Manage Headcount driver users

Owned by Denise McGettigan, created
Last updated: Mar 18, 2024
5 min read

This page is currently being updated, as we are redesigning the headcount feature and gradually releasing changes.

All Budgets and Forecasts users (contributors) can view and use the summary headcount data in the Headcount Output tab.

Due to the sensitive nature of your organization’s headcount data, the Headcount Input tab requires an additional level of user security. Therefore, the Headcount Input tab is locked, to protect the privacy of your employee headcount data. Each user will create a password, which is used to encrypt the data.

Access to the Headcount Input tab is controlled by the headcount owner and administrators, as summarized in the following diagram. See the example below for screenshots of what the users see during this process.

Overview of headcount users

Expand the sections below to learn about the types of users that are specific to the Headcount driver. These users are similar to (but not the same as) the types of users in the Budgets and Forecasts module.

User permissions required: Budgets & Forecasts and Manage Budgets & Forecasts

Only the budget owner can add a Headcount driver tab, so by default, the budget owner is also the headcount owner and the baseline for the headcount workflow.

Initially, the headcount owner is also the only headcount administrator, and the only user who can view the Headcount Input tab.

The headcount owner enables other users to view and use the Headcount Input tab by taking the following two steps:

  1. “Invite” the user to the Headcount Input tab. At this stage, after creating a password to unlock the tab, the user can view the tab itself but not any data.

  2. Assign the user to rows in the workflow. The user can see their assigned rows in the Headcount Input tab and start using the workflow.

User permissions required: Budgets & Forecasts and Manage Budgets & Forecasts

The headcount owner can add headcount users as headcount administrators.

Headcount administrators can view all the rows in the Headcount Input tab (not just the rows to which they have been assigned in the workflow).

The key reason for having a headcount administrator is to ensure that someone in your organization (other than the headcount owner) has full access to the Headcount Input tab. In the event of the headcount owner losing their password and getting locked out of the tab, the administrator can unlock the tab and retrieve the headcount data.

In addition to the above safeguard, the headcount administrator can:

  • Import, add and adjust headcount data.

  • Add headcount users (and administrators).

  • Assign users to rows in the headcount workflow (the baseline remains assigned to the headcount owner).

User permission required: Budgets & Forecasts

The headcount owner and administrators can add budget users (contributors) as headcount users, then assign them to rows in the workflow. In the Headcount Input tab, headcount users can view only the rows to which they have been assigned.

Invite a user to the Headcount Input tab

You manage headcount users at a global level, separate from the headcount tab setup. You invite a budget user to be a headcount user, and when they create a password, they can access the headcount tab in which they've been assigned tasks in the workflow.

Method 1 (new)

See Manage user access and notifications > Manage access to the headcount feature.

Method 2 (retiring soon)

This method will be removed soon as part of the headcount tab redesign.

  1. Select the applicable option:

    • If you are in the process of setting up the Headcount driver tab and the settings window is open, click the User Management tab.

    • If you have already set up the Headcount driver tab, click the Headcount settings button in the header to open the settings window, then click the User Management tab.

  2. Click the blue Users Open button and select the user you want to add, then click Save and close.

  3. Inform the user of their access to the headcount data and tell them to create a password*.

  4. Proceed to add the user as an administrator, if required.

*Explain to users that it is important to use a password that they will remember, as it cannot be recovered or reset if they forget it.

Example

Bill was invited to the Headcount Input tab and he created a password. The headcount owner can see that Bill is now a confirmed headcount user and therefore, eligible to be assigned some tasks in the headcount workflow.

When Bill unlocks the Headcount Input tab, he sees he has been assigned to two tasks in the headcount workflow. He cannot see any other headcount rows.

If Bill is not assigned to any tasks in the headcount workflow, he will get the following message:

Add a user as a Headcount administrator

After a user “accepts the invitation” by creating a password, they display in the potential administrators list.

  1. Click the Headcount settings button.

  2. Click the Headcount admins Open button and select the user you want to add, then click Save and close.

Troubleshooting: If a user is still in pending status, you can’t add them as administrator. Ensure you close the settings window after adding the user, and refresh your screen. If the user continues to display as pending, contact the user to remind them to create a password.

Example

In the first image below, Jordena was invited to use the headcount driver; the red Pending icon next to her name indicates she has not yet created a password. In the second image, the Pending icon no longer displays, so Jordena is a confirmed headcount user and can be added as an administrator.