University of Wisconsin–Madison

Change in Responsibilities and Title – Promotion, Lateral, or Demotion

Overview

A change in responsibilities and title may be requested when a filled position has changes in responsibilities due to organizational business needs and a different standard job description (SJD) is more appropriate. This may result in a promotion, lateral move, or demotion. Such changes must be permanent job responsibilities of growing importance to the operational unit that are either newly assigned or have evolved from the job's original functions. The new responsibilities should be of different scope, impact, or complexity compared to the previous functions. This type of adjustment may not be available when the change in title involves moving from a non-managerial position to a managerial position (e.g., organizational contributor to manager), and may not be available for movement into a limited title from a non-limited title, unless the non-limited title is a faculty title. When an employee has a title change that results in a change in their status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the employee will maintain their employment category. A change in responsibilities and title may result in a salary adjustment.

Required Documentation

  1. Justification Documentation: All change in responsibilities with a title change must provide justification documentation outlining evidence for the need. The justification documentation should include:
      1. See 'Evaluating Job Title within the Job Framework' job aid.
      2. The movement from an Organizational Contributor to a Management track title may not be allowable under this type of change; it may require recruitment.
      3. This type of adjustment may not be available for movement into a Limited title from a non-Limited title, unless the non-Limited title is a Faculty title.
      4. This type of adjustment may not be available when the title change is a result of a vacancy; it may require recruitment.
      5. If employee will be assigned to a different title set, include:
        1. Explanation how skills and abilities needed to perform the work are very similar; and
        2. Identification of other similarly situated employees, and statement/justification why responsibilities are being reassigned to employee, instead of other similarly situated employees.
  2. Organizational Chart: If the change involves changes in reporting structure, a proposed org chart should be attached.

Processing in Workday

Processing a change in responsibilities and title can be accomplished through the Job Change business process in Workday. 

Change in Responsibilities and Title

Overview

For Faculty, Academic Staff, Limited Appointees, and University Staff who have a permanent change to their responsibilities and title are processed as a Job Change in Workday. These instructions explain how to process the Job Change, including adjusting the compensation (if applicable), changing the responsibilities, and attaching a justification. 

Who Can Initiate?

Generally the HR Process Coordinator (Supervisory) UW will initiate this process. A list of all security roles able to initiate include:

  • HR Executive (Local)
  • HR Executive (Supervisory)
  • HR Partner (Local)
  • HR Partner (Supervisory)
  • HR Process Coordinator (Supervisory) UW

Processing Change in Workday

The steps below outline how to process a change in responsibilities and title, with or without a compensation increase. 

See the Business Process Map for Job Changes for the full approval process.

Change in Responsibilities & Title
Step 1: Find Employee

From the Workday landing page, enter the employee's name in the search box and select the employee.

Step 2: Start Job Change

Workday screenshot of 'Start Job Change'

Once you are in the employee's Worker Profile:

  1. Select Actions
  2. Select Job Change
  3. Select Start Job Change . The Worker will populate based on the employee profile.
  4. Confirm Worker
  5. Select one of the following:
    1. Promotion: If moving an employee into a job in a higher salary grade than their current job
    2. Lateral Move/Transfer: If moving an employee into a job in the same salary grade as their current job
    3. Demotion: If moving an employee into a job in a lower salary grade than their current job
  6. Click OK
Step 3: Enter Details in 'Start Job Change' 

Workday screenshot of starting 'Job Change'

  1. Select the Effective Date
    1. Note: The date chosen will default to the pay date for the next biweekly pay period in which the request falls. UW System policy does not allow for retroactive transactions.
  2. Select the current position for this change
  3. Under 'Job Details' section, enter new Job Title
  4. Expand 'View More Details' section:
    1. Enter new Job Title
    2. Enter new Business Title
    3. Select Pay Rate Type
      1. This should default based on the new job title's FLSA status.
      2. In this example, the employee is moving from a University Staff title to an Academic Staff title, so the pay rate type is changing from hourly to salary.
    4. Ensure correct Job Classification is selected
      1. In this example, the employee is remaining University Staff since their position is changing from University Staff to Academic Staff, so 'US - Legacy University Staff Governance' is selected.
  5. Click Next
Step 4: Change Organization Assignments

Workday screenshot of 'Change Organization Assignments'

Review Organization Assignments.

