Chapter 6

Excel Extension: Now You Try!

Creating a Transition
Matrix

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 Background

In this Excel Extension tutorial, you will learn how to create a

transition matrix with raw values and a transition matrix with
proportions.
For the purposes of this exercise, imagine that there are four job
titles of interest: Project Manager, Project Consultant, Technical
Consultant, and Technical Assistant. In addition, we are interested in
those who were not in the organization in 2017 but who held one of
these jobs in 2018, as well as those who held one of these jobs in
2017 but who was no longer in the organization as of 2018.

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 Step 1
Open the Excel workbook titled “Chapter 6--Excel
Extension.xlsx”.
Click on the sheet called Tutorial. You will use the data
contained in this sheet to learn how to create a transition
matrix.
Note that the sheet includes three fields/columns:
• EmployeeID (unique employee identifier)
• 2017 (job title in 2017)
• 2018 (job title in 2018)
Note that there are 79 employees in this sample.

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 Step 2
Select the cells in the three fields.
Do not, however, select cells below the last row of data.
In other words, select the cells in columns A, B, and C
and rows 1 ̶ 80.

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 1 Step 3
Click on the tab called Insert.
Click on the Tables button.
2 Select PivotTable.

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 Step 4
A window called Create PivotTable appears. The
Table/Range: field is already filled based on the
previously selected cells.
Click on the bubble next to New Worksheet.
Click OK.

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 Step 5
A blank PivotTable appears in a new sheet.
Note that the field names EmployeeID, 2017, and 2018
appear under Choose fields to add to report:, which is
part of the PivotTable Fields window.

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 Step 6
Drag the EmployeeID field name to the Values box (from
the list of field names that appears under Choose fields to
add to report:).

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 Step 7
Drag the 2017 field name to the Rows box (from the list of
field names that appears under Choose fields to add to
report:).
Drag the 2018 field name to the Columns box (from the
list of field names that appears under Choose fields to
add to report:).

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 Step 8
Click the X in the upper right of the PivotTable Fields
window to close the box.

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 Step 9
The resulting PivotTable is a
transition matrix that contains
the raw number of individuals
who worked in a given job in
2018 based on which job they
worked in 2017. Specifically,
the Row Labels correspond to
2017, and the Column Labels
correspond to 2018.
Next, we will edit the transition
matrix to make it easier to
interpret.

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 Step 10
To make the PivotTable more
intuitive to use, we will order
the job name rows such that
the jobs are ranked in
hierarchical order, with Not in
Organization at the bottom.
To do this, right click (or hold
CTRL and click if you have a
Mac) on a cell that appears
under Row Labels, select
Move, and select Move [“row
label name”] to [desired
location] (e.g., Move “Not in
Organization” to End).
Repeat until the rows are in
the following order: Project
Manager, Project Consultant,
Technical Consultant,
Technical Assistant, and Not
in Organization.
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 Step 11
The Row Labels should be
ordered as depicted in the
image.

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 Step 12
Repeat the process from Step
10, except in this case right
click the cell corresponding to
each column name, select
Move, and select Move
[“column label name”] to
[desired location] (e.g., Move
“Not in Organization” to End).

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 Step 13
The Column Labels should be
ordered as depicted in the
image.

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 Step 14
The transition matrix in the
form of a PivotTable is now in
a more interpretable format.
Again, this transition matrix
contains the raw numbers
representing how employees
transitioned through the
company from 2017 to 2018.
For example, as shown in cell
B6, 2 individuals who were
Project Consultants in 2017
transitioned to Project
Managers by 2018.

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 Step 15
To create a transition matrix
containing proportions, right
click on any cell containing a
value in the PivotTable, and
select Value Field Settings….

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 Step 16
A window called Value Field
Settings opens.
Click on the Show Values As
tab.
Click on the dropdown menu.
Select % of Row Total from
the dropdown menu after.
1
Click the Number Format
2 button.

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 Step 17
A window called Format Cells
opens.
2 Select Custom in the
Category: dropdown menu.
In the field below Type:, enter
the following format: .00.
Click OK.
1

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 Step 18
Click OK in the Value Field
Settings window.

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 Step 19
Now the transition matrix
contains proportions as
opposed to raw counts.

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 Step 20
Select the cells that contain
the row and column names,
as well as the proportions.
Click on the Copy button in
the Home tab, or press
CTRL+C (or Command+C if
you are using a Mac).

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 Step 21
Paste the copied cells from
the previous step below the
PivotTable by clicking the
Paste button in the Home tab,
or by pressing CTRL+V (or
Command+V if you are using
a Mac).

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 Step 22
Although not necessary,
consider deleting the .00
values in the new transition
matrix to make it easier to
read.

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 Step 23
Click on the header above the
first column (A) to highlight
the entire column.

Right click on the column

header and select Insert to
insert a blank column to the
left of the first column.

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 Step 24
In the empty row directly
above the recently pasted
transition matrix, enter the
year 2018 in the first cell
above the Project Manager
label, which corresponds to
2018 job titles.
In the cell directly to the left of
the column containing the
Project Manager label, enter
the year 2017, as this column
references 2017 job titles.

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 Step 25
Select the cells directly above
the 2018 job titles, and click
the Merge button.
Select the cells directly to the
left of the 2017 job titles, and
click the Merge button.
The transition matrix with
proportions is now formatted
and complete.

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 Questions
You just learned how to create a transition matrix in Excel. Now, it’s time to apply
your new skills to a different data set, which appears in the sheet called “Practice”
in the Excel workbook; the job titles contained within the “Practice” sheet are (in
descending order in terms of job level): Floor Manager, Sales Associate, Cashier,
and Product Runner. Once you have created a transition matrix with raw values
and a transition matrix with proportions, respond to the following questions.
1. Which job(s) showed the most turnover (left the organization) from 2017 to
2018?
2. What other trends did you notice?
3. In terms of workforce planning, what will you recommend to the organization
based on your interpretations of the transition matrices?

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