(Last  Revised  12/31/2014)  

FAQs for HR and Payroll Teams: Position Management  
What  does  Position  Management  mean?  
Position  Management  is  a  staffing  model  that  the  University  of  Chicago  has  adopted  with  the  
implementation  of  Workday.    Position  management  allows  for  the  tracking  of  unfilled,  filled,  closed  and  
frozen  positions.      In  order  to  hire  an  employee  into  Workday,  an  available,  unfilled  position  must  first  
exist.    It  is  important  to  remember  that  a  position  exists  in  Workday  independent  of  a  worker.      
 
How  will  I  know  whether  I  need  to  create  a  position?  
In  order  to  hire  an  employee  in  Workday  or  in  order  to  add  an  additional  job  to  a  current  employee,  
there  must  be  an  unfilled  position  available  in  the  supervisory  organization  in  which  you  will  hire.      The  
position  must  be  assigned  the  appropriate  attributes  (location,  time  type,  job  family,  employee  type,  
etc.)  that  will  eventually  be  part  of  the  job  details  once  an  employee  is  moved  in  to  the  position.      Create  
a  position  if  there  is  not  an  available  position  in  your  supervisory  organization  or  edit  the  position  
restrictions  of  an  existing  unfilled  position.    The  Quick  Reference  Guide  for  both  of  these  business  
processes  can  be  found  here.  
 
There  are  a  few  different  ways  to  navigate  to  the  Create  Position  process.    What  is  the  recommended  
method  for  creating  a  position?  
The  recommended  method  to  initiate  the  Create  Position  business  process  is  to  navigate  to  the  
supervisory  organization  in  which  the  position  will  be  created,  using  the  related  icon  next  to  the  
supervisory  organization’s  name,  hovering  over  the  staffing  action  and  selecting  Create  Position.    See  
the  Create  Position  quick  reference  guide  for  more  information.    
 
Can  I  reuse  an  existing  position?  
Yes,  use  the  Edit  Position  Restrictions  business  process  to  edit  the  restrictions  of  an  existing  position.    
 
When  should  I  initiate  the  create  position  process?  
For  staff  positions,  a  position  should  be  created  (or  an  existing  position  edited)  directly  after  submitting  
the  UChicago  Jobs  requisition.    The  requisition  number  from  UChicago  jobs  should  be  entered  in  to  the  
Job  Description  Summary  field  of  the  position.        
 
For  temporary  (direct  hires)  and  student  positions,  the  position  creation  (or  editing  of  an  existing  
unfilled  position)  can  occur  at  the  time  you  are  ready  to  hire  or  move  the  individual  into  the  position.  
 
For  academic  positions,  the  position  can  be  created  once  the  department  is  getting  ready  to  submit  the  
case  file  to  the  Provost  Office.  
 
Do  student  workers  need  positions?  
Yes,  all  employees  need  to  have  a  position  in  order  to  be  employed.    
  
(Last  Revised  12/31/2014)  
FAQs for HR and Payroll Teams: Position Management  
 
 
What  attributes  are  assigned  to  a  position?  
Key  attributes  assigned  to  a  position  include  the  Supervisory  Organization,  Earliest  Hire  Date,  Availability  
Date,  Job  Family,  Job  Profile,  Location,  Time  Type,  Worker  Type  and  Worker  Sub-­‐Type.  Organizational  
Assignments  (HRMS  Department  Number  and  default  FAS  Account/Sub  Account)  are  also  assigned  to  a  
position  and  default  compensation  can  be  assigned  to  a  position  as  well.    For  more  information  on  
attributes  assigned  to  positions,  see  the  Create  Position  quick  reference  guide.    
 
Can  attributes  be  changed  once  the  position  is  created?    
Most  attributes  assigned  to  a  position  when  created  can  be  edited  through  the  business  process  of  Edit  
Position  Restrictions.    The  attributes  that  cannot  be  changed  through  this  process  are  the  Supervisory  
Organization,  Earliest  Hire  Date  and  Availability  Date.    If  the  position  is  in  a  filled  status,  the  changes  will  
only  take  effect  once  the  position  becomes  unfilled  or  (if  you  are  editing  the  Time  Type  field  for  a  filled  
position  in  which  an  employee  is  changing  FTE)  once  the  Change  Job  business  process  has  been  
completed.        
 
