Assign employees to positions

Create an assignment to put an employee into a position for a chosen period. Enter how much of the job they fill as assignment FTE: 1 FTE is full-time and 0.5 FTE is half-time. The position’s approved FTE is its staffing target. Assignments can exceed that target when the organization’s assignment rules and other checks allow it; the excess appears as overassigned FTE for review.

Before you begin

You need the Manage employees permission for the employee’s department and every affected position department. Reviewing employee details without changing assignments requires the View employees permission. Actual compensation is maintained separately and requires the View actual compensation or Manage actual compensation permission for every affected employee and position department.

Create an assignment

Before creating an assignment, confirm the employee, position, assignment FTE, start date, optional end date, assignment purpose, and actual work schedule. Review other assignments that overlap the same period.

1. Open the employee or position and select Add assignment.
2. Choose the related position or employee.
3. Enter assignment FTE and the start date.
4. Choose the assignment purpose and work schedule when requested.
5. Review and save.

An end date is the first date on which the assignment no longer counts. Same-day handoffs are possible when one assignment ends on the date the next begins.

Your organization can hide the external assignment ID, allow it, or require it. When FTE Tree manages the ID, enter the exact ID from the other system if the field is shown and complete it when required. When a connected HR system manages it, you cannot edit it in FTE Tree. Make corrections in that system. Do not substitute an employee or position external ID because each identifier belongs to a different record.

Example: same-day handoff

In a separate practice example, Casey fills position A through June 30 and position B beginning July 1. End the first assignment on July 1 and start the second on July 1.

On June 30, position A is staffed. On July 1, the first assignment no longer counts and the second begins. The periods do not overlap.

Example: split assignment

In a separate practice example, Avery works half-time in position A and half-time in position B. Each assignment is 0.5 FTE, so Avery’s total is 0.5 + 0.5 = 1 FTE. Each position counts only its own half-time assignment.

Understand assignment purposes

Assignment purpose records the main reason an employee fills a position. Choose the purpose that best explains the arrangement, even when more than one description could apply. FTE Tree provides these five starting choices:

Backfill emphasizes covering another employee’s work. Acting emphasizes temporarily taking on the role’s responsibilities. Follow your organization’s established meaning when either could describe the situation. Your organization can rename these choices or add its own; see Fields and choices.

The purpose is descriptive only. It does not change staffing or pay calculations, split FTE automatically, permit otherwise-blocked overlaps, or end the assignment automatically. Enter the actual FTE and dates for each assignment and follow your organization’s assignment rules. For temporary cover or a handoff, set the end date when known and review the other assignments for the same period.

A part-time assignment can be Regular. One employee working across two positions does not automatically have a Job share purpose. A job-share arrangement can continue while a partner’s place is vacant. FTE Tree does not change the recorded purpose when another assignment starts or ends.

Compare purpose with assignment patterns

Open an assignment’s details and use Date to choose the date to review. Assignment patterns shows how many employees have recorded assignments to the position and how many positions have recorded assignments for the employee. Counts include only records you can access on that date. They include zero-FTE assignments and employees whose status means they do not contribute to staffing totals; canceled and voided assignments are excluded.

For an assignment in effect on that date, the table shows other visible assignments running at the same time, whether they share the employee or position, and the dates of each overlap. An overlap end date is the first day the overlap no longer applies. Concurrent dates alone do not establish a job share, temporary cover, acting responsibility, or an intentional handoff.

Calculated position staffing separately shows contributing employees, approved FTE, assigned FTE, and open or overassigned FTE for the whole position. These totals apply employee eligibility and positive assignment FTE, so they can differ from the visible record counts. Check any updating notice before comparing them with a recent assignment change.

For example, two recorded assignments can exist while only one employee contributes to staffing. Keep the recorded purpose and review the dates, employee status, and FTE to explain the difference.

Understand assignment rules

Your organization can allow:

• flexible assignments;
• one position per employee;
• one employee per position; or
• one-to-one assignments, which applies both limits.

The selected rule checks overlapping assignment dates from its start date forward. Assignment purpose and assignment FTE do not bypass it.

Example: one position per employee

An employee already has an active assignment through September 30. A new assignment can begin October 1 because the earlier one stops counting that day. A new assignment beginning September 30 would overlap and is not allowed under this rule.

