Additional training in how the scheduler works

This tour helps you see how the different parts of the program work together to make good schedules. It takes you through the qualifications, management shift preferences, employee shift preferences, and shift ordering tours

1. Switch to the roles page

   From the roles page you can review and create roles. Employees can see when each role's shifts occur, and who is qualified and trained to work that role.

   1. Please click Company in the navigation bar.
   2. Click the Roles menu item.
   3. Finally click the Back to Role list link in the top left

2. Select a role for the next few steps

   Please click a role

3. Open the Qualifications section

   Some roles require that the employees have certain qualifications in order to work.

   Qualifications can be professional or state mandated licences or internal qualifications (e.g. Can operate a backhoe).

   Only those employees qualified to work a role will be scheduled

   Please click Qualifications & qualified employees

4. Add necessary qualifications

   Qualifications let you control who can be scheduled. Qualifications are shared among roles. That means you only have to create them once. Existing qualifications can be added to roles.

   Some qualifications expire and some do not. We will keep track and remind you before they expire.

   If this role requires that employees have a certain qualification, please add it now.

   After entering or adding qualifications for this role, click Next.

5. Now lets make another employee

   As you add employees creating the schedule becomes more complex

   Click Next to get started with the next phase.

6. Switch to the employees page

   On the employees page you can see all employees in the system, add employees & access their profiles.

   1. Please click Company in the navigation bar.
   2. Click the Employees link.
   3. Click the Back to Employee list link in the top left

7. Create an employee

   Once you've entered some employees and some roles we can get to the interesting part, making the schedule.

   Please click the Create new employee button to create a new employee.

8. Name the employee

   Please enter the employee's preferred name (what they like to be called). Then click Next.

9. Open the availability section

   Every Roles has shifts associated with it, and all Employees have availability. When we have both pieces of information we can begin to match employees into shifts they are available & qualified for.

   Use the Repeat tab to create multiple shifts at the same time.

   Please click Availability to open the calendar and create a event

10. Enter the employee's availability

    By creating events you're letting us know when this employee is available for work

    Use the repeat tab to create multiple events

    Please create at least one event for this employee. Then click Next.

11. Open the Qualifications section

    Some roles require that the employees have certain qualifications in order to work.

    Qualifications can be professional or state mandated licences or internal qualifications (e.g. Can operate a backhoe).

    Only those employees qualified to work a role will be scheduled

    Please click Qualifications

12. Set their qualifications

    If they dont have all of the required qualifications for a role then they won't be scheduled

    Ensure that this employee has the necessary qualifications, then click Next.

    Be sure to set the appropriate expiration date for qualifications that expire.

13. Open the proficiency, seniority, & wages section

    By entering employee training information we can ensure that important shifts are covered. We use proficiency, seniority, qualifications, and management preferences to determine the best uses for your team.

    Please click Proficiency, seniority, and wages to set this employee's proficiency in the roles you've created thus far.

14. Rate the employee

    Click to see how we use the employees proficiency, wage, and seniority.

    Here is how we use the proficiency, wage and seniority date.

    Proficiency

    used determine whether a person can be scheduled for a role and to control whether a person can trade with others

    Wage

    used to calculate labor cost reports

    Seniority Date

    used when scheduling when you prefer to have people with longer experience in a role scheduled

    The proficiency isn't a measure of the quality of the person but instead the level of skill they have in performing the role. The labels provide objective context.

    Please enter employee's:

    • Proficiency
    • Current wage
    • Seniority date
    • Scheduling status

    in the roles they are qualified for.

15. Now lets see how that changed the schedule

    Click Next to get started with the next phase.

16. Switch to the schedule page

    The Schedule page is where you make and review the schedule. You can also enter your demand forecast if you want our help deciding how many people to assign, or want to use that data in reports.

    Right now we are just going to create the schedule and then send a copy of it to you.

    1. Please click Schedule in the navigation bar.
    2. Click the "Schedule" link.

17. Update the schedule

    Once the schedule updates we should see that the first employee is not scheduled because they do not have the qualifications for the new role

    Please click the Update Schedule button.

18. Review the schedule

    OK so if we've done this right the first employee should be scheduled because they are qualified. the second employee should not be scheduled because they are now not qualified for the the new role role.

    Next we will give the second employee the qualifications necessary to work the new role. That will mean that 2 people will be able to be scheduled into those shifts.

