Compensation Items

Compensation Items are essential components when designing the compensation structure for workforce budgeting. They are the various employee compensations paid to employees of an organization. The number of compensation items required depends on the budget requirements of the organization.

Users who have access to Maintenance > WFP define salary, payroll tax, and employee benefits as compensation items. Each compensation item is mapped to a leaf-level member from the account segment and is calculated based on a defined basis. It is recommended to create compensation items that can be adjusted or vary annually.

All compensation items, except those with the compensation basis of Direct Data Input, Wage Type, and Wage Type without reviews, can be added. These compensation items can be assigned to employees with varying effective periods and percentages.

Compensation items can be mapped to an employee type or individual employees. 

However, compensation items that vary annually cannot be edited on the Employee list page. Additionally, multiple raise details cannot be updated from the Mass Update application page. It's important to note that compensation items are not directly linked to the rate or hours loaded for wage calculations. The default values set at the compensation level are applied to all employees. If changes are needed, they should be made at the employee level on the Employee page.

In Workforce Planning, compensation items are crucial in identifying and accounting for individual employee expenses. They encompass every compensation paid to or on behalf of an employee, including salaries, benefits, state and federal taxes, and more. When introducing new types of compensation, it is important to create corresponding compensation items in workforce planning to ensure accurate accounting and inclusion in the planning process.

Once you navigate to the Workforce Planning Setup option, go to the Compensation Items tab.

How-Tos

Refer to the following how to's for quick reference:

• How to Update Compensation Items Loaded via Data Load Rules?
• How to Copy all Compensation Items and Rates from One Scenario to Another?
• How Changes to Compensation Items Affect Running Scenarios?
• How to Input Data Using the Direct Data Input Compensation Item?
• How to Lock Compensation Items to Prevent Modification?
• How to View Compensation Items in a Report?
  
  

Now, let's explore all the options on the Compensation Items tab:

Adding Compensation Items

This option allows you to add the compensation items.

To add a compensation item, do the following:

1. Select the scenario.
2. Click Add to add a new compensation item.
   
3. In the General Information tab: 
   1. Enter the Code and Name of the Compensation Item in the respective fields.
   2. Select the Compensation Group the Compensation Item belongs to.
   3. Select the Account where compensation item data will be posted.
      Note:

      The account must be an MTD-type account.
      
      
      
   4. Select the Employee Type.This is optional.
      Notes:

      • Mappings made in the Add/Edit Compensation Item screens are automatically synced with the Employee Type.

      • When copying a compensation item, Employee Type mappings from the original compensation item are not retained. These mappings must be selected manually for the new compensation item if needed. All other compensation details will be copied as-is without changes.

      • When adding or editing the compensation items, only one wage-type compensation can be mapped to an Employee Type at a time.  Also, you cannot remove an Employee Type from a wage-type compensation item if that removal would leave the Employee Type with no wage-type compensation mapped.

      • When a scenario is locked, or an entity/template is forwarded, or the user has no access to the Entity, users can still map new or updated compensation items from the Compensation screen. However, associated employees will be marked as Unprocessed, and changes will not reflect until the scenario is unlocked or access is restored. This allows partial setup flexibility, but no data push or processing will occur under these restricted conditions.

      • When a new compensation item is created with Employee Type selection, it will be automatically added to all existing employees belonging to that Employee Type — including those with a status of Terminated, Promoted, or Transfer-Out. So these employees will be marked as Unprocessed, and must be manually reviewed or reprocessed if needed.

      
4. In the Compensation Basis tab:
   1. Select the desired value for the Compensation Basis field. Click hereto learn more about Compensation Basis.
      Note:

      The following fields depend on the selection made in the Compensation Basis field.
   2. Select the Compensation Payment frequency, Calculation Basis, and any other required fields.
      
5.  In the Settings tab:
   1. Select any of the following options:
      • Statistical Compensation: Enables the Aggregate Formula field to select the formula to associate with the statistical compensation item used for headcount purposes.
      • Apply Pay Plan: Allows budget users to modify the spread by compensation item. Click here to learn more about applying for a pay plan.
      • Set as Global Constant: Prevents budget users from modifying a rate. Click here to learn more on how you can lock a compensation item.
        
6.  Click Save to save your changes.

Editing Compensation Items

This option is used to edit an existing compensation item. 

To edit a compensation item, do the following:

1. Click the Edit icon. The Edit Compensation Item page appears.
   
   
   
2. Update all the data as required.
   
   
   
3. Click Save to save your changes.

Deleting Compensation Items

This option is used to delete the compensation item.

To delete a compensation item, do the following:

1. Select the compensation item you want to delete.
2. Now, click the delete icon. A confirmation message appears on the screen to confirm the deletion.

Copying Compensation Items

This option allows you to copy an existing compensation item. 

To copy a compensation item, do the following:

1. Select an existing compensation item 
2. Click Copy. The Copy Compensation pop-up appears.
   
3. Enter the New Compensation Code and New Compensation Name. These fields are already pre-filled with Copy_ followed by the name of the compensation item you've selected.
   
4. Click Add. You can see the compensation item being added to the list. Open the compensation item and edit if required.

Using Publish Compensation

The Publish compensation option prompts the system to automatically update the data for all compensation items to the workforce cube (available for all scenarios except for Default Scenario).

Using Apply Filter Option

This option simplifies your search process. By clicking the Apply Filter option, you can narrow down your search results by:

• Compensation Item Code
• Compensation Item Name
• Basis
• Compensation Group

The search fields appear below all the columns listed above, making it easier for you to find your compensation item.

Exporting Compensation Items

These options allow you to export the compensation items' details.

Related Articles

• Compensation Basis
• Understanding Pre-built Calculation Basis
• Situations When You Can't Edit a Compensation Item
• Marginal Benefit Calculation Setup Examples