> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.phocassoftware.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.phocassoftware.com/budgets-and-forecasts/workforce-planning/create-a-workforce-plan/manage-employees.md). # Manage employees Update employee information, forecast future workforce changes, review change history, and make bulk changes. Update employee information as circumstances change or to forecast future workforce changes, such as pay reviews, promotions, transfers, and restructures. You can make changes effective from a specific date and view or manage employee information over time. Most employee information can change over time. This information is stored in temporal cells, which retain previous values and the dates from which changes take effect. When you edit a value, you are changing it as of the selected As at date. The previous value is retained, allowing you to view employee information at different points in time and maintain a complete history of changes. You can schedule multiple future changes to the same employee information. {% hint style="success" %} To manage employee information efficiently, customize your view of the plan. You can show or hide columns, then sort and filter employees. {% endhint %} ## Change values You enter measure values as annualized values. You can use two features to update these values in the plan: **As at date** and **Manage timeline**. Both features have the same effect on the plan.
{% hint style="success" %} If you need to make changes that affect many employees at once, see [Make bulk changes](#make-bulk-changes). {% endhint %} ### Use the As at date This method is best for making one or multiple changes with the same effective date. The As at date calendar controls the point in time displayed in the grid. 1. Click the **As at date** calendar. 2. Set the **As at date** to the effective date of the change.\ The grid updates to show values as at that date. When you select a date other than today, a badge displays at the top of the plan to indicate the context: * **Future**: the selected date is after today. * **Past**: the selected date is before today.
3. Edit the value in the cell directly. To return the As at date to today, Click the **As at date** calendar, then click **Today**. to remove the badge and view the current values.
#### Example 1: Give an employee a pay rise 1. In the **As at date** calendar, select the date on which the pay rise takes effect. The **Future** badge displays. 2. In the **Salary** column, enter the new salary and press **Enter**. 3. Return the **As at date** to today to view the original salary. Move it to the future effective date to view the new salary. #### Example 2: Move an employee to a different department 1. In the **As at date** calendar, select the date on which the department change takes effect. The **Future** badge displays. 2. In the **Department** column, select the new department. 3. Return the **As at date** to today to view the original department. Move it to the future effective date to view the new department. ### Use Manage timeline This method is best for adding, reviewing, or fine-tuning multiple effective-dated changes for the same cell without repeatedly using the **As at date** calendar. Right-click the cell and select **Manage timeline**. The timeline window shows every effective-dated entry for that cell, with its effective date, description, and value or selection. From this window, you can: * **Filter entries**: When there are many entries in the list, , use the filters to find the entries you need. * **Add an entry**: Click **Add adjustment** to insert a row, then enter a description and the new value or selection. * **Delete an existing entry**: Click the **X** at the end of the row. ## Make bulk changes For changes that affect many employees at once, for example, an annual salary review, a company-wide FTE adjustment, or a departmental restructure, editing individual cells row by row is impractical. Use one of the following approaches instead: * [**Update using an Excel import**](#update-using-an-excel-import): Best when every change in the batch takes effect on the same date, for example, an annual salary review. * [**Import a file with multiple effective dates**](#import-a-file-with-multiple-effective-dates): Best when the changes in the batch take effect on different dates, or when you're bringing in a large amount of historical data, for example, a full payroll history for a perpetual plan. * [**Edit in bulk directly in the grid**](#edit-in-bulk-directly-in-the-grid): Best for changes that affect fewer employees, or if you prefer to work directly in the grid. The best approach depends on how many employees are affected, whether the changes share one effective date, and where the employee information comes from. ### Update using an Excel import The most efficient approach for large bulk changes that share the same effective date is to update the values in Microsoft Excel, then re-import the data. Any temporal cells updated by the import take the current As at date as their effective date. For example, a mid-year review imported with the As at date set to 1 July gives every changed value an effective date of 1 July. 1. Set the **As at date** to the effective date of the change. For example, the salary review date. 2. Click **Plan** > **Export data** > **As at date**, or use your original import file if the structure hasn't changed. 3. Update the values in the file. For example, apply a percentage uplift to all salaries. 