Example: one employee per position

A position has an active 0.5 FTE assignment. Adding a second employee at 0.5 FTE for the same period conflicts with a one-employee rule, even though the two assignments would total only 1 FTE. The rule limits how many employees may fill the position at the same time.

Change or end an assignment

Use Edit to correct allowed information and End assignment when the assignment should stop on a known date. Use Cancel assignment or Void assignment only when the page explains that those actions match what happened. The end date is the first date the assignment no longer counts. Review the effective date and activity history after the change.

An assignment has one FTE value for its recorded start-to-end period. Updating that FTE corrects the assignment for that period; it does not add a later FTE change. If a valid FTE changes later, end the existing assignment on the first date of the new amount and create a new assignment from that date. Review any assignment-specific pay and adjustments separately because they belong to the earlier assignment. Correct or void an earlier record only when it was wrong.

Review labor budget and actual compensation after an assignment change when those areas use the affected staffing.

In an assignment import, the External assignment ID tells FTE Tree which assignment each spreadsheet row describes. External assignment IDs must be enabled before an assignment file can be validated. A Create import cannot supply an ID managed by a connected HR system. An Update import can use that ID to find an existing assignment, but cannot change the ID.

Schedule changes within an assignment

Select Shift from the assignment’s actions, or choose Review shift and adjustments, to see its position shift and any assignment override. Choose Change shift, enter a date and shift, then Review changes to compare adjustment eligibility before saving. Financial details depend on your access. Return to position shift opens a dated change back to following the position and its later changes. This preserves the assignment’s employment dates and recorded FTE. A future shift change applies from its effective date, and Activity history retains corrections. See Change an assignment schedule over time.

When a position stops being used

Suspending a position pauses assignment participation without changing its recorded dates. The same assignment resumes when the position returns to Active, if it has not ended. Eliminating a position closes assignments at the elimination date and retains the records in history.

An assignment that ends during a suspension does not resume. Temporary assignments elsewhere must respect your organization’s overlap rules on the return date. Review continuing pay separately. See suspension, reactivation, and elimination for the full process.

Review staffing

Add active assignment FTE and compare it with approved position FTE. See FTE, assignments, and vacancy for the resulting staffed, vacant, and overassigned amounts.

For a partially staffed issue, Fix issue shows the Full staffing target, Assigned FTE, and Additional FTE needed for the displayed date, above both the assignment list and the correction form. When editing an assignment, enter its total FTE, including any increase. When adding another assignment, enter the amount the new employee will cover.

Selecting an Actual work schedule does not change assignment FTE, even when the schedule name includes “full-time” or “three-quarter.” See Does the schedule define FTE?.

Check the assignment

1. Select the assignment start date.
2. Confirm the employee and position are active and available.
3. Confirm the assignment FTE and actual schedule.
4. Add all active assignment FTE on the position.
5. Compare the total with approved position FTE.
6. Check the day before an end date and the end date itself.
7. Review Issues for any remaining staffing condition.
8. Open Activity history when you need to see who recorded the change.

Does assignment FTE have to equal employee FTE?

Not necessarily. Assignment FTE describes one employee-to-position relationship. Review all assignments and your organization policy.

Form choices

Use this reference to choose form values. Available choices depend on the task, selected date, and your access.

Assignment purpose

Choose the main reason for this assignment. Your organization manages the names and descriptions; purpose does not change calculations or end the assignment automatically.

The initial purposes are Regular for usual placement, Job share for an agreed shared position, Backfill for temporary cover, Handoff for a planned transition, and Acting for temporary responsibility. Organizations can rename or add purposes. Use the organization’s description when it differs from these examples, and enter the actual dates and FTE separately.

Optional practice: put Avery into the full-time position

For exercises that change records, use a separate practice organization and complete the preparation below.

Practice steps and checks

1. Open Workforce > Assignments and start an assignment.
2. Select Avery Reed and Patient Services Coordinator.
3. Enter 1 FTE, beginning January 1, 2027.
4. Check the dates and schedule, then save.
5. Open the position on January 1.

You should see one employee, 1 assigned FTE, and 0 open FTE. The position is fully filled: 1 approved - 1 assigned = 0 open.

Keep this assignment unchanged for the pay lesson. Try update, end, cancel, or void on separate practice assignments, using the action that matches what happened. Next, enter Avery’s $60,000 yearly salary.