    After that we will check out how shift preferences allow you to fine tune things to get closer to the schedule you want.

    Give the schedule a once over before moving on to the next step.

19. Switch to the employees page

    On the employees page you can see all employees in the system, add employees & access their profiles.

    1. Please click Company in the navigation bar.
    2. Click the Employees link.
    3. Click the Back to Employee list link in the top left

20. Select yourself from the list

    You will get a little better set up in the next few steps

    Click your name

21. Open the Qualifications section

    Some roles require that the employees have certain qualifications in order to work.

    Qualifications can be professional or state mandated licences or internal qualifications (e.g. Can operate a backhoe).

    Only those employees qualified to work a role will be scheduled

    Please click Qualifications & qualified employees

22. Set their qualifications

    If they dont have all of the required qualifications for a role then they won't be scheduled

    Ensure that this employee has the necessary qualifications, then click Next.

    Be sure to set the appropriate expiration date for qualifications that expire.

23. Let us know if you prefer people to work certain shifts

    Proficiency and qualification provide a rough level of control over who gets scheduled when.

    The 3 ways to fine tune the schedule are with the management shift preferences, employee shift preferences, and shift scheduline order.

    We are moving into parts of the program that allow you to fine tune how the automatic scheduler works. Which will give you a schedule that best meets your needs and automatically adjusts to changes in your employees needs.

    Let's see how management shift preferences work first

    Click Next to get started with the next phase.

24. Switch to the roles page

    From the roles page you can review and create roles. Employees can see when each role's shifts occur, and who is qualified and trained to work that role.

    1. Please click Company in the navigation bar.
    2. Click the Roles menu item.
    3. Finally click the Back to Role list link in the top left

25. Select a role for the next few steps

    Please click a role

26. Open the Management Shift Preferences section

    Management shift preferences let you order who you prefer to work each shift for this role

    Click Management shift preferences

27. Set the employee to 0 just for now

    Ranking employees by shift lets us know who you prefer to work when. It also helps us know who to recommend for trades.

    It is fine to have more than one person with the same rank. Set the rank to 0 and they will never be scheduled for that shift.

    Click the Edit button to begin editing.

    Set the value for the employee to 0 for all shifts they are eligible for.

    When you are finished, click Save and then Next

28. Switch to the schedule page

    The Schedule page is where you make and review the schedule. You can also enter your demand forecast if you want our help deciding how many people to assign, or want to use that data in reports.

    Right now we are just going to create the schedule and then send a copy of it to you.

    1. Please click Schedule in the navigation bar.
    2. Click the "Schedule" link.

29. Update the schedule

    Once the schedule updates we should see that the first employee is not scheduled because you set their managment shift preference to 0 for the new role

    Please click the Update Schedule button.

30. Review the schedule

    If we've done this right then the first employee should not be scheduled because we their "Management Shift Preferences" to 0. Bear in mind that most of this stuff is "set it and forget it" and that once you have everyone entered you won't adjust things often

    Next we will undo the "Management Shift Preferences" change.

    Then we will change the first employee's employee shift preferences and pretend they like one shift more than the others. We recommend letting employees express their preferences, but whether the scheduler takes those preferences into consideration is entirely up to you

    Give the schedule a once over before moving on to the next step.

31. Switch to the roles page

    From the roles page you can review and create roles. Employees can see when each role's shifts occur, and who is qualified and trained to work that role.

    1. Please click Company in the navigation bar.
    2. Click the Roles menu item.
    3. Finally click the Back to Role list link in the top left

32. Select a role for the next few steps

    Please click a role

33. Open the Management Shift Preferences section

    Management shift preferences let you order who you prefer to work each shift for this role

    Click Management shift preferences

34. Set the employee to 1 just for now

    Ranking employees by shift lets us know who you prefer to work when. It also helps us know who to recommend for trades.

    It is fine to have more than one person with the same rank. Set the rank to 0 and they will never be scheduled for that shift.

    Click the Edit button to begin editing.

    Set the value for the employee to 1 for all shifts they are eligible for.

    When you are finished, click Save and then Next

35. Now lets see how employee shift preferences work

    Employees can say which shifts they like and don't like.

    The scheduler can use that information as part of the process when deciding:

    • Who to assign to a shift
    • When recommending people to trade
    • And when asking people to come in to work

    Click Next to get started with the next phase.