4. Click **Plan** > **Import data** > **I have a file** to import the updated data. {% hint style="success" %} The import file only needs to contain the Unique ID column plus the columns you’re changing. For a bulk salary review, for example, the file only needs Unique ID and Salary. This is safer than a full import because unchanged columns cannot be accidentally overwritten. {% endhint %} ### Import a file with multiple effective dates Use this method when a bulk change doesn't share a single effective date, or when you need to bring in a complete change history at once, for example, when setting up a perpetual plan from your payroll system's history. Unlike [Update using an Excel import](#update-using-an-excel-import), this method doesn't rely on the plan's As at date. Instead, each row in the file carries its own effective date, so a single import can apply changes across many different dates in one step. 1. Click **Plan** > **Export data** > **Timeline** to export a file that includes an effective date column for every recorded change, alongside the standard employee and remuneration columns. Unchanged values are left blank on rows that don't represent a change for that column. 2. (Optional) Filter the file by employee to review that employee's full change history.\ This is a useful way to check what's been changed and when, and to spot and correct mistakes before they're published. 3. Add, edit, or remove rows in the file as required: * To add a new effective-dated change, add a row with the employee's Unique ID, the effective date, and the new value or values. * Leave a cell blank where nothing changes on that date. The import ignores blank cells rather than overwriting existing values with them, so you don't need to strip unrelated columns from a file exported directly from your payroll system. 4. Save the file, then click **Plan** > **Import data** > **I have a file** to import it. Each row's own effective date is used as the effective date for that row's changes, instead of the plan's current As at date. {% hint style="info" %} This is also the fastest way to bring a large amount of historical data into a new or existing plan. Because each employee's full history imports in a single pass, you don't need to set the As at date and re-import the file once for every historical change. {% endhint %} ### Edit in bulk directly in the grid For changes that affect fewer employees, or if you prefer to work directly in the grid: 1. Set the **As at date** to the effective date of the change. 2. Edit a value directly in the grid, or copy and paste from elsewhere. 3. Right-click the cell and use one of these tools to apply bulk changes: * **Copy forward**: Copy a value in one cell, or the values in cells in multiple rows, all the way forward across their respective rows until the end of the period. * **Copy down**: Copy a value in one cell, or the values in multiple cells in a row, down into the employee rows below. ## Correct an opening value You can't backdate a change before an employee's start date. If the opening value is incorrect, changing the As at date or re-importing the row won't replace the original value. To correct an opening value, do one of the following: * Use the [Manage timeline](#use-manage-timeline) feature to edit the opening entry directly. * [Delete the employee](#delete-an-employee) row and re-add or re-import it with the correct value. ## Change the spread method By default, values are spread monthly when you publish. You can change the spread method for any measure column. This is useful when your financial statements use a custom period that doesn't align to months. See Annualized values and spreading for how each spread method distributes values. 1. Click the required column menu, then click **Update spread**. 2. Select **Daily**, **Monthly** or **Yearly** as required. 3. Click **Save**. 4. Republish the plan for the change to take effect.
## View cell history The cell history contains a record of all changes that were made by you and any administrators to the value in a specific cell in the workforce plan. The history includes the effective date and the date it was recorded. Use the cell history to trace how one value has changed over time. Right-click a cell and click **Cell history**. ## Audit log The audit log contains a record of all changes that were made by you and any administrators to the cells in the workforce plan. The audit log is filterable, so you can narrow it down to a specific employee, date range, or attribute, which is useful for reviewing broader plan activity rather than a single value's history. Use the audit log to review changes across the workforce plan. Click **Audit log** in the toolbar. The Audit log panel opens. Click **X** or **Done** to close the panel. ## Delete an employee {% hint style="warning" %} The employee is deleted from the plan instantly. This action can't be undone. {% endhint %} You can delete employees you no longer need in the plan, either individually or in bulk. To delete one employee, click the menu button at the end of its row, then click **Delete**. To delete multiple employees at once, select their rows (they turn blue) and click the menu button at the end of any selected row, then click **Delete**. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the following URL with the `ask` and `goal` query parameters: ``` GET https://docs.phocassoftware.com/budgets-and-forecasts/workforce-planning/create-a-workforce-plan/manage-employees.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is what the user is ultimately trying to achieve, the reason they need the answer. Sharing it helps GitBook give you a better, more relevant answer. A goal is most helpful when it describes the outcome the user wants rather than restating the question. For example, with `ask=how do I create an API token`, a goal like `automate deployments from our CI pipeline` lets GitBook tailor the answer to that use case. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.