What  are  the  Earliest  Hire  Date  and  the  Availability  Date?    Should  I  estimate  when  the  position  is  
going  to  be  filled  and  use  that  date?    
The  Earliest  Hire  Date  is  the  earliest  date  that  an  individual  can  be  hired  or  moved  in  to  a  position.    The  
Availability  Date  is  the  first  day  that  you  will  be  able  to  act  on  the  position  (i.e.  initiate  the  hire  process  
for  the  position,  or  edit  the  position).    Until  the  Availability  Date  is  reached,  the  position  will  sit  in  the  
Unavailable  to  Fill  tab  within  the  supervisory  organization  profile  screen.      
Neither  date  will  have  any  bearing  on  the  actual  start  date  or  effective  date  of  the  employee  who  will  be  
placed  in  the  position.    It  is  therefore  recommended  that  you  back  date  these  fields.    For  example,  you  
can  use  the  first  day  of  the  current  month,  or  even  the  first  day  of  the  current  fiscal  year.    This  will  help  
prevent  situations  in  which  you  create  positions  that  are  not  available  for  you  to  use.      
 
Which  roles  can  create  and  edit  positions?  
HR  Partners,  Lead  HR  Partners,  Academic  HR  Partners  and  Academic  HR  Coordinators  can  initiate  the  
Create  Position  process.  
HR  Partners,  Lead  HR  Partners  and  Academic  HR  Partners  can  initiate  the  Edit  Position  Restrictions  
process.    
 
 
 
 
 
  
(Last  Revised  12/31/2014)  
FAQs for HR and Payroll Teams: Position Management  
 
 
 
 
Can  I  create  multiple  positions  at  once?    
Yes,  Workday  allows  you  to  create  multiple  positions  at  once.      When  creating  the  position,  the  Number  
of  Positions  field  should  be  populated  with  the  number  of  positions  you  need  to  create.      Note  that  all  
positions  created  using  this  method  will  be  assigned  the  same  attributes.    
 
When  multiple  positions  are  created  at  once,  the  positions  become  independent  objects  in  Workday  
once  approved.    For  example,  if  you  create  5  of  the  same  position,  once  approved,  you  will  see  5  new,  
unfilled  positions  in  your  supervisory  organization’s  Staffing  tab.    The  positions  will  all  have  the  same  
name,  but  will  have  a  number  after  the  name  to  differentiate  the  positions  from  each  other.      
 
Should  I  create  regular  student  positions  separately  from  Work  Study  positions?    
Yes,  there  are  two  Job  Families  in  Workday  that  should  be  used  for  student  positions:    Student  
(unclassified)  and  Work  Study.    Since  Job  Family  is  an  attribute  that  is  assigned  to  a  position,  you  will  
need  to  crate  regular  student  positions  separately  from  work  study  positions.    
 
How  do  I  know  which  job  family  and  job  profile  to  choose  for  my  new  Academic  hire?  
You  should  search  under  the  “Academic”  Job  Family  Group  for  the  available  job  families.    The  job  
families  available  should  include:    Postdoctoral:  Fellow,  Institute  Fellow,  Academic:  9  over  12  Pay,  
Academic:  Regular  Pay,  Visiting  Academic:  9  over  12  Pay,  and  Visiting  Academic:  Regular  Pay.      
 
a. If  you  are  creating  a  position  for  a  Faculty  or  OAA  who  is  3Q  –  you  MUST  select  either  Academic:  
9  over  12  Pay  or  Visiting  Academic:  9  over  12  Pay  depending  on  whether  the  Faculty  or  OAA  is  a  
Visitor  or  not.    If  you  do  not  select  either  of  these  2  job  families  –  the  payroll  transactions  that  
need  to  occur  for  3Q  Academics  will  not  occur.  
b. If  you  are  creating  a  position  for  a  Faculty  or  OAA  who  is  4Q  –  you  MUST  select  either  Academic:  
Regular  Pay  or  Visiting  Academic:  Regular  pay  depending  on  whether  the  Faculty  or  OAA  is  a  
Visitor  or  not.  (ALL  BSD  ACADEMICS  SHOULD  BE  IN  REGULAR  PAY  JOB  FAMILIES)  
 
