Position Synchronization in Oracle HCM

Understanding Position Synchronization

Position synchronization ensures that when an employee is assigned a position, certain predefined attributes automatically inherit from the position record. This minimizes manual data entry and maintains consistency across HR processes.

Key Attributes That Can Be Synchronized

📌 Work Structure Elements:

• Department
• Job
• Location
• Grade & Grade Ladder
• Manager

📌 Employment Details:

• Full-Time / Part-Time Status
• Regular / Temporary Employment
• Assignment Category
• FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) & Working Hours
• Start and End Time

📌 Compliance & Union Information:

• Probation Period
• Union Membership, Bargaining Unit, and Collective Agreements
• Mapped Flexfields for Additional Attributes

Where is Position Synchronization Configured?

🔹 Enterprise Level (Affects all legal entities)

• Managed through Manage Enterprise HCM Information

🔹 Legal Entity Level (Overrides enterprise settings if enabled)

• Managed through Manage Legal Entity HCM Information

How Position Synchronization Works?

Scenario 1: Position Updates

• If position details change, all employees assigned to that position automatically inherit the changes.
• If certain attributes are not synchronized, they remain unchanged unless manually updated.

Scenario 2: Assignment Updates

• When an employee’s assignment is updated, HR can choose whether to inherit the new position values or retain existing details.

Scenario 3: Manager Changes in Position Hierarchy

• If HCM Position Hierarchy is enabled, the manager is determined by the parent position.
• If the parent position is removed, its direct reports automatically move up to the next available manager.

Processing Position Synchronization Updates

🔹 Run “Synchronize Person Assignments from Position” Process

• This scheduled process ensures all assignments reflect the latest position details.
• Required when position configurations change after assignments exist.

🔹 Updating Position Hierarchy

• When a parent position changes, all affected assignments update automatically.
• If a parent position is removed, direct reports move to the next available manager in the hierarchy.

Steps to Enable Position Synchronization

Enterprise-Level Setup

1️⃣ Navigate to Setup and Maintenance → Manage Enterprise HCM Information
2️⃣ Select Enable Position Synchronization
3️⃣ Choose whether employees can override inherited values

Legal Entity-Level Setup

1️⃣ Go to Setup and Maintenance → Manage Legal Entity HCM Information
2️⃣ Enable Position Synchronization
3️⃣ Select which attributes should synchronize

Additional Functionalities

📌 Position Hierarchy Visualization

• Displays parent-child relationships in a structured hierarchy.
• Enables easy editing and visualization of reporting lines.

📌 Flexfield Mapping for Position Sync

• Position flexfields can be mapped to assignment flexfields.
• Managed via Manage Assignment Flexfield Mapping in Functional Setup Manager.

📌 Position Code Generation

• Manual: Users enter position codes manually.
• Automatic: Position codes generate before submission or upon final save.

Why Enable Position Synchronization?

✔ Reduces manual effort and errors.
✔ Ensures consistency across workforce assignments.
✔ Keeps reporting lines and job structures accurate.
✔ Improves automation of HR processes.

I hope this blog post was helpful for you. If you have any questions or feedback, please leave a comment below.