Background

Positions are managed differently from campus to campus. On some campuses position processes are controlled by Budget, at others by HR. In a consolidated database environment, there needs to be a collaborative process between both groups; it is important that all campuses follow the same guidelines and procedures to ensure the consistent use of CHRS regardless of where positions are controlled.

In CHRS, position structure reflects the organization structure at that time which makes it important to preserve history of that position number.  As their job changes, employees will be given a position number with each new position throughout their employment with the CSU.

There are two types of positions: regular and pooled. The recommendation for CHRS is that regular positions have a 1:1 ratio of employee to position, while pooled positions are one to many. 

This paper will cover the following topics:

1. What is a position?
2. Keeping Position and Job in sync
3. Pooled positions  
4. When to use the Override Position functionality
5. 9.0 vs 9.2 - what is new/changed in Position
6. Managing positions

These 6 topics have been defined to limit the number of issues and to ensure all campuses are following CHRS guidelines. Budgeting processes are not standardized and depend on campus processes, but where relevant, specific points on budgeting or funding have been included.

Analysis of Position

1. What is a position?

   A position represents a specific job for which the campus has a need.  A position has two Status types: 

   1. Effective Status – controls usage of the position and can be ‘Active’ or ‘Inactive’.

      1. Active – the position is available.

         1. Note: This does not mean it is approved to hire.

      2. Inactive – cannot be used in Job which means it cannot be assigned to a person. 

         1. The position is permanently unavailable for use and funding is no longer available. However, since PeopleSoft positions are not driven by funding they will need to be inactivated manually (in coordination with LCD to clear funding as needed).   

         2. Changes to individual attributes in ‘Inactive’ positions are not allowed.

         3. In PeopleSoft 9.0, some campuses have adopted the practice of using SQL to update positions; however, since SQL updates bypass PeopleSoft errors, this practice is not permitted in CHRS. 

         4. A position with incumbents cannot be inactivated.

   2. Position Status – This is where the approval status of the position is displayed.  Delivered values are ‘Approved’, ‘Frozen’, and ‘Proposed’.  Position status is included in the CHRS Transactional Front End (TFE) to facilitate wider, more consistent usage of the delivered values. Definitions and standardized CHRS usage recommendations for Position Status that all campuses will need to follow: 

      1. Approved - The position effective status is ‘Active’, and is funded (both base and temporary).  Once approved, the active position will transfer to CHRS Recruiting (this is the only status that transfers to Recruiting). 

         1. This status is the one most commonly used by campuses.

         2. If a position is specialized and hard to fill it may be filled by an interim position.  It will still be budgeted while recruiting for it. 

      2. Frozen – Used when a temporary hold has been placed on an Active position.  Funding may be temporarily reallocated and may be available at a future date.  Campuses should do an annual check of frozen positions to ensure the funding is still going to be there.

      3. This position status is delivered and available for use in PeopleSoft.  When positions have an Effective Status = ‘Active’ and Position Status = ‘Frozen’, PeopleSoft generates a warning.  This status should only be used for Vacant positions and campuses should check this annually.    Note: a person can get paid in a Frozen position.

         1. Examples for usage: 

            1. An employee has moved to another position on an intermittent basis, and is planned to come back to their original position at some point.  Funding will have followed the person to the intermittent position and will follow them back. 

               This status can also be used during a hiring freeze to track positions previously approved but not filled when the hiring freeze began.  Funding would not be available during the freeze.

      4. Proposed - Approved but pending authorization to recruit, and can be used in the Transactional Front End (TFE).  This status should only be used for Vacant positions.  Campuses should do an annual check of proposed positions to ensure the position is still being considered.  Note:  a person can get paid in a Proposed position.

      5. PeopleSoft generates a warning when a position is ‘Active’ and ‘Proposed’.

2. Keeping Position and Job in sync

   1. ‘Update Incumbents’ is functionality to update Job from Position.  For CHRS, this functionality will be on at all times to keep Position and Job in sync.  The 1st (‘Update Incumbents’) and 3rd (‘Force Update for Title Changes’ check boxes should be the only ones checked, with the 2^nd check box (‘Include Salary Plan/Grade’) off. This is in preparation of the Salary step structure implementation. Note: This is an expectation of CHRS and may be a process change for some campuses that do not use it. 

