Understanding Position Management

This chapter discusses:

• Use positions versus jobs to structure your human resources system.

• Decide when to use the Manage Positions business process.

Using Positions Versus Jobs to Structure Your Human Resources System

You can structure your human resources system by position instead of by job.

• When you structure your HR system by employee, you get broader information about your organization’s jobs. Use job codes to group jobs into general classifications so job codes and employees have a one-to-many relationship. Many employees share a job code, though they might perform the work in different departments, locations, or companies. Identify the job an employee performs through the data you enter in their employee record.

• Use positions to track details on a particular job in a particular department or location that usually have a one-to-one relationship with employees. When you structure your system by position, you attach data to the positions and move employees in and out of those positions. By focusing on the position, you can track information related to it, such as salary or standard hours, regardless of whether an employee holds the position. When the position is vacant you won't lose the common thread that binds the data together. Use data specific to each position as the basis for organizational planning, recruitment, career planning, and budgeting.

Deciding When To Use the Human Resources Manage Positions Business Process

When deciding when to use the Manage Positions business process, consider the following:

• If your organization is fluid—you tend to view broader groupings of employees and often create new jobs—you'll probably find that structuring the system by employee is best. This method is useful if your organization is expanding, or if you often create new jobs or job types.

• If your organization is fairly static—jobs and job descriptions are mostly fixed, and people move in and out of them—you'll probably find that structuring the system by position is most effective. Government agencies and hospitals, which plan positions based on budgets, find this method useful.

• If both methods serve you well in different areas of your organization, you can choose to structure Human Resources by position for some departments or management levels and by employee for others. Human Resources enables you to use both—select a setting called partial position management to use both methods wherever they suit you.