Community of Practice

Position Management

Berkeley UCPath

Welcome! While we wait …

Please share a little about you in the chat:

• Name, pronouns
• Department / Region
• Role
• Welcome Question: Does your department actively inactivate vacant positions that you no longer have plans to refill? Why or why not?

A little about me …

Avry Schellenbach (she/her/hers)

Training Coordinator

Agenda

• Vacant Position Management Best Practices
• Spotlight: Rita d’Escoto, the Importance of Positions in Financial Planning
• Spotlight: Tiffany Santana, Position Cleanup Project
• Spotlight: Raymond Ringl, How to Clean Up Positions into Org Tree
• Breakout Rooms: Reflections & Your Best Practices
• Full Group Share Out
• On the Horizon
• Q&A
• Poll – Q2 Topic and Month
• Resources

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Spotlight

Rita d’Escoto,

Importance of Positions in Financial Planning

Spotlight

Tiffany Santana,

Position Cleanup Project

Key Question

Key question: At any given moment, what is the projected cost savings if we delay the hiring of specific roles or bulk positions?

Difficult to accomplish when reports are obscured with irrelevant position numbers that we have no intention to fill.

Strategy & Approach

• Communicate Benefits to stakeholders:
• Vacancy savings can be accomplished with minimal effort.
• By linking funding sources upfront, we ensure precise salary accounting and remove the need for corrective SCTs.
• Central campus FTE reports will be correct and match Haas reports.
• Educate community on Position Numbers
• Included Position Numbers on the Haas HR rehire request form.
• Included PNs on budget templates so managers have information handy - especially for student hires.
• Create workflow process
• Require PN managers to inactivate obsolete positions following staff departures.

Lessons Learned

• UC Path will deactivate a list if requested, but will ignore position numbers that to not have a supervisor assigned.
• Org Node Updates require funding to be re-entered.

Workflow

Workflow Image Description

Start: New Hire

“Is there an existing Position Number that can be used?”

• No:
• “Then a new Position Number needs to be created (try to avoid this!)”
• “During hiring process, the old Position Number needs to be inactivated after the new one has been hired (in the event that there is currently an employee in that role).”
• Yes:
• “Is the Position Number currently Active?”
• No: “Look at the inactivated Position Numbers. Then reactive Position Number and make updates with new hire information.”
• Yes:
• “Edit existing PN with new hire information”
• “End: after the employee’s last day, Position Number needs to be evaluated for whether or not it can be re-used or should be inactivated for the time being.”

Spotlight

Raymond Ringl,

Viewing and Managing Your Org Chart

Scenario: Managing your department’s org chart

Imagine you are a Financial Analyst responsible for managing the department org chart for Sky Deck (UCPath Department ID: OPSKY).

You’ll want to know:

• What positions are in this department?
• Of those positions, which are filled or vacant?
• Of those vacant positions, which are linked to active recruitments?
• Are there any vacant positions that need to be inactivated (e.g., do not fit into the organizational tree), or can they be repurposed for an open recruitment?

Cal Answers HR Reporting: Position Management

Cal Answers >

Campus Workforce Planning (HR) Dashboards >

Workforce Detail Dashboard >

Position Management >

Position Roster tab

CalAnswers Position Roster: Important Fields

As of Date: Cal Answers reports based on current Position Data as of the date chosen (in this case, I chose 02/03/2026)

• Be aware of future dated hires from your selected As of Date (these will be excluded in your report)

Parent Org Node Code: OPSKY - Sky Deck

Position Inactive: ‘All’

• The Position Inactive column is hidden by default.
• Right-click any column header to include it.

Position FTE is Zero: ‘All’

• Selecting ‘Y’ will only show Position FTE = 0.00, Selecting ‘N’ will exclude.
• We want to see all positions in this department

Once you have your report…

Important fields to pay attention to:

• Current Position State (Filled or Vacant)
• Position Number
• Position Status (active, inactive)
• Shown as:
• Position Inactive = N - Active
• Position Inactive = Y - Inactive

Review Org Tree (optional)

It may be helpful to view your organization tree.

• Cal Answers provides the required information (Employee Name, Supervisor Name) to create this using the ‘Chart’ feature
• Chart Type = Organizational Chart
• ID = Employee Name
• Parent = Supervisor Name
• How to create an org tree: Create an Organisational Chart in Google Sheets.

Additional Columns to Add/Insert (Decision-Making)

Once you have your report, these columns may prove helpful to add in and confirm line by line:

• Position Review
• Filled Positions
• ‘In Budget’ - incumbent has been budgeted for.
• Vacant Positions
• ‘Recruiting’ - Position actively being recruited for.
• ‘Re-use for …’ - Vacant position that we may repurpose for proposed recruitment.
• ‘Inactivate’ -
• Position not part of org tree.
• ⚠️ Action Required - Inactivate to clean up position data.

Vacant Position Review

As part of your review, you may consult with your:

• Division Finance Lead
• Position Management Lead
• Chief Administrative Officer
• Hiring Managers
• Recruiters

… to better understand the nature of these vacant positions.

• Are there any that are earmarked for the future (i.e., academic students or faculty)?
• For the remaining vacancies, can I inactivate these?

UCPath Next Steps

Current Position State = Vacant

• Recruiting: Review Position Data to ensure all data fields match financial approvals. Adjust if necessary.
• Repurpose: Update Position Data to match position with an existing approved recruitment or vacancy.
• Inactivate: If no plans to fill, inactivate in Position Management.

Breakout Rooms

Instructions:

Spend 5 minutes per question.

15 min discussion.

Goal: Discuss Spotlight and surface additional Best Practices

1. Which strategies shared today could work in your unit?
2. What best practices does your unit already use for vacant position management?
3. What’s one small next step your unit could take related to vacant positions?

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Full Group Discussion

• Share one strategy from your group that others could borrow.
• What’s one small action someone is considering after today?

On the Horizon

UCPath policy and project updates that impact Position Management

Union Accretions

Due to new job codes being accreted to unions, their associated union code will have changed from Union Code 99 (unrepresented) to a new union code.

How might this impact me?

• Double check the Employee Relations Code (ERC) is correct.
• If needed, update ERC for vacant positions with an ‘Update Vacant Position’ Position Control Request, or for filled positions with a Position Data change in PayPath.

Employee Relations Code Webinar

To support Position Management transactors, the Berkeley UCPath Operations Team is partnering with Employee Labor Relations (ELR) to create a webinar defining Employee Relations Codes and walking through how to select the correct one.

Stay tuned for an invite and more details to come!

Service Hub News – Improved Accuracy

Service Hub corrected a timing issue that has greatly improved the accuracy of Position and Employee Job data coming from UCPath!

Any new positions or updates to position data should have a 1 day turnaround (or less) to see in HR Service Hub. 

There is now a mid-day refresh every day at 1pm!

Your Questions Answered

A

Q

Question 2

Why do I not input an end date for my PNs?

”

“

Berkeley UCPath Ops Team Answer:

• Not a trackable field in UCPath.
• Positions aren’t planned to end: They remain active until explicitly inactivated.
• Best Practice: If a position is no longer needed, use the Inactivate action with its own effective date.

Question 1

What is the effect or impact of having one position number for one grad student who has an ASE position for both fall and spring vs having a separate PN for each separate semester appt?

”

“

Berkeley UCPath Ops Team Answer:

• Downstream Funding: New positions will need funding attached; reusing positions require funding source confirmed as accurate.
• Continuity: A single position shows continuity of the role, while multiple positions create noise and the false appearance of extra open roles.
• Efficiency: One position saves time; separate positions double the work.
• Best Practice: Think of positions like “chairs” — you don’t need to rebuild a new chair each semester.

Have additional topics or questions to add?

Submit a Google Form response today!

Topics of Interest

Topics collected from the Position Management Focus Group Series

Current List: Topics of Interest

• Updating vs. Creating New Positions Best Practices
• Copying/Initializing from a Position Best Practices
• Overallocation & Multi-Head Count Issues
• Approval vs. Approvers – Who ‘Owns’ Position Management?
• Staff vs. Academic – Adding a Stipend
• Downstream Impacts of Incorrect Position Data

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Next Meeting Topic

Let’s take a poll!

Which topic do you want to discuss next meeting?

Which month work best for our next quarterly meeting?

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Resources

Position Management Community of Practice Website:

• Scheduled meetings
• Current list of topics to discuss
• Google Drive Link with meeting recordings, slide decks, notes, community-shared resources
• Google Form Links to add questions, topics, and sign-up for this meeting series

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Position Lifecycle Graphic

These roles are specific to your units.

• Some units may be responsible for the entire lifecycle.
• Other units may split responsibility between Departments and Regions.

It’s important you understand the workflows and communication handoffs in your unit for all stages in the position lifecycle.

Position Lifecycle

Vacant Position Management

Position Control

Position Admin

Hiring into a Position

Templates

Manage HR

Manage Job

Filled Position Management

PayPath

Position Admin

Separating from a Position

Templates

Manage Job

Project Charter: Community of Practice – Position Management

Mission:

Quarterly meetings to foster a collaborative environment where UC Berkeley’s Position Management transactors can connect, share best practices, centralize processes, and stay informed about upcoming UCPath changes, ultimately enhancing skill proficiency and reducing errors in Position Management.

Position Management Definition:

The oversight of position data from creation to inactivation, ensuring positions remain aligned with funding, job codes, and employment structures.

This includes Vacant and Filled Position Management through Position Control, Position Administration, and PayPath.

Key Stakeholders:

• Berkeley UCPath Operations Team (facilitators)
• Department & BRS transactors
• Vacant Position Management (Position Control & Position Admin)
• Filled Position Management (PayPath & Position Admin)
• Other Campus SMEs (e.g., ELR, APO)

Objectives:

• Connect Decentralized Transactors: establish a regular form for knowledge exchange and community building.
• Share Best Practices: for Position Management workflows, solutions, and strategies.
• Centralize Processes: work towards greater consistency and standardization of Position Management processes through discussion.
• Reduce Errors & Enhance Skills: Contribute to continuous skill development through shared learning and practical insights.
• Provide Timely Information: Information about upcoming UCPath system changes related to Position Management.

Meeting Scope:

• Spotlight: Guest speaker on policy, process, or project followed by small group discussion.
• On the Horizon: future UCPath Changes.
• Q&A: for questions submitted before the meeting.