36. Switch to the employees page

    On the employees page you can see all employees in the system, add employees & access their profiles.

    1. Please click Company in the navigation bar.
    2. Click the Employees link.
    3. Click the Back to Employee list link in the top left

37. Select yourself from the list

    You will get a little better set up in the next few steps

    Click your name

38. Open the Shift Preferences section

    Employee shift preferences are important. When people are scheduled to work when they prefer to work they are more likely to have good attitude.

    Click Shift Preferences

39. Set preferences for a role to up

    Employees can give a shift a thumbs up () or a thumbs down () to indicate whether they like a shift or not. No thumbs means they're neutral on it.

    Isn't it nice to have a spot to see when each employee likes to work?

    Click the Edit button to begin editing.

    Set the value for a role to for all shifts they are eligible for.

    When you are finished, click Save and then Next

40. Switch to the schedule page

    The Schedule page is where you make and review the schedule. You can also enter your demand forecast if you want our help deciding how many people to assign, or want to use that data in reports.

    Right now we are just going to create the schedule and then send a copy of it to you.

    1. Please click Schedule in the navigation bar.
    2. Click the "Schedule" link.

41. Update the schedule

    Once the schedule updates we should see that the first employee & the second employee are both scheduled and that the first employee is scheduled more because you set their employee shift preference to for the new role

    Please click the Update Schedule button.

42. Review the schedule

    Pretending that the first employee prefers the the new role shifts should ensure that they're scheduled more than the second employee. That happens because so far we've said they have the same proficiency, qualifications, and management shift preference.

    Next we will check the scheduling order to make sure that we are on the same page about which days and shifts are the more important ones for your business.

    Give the schedule a once over before moving on to the next step.

43. Switch to the employees page

    On the employees page you can see all employees in the system, add employees & access their profiles.

    1. Please click Company in the navigation bar.
    2. Click the Employees link.
    3. Click the Back to Employee list link in the top left

44. Select yourself from the list

    You will get a little better set up in the next few steps

    Click your name

45. Open the Shift Preferences section

    Employee shift preferences are important. When people are scheduled to work when they prefer to work they are more likely to have good attitude.

    Click Shift Preferences

46. Set preferences for a role to neutral

    Employees can give a shift a thumbs up () or a thumbs down () to indicate whether they like a shift or not. No thumbs means they're neutral on it.

    Isn't it nice to have a spot to see when each employee likes to work?

    Click the Edit button to begin editing.

    Set the value for a role to neutral for all shifts they are eligible for.

    When you are finished, click Save and then Next

47. Next we are going to look at the shift scheduling order

    The shift scheduling order controls when shifts are filled. Important shifts should be filled before less important shifts. This ensures that more, better, employees are scheduled for more important shifts

    Click Next to get started with the next phase.

48. Switch to the schedule page

    The Schedule page is where you make and review the schedule. You can also enter your demand forecast if you want our help deciding how many people to assign, or want to use that data in reports.

    Right now we are just going to create the schedule and then send a copy of it to you.

    1. Please click Schedule in the navigation bar.
    2. Click the "Schedule" link.

49. Open the Shift scheduling order tab

     

    Click the Shift scheduling order button in the menu bar

50. Set Friday to #1

    It is a good idea to check this ordering as you add roles to the system. Just to be sure it is accurate.

    Change Friday to 1 and then click Next.

51. Switch to the schedule page

    The Schedule page is where you make and review the schedule. You can also enter your demand forecast if you want our help deciding how many people to assign, or want to use that data in reports.

    Right now we are just going to create the schedule and then send a copy of it to you.

    1. Please click Schedule in the navigation bar.
    2. Click the "Schedule" link.

52. Update the schedule

    Once the schedule updates we should see that the first employee & the second employee are both scheduled and that the first employee is scheduled on Friday because we said it was the most important day and that they are the best.

    Please click the Update Schedule button.

53. Review the schedule

    OK so we made the first employee the best and said that the most important shifts are on Friday. If things have gone according to plan then they should be scheduled for that shift and the second employee should definitetly also be scheduled for some shifts, just not that one.

    Give the schedule a once over before moving on to the next step.

54. Well done!

    Thats it for the schedule training tour. You've now seen how to fully set up roles & employees.

    Now you should add some more employees to your new role. Or if you have entered all of the employees for that role you should add another role.

    Add more employees

    Create a new role and set up its employees