      1. For pooled positions, care should be taken when using Update Incumbents due to potential impact on FTE and Grade.  (Please see ‘Pooled Positions’ below). 

      2. If there is a need to change Job apart from Position, the Override Position function on Job can be used. 

   2. Fields to be kept in sync between Position and Job are listed below. Definitions for all of these components can be found in the CHRS Data Dictionary.  Note: As mentioned above, these fields may not be overridden in Job without using the ‘Override Position’ function and are intended to be temporary changes.  The fields in bold should be the only ones overridden.    

      1. Reports To 

      2. Reg/Temp 

      3. Full/Part Time 

      4. Dept (note: Even though the system allows it, recommend creating or using a different Position number rather than using Override) 

      5. Job Code (note: Even though the system allows it, recommend creating or using a different Position number rather than using Override) 

      6. Salary Admin Plan (new for CHRS 

      7. Grade / Range (new for CHRS) 

      8. FTE (new for CHRS) 

      9. Location 

   3. There are other fields that should be kept in sync but they do not affect pay or require use of the override functionality. Usage would depend on campus practice. 

3. Use of Override Position functionality   

   1. For TAE pooled positions, Override would be used if Grade and FTE are changed. 

   2. For non-pooled positions, Override can be used for any temporary change to a job that is not due to funding. See example below: 

      1. Full time employee goes on Part-time Medical Leave.   

      2. Employee classified as part-time at FTE = .5.   

      3. Change in Full/Part Time and FTE only applies to the Job as it is still funded as a full- time position; it will revert back to Full Time at the expected end date of the change. 

   3. For Interim or Acting position replacement waiting for the position to be filled with a permanent incumbent: 

      1. Override Reg/Temp in Job and, if necessary, change Title in Position to Interim Appointment or Acting Appointment.   

      2. Must have an end date and will most likely have a change to Empl Class in Job.    

4. Pooled positions 

   1. A pooled position is used by many (more than one) employees where the fields below are the same. All Temporary Academic Employees (R03, R11) and non-academic student employees can be pooled. The following fields should all match and should never be changed in Job:     

      1. Reg/Temp 

      2. Full/Part Time 

      3. Dept ID 

      4. Job Code    

      5. Grade and FTE 

         1. Exception: For Temporary Academic employees (TAE), Grade and FTE may vary within a pooled position.  

         2. For all other pooled positions, Grade and FTE must remain the same. 

      6. FLSA status  

         1. FLSA Status is inherited from Salary Schedule and we recommend it not be changed. 

         2. FLSA Status resides in Position and cannot be changed in Job. 

      7. Reports to 

         1. It is recommended that positions that have different ‘Reports To’ values should have a separate pooled position.   

   2. All Job Codes coded as Hourly can be pooled because the FTE and Grade are always the same.   

      1. Examples: Student employees, Casual Workers (1800s), and Special Consultants are included in this group, and can be pooled providing they have the same Department, Reports To, Job Code, and Funding. Please note: Campuses may have specific rules and approaches for funding.

5. 9.0 vs 9.2 - what is new/changed in Position   

   1. ‘Update Incumbents’ functionality will be on at all times to keep Position and Job in sync.  

   2. The practice of using SQL to update positions is not permitted in CHRS.   

   3. Checkbox: Same as CSU Working Title (inherits) or Interim Title (to be entered on this page) 

   4. Job edit (change) FTE is now tied to position; you cannot change in Job without using override. Note: Use of Override is NOT recommended except for those listed above. 

   5. Change to Salary/Grade in Job will generate a warning (new to 9.2).   

   6. CSU Working Title: field length increased to 200 characters. 

   7. New Action Reasons for Position: 

      1. POS/TBC: Time Base Change 

      2. POS/RTC: Reports to Change 

      3. POS/RTT: Reports to and Title Change 

      4. POS/FND: Funding Only Change on Position  

6. Managing positions

   1. When to create a new position number:  

      1. When one does not exist that matches the combination of all the fields below:    

         1. Job Code 

         2. Department 

         3. Reports to  

         4. Salary Admin Plan 

         5. Grade 

         6. Position Pool ID 

      2. when an additional identical position is needed; 

      3. if an employee is temporarily not active due to a leave, temporary reassignment, etc., (a new position number should be created for the replacement and the employee on leave would retain the original position number); 

      4. as directed by budget, if the Fund Source changes in LCD (to preserve history on the original).   

