Introduction

Positions are the central element of FTE Tree. Each position represents a staffing slot within your organization, identified by a unique position number. Positions are grouped by job code, assigned to departments, and carry FTE amounts, wage rates, and cost calculations that form the foundation of your position control.

Position List

The position list provides a table of all positions in your organization. From this view, you can create new positions, search and filter positions, and navigate to individual position detail pages. The position list is accessible from the main navigation under "Positions."

Position Summary

The Summary tab on the position list page provides a high-level overview of your position data, aggregating FTE, cost, and headcount totals across your organization. Summary reports are created and managed from the Summary Reports section under Reports. See Reports for details on creating and configuring summary reports.

New organizations include two default summary reports: Annual Total (a point-in-time snapshot as of today) and Monthly Breakdown (a rolling calendar year broken into monthly periods). The Monthly Breakdown uses a start anchor month of January, so it automatically covers January through December of the current year and rolls forward each year.

Summary Overview

The overview table at the top of the summary displays organization-wide totals for the selected summary report. The following metrics are shown:

  • Positions: The total number of positions included.
  • FTE: The day-weighted average full-time equivalent across the period.
  • Position Cost: The total cost calculated from position wage rates.
  • Incumbent Cost: The total cost calculated from incumbent wage rates.
  • Headcount: The day-weighted headcount total.

Cost values on summary views are displayed as whole dollar amounts for readability. For full two-decimal precision, see the individual position's detailed calculation breakdown or export a report. FTE and headcount values are displayed to two decimal places.

When a forecast scenario is active, the overview displays three rows:

  • Approved: Totals from the approved baseline scenario.
  • Scenario: Totals reflecting the active scenario's draft changes and assumptions.
  • Change: The difference between the scenario and approved values, highlighting the impact of proposed changes.

A freshness badge indicates whether the summary data is current. If positions have changed since the last refresh, the badge shows the number of stale positions. Data refreshes automatically in the background.

By Department

The By Department section breaks down the summary totals by department. Each department row shows the same metrics as the overview (FTE, Position Cost, Incumbent Cost, Headcount) with approved, scenario, and change column groups when a scenario is active.

Click the expand arrow on a department row to reveal a breakdown by job code within that department, showing how costs and FTE are distributed across job codes.

By Period

The By Period section shows how the summary metrics are distributed across time periods. The period breakdown depends on the summary report's grouper type (Day, Week, Month, or Year). Each period row displays FTE, Position Cost, Incumbent Cost, and Headcount with the same approved/scenario/change column groups when a scenario is active.

Org Chart

The Org Chart tab on the position list page provides a visual, hierarchical view of your organization's position structure. The org chart displays positions as a tree, with parent-child relationships forming the hierarchy.

Viewing the Org Chart

Navigate to the position list and select the Org Chart tab. The chart loads with root positions (those with no parent) displayed at the top level. Each position node shows:

  • Position name, with a link to the position detail page (if you have position update permission)
  • Position label
  • Incumbent name, or "Vacant" if the position has no current incumbent
  • Job code, if assigned
  • Department, if assigned

Nodes are color-coded to indicate status:

  • Green border: The position is filled by an active incumbent.
  • Gray border: The position is vacant.
  • Yellow border: The position has draft (unapproved) changes.

You can pan the chart by clicking and dragging, and zoom using the scroll wheel or the zoom controls in the toolbar.

Searching for a Position

Use the Find position search box at the top of the org chart to locate a specific position. Type at least two characters to search by position label, position name, incumbent name, job code, or department. Select a result from the dropdown and the chart will automatically expand the tree, scroll to the position, and briefly highlight it.

Expanding and Collapsing Nodes

Positions that have child positions display a toggle button at the bottom of the node. Click the toggle to expand a node and load its children. Children are loaded on demand, so the chart remains responsive even for large organizations. Click the toggle again to collapse a branch.

Zoom Controls

The toolbar at the top right of the org chart provides zoom controls:

  • Zoom in: Magnify the chart for a closer look.
  • Zoom out: Reduce magnification to see more of the tree.
  • Fit to view: Automatically zoom and pan to fit the entire visible chart within the screen.

Historical Org Charts

Use the Effective Date picker at the top of the org chart to view the organization hierarchy as it existed on a specific past date. When you select a date, the chart rebuilds the position tree as it existed on that date. This is useful for reviewing past organizational structures, comparing changes over time, or auditing historical reporting relationships.

Position Hierarchy and Parent Changes

Positions can be arranged in a parent-child hierarchy to represent reporting relationships. When a position's parent is changed, the org chart reflects the updated structure.

Parent changes can be submitted through the approval workflow as a position attribute change. The system validates that proposed parent changes will not create circular references in the hierarchy. For example, a position cannot be set as a child of one of its own descendants. If a circular reference is detected, the change is blocked with a clear error message.

If a parent change was approved but the hierarchy changed before it could be applied (making the change circular), the system blocks the change and notifies the requester with a dashboard message explaining the issue. The requester can then review the current hierarchy and submit a new parent change request if needed.

Position Detail

Each position has a detail page showing its attributes, financial summaries, and history. From the detail page you can update position attributes, view comments, and navigate to related records such as the assigned employee, job code, or department.

Funding Sources

Positions can be assigned one or more funding sources to indicate how a position's costs are allocated across different budgets or accounts. Each funding source entry pairs a source name with a percentage allocation.

Assigning Funding Sources

From the position detail or create page, use the Funding Source field to add one or more entries. For each entry, select a funding source from the dropdown and enter a percentage. The percentages across all entries must total exactly 100%.

For example, a position might be funded 60% by a General Fund and 40% by a Grant. You can add or remove rows as needed using the controls in the funding source field.

Validation Rules

  • If the funding source attribute is required for your organization, at least one entry must be provided and the percentages must total 100%.

  • If the funding source attribute is optional, you may leave it empty. However, if any entries are provided, the percentages must still total 100%.

  • Each funding source may only appear once per position.

  • Percentages support up to two decimal places (e.g., 33.33%).

Position Comments

Each position detail page includes a Comments tab for conversations about the position. See Position Settings for details on comments.

Need Help?

If you have questions about working with positions, please contact us or email us at support@ftetree.com.