Generate Schedule settings

When generating a schedule, you need to complete fields that define the assignments you want to schedule, how to manage warning messages, and your schedule preferences.

Scheduling tab

Field	Description
Dates
Current scheduling period	Generates the schedule for the entire current scheduling period.
Custom range (From / To)	Generates the schedule for a specific date and time range within the current scheduling period.
Assignments
Add shifts	Allows the scheduling engine to add shift Work period in WFM that has a definite length. assignments to the schedule.
Remove shifts	Allows the scheduling engine to remove shift assignments from the schedule. Note: If selected, employees who previously had shifts on the schedule could end up having days off. You are allowing the scheduling engine to have this flexibility to generate an optimal schedule. If not selected, the scheduling engine cannot leave any employee without a shift on a day that they previously had a shift on their schedule. It can still move shifts, change their lengths, change activities, or even delete shifts and replace them with other shifts.
Shift events	Allows the scheduling engine to add shift events to the schedule (such as lunches, breaks, or meetings). Note the following: If you selected Add shifts, Remove shifts, or both of these options, Shift events is automatically selected and cannot be unselected. The concept is that if you want to add or remove shifts, the shift events associated with those shifts must also be added or removed. If you did not select Add shifts and Remove shifts, and you do not want to reschedule shift events, unselect Shift events. This option is also relevant if you want to schedule OT extensions but you do not want to include shift events in the extensions. If you did not select Add shifts and Remove shifts, but want to reschedule shift events, select Shift events. The scheduling engine can move the times for the shift events, change the activity Core component of both schedules and time records in Workforce Management (WFM). When an employee performs any kind of work, activities specify the scheduled