Why  do  I  need  to  assign  an  FAS  Account  and  Sub  Account  to  positions  I  create?    
Workday  requires  that  a  default  level  of  FAS  Account  and  Sub  Account  be  assigned  to  each  position  in  
Workday.    These  will  be  requested  during  the  second  step  of  the  Create  Position  process  called  Assign  
Organizations.  The  FAS  Account  indicated  here  is  not  meant  to  pay  the  employee’s  salary.      It  is  meant  as  
a  fail-­‐safe  account.      Once  a  worker  is  placed  in  the  position,  either  through  the  Hire,  Add  Additional  Job  
or  Change  Job  business  processes,  the  Assign  Costing  Allocations  sub-­‐process  requires  the  HR  
  
(Last  Revised  12/31/2014)  
FAQs for HR and Payroll Teams: Position Management  
Partner/Academic  HR  Partner  enter  the  actual  FAS  Account(s).  Divisions  and  departments  should  
determine  the  best  account  to  use  at  the  default  level.      
 
 
 
 
What  is  default  compensation?    Am  I  required  to  enter  default  compensation?  
Default  compensation  can  be  assigned  to  the  position.    This  can  be  used  for  budgeting  purposes.    
Assigning  default  compensation  to  the  position  is  not  required.    To  skip  the  default  compensation  step,  
click  on  the  Skip  button  when  the  step  is  first  presented,  or  from  the  inbox  view,  click  on  the  settings  
wheel  at  the  top  right  of  the  page  and  select  Skip  this  Task.      
 
Who  is  responsible  for  approving  the  positions  I  create?  
Staff  and  temporary  positions  will  be  sent  to  the  Budget  Partner  for  approval  and  then  to  the  
Compensation  Administrator.*    
Student  positions  will  not  be  sent  for  approval  at  all  unless  Research  Assistant  Type  A  or  B,  which  will  be  
sent  to  the  Budget  Partner.      
Work  Study  student  positions  will  be  sent  to  the  Work  Study  Administrator  to  approve.  
Academic  positions  will  be  sent  to  the  Budget  Partner  to  approve.*  
*In  the  BSD  the  position  will  also  be  sent  to  the  Lead  HR  Partner  or  Lead  Academic  HR  Partner  to  
approve.  
     
Why  do  I  receive  a  step  to  Enter  Time  Approvers  as  part  of  the  Create  Position  and  Edit  Position  
Restrictions  business  process?  
The  Chicago  IDs  of  the  UChicago  Time  Approvers  that  will  be  responsible  for  approving  time  for  this  
position  will  need  to  be  entered  on  the  position.    To  edit  time  approvers,  you  will  need  to  navigate  to  
the  additional  data  of  the  position  and  enter  the  Chicago  IDs  of  the  primary  and  secondary  time  
approvers.    For  more  details,  see  the  Enter  Time  Approvers  quick  reference  guide.    
 
If  I  create  multiple  positions  at  once,  do  I  have  to  enter  each  position’s  time  approvers  separately?  
Yes,  because  Time  Approvers  are  a  unique  attribute  to  UChicago,  the  Chicago  IDs  of  the  time  approvers  
must  be  entered  individually  for  each  position.    
 
Is  there  a  report  that  will  tell  me  the  time  approvers  associated  with  the  positions  I  support?  
Yes,  it  is  called  RPT  Employees  with  Time  Approvers  and  will  show  all  employees  in  your  supervisory  
organization  that  should  have  time  approvers  assigned,  the  Chicago  IDs  that  are  assigned  to  these  
positions  and  any  one  missing  time  approvers.  
 
