L&S Supervisory Organizations
This document provides information to departments on Supervisory Organizations (Sup Orgs) as well as instructions for L&S Departments/ART on how to request sup org changes.
Supervisory Organizations (Sup Orgs) in Workday define the reporting structure for employees. Each Sup Org represents a group of positions or workers who report to a specific manager. They help organize staffing, budgeting, and workflow by:
- Structuring teams and departments within an institution
- Assigning management responsibility
- Supporting staffing models (Position Management or Job Management)
- Facilitating HR processes like hiring, job changes, and reporting
- Ensuring consistency across divisions and institutions
Sup Orgs are foundational to how Workday manages people and positions, making it easier to track roles, responsibilities, and organizational changes.
Review and Audit Sup Orgs
Step by Step Guide: Run Extract Supervisory Organizations (UW) Report
Video Tutorial: Run Extract Supervisory Organizations (UW) Report
Step by Step Guide: Read Extract Supervisory Organizations (UW) Report
Video Tutorial: Read Extract Supervisory Organizations (UW) Report
Sup Org Naming Convention and Staffing Models
Supervisory Organization Code + Name
These fields are view-only and together form a unique identifier across all institutions. This format is how Sup Org information will appear throughout Workday. Examples:
- UWSTP | Academic Affairs
- UWLAC | HR | Human Resources
- UWMSN | DOIT | Information Technology
- UWMIL | ATHL | Athletics
- UWMSN | L&S | Human Resources
Sup Org Name Guidelines:
- Clearly describe the function or purpose of the group reporting to a manager.
- Use proper case formatting (e.g., Academic Affairs).
- Spell out names completely; avoid abbreviations.
- Do not use special characters (e.g., use “and” instead of “&”).
- Use the Oxford comma where appropriate.
- Maintain consistency across divisions and institutions.
Job Management Sup Orgs for SH and CW:
- Student Hourly (SH) and Contingent Worker (CW) groups must be in separate Sup Orgs.
- Sup Org Names should end in _SH or _CW respectively, examples:
- Biomolecular Chemistry – Smith_SH
- Academic Affairs_CW
Academic Unit Naming Standards:
- Sup Org for a department chair should use the academically approved name without manager names:
- Example: Agricultural and Applied Economics
- For professors or teaching faculty/staff reporting within the department:
- Example: Agricultural and Applied Economics – Smith
- For lab managers or staff reporting to non-chair faculty:
- Example: Agricultural and Applied Economics Smith Research
Staffing Model Guidance:
- A manager may be assigned to both Position Management (PM) and Job Management (JM) Sup Orgs.
- PM: University Staff, Academic Staff, Faculty, Limited, Student Assistants, Employees-In-Training
- JM: Student Hourly, Contingent Workers
- If a manager oversees both PM and JM:
- JM Sup Org reports through the PM Sup Org, examples:
- UWMSN | L&S | Chemistry – Hook (PM)
- UWMSN | L&S | Chemistry – Hook_SH (JM)
- JM Sup Org reports through the PM Sup Org, examples:
- If a JM manager does not manage a PM Sup Org:
- JM Sup Org reports to the PM Sup Org that the JM manager “Reports to”, examples:
- UWMSN | L&S | Chemistry – Jones_SH (JM)
- UWMSN | L&S | Chemistry (Superior PM Sup Org)
- JM Sup Org reports to the PM Sup Org that the JM manager “Reports to”, examples:
- Note: If JM is selected, Sup Org Name must end in _SH or _CW.
Instructions for Sup Org Requests
Process Overview
- Department Administrator and ART Support staff review sup org changes needed.
- ART HR Support Staff complete the Sup Org Request Spreadsheet.
- If an employee is moving to a new Sup Org, ART HR can initiate the process in Workday. See Step-by-Step Guide: Move an employee to a different Sup Org.
- ART HR Support Staff emails completed Sup Org Request Spreadsheet to suporg@ls.wisc.edu
- SME Team reviews the submitted spreadsheet for accuracy and initiates the request.
Sup Org Requests Spreadsheet
The Sup Org Request Spreadsheet includes four tabs to help you submit and manage supervisory organization (Sup Org) changes efficiently: Sup Org Request & EE Request Form.xlsx
Tab 1: Create Sup Org
Use this tab to request creation of new Sup Orgs.
Required fields:
- Availability Date: First day of a pay period (e.g., 10/19/2025)
- Sup Org Name: Desired name (e.g., Physics_CW)
- Staffing Model: Select from dropdown (Position Management, Job Management SH, or Job Management CW)
- Superior Org Name: Parent Sup Org name (e.g., Physics)
- Superior Org ID: Sup Org number (e.g., SO00007479)
- Primary Location: Main work location (e.g., Chamberlin Hall, Thomas C-0055)
- Manager Name: Person managing the new Sup Org
- Manager Position Number: Ensure correct position is selected if multiple exist
- Default Cost Center Code: e.g., CC002860
- Default Fund Code: e.g., FD0101
- Default Function Code: e.g., FN0200
Tab 2: Edit Sup Org
Use this tab to request changes to existing Sup Orgs.
