Position FTE, assignment FTE, vacancy, and headcount answer different staffing questions. Keep them separate when reviewing a position, department, or report.

Before you begin

Activity Permission and scope required
Review position FTE, assigned FTE, vacancy, or overassignment View positions for the included departments
See employee names View employees for each employee’s department
Add or change assignments Manage employees for the employee and affected position departments
Review the financial effect View labor budgets or View actual compensation, depending on the result

How the values relate

Value What it means
Recorded Position FTE The approved FTE recorded for the position on the selected date, retained during suspension
Counted Position FTE Recorded FTE while Active; zero while Suspended or Archived
Assigned FTE The total FTE from active assignments to the position on that date
Vacant FTE Approved position FTE that is not filled by active assignments
Overassigned FTE Assigned FTE above the approved position FTE
Headcount The number of distinct employees included in the selected result

For an Active Position, vacant FTE is calculated as counted Position FTE minus active assigned FTE, with no vacancy below zero. Overassigned FTE is shown separately when assignments exceed approved capacity.

Lifecycle and FTE

A suspension retains recorded FTE and makes counted FTE zero. Reactivation restores participation on its approved date, using the details approved for that date. Neither vacancy nor zero recorded FTE automatically suspends a position.

An otherwise eligible Active Position with zero FTE still counts as one managed Position. Contracted pay and continuing Compensation obligations may require separate review. Missing lifecycle or FTE information is a setup issue, not a confirmed zero.

See Suspend, reactivate, or eliminate a position for paired dates and future amendments.

Examples

Position FTE Active assignments Result
1.0000 One assignment at 1.0000 Fully staffed
1.0000 One assignment at 0.6000 0.4000 vacant FTE
1.0000 Two assignments at 0.5000 each Fully staffed with two employees
1.0000 Two assignments totaling 1.2000 0.2000 overassigned FTE
0.5000 No active assignment 0.5000 vacant FTE

Example: headcount is not FTE

A 1.0000 FTE position has two employees assigned at 0.5000 FTE each.

  • Headcount is 2.
  • Assigned FTE is 1.0000.
  • Vacant FTE is 0.
  • Overassigned FTE is 0.

Counting employees alone would overstate the staffed capacity. Summing FTE alone would not tell you how many people are involved.

Example: vacancy and overassignment do not offset

Position A has 0.2000 vacant FTE. Position B has 0.2000 overassigned FTE. At an organization total they may appear to offset numerically, but both conditions still matter. One position has open approved capacity and another exceeds its approved capacity.

Review staffing at the position level before interpreting only a department total.

Assignment dates matter

An assignment starts on its effective date and stops counting on its end date. Choose the same effective date before comparing position control, assignments, vacancy, or a report.

Future and ended assignments remain in history but do not fill the position outside their active dates.

The end date is the first date the assignment no longer counts. An assignment ending July 1 fills the position through June 30. A new assignment can begin July 1 without overlapping it.

Employee FTE and assignment FTE

Employee FTE describes the employee. Assignment FTE describes how much of that employee is allocated to one position.

One employee can have more than one assignment when your organization’s assignment rules allow it. Do not use employee FTE as a substitute for the FTE on each assignment.

For example, an employee with 1.0000 employee FTE may have one 0.7000 assignment and one 0.3000 assignment. Each position uses its own assignment amount. The employee’s 1.0000 value does not fill both positions at 1.0000.

Vacancy and financial results

Position control shows structural vacancy. Labor budget can show the budget effect of that vacant capacity when the position has budget setup.

A vacant position does not have an active employee assignment. That does not mean its labor budget is zero. Open labor budget when you need the financial result.

Actual compensation follows active employee assignments. Ordinary vacant FTE has no employee compensation record to apply. Labor budget and actual compensation therefore answer different questions for the same vacancy.

Example: financial views of a partial vacancy

A 1.0000 FTE position has a $100,000 annual labor budget rate and a 0.6000 FTE assignment.

  • Position control shows 0.6000 staffed FTE and 0.4000 vacant FTE.
  • Labor budget can show $60,000 assigned impact and $40,000 vacancy impact before adjustments.
  • Actual compensation calculates the employee assignment from its protected compensation record. It does not assign compensation to the 0.4000 vacancy.

Do not add the labor budget and actual compensation amounts together.

If a result looks wrong

Check:

  1. the selected effective date;
  2. the approved position FTE;
  3. every active assignment and its FTE;
  4. assignment start and end dates;
  5. whether the employee and position are active; and
  6. whether a recent change is still updating.

Use Staffing or assignment issue when the values still do not match.

Common questions

How do vacancies appear in Issues?

Active approved positions with uncovered FTE appear in Issues. If a vacancy is intentional, an authorized manager can accept the staffing arrangement or schedule a later review. This does not change the FTE figures.

Can a fully staffed position have two employees?

Yes. Several assignments can total the approved FTE when the organization assignment rule permits them.

Can assigned FTE be greater than approved FTE?

It can be recorded only when the assignment rules and validations permit the relationship, but it is shown as overassigned and should be reviewed.