Positions and people answer two related questions: what work has your organization authorized, and who is doing it? FTE Tree keeps the approved position separate from the person filling it, so you can plan capacity, track vacancies, and retain the position when an employee leaves.

How the records fit together

Record What it describes Example
Position An authorized job, with a department, job code, FTE, and dates A full-time clinic coordinator position
Employee A person whose work you manage Avery, an employee in the clinic
Assignment The connection between an employee and a position, with dates and FTE Avery fills half of the coordinator position from October 1

A job code describes a kind of work that several positions can share. A position is the individual job you manage. An employee can have more than one assignment when your organization’s rules allow it; a position can also have more than one assigned employee.

An employee record does not give that person a sign-in account. An account and organization membership provide access to FTE Tree and are managed separately.

Understand capacity, staffing, and vacancy

Full-time equivalent (FTE) expresses an amount of work relative to full time. A 1.0 FTE position provides one full-time position’s capacity. A 0.5 FTE assignment fills half of that capacity. Headcount counts people instead of their FTE.

For an active position approved at 1.0 FTE:

Assignments Assigned FTE Vacant FTE People assigned
No employee assigned 0 1.0 0
Avery assigned at 0.5 FTE 0.5 0.5 1
Avery and Jordan each assigned at 0.5 FTE 1.0 0 2

The last row has two people and one filled FTE. Use the measure that answers your question. Read FTE, assignments, and vacancy for assignment purposes, overstaffing, and other cases that affect totals.

Follow the ordinary workflow

  1. Prepare the department, job code, and other shared choices your position needs.
  2. Create the position with its intended details and effective date.
  3. Submit the position for any required approval. A draft is proposed work until approved.
  4. Create or find the employee record, then add the assignment with its own dates and FTE.
  5. Review the position and staffing on the relevant date. Check that the employee, assignment, and vacancy match your intention.

Position approval and employee assignment are separate actions. Approval to refill a position does not choose an employee or create an assignment. Your permissions and organization rules determine which actions you can take.

Keep dates and status in step

A real change gets a new effective date. Correct an earlier entry only when the recorded information was wrong. Reviewing a position today can therefore show different information from reviewing it on a future date.

Vacant means capacity is unfilled. Suspended means the position is temporarily inactive. Eliminated means it has ended permanently. A suspended position can retain its approved size while contributing no active FTE during the suspension. Read the preview before a status change because assignments and reporting relationships can also be affected.

Choose your next task

Use the position guides to manage approved capacity and reporting lines. Use the employee and assignment guides to manage who fills it. To compare proposed changes before making them official, use workforce plans.