  
(Last  Revised  12/31/2014)  
FAQs for HR and Payroll Teams: Position Management  
Is  there  a  report  that  will  tell  me  all  of  the  positions  in  the  supervisory  organizations  I  support?      
Yes,  it  is  called  View  All  Positions.    This  report  will  ask  you  to  indicate  the  supervisory  organization  for  
which  you  would  like  to  view  open  positions.    You  can  also  choose  to  include  positions  in  the  
subordinate  organizations.    You  can  also  use  the  report  prompts  to  determine  whether  the  report  
returns,  open,  filled,  closed  and/or  frozen  positions.    
 
 
 
What  is  job  overlap?    When  can  I  use  job  overlap?  
In  general,  the  ratio  between  worker  and  position  is  one-­‐to-­‐one;  meaning  only  one  worker  can  be  in  a  
position  at  a  time.    Job  overlap  is  available  if  there  is  already  a  scheduled  “vacate  date”  for  a  worker.      
For  example,  if  a  termination  is  processed  and  approved  for  a  current  employee  with  a  future  date  of  
January  31,  the  position  can  be  used  to  hire  a  new  worker  prior  to  the  January  31  exit  date.    
When  terminating  an  employee  or  otherwise  moving  an  employee  out  of  a  position,  Workday  will  ask  
you  if  you  would  like  to  make  the  position  available  for  overlap.  
 
How  would  I  handle  a  position  that  is  split  funded  between  two  organizations?    
Positions  cannot  be  assigned  to  multiple  supervisory  organizations.      If  a  position  is  split  funded,  it  will  
still  need  to  be  assigned  to  one  supervisory  organization.    The  FAS  Accounts  that  fund  the  position  will  
need  to  be  entered  at  the  Assign  Costing  Allocations  step  of  the  hire  process.  
 
How  do  I  remove  a  position  from  my  supervisory  organization?      
Positions  can  be  moved  from  one  organization  to  another  through  the  business  process  of  Move  
Workers  (Supervisory).      Closing  a  position  is  a  permanent  action  and  will  cause  the  position  to  move  
from  the  Staffing  tab  in  the  supervisory  organization  screen  to  the  Unavailable  to  Fill  tab.    A  position  can  
also  be  frozen.    Freezing  a  position  is  a  temporary  action  and  can  be  scheduled  indefinitely,  or  for  a  set  
period  of  time.  
See  the  following  quick  reference  guides  for  more  information:  
Close  Position  
Freeze  Position  
Move  Workers  (Supervisory)    
 
What  is  the  Unavailable  to  Fill  tab  in  the  supervisory  organization  profile  screen?    
The  Unavailable  to  Fill  tab  will  display  all  positions  that  are  in  a  closed  or  frozen  status,  any  positions  
that  are  scheduled  to  be  filled  on  a  future  date  (future  dated  hires  or  transfers)  and  positions  that  have  
an  availability  date  in  the  future.      Positions  listed  in  the  Unavailable  to  Fill  tab  will  not  be  available  for  
HR  Partners/Academic  HR  Partners  to  take  action  on.    If  there  are  no  positions  in  the  supervisory  
organization  that  are  in  an  Unavailable  to  Fill  status,  the  tab  will  not  display.    
  
(Last  Revised  12/31/2014)  
FAQs for HR and Payroll Teams: Position Management  
 
Can  you  assign  multiple  locations  to  one  position?  
Only  one  location  can  be  assigned  to  a  position;  however  an  alternate  location  can  be  assigned  once  an  
employee  is  hired  in  to  the  position.  
 
How  is  job  sharing  handled  in  Workday?  
Each  employee  must  sit  in  a  separate  position.    Each  position  will  need  to  be  listed  with  the  appropriate  
attributes  (i.e.  part  time  instead  of  full  time).  
 
 
Are  there  any  timing  constraints  on  how  long  a  position  is  allowed  to  be  open  in  Workday?    
No,  positions  do  not  expire.    Positions  will  remain  in  your  supervisory  organization  until  you  take  an  
action  on  them  that  would  cause  them  to  be  removed  from  your  organization.