   2. When to update an existing position 

      1. Any data element on an existing position, with the exception of Business Unit, can be updated whether there is an incumbent or not; however, users should be aware the first four items below also impact Job. 

         1. Reports to 

         2. Reclass / Grade / Step change.    

         3. Reg/Temp change 

         4. Reorg 

      2. When the position is being reactivated / unfrozen (see 6D below) 

      3. If the characteristics of the position are changing and the original position number is not going to be retained (i.e., Temporary staff position converted to a permanent position, same job code, repurposed budget from temporary to permanent resulting in net zero effect on FTE); 

      4. Classification Conversion 

      5. Update / Change Funding (appropriate Action Reason to be used is POS/FND) Note: Refer to section 4 above for specific information on pooled positions. 

   3. When to inactivate a position 

      1. Permanent loss of funding (Position will no longer be occupied) 

      2. No longer needed 

      3. Vacant with no plan to fill 

      4. Vacant and has not been used for five years or more 

      5. Discontinuation of Job Code 

         1. If a position is filled and a job code is discontinued it should be updated with the new classification, etc. Note: In most cases, when one job code is discontinued it would be converted to another; therefore, this situation may never occur.  

      6. Inactivation is important to be able to do position reporting and not over-report active positions. 

   4. When to reactivate / unfreeze a position: 

      1. MPP positions should never be reactivated, but staff positions can. 

      2. As long as the inactive position is exactly what is needed and has a combination of data elements below, it should be reactivated rather than creating a new one. Note: Reactivated positions are to be treated like a new position from the funding approval perspective, and funding needs to be confirmed as part of the process. 

         1. Job Code 

         2. Department 

         3. Reports to 

         4. Salary Admin Plan  

         5. Grade 

      3. When the position is funded as Active or Proposed, typically when opening a Recruitment. 

         1. Campuses will need to design a process to ensure there is only one person in a position at a time. For example: If a replacement is hired prior to the incumbent vacating, a different position must be created or used for the replacement until the original incumbent leaves, at which time the replacement would be assigned to the original position and the temporary position number is inactivated or left vacant. The temporary position can be reused as needed. Ultimately, campuses will need to be able to report on this information so the process will need to be followed consistently.   

      4. When reactivating positions, the complete history of that position is preserved, and it facilitates reporting. 

Recommendations

Following is a summary of the recommendations included in this paper:

1. Definitions and standardized CHRS usage recommendations for Position Status have been included.

2. In a consolidated database environment it is important that all campuses follow the same guidelines and procedures to ensure the consistent use of CHRS regardless of where the position is controlled.

3. The system setting should remain as Partial Position Management but it should be position driven, not people driven. Use of pooled positions allows this.

4. Regular positions have a 1:1 ratio of employee to position, while pooled positions are one to many. 

5. Campuses will need to design a process to ensure there is only one person in a position at a time.

6. Positions that have different ‘Reports To’ values should have a separate pooled position.

7. With a few exceptions noted in this paper, Position must always be kept in sync with Job.

8. Use of Override is NOT recommended except as noted within this paper.

Cross-Functional Impacts (Positive / Negative)

• Benefits Administration: N/A
• Labor Cost Distribution: Budget staff should review their processes related to funding of positions (if applicable). 
• Workforce Administration: Please ensure all recommendations are read and implemented.
• Time & Labor: N/A
• Absence Management: N/A
• Temp Faculty: Please ensure all recommendations are read and implemented. 
• Recruiting: N/A

CHANGE IMPACT

To be filled out by BSA (from Change Impact Tracking log):

The following items will be answered / addressed by Change Management:

1. Areas of potential change resistance to proposed HR process / policy changes?

   Campuses may need to change their processes if they differ from the guidelines in this paper.

2. Potential resource needs in order to plan, engage, prepare, and/or deploy the change?

   Existing staff would need to modify their procedures, no resources need to be added.

3. Associated costs relative to the scope of the change to requirements requested?

   Existing staff, no additional associated cost.

4. Training needs or if a straightforward change?

   There may be some training needs if the change is significant enough.

5. Implication on any other related process / functions?

   None.

6. Union impact?

   No reasonably foreseeable impacts within the scope of bargaining identified at the time of review.

REVISION CONTROL

Revision History

Review/Approval History

Review/Approval Criteria

End of Article