Overview

Position control is where FTE Tree tracks the approved staffing plan your organization is using today and the proposed position changes that may be approved later. Each position represents a staffing place with a department, job code, FTE, pay rate, funding allocation, assigned employee information, and cost details.

FTE Tree focuses on live position control. It helps HR, finance, and department leaders answer practical questions: which positions exist, where they sit, what they cost, who is assigned, what changes are pending, and what the financial impact will be before a request is approved.

Treat positions as ongoing staffing places rather than temporary copies of employee information. Employees can move between assignments, leave the organization, or fill more than one position over time. The position remains the budgeted place that carries the department, job code, FTE, funding, pay rate, and approval history.

Access needed

Activity Access needed
View positions View positions for the relevant department
Create or update positions directly Manage positions
Submit approval-based changes Submit position requests plus View positions
Review exact pay or pay-derived costs View sensitive workforce data for every department included in the calculation
Access setup See Permissions and roles.

Where to start

Area Start here to
Summary Review the current position-control picture, including staffing totals, cost totals, and work that may need attention.
Departments Review position totals by department, then drill into the departments and positions behind the totals.
Positions Create and maintain position records, review approved and proposed values, manage assignments, view funding, use the org chart, and inspect activity history.
Changes by date Understand how one position can have different approved values on different dates and how proposed values are prepared before approval.
Position costs and headcount Review how FTE, pay, assignments, position status, and headcount create the position totals you see.
Position costs in reports Understand annualized amounts, date-range allocation, funding, and report reconciliation.
Position settings Configure position numbering, labels, headcount thresholds, funding source behavior, external position IDs, and position comments.
Compensation settings Configure annual hours per FTE, pay ranges, and pay grade comparison.
Approval workflows and requests Define how each position request type moves through its own ordered review.

If you are new to the area, start with Positions, then read Schedule changes by date and Position costs and headcount before configuring approvals or imports. Those three articles explain the everyday record, the date behavior, and the numbers users will see.

How the pieces connect

Positions belong to departments and usually carry a job code, FTE, required pay rate, adjustments, funding sources, custom fields, and optional assigned employee information. Values can change on selected dates, so FTE Tree can show the approved state as of today, a past date, or a future date.

Proposed changes are prepared separately from approved values. Users can compare the proposed values with the approved position and request approval when the changes are ready. While the request is active, FTE Tree prevents conflicting edits so approvers continue reviewing the same information.

How position information connects
Department and Job codeThe department places the position in the organization. The job code classifies its work.
PositionThe staffing place carries its FTE, status, pay, funding, and dated details.
AssignmentA dated assignment connects the position with an employee.
EmployeeThe person has their own status, organization relationship, and history.
Proposed changeA user prepares the values and effective date that should change.
ApprovalThe required approvers review the details and impact.
Approved PositionAccepted values become official on their effective dates.
Reports and activity historyUsers can review the resulting plan, calculations, and recorded decisions.

A new draft receives a position number before approval so users can refer to it consistently in requests, proposed reports, and proposed org charts. Every initial detail remains proposed, and final approval applies the complete position and makes it approved in one step; partial initial approval does not occur. A denied, invalidated, or cancelled request remains available exactly as reviewed and is closed. If the change is still needed, the user enters the complete current values and creates a separate new request.

An approved active position can also be copied to a new draft. The user chooses the new position’s department, reviews the copied current details, and saves a separate draft with a new position number and no copied external ID. The new draft follows the normal complete New position approval process.

Reports use the same position information as the position’s Summary and Details pages and department totals. A single-date view shows the annualized rate for that date. A date-range report divides annualized values across the selected period and can include the supporting rows behind each amount.

Setup checklist

Before wider use, review each part with a small sample.

Area What to confirm
Structure Departments support the way users need to view, approve, and report.
Position rules Statuses, required fields, custom fields, and headcount rules are clear.
Compensation Required position base pay rate, optional job code pay rate suggestions, pay grades, annual hours, and adjustments produce the expected costs.
Funding Funding choices and allocation rules match finance expectations.
Approvals Type-specific Reason choices, optional or required sensitive Justification, files, required stages, and department approvers work with sample requests.
Reports Position, employee, approval, funding, and cost totals match the sample records.

Complete the supporting setup before relying on later totals or approval decisions.

Daily operating pattern

Most teams use position control in a repeating cycle:

  1. Review current positions, assignments, vacancies, and costs.
  2. Prepare proposed changes when a staffing decision needs review.
  3. Submit the request with the right effective dates, notes, and attachments.
  4. Approvers review impact, funding, and supporting information before deciding.
  5. Approved changes become the official position values for their effective dates.
  6. Reports and activity history provide the details needed for later review.

Direct edits may be appropriate for users with administrative responsibility, but approval-based changes give organizations a clearer review trail for staffing decisions.

What to check when numbers look wrong

Start with the selected effective date. Then check Position status, FTE, Department, Job code, Position pay rate, annual hours per FTE, Adjustments, funding allocation, assignments, and whether the value is approved or only proposed. Employee records do not define a standard pay amount.

For period reports, also check the report date range and allocation method. A period report can differ from a single position page because the report may split a period across values that changed on different dates.

Common questions this section answers

  • Which positions are active right now?
  • What changed on a position and when does that change take effect?
  • What is the approved value, what is proposed, and what is the variance?
  • Which department, job code, funding source, or employee assignment is driving a total?
  • How was FTE or cost calculated?
  • Which approval stages will review a requested change?
  • Which permissions are needed to view, update, approve, import, or report on position data?