Required fields:
- Effective Date: First day of a pay period
- Current Sup Org Name
- Current Supervisory Sup Org Name
Change Fields:
Enter changes in the white columns. You may submit multiple changes or just one.
Tab 3: Inactivate Sup Org
Use this tab to request inactivation of a Sup Org.
Required fields:
- Effective Date: First day of a pay period
- Sup Org ID
- Sup Org Name
Important Reminder: All staff, students, and CW must be reassigned to another Sup Org before inactivation
Tab 4: Mass Employee Change Request
Use this tab to request multiple employee changes
Required fields:
- Employee name: First name and last name
- Empl ID: 8-digit number
- Position number: 8-digit number in front of title
- Effective date: First day the change is effective (e.g. 1/1/26 TA moving sup orgs)
- Current Sup Org
- New Sup Org
Enter yes or no to inactivate the current Sup Org. Remember to inactivate a Sup Org, all employees and open positions have to be removed before we can inactivate.
Additional Tips & Reminders
- Naming Convention: All L&S Sup Orgs must begin with: UWMSN | L&S |
- Staffing Model Check: Be sure to identify whether the Sup Org uses:
- Position Management
- Job Management (_SH)
- Job Management (_CW)
- Naming for Re-usability: Whenever possible, avoid attaching a person’s name to the Sup Org.
- Instead, use functional or area-specific names, examples:
- Undergraduate Studies
- Graduate Studies
- This makes it easier to reuse the Sup Org when a manager changes.
- Instead, use functional or area-specific names, examples:
- Timing Matters: If you’re request a new Sup Org, you must wait until it is created before initiating a job change request to move employees under it.
- Effective Dates: When creating, editing, or inactivating a sup org one must use the first day of a payroll period.
- If it is a move, the effective date can different (e.g middle of a pay period). Consider when the supervisor should or need to approve time or time off.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do we know which is the Superior Sup Org when making a request?
- It depends on what you are requesting. If you are requesting a position management sup org, the Superior Sup Org will be the unit Sup Org (e.g. Chemistry).
- If you are requesting a _SH or _CW Sup Org, you would check to see if the person has a position management Sup Org. If they do, that is the Superior Sup Org for both SH and CW. If the person doesn’t have a position management Sup Org the Superior Sup Org will be unit.
How do we know what to name a new Sup Org?
- Review above "Sup Org Naming Convention & Staffing Models"
How do we find the manager’s position number?
- You can pull the person up in Workday and the position number will be next to Job title.
How are Sup Orgs involved with recruitment and hiring of employees?
- You must choose a Sup Org (the Sup Org the position will report to) when creating a Job Req. If the unit is asking to recruit, you need to find out who the position will report to. If the hiring manager doesn’t have a Sup Org, you will need to send a request to create a Sup Org before you will be able to post the position.
- Once you make the hire, if the person is going to be a supervisor, you will need to request to create a Sup Org for the person.
- You will need to see if anyone needs to move from one Sup Org to another with the hiring of a new position that may supervise/manage.
How does a termination affect Sup Orgs?
- It depends on whether the person was a supervisor. If the person was a supervisor, the Sup Org will still be there but be inherited by the Superior Sup Org.
- If the position will be replaced, depending on naming convention, you may be able to leave the Sup Org alone until replacement has been hired into position. They will automatically be the manager of the Sup Org. However, if the Sup Org name has the person’s name in it then it can’t be used again.
- If the position is not being replaced, you can move the employees from the Sup Org to a new Sup Org and then request to inactivate the Sup Org.
What do we need to do for a change in supervisor?
- Tell us why the supervisor is changing. Is it the supervisor leaving, or is the unit reorganizing, etc.
- Does the Sup Org need to stay or is the manager leaving?
- If leaving, all employees and open positions must move out from under it. You can request to inactivate after that. If it is named with no personal names, and you are filling the position, you can leave it and after the hire the person will automatically be the manager of the Sup Org.
Do Sup Org creation, edits, and inactivation have to use an effective date of first day of a pay period?
- Yes, the creations, edits, and deletions must be effective at the beginning of a pay period.
When moving sup orgs, does it matter what date we use?
- It does matter what effective date you use when making these edits. That is when that supervisor can act on the employees (or the past supervisor can no longer act). Also, depending on who has security, it can also impact who can act on a transaction (this less likely since most of the time the sup org superior org changes are generally keeping the sup org in the same general area).
I was talking about when we move employees from one sup org to another. Ex: we have a lot of TAs and they change supervisors each semester. Can we use the beginning of a semester as an effective date or do we need to use 12/28/25? That would be 3 days of current supervisor not being able to transact.
- Yes, you can use the beginning of the semester (mid pay period) as the effective date. The one thing you want to think about when doing this is if they have other transaction that need to be processed first.
Resources & Links
- Supervisory Organizations (ATP web page)
- Understanding Staffing Models (ATP web page)
- Understanding Supervisory Organization Subtypes (ATP web page)
- Understanding Levels to Supervisory Organizations (ATP web page)
- Searching for Supervisory Organizations (Sup Orgs) (Internal KB)