Master Workday Position Management: 4 Essential Practices for Headcount Control
Position management should be your most powerful tool for headcount control in Workday.
Instead, for most organizations, it's become a source of constant friction. Positions get created without proper approval. Headcount numbers don't match across Finance, HR, and Recruiting. Simple processes turn into complex data cleanup projects that consume weeks—sometimes months.
Here's what makes this particularly frustrating: You chose position management specifically for better control. You invested in Workday to solve these problems. Yet somehow, you're spending more time managing the chaos than driving strategic workforce planning.
But it doesn't have to be this way.
After leading Workday implementations from the client seat at Google, Slack, and Coinbase—including an 18-month position management redesign at Slack—and completing over 40 implementations at Kandor, I've learned something critical: successful position management isn't about perfect system configuration.
It's about having the right framework, clear ownership, and proper controls in place before you start transacting in Workday.
In this guide, I'll share the four practices that separate organizations with strategic position management from those stuck in constant firefighter mode. Whether you're implementing Workday for the first time or fixing an existing setup that never quite worked right, these principles will help you take control.
Want to see why position management is broken in your environment?
Schedule a free 30-minute Position Management Assessment. We'll review your current approach, identify gaps, and provide specific recommendations for improvement—no obligation.
Book Your AssessmentWhat Is Position Management in Workday (and Why It Matters)?
Position management is Workday's most robust staffing model. It gives you precise control over workforce planning and hiring by requiring positions to be created, defined, and approved before you can fill them.
Think of it like apartment management. Each unit represents a position. Tenants represent employees. You can't house tenants without available units. Building new floors requires planning, budget approval, and proof that existing units are occupied or ready for occupancy.
This differs fundamentally from job management, where you can hire within supervisory organizations without predefined positions. Position management offers granular control through specific restrictions and rules, while job management prioritizes flexibility.
| Feature | Position Management | Job Management |
|---|---|---|
| Control Level | High – Separate hiring rules for each position | Low – One set of rules per supervisory org |
| Hiring Process | Requires approved position before hiring | Can hire immediately without position creation |
| Restrictions | Position-level controls (FT/PT, worker type, location) | Organization-level controls only |
| Headcount Tracking | Both filled and unfilled positions | Current headcount only |
Position management is the right choice when you need:
Strict hiring controls and approval workflows
Detailed workforce planning and scenario modeling
Precise budget allocation and headcount forecasting
Clear audit trails for compliance
That's why 80% of Workday customers choose position management over job management.
The problem? Most organizations implement position management without laying the proper groundwork. They focus on technical configuration while missing the fundamental elements that make it actually work.
The Real Cost of Getting Position Management Wrong
Before we dive into best practices, let's be honest about what's at stake.
When position management breaks down, you don't just deal with annoying data cleanup. You face:
Operational Chaos:
HR teams spending 15-20 hours per week reconciling position data instead of strategic work
Finance unable to trust headcount numbers for accurate forecasting
Recruiting creating requisitions for positions that don't exist or aren't approved
Managers frustrated by approval workflows that seem arbitrary or broken
Financial Impact:
Over-hiring because position controls failed
Budget overruns from unauthorized position creation
Consultant fees for extended cleanup projects (often $50K-$150K+)
Delayed hiring for critical roles while you sort out position status
Strategic Consequences:
Lost confidence from executives who funded your Workday investment
Inability to do scenario planning or org modeling because your data is unreliable
Competitive disadvantage when you can't hire quickly while maintaining control
I experienced this firsthand at Slack. We inherited a position management setup that looked fine on paper but didn't work for how the business actually operated. The 18-month redesign taught me something crucial: the organizations that avoid this pain don't have more sophisticated configurations. They have clearer foundations.
Here's what those foundations look like.
Practice #1: Define Your Position Management Framework Before You Configure
The most common mistake organizations make is jumping straight into Workday configuration without defining how position management should work for their business.
You need to answer four fundamental questions before you touch the system: Who, What, When, and Why.
Who: Define Your Stakeholders and Their Roles
Position management involves multiple teams, each with specific needs:
Finance owns annual planning and translates budget into position strategy. Every position decision has financial implications, so Finance needs clear involvement points.
HR acts as the bridge between stakeholders. They manage positions throughout the employee lifecycle—promotions, transfers, terminations, backfills.
Recruiting turns approved headcount into filled positions. They need specific permissions and clear guidelines about when and how to create or modify positions during hiring.
End Users (managers and HR business partners) work on the front lines. They need clearly defined permissions for position requests and changes.
Without clarity on who does what, you get:
Multiple people creating positions without coordination
Confusion about who has authority to close positions
Broken handoffs in the approval process
Inconsistent approaches across the organization
What: Define Your Position Management Processes
You need structured approaches to:
Creating new positions vs. backfilling existing ones
Managing positions during promotions (inline vs. out-of-line)
Handling position changes during reorganizations
Closing positions after terminations
Tracking position budgets and approvals
Crystal-clear definitions prevent confusion. For example, at Slack, we defined inline promotions (Marketing Manager → Senior Marketing Manager) as keeping the employee in the same position. Out-of-line moves required moving the person into a new position.
