A useful position-control process lets a team answer four questions: which positions are approved, who is assigned to them, what capacity is vacant, and who can approve a change. Start with those questions before choosing fields or importing every spreadsheet.
Start with one department and one review date
Choose a department with a manageable mix of full-time, part-time, and vacant positions. Include a recent employee change and a position request so the pilot covers more than a static list.
Agree on the date you will review. A position approved for next month should not appear as approved capacity for today. Ask the department, HR, and finance to reconcile their records for that same date.
Prepare the position register
Keep the position and the employee assignment separate. The position needs a stable identifier even when its employee leaves.
| Record | Starting information | Owner to agree on |
|---|---|---|
| Position | Identifier, department, job, approved FTE, availability | HR or the position-data owner |
| Assignment | Position, employee, assigned FTE, start and end dates | The staffing-data owner |
| Change request | Proposed change, reason, effective date, supporting information | The requesting department |
| Approval | Required reviewers and the decision they are responsible for | The process owner |
Your organization chooses these responsibilities. One person may hold several roles in a small team.
Resolve duplicate position identifiers and missing departments before importing. Keep a separate list of disputed records with an owner and next action; do not guess which spreadsheet is correct.
Agree on what requires a decision
Document who can request a new position, change approved FTE, refill an existing vacancy, and eliminate a position. A vacancy does not automatically establish permission to hire.
Decide what the reviewer needs: the business reason, proposed effective date, department, requested capacity, and any required budget information. Keep the approval requirements proportionate to the change.
Reconcile the pilot with a worked example
Suppose a department has three approved positions of 1.0, 0.8, and 0.5 FTE. Their approved capacity totals 2.3 FTE. Assignments of 1.0 and 0.5 FTE total 1.5 staffed FTE, leaving 0.8 vacant FTE, assuming neither position is overassigned.
Check the individual positions as well as the total. A total can look correct while one person is assigned to the wrong position.
Then walk through a dated change. If the 0.5 FTE assignment ends on June 30, review both June 30 and July 1. Approved capacity remains 2.3 FTE; staffed capacity becomes 1.0 FTE on July 1 unless another assignment starts.
Define the pilot’s acceptance checks
Before expanding, confirm that:
- The department agrees with the approved position register on the chosen date.
- Assignments and vacancies reconcile by position, not just in total.
- A requester can submit a representative change and the intended reviewers can decide it.
- People can see the records they need and cannot see information outside their responsibilities.
- A report agrees with the reviewed position records for the same date.
Record unresolved questions and owners. Expand department by department once the process is understandable and repeatable.
Use the checklist in FTE Tree
Position Control connects approved positions, assignments, requests, and position reporting. Workforce Planning adds financial planning when that is part of the review.
For product steps, start with set up your organization and prepare an import. For an initial evaluation, use Getting started.