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Configuring Departments and Sub-Departments

Set up Departments and Sub-Departments to structure staff, cost centers, and your org chart in SETWorks

Overview

Departments in SETWorks let your organization group staff and operations into the structural units that reflect how your agency actually runs, such as by program, location, or service line. Getting Departments set up correctly matters because Department assignments drive who shows up in staff lists tied to a unit, how cost centers roll up for reporting, and how your org chart is represented in Staff Hierarchy. Sub-Departments extend this by letting you nest smaller units underneath a larger Department, so you can model multi-level structures (for example, a Residential Department with individual house or site Sub-Departments) without creating unrelated, top-level Departments for each one.

ℹ️ Note: Terminology can be modified within SETWorks to better fit the needs of your organization. If the terminology in our articles are not the same on your site, talk to your local administrator to assist in translation.

Before you start

You'll need administrative access to Settings and the Department Maintenance tab to add or modify Departments. If you plan to assign a Department to a specific legal entity, confirm the correct Organizations are already set up, since you'll select from that existing list when configuring a Department.

Adding a Department

  1. Open Department Maintenance. a. From Settings, select the Department Maintenance tab. This displays the existing Departments in a table with columns for Name, Code, Status, and Department Type, along with Edit and Edit Department Users buttons for each row.
  2. Start a new Department. a. Click + Add New Department. This opens the Add Department window, where you'll enter the new Department's details.
  3. Enter the Department name. a. Type the Department's name into the Name field.
  4. (If applicable) Show and set the Department Code. a. Check Show Code if you want to view or manually set a Code: for the Department. A Re-Calculate button appears next to the Code field, which regenerates the code based on the Name you entered.
  5. (If applicable) Enter a Cost Center. a. Type a value into the Cost Center field if your organization tracks Departments against a specific cost center for financial reporting.
  6. Set the Department Status. a. Use the Department Status dropdown to choose Active or Inactive. This field is required and defaults to Active.
  7. Select the Department Type. a. Use the Department Type dropdown to choose Standard, Employment, or Residential. This field is required and has no default; you must make a selection.
  8. Assign the Department to one or more Organizations. a. Under Organizations:, check the box next to each Organization (for example, Test Healthcare Provider, Demo Medical Center, SETWorks - Mat, Sample Clinic) that this Department belongs to.
  9. (If applicable) Add a Department address. a. Under Addresses, click + Create Department Address. In the window that opens, complete the required fields Address Type, Address Line1, City, State or Province, and Postal Code, along with the optional Address Line2, Address Line3, County, and Geo Zone fields, plus the Is Primary and Active checkboxes, then click Save.
  10. Create a Sub-Department, if your structure needs one. a. Under Sub Departments, click + Create Department. This opens a nested Add Department window with the same fields (Name, Show Code, Cost Center, Department Status, Department Type, Organizations, Addresses) so you can configure the Sub-Department the same way as a standalone Department, then click Save to add it under the parent. Saved Sub-Departments appear in a table under Sub Departments with columns for Name, Code, and Department Type. Note: The Sub-Department configuration window does not show its own Sub Departments section, so plan for one level of nesting under a parent Department.
  11. Save the Department. a. Click Save at the bottom of the Add Department window to create the Department (and any Sub-Departments you added). Click Cancel instead to discard your changes.

Modifying an Existing Department

  1. Open the Department for editing. a. From the Department Maintenance list, click Edit on the row for the Department you want to change. The window title changes to Department Maintenance - Edit Department, and all fields load with the Department's current values, including any existing Addresses and Sub Departments.
  2. Update fields and save. a. Make your changes to any of the fields described above, then click Save.

Assigning Users to a Department

  1. Open the department user assignment window. a. From the Department Maintenance list, click Edit Department Users on the row for the Department. This opens a window titled Edit users in department: [Department Name], with an All Users list on the left and a Department Users list on the right.
  2. Move users between lists. a. Drag a row using its handle between All Users and Department Users to add or remove that user from the Department. The Department Users panel includes a Search... box and pagination to help you find users across the full list.
  3. Save the assignment. a. Click Save to apply the changes, or Cancel to discard them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What's the difference between a Department and a Sub-Department? A Sub-Department is created and configured the same way as a Department, but it's nested under a parent Department using the + Create Department button in the parent's Sub Departments section. Use Sub-Departments when a unit is logically part of a larger Department (like a specific site within a Residential Department) rather than its own independent structure.

Q: What do the Department Type options (Standard, Employment, Residential) control? The screen lets you choose one of these types when configuring a Department, but downstream behavior for each type isn't shown on this screen. Confirm with your SETWorks representative or internal documentation how Department Type affects reporting or workflow logic before relying on it.

Q: Can I nest a Sub-Department under another Sub-Department? Based on the Add Department window, a Sub-Department's configuration screen doesn't show its own Sub Departments section, which suggests nesting is limited to one level below a parent Department. Verify this with SETWorks support if you need deeper nesting.

Q: Why can't I see the Code field when adding a Department? The Code: field is hidden by default. Check Show Code next to the Name field to reveal it, along with a Re-Calculate button that regenerates the code from the Department name.

Q: What happens if I set a Department to Inactive? The screen lets you set Department Status to Inactive, but this screen doesn't show what that changes elsewhere (for example, whether inactive Departments still appear in selection lists for staff or scheduling). Confirm this behavior internally before deactivating a Department that's in active use.

Q: How do I control which staff belong to a Department? Use Edit Department Users from the Department Maintenance list to drag staff between All Users and Department Users for that Department.