'A' AND nvl(${ProgramId},-1) =
nvl(leg.pgm_id,-1) AND nvl(${PlanId},-1) = nvl(leg.pl_id,-1))

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Useful expression to fetch Person Details based on benefitEnrollmentOpportunities
Rest

1. Person Work Email:

${AlertUtils.person(benefitEnrollmentOpportunities.PersonId).WorkEmail}

2. Person Display Name:

${AlertUtils.person(benefitEnrollmentOpportunities.PersonId).DisplayName}

3. Person’s Benefits Representative

${ AlertUtils.benRep(benefitEnrollmentOpportunities.PersonId).WorkEmail}

4. Benefits Cloud Login Link

${AlertUtils.getURI('ORA_HCM_UIAPP','hcmUI/faces/FuseWelcome')}

5. Benefits Self Service Employee Resource Link

${AlertUtils.getURI('ORA_HCM_UIAPP','hcmUI/faces/deeplink?objType=BEN_REVIEW_EM
PLOYEE_RESOURCES&action=NONE')}

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6. Benefits Work Representative Link

${AlertUtils.getURI('ORA_HCM_UIAPP','hcmUI/faces/deeplink?objType=BEN_NEED_HELP
&action=NONE')}

7. Group by enrollment opportunities records based on participant’s personId

Add following expression in GROUP BY field in the template:

${benefitEnrollmentOpportunities.PersonId}

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How do I know if my alert is triggering and not sending messages, or not triggering?

Check Alert Composer > Alert History.

Why are there [] brackets appearing around every attribute in the template?

When you use the Group By function, it groups all the records that have matching <whatever attribute
you specified>. So, if you say in the template "give me
${AlertUtils.person(benefitEnrollmentOpportunities.PersonId).DisplayName}", it will give you an array,
surrounded by [] brackets, of the values of that attribute for all records in the group. If you're using
Group By and you don't want these brackets, and you just want to specify one record in the group, use
${AlertUtils.person(benefitEnrollmentOpportunities[0].PersonId).DisplayName}", instead of the above
expression to specify the first record in the array.

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White Paper Overview of Benefits Alerts
January 2020