Action Definitions

Use the Action Definitions page to define employee expenses that are beyond salaries such as overtime, mileage reimbursement, taxes, and retirement contributions.

Action definitions specify the behavior for calculating Workforce Budgeting data. The calculated data is then stored in action groups. Each action, with a few exceptions, has a corresponding action group that contains the associated data for that action. An action group is a grouping of action definitions that are then summarized. The summarized action group is used for reporting and as a base for calculating other actions.

These are the predefined action groups:

Base Salary tracks base salary.
Rate Change - Step and Grade tracks rate changes associated with different Step and Grade Schedule effective dates.
Base Hours tracks base hours only.
Total Hours tracks base hours and hours from other actions such as overtime.
FTE tracks total full time equivalents.
Headcount tracks headcount.

There are a number of standard actions included in Workforce Budgeting. See "Action types" for a detailed explanation. These standard actions are fully configurable to better fit your requirements. For example, you can use the Fixed Amount action to define a bonus of $5,000 that is applied without regard to salary. Alternatively, you can set up a bonus as a percentage of salary. Additionally, you can create actions, such as mileage reimbursement or 401K contribution.

We recommend that you define actions as generically as possible for use among all users. This keeps the module simple for budgeters to use and improves performance.

The fields available on this page change according to the selected action type.

This table describes the fields:

Field	Description
	Save any changes.
	Add a new action definition.
	Refresh the page to the last saved state. You are prompted if there are unsaved changes.
	Delete the current action. Actions assigned to vacant positions cannot be deleted.
	Copy the selected action definition.
Existing Definition	List of previously saved action definitions. Action definitions assigned to vacant positions cannot be changed.
Action Type	List of actions types. See "Action types".
Name	Specify a name for the action definition.
Description	Optional. Specify a description for the action definition.
Based On	Select an action group on which to base the calculation.
Include In	List of action groups. Action groups are database views which sum data from multiple actions or action groups. These are the predefined action groups: Benefits: Empty by default, but includes any actions included in the group. Position Summary: Includes Total Compensation, Benefits, and any other actions included in the group. Salary: Includes Base Salary, Rate Change - Step and Grade, and any other actions included in the group. Total Compensation: Includes Salary group and any other actions included in the group.
Action Date	Specify a date for the action. Select from: Calendar Date Any active date attribute. Use this field to always apply the action based on a specific date attribute.
Spread Calculation Method	Specify how to spread the calculation. You can apply to a single period or spread the amount across the planning cycle. Select Apply across the budget cycle or Apply annual amount to a single period.
Allow budgeter to apply	Select this check box to let the budgeter apply this action. If this check box is not selected, only the administrator can apply the action.
Shift differential only	Select this check box to calculate only the shift differential.
Include in Distributions	Select this check box to set the action as distributable. This check box does not display if allocation dimensions are used.

Action values

The Action Values section is shown when you can specify a default value for the selected action type. The fields shown in this section depend on the selected action type.

Field	Description
Default Action Value	Specify a value to use as the default value for new action assignments.
Allow budgeter to override default value	Select this check box to let the budgeter override the default value.
Percent	Specify a percent value to use as the default for new action assignments.
Based On Start	Specify a numeric value as the start of the range. Any number greater than the start value is included in the range.
Based On End	Specify a numeric value as the end of the range. Any number less than or equal to the end value is included in the range.
Default Rate	Specify the rate. For example, this can be the rate for mileage so you would specify 0.3244.
Default Quantity	Optional. Specify the annual quantity or measure.
Maximum Action Value	Specify a maximum value for the action. If an action is defined with a maximum value, data is not calculated for that action beyond the maximum year-to-date value specified for the year.
Calculation Cycle	Specify if the calculation is based on the fiscal year or the calendar year.