  1. Ensure Legacy matches their current position's Employee Category.
  2. Ensure Compensation Basis is correct
  3. Click Next
Step 5: Enter Compensation

Workday screenshot of compensation details

Enter Compensation:

  1. Scroll down to the compensation section and Edit or Add Plan Assignment, if needed
    1. If changing from hourly to salary or vice versa, an Amount will need to be entered. See Salary Conversion Table for conversion calculation.
    2. In this example, the person is receiving a pay increase, and is also changing from hourly to salary based on the new job title FLSA status.
  2. Click Save
  3. Click Next
Step 6: Attach Justification
  1. Enter a Comment
  2. Add Attachment*
  3. Click Submit

*Note: Justification documentation is required for a change in responsibilities and title. The justification documentation can be uploaded as an attachment and should include:

    • See 'Evaluating Job Title within the Job Framework' job aid.
    • The movement from an Organizational Contributor to a Management track title may not be allowable under this type of change; it may require recruitment.
    • This type of adjustment may not be available for movement into a Limited title from a non-Limited title, unless the non-Limited title is a Faculty title.
    • This type of adjustment may not be available when the title change is a result of a vacancy; it may require recruitment.
    • If employee will be assigned to a different title set, include:
      1. Explanation how skills and abilities needed to perform the work are very similar; and
      2. Identification of other similarly situated employees, and statement/justification why responsibilities are being reassigned to employee, instead of other similarly situated employees.
Step 7: Review & Approval by Other Security Roles

After the rate change is submitted, will be sent for review and approval by those with the following security roles:

  1. HR Process Coordinator (Supervisory) UW
    1. (Optional) Can add ad hoc approver(s)
  2. Compensation Partner (Supervisory)
    1. Can edit if needed
  3. Cost Center Accounting Specialist (CCAS)
    1. The CCAS can make an adjustment to the costing allocation, if applicable.
  4. Position Budget Manager
    1. (Optional) Can add ad hoc approver(s)
  5. HR Partner (Supervisory)
    1. (Optional) Can add ad hoc approver(s)
    2. See Step 7 below for details on how to update the temporary job responsibilities
Step 8: Manage Probation Period

Once approved by the HR Partner (Supervisory), it will send task to the HR Process Coordinator (Supervisory) UW to Manage Probation Period. 

  • If new probation period is required, then add probation period details (type, reason, start/end date, duration) and submit.
  • If new probation period is not required, then this step can be skipped.
    • In the task, hover over Task Action and select Skip This Task
    • Enter Skip Reason
    • Click OK
Step 9: Update Position Restrictions

Workday screenshot of 'Edit Position Restrictions' button

Workday screnshot of 'Edit Position Restriction' details

Once the 'Manage Probation Period' task is complete, the HR Partner (Supervisory) will update Position Restrictions.

  1. Click Edit Position Restrictions
  2. Populate the employee name or their position number to find the position you need to edit
  3. Click OK
  4. Select one of the following:
    1. Filled Position > Change Job - Update Job Profile and Responsibilities
      1. Use this reason if modifications will be made to the 'Hiring Restrictions' tab and the responsibilities listed in the 'Qualifications' tab. Changes to the 'Hiring Restrictions' section are applied to future hires or transfers into the position.
    2.  Filled Position > Change Job - Update Responsibilities Only 
      1. Use this reason if modifications are only made to the responsibilities listed in the 'Qualifications' tab.
  5. Click on the Qualifications tab to update the job responsibilities
Step 10: Enter New Responsibilities

Workday screenshot of editing responsibilities in the 'Qualifications' tab

  1. In the Responsibilities section:
    1. Replace the old responsibilities with the Standard Job Description (SJD) job responsibilities of the new position 
      1. Do not change or remove any job responsibilities that are from the SJD
      2.  Click the + icon to add a new row and add an SJD responsibility and/or unique responsibility (if applicable)
      3. Click the - icon to remove any old responsibilities (if applicable)
  2. Enter Comment
  3. Add Attachment (optional)
  4. Click Submit

After the change in responsibilities and title are approved in Workday, the initiator, and the manager receive notifications. 

  • The HR Process Coordinator will:
    • Generate and customize the Job Change Letter (memo to employee)
    • Send memo to the employee for review in Workday
  • Next the Employee logs into Workday to review and acknowledge the memo by checking the acknowledgment box and submitting

Additional Resources

Questions?

Contact compensation@ohr.wisc.edu.

Updated: Jul. 03, 2025
Source URL: https://hr.wisc.edu/hr-guides/for-hr-professionals/change-in-responsibilities-and-title-promotion-lateral-or-demotion/

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