When: Establish Timing for Position Actions
Timing matters. Your framework needs to define:
When positions should be requested, created, modified, or closed
Triggers for position changes throughout the employee lifecycle
Sequencing of approvals and system updates
Timing handoffs between Finance, HR, and Recruiting
Why: Document the Purpose Behind Your Decisions
The 'why' aligns your framework with strategic goals. Understanding the reasoning behind your rules helps teams make better decisions when they encounter edge cases.
Documenting the 'why' transforms position management from headcount tracking to strategic workforce planning.
Ready to build your framework?
Download our Position Management Framework Template—a complete workbook that guides you through defining your Who, What, When, and Why before configuring Workday. Includes fillable worksheets, ownership matrices, validation rules library, and implementation roadmap.
Get the Free TemplatePractice #2: Establish Clear Ownership Across the Hiring Process
One of the most important elements of successful position management is defining clear ownership as responsibilities transfer across the process.
Without clear ownership, you get broken handoffs, duplicate work, and data integrity issues.
Create a responsibility matrix that maps who can initiate, approve, execute, monitor, and own data quality for each position management action.
Practice #3: Implement System Guardrails to Prevent Errors
Your framework and ownership definitions are essential. But without proper system guardrails, position management can still go off track.
Guardrails are the practical implementation of your rules within Workday. They prevent errors rather than requiring cleanup afterward.
Struggling with position management data cleanup?
Learn how to prevent errors before they happen with our Position Management Control Framework. Includes security policy templates, validation rules, and approval workflow examples.
Download the Control FrameworkEssential Guardrails to Implement:
Domain Security Policies - Control who can access position management functions
Business Process Security - Define what actions each role can perform
Business Process Validations - Add validation rules with instructions
Condition Rules - Establish rules about when positions can be edited
Practice #4: Train Your Teams on Position Management
Even with perfect framework, clear ownership, and strong guardrails, position management fails if your teams don't know how to execute.
Training transforms your framework from documentation into daily practice.
Effective training includes:
Role-specific training for Finance, HR, Recruiting, and Managers
Scenario-based practice for common and edge cases
Job aids and quick reference guides
Office hours and ongoing support
How Kandor Can Help
At Kandor Solutions, we specialize in helping organizations build position management that actually works.
What makes us different:
1. Client-Side Expertise
Our team includes former system owners from Google, Slack, and Coinbase. We've been in your seat. That perspective shapes everything we do.
2. Proven Implementation Methodology
We follow the four practices outlined in this guide across every engagement. We've refined this approach across 40+ implementations.
3. Kinnect Headcount Planning Platform
Our Kinnect solution eliminates many position management pain points by providing an intuitive interface, automating handoffs, and enabling scenario planning.
Organizations that partner with us typically achieve:
70% reduction in position-related data errors
15-20 hours per week saved on position data reconciliation
30-day position management stabilization (instead of 18+ months)
Finance confidence in headcount numbers for accurate forecasting
Is your position management working as well as it should?
Schedule a free 30-minute Position Management Assessment. We'll review your current approach, identify gaps, and provide specific recommendations for improvement—no obligation.
Book Your Assessment →Take Control of Your Position Management
Position management in Workday doesn't have to be a source of constant frustration.
With clear framework, defined ownership, strategic guardrails, and effective training, you can transform it into exactly what you wanted when you chose it: a tool for precise headcount control and strategic workforce planning.
The key is being proactive rather than reactive. Implement these four practices before position management becomes a crisis, not after.
If you're implementing Workday for the first time, build these foundations from the start. If you're struggling with existing position management, these principles provide your roadmap for fixing it.
Ready to take the next step?
Download the Position Management Framework Template →
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Should we use position management or job management in Workday?
A: Position management is right for organizations needing strict hiring controls, detailed workforce planning, and precise budgeting. Job management works for fast-growing companies prioritizing flexibility over control. 80% of Workday customers choose position management.
Q: How long does it take to implement position management properly?
A: With proper framework and planning, expect 12-16 weeks for full implementation including training and stabilization. Organizations that skip framework definition often spend 18+ months in constant cleanup mode.
Q: What's the biggest mistake organizations make with position management?
A: Jumping to system configuration without defining how position management should work for their business. Technical implementation without clear framework, ownership, and guardrails leads to chaos.
Q: Can we implement position management with internal resources?
A: It depends on your team's Workday expertise and availability. The framework definition and ownership mapping are change management challenges, not technical ones. Many organizations benefit from external expertise during design even if they handle configuration internally.
Q: How do we handle position management during reorganizations?
A: Your framework should define reorg processes explicitly. Generally: freeze position changes during reorg planning, update positions during reorg execution, train managers on new structure before reopening position management to normal operations.
Q: What's the ROI of getting position management right?
A: Organizations with solid position management save 15-20 hours per week on data reconciliation, reduce position-related errors by 70%, achieve 30-day stabilization instead of 18+ months firefighting, and enable strategic workforce planning that was previously impossible.
About the Author
Seena Mojahedi is the CEO of Kandor Solutions and a former system owner at Google, Slack, and Coinbase. She led an 18-month position management redesign at Slack and has supported over 40 Workday implementations. She brings a client-side perspective to helping organizations build Workday solutions that actually work.
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