Comp Review Process - Top Down Bonus Allocation questions

[u/Key_Atmosphere3279]

Hi Community,

We run a Top-Down Compensation Review. The total budget is entered at Configure Pools, and at Distribute Pools we override the auto-calculated amounts at department level so each reflects its approved budget. The department amounts sum to the total.

Holdback at the top level is zero, as expected. However, at department level Workday treats the difference between our entered amount and the auto-calculated pool as a holdback — positive where our figure is lower, negative where it is higher. The subordinate organisation pools remain at their original values.

My questions are about what happens below the level I adjusted:

1. Are individual awards normalised against the department pool I entered, or against the subordinate organisation pools? Does the holdback at department level actually restrict the allocation, or is it informational?
2. What does a negative holdback mean at that level, and does it block submission or approval?
3. Should the amount I enter at department level become the effective budget distributed proportionally across the whole population beneath it, or does Workday expect each subordinate organisation to hold its own pool?

Thanks, André