Constructing a Rate

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to list the main components of a standard Rate Structure.

The Structure of a Rate

The manner in which a rate is structured depends upon what information an organization needs visibility into.

Basic Rate Structure

The structure of a basic Rate rate type, for example, is relatively simple because it does not provide visibility into its use. A Bill Rate Based or Pay Rate Based, in contrast, reveals to buyer organizations the manner in which the costs of its external workforce are derived.

Thus, the more visibility an organization wants into the costs of procuring external workers or services, the more complex the structure of the rates become.

Image depicting how rate components increase the complexity and visibility of a Bill Rate.

Elements of a Rate Structure

The different rate types available in SAP Fieldglass are built to allow for variances in the way companies calculate pay for external workers, but they aren’t themselves rates that can be associated to Job Postings.

Regardless of the rate type that is needed, a rate itself must be structured to suit an organization’s individual needs and workflows, as well as to accommodate the various suppliers that it may partner with.

Thus, for most rates to be useful, they must contain at least four elements before they can be associated to Job Posting Templates: a Rate Category, Rate, Rate Group, and Rate Grid.

However, for most organizations, there’s a common fifth element: Rate Components. And because rate components cannot be associated to rates directly, a necessary sixth element is the Rate Component Group. So realistically, a typical rate structure will contain at least these six elements.

Image depicting how rate elements comprise a complete rate structure.

Constructing a Rate

Because the six elements of a rate structure are interdependent, the structure is created in a particular order.

Play the video to see how the six rate elements work together to create a complete rate structure.

Construct a Rate

To illustrate this structure, let’s say WorkingNet is creating a new customer support position for their London Office. It will need a new rate structure in SAP Fieldglass in order to accommodate the regional characteristics of a UK-based workforce.

Here’s how you, as the SAP Fieldglass admin for WorkingNet, would build that rate:

Rate Category

Because they are the basis for a rate, these measurement objects need to be determined and created before the rate can be built. ST, OT, and DT are standard rate categories that are built into SAP Fieldglass by default.

But since WorkingNet’s customer support position requires 24/7 coverage, there will be several non-standard shifts that must be recognized. The rates for those shifts will be above the ST rate but below the OT rate. So you’ll need to add additional rate categories—one for a night shift and one for a morning shift—to capture the rate differences between those shifts.

image depicting rate categories for a morning and night shift

Rate Component

The UK has an Apprenticeship Levy that it collects from employers, so you will need to create rate components to capture that fee for UK workers. In addition, WorkingNet provides a 1.10% MSP Fee credit back to suppliers that is based on the total rate after the levy is removed. In this case, you will also need to create a level 2 rate component for the MSP Fee Adjustment credit.

image depicting rate components for an apprenticeship levy and msp fee

Rate Component Group

You’ll have to add the Apprenticeship Levy and MSP Fee Adjustment to a rate component group so it can be associated to the rates you’re going to create for the customer service position.

image depicting a rate component group for the apprenticeship levy and msp fee

Rate

For the customer support position, you’ll create a rate based on the standard rate category with a minimum of 45 per hour and a maximum of 55 per hour, which is the rate WorkingNet negotiated with a London-based supplier called United Tech Services, UK.

image depicting a rate with a 45 minimum and a 55 maximum

Rate Group

You will create a rate group for the customer service position and associate all of the rates for customer service workers in the London office.

image depicting a rate group for London Customer Service

Rate Grid

You’ll create a rate grid for the customer service positions, and any job postings that use that grid will automatically pull the appropriate rates from the grid for suppliers who can supply customer service workers to all of WorkingNet’s UK sites.

image depicting a rate grid for UK Customer Service

The Completed Rate Structure

The completed rate will combine all of those elements and be associated to a job posting.

image depicting the completed rate structure for a customer service representative in London

Other Objects in a Rate Structure

We’re going to spend the rest of this unit using these rate admin objects to build this rate structure. When the rate structure is complete, we’ll take a look at some other admin objects that are used to support or extend this structure.

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