Assignments

Overview

Assignments connect employees to positions for a date range. They are the staffing layer FTE Tree uses to show who fills a position, which employee wage information applies to assigned cost, and whether a position is vacant for a selected date.

Position cost and assigned cost are intentionally separate. Position cost uses the position's approved planning values and can remain budgeted when the position is vacant. On a position's Staffing section, Operating Budget FTE is the approved FTE used as the comparison point for assigned FTE and vacancy. Assigned cost uses active employee assignment rows and employee wage information when an employee fills the position.

Access needed

Where assignments appear

Use Manage > Assignments for standalone assignment administration across positions and employees. You can also manage assignments from a position or from an employee's Positions tab.

The assignment workspace supports filtering for current, future, ended, and inactive-employee rows. Searchable employee and position selectors help staffing users find the right record without leaving the assignment workflow.

Assignment details

Each assignment has an effective start date. It can also have an effective end date when the assignment should stop counting. The date range controls whether the assignment is active for a selected point in time.

Assignment type describes the assignment category, such as regular, shared, backfill, overlap, or acting. The separate Primary flag identifies the main assignment for a position and date range. A position can have multiple active assignments, but only one primary assignment can overlap for the same position and date range.

Assignment FTE indicates the portion of the position filled by the employee. For example, two employees might each fill 0.5000 assignment FTE on one 1.0000 FTE position.

Date range examples

Dates are inclusive at the start and stop counting after the end date. Use the same date policy consistently across staffing actions so reports and position views match your expectations.

Primary assignment rules

Use the Primary flag for the employee who should be treated as the main occupant of the position for the selected date range. This matters for summaries, staffing review, and some reports.

Common patterns:

• One full-time employee fills one full-time position: one active primary assignment at 1.0000 assignment FTE.
• Two employees share one position: one may be primary while both have partial assignment FTE.
• A temporary backfill overlaps with a primary employee: use the assignment type to describe the backfill and keep the primary flag aligned with your reporting policy.
• An acting assignment covers a period while the regular occupant remains attached elsewhere: use clear dates so reports show the intended staffing state.

Avoid overlapping primary assignments for the same position and dates. If the position truly has shared leadership, use assignment type and comments to explain the arrangement rather than marking multiple primary occupants.

Assignment FTE and vacancy

Assignment FTE is compared with the position's approved operating budget FTE. This helps users see whether a position is filled, partially filled, overfilled, or vacant for a selected date.

Examples:

• Position operating budget FTE is 1.0000 and active assignment FTE totals 1.0000: fully filled.
• Position operating budget FTE is 1.0000 and active assignment FTE totals 0.5000: partially filled.
• Position operating budget FTE is 0.7500 and active assignment FTE totals 1.0000: overfilled for that point in time.
• Position has no active assignment: vacant for staffing review, while position cost may still remain budgeted.

Position cost and assigned cost can differ. Position cost reflects the approved position planning values. Assigned cost reflects active employee assignment rows and employee wage information.

Ending and vacancy actions

Ending an assignment closes it as of the selected effective date. Vacating a position clears the active assignment from the selected date while retaining historical assignment rows.

Employee offboarding can close current assignments and clear future assignments for the selected employee. It does not delete assignment history. Past assignments remain visible in history and point-in-time reporting.

When ending an assignment, review future-dated assignments for the same employee and position. A future row can make the position look correctly vacant today but filled again later.

Use comments or Activity history when the reason for an assignment change is important to future reviewers. Do not delete historical assignment records to correct an old staffing period; end or update the effective dates instead.

Imports and reports

Position assignments have their own import type. Assignment imports use explicit external assignment identifiers so create, update, and close actions are intentional rather than silent merges. See Batch imports and exports for template columns and setup order.

Reports and position views use assignment rows when calculating assigned cost and assigned headcount. Use Reports when you need period output or exports.

Common checks

If assigned cost, vacancy, or staffing totals look unexpected, review:

• The selected effective date.
• Whether the assignment start and end dates include that date.
• Whether the employee is active.
• Assignment FTE compared with operating budget FTE.
• Whether the intended assignment is marked Primary.
• Whether the employee has the expected wage information for assigned cost.
• Whether a future assignment or offboarding action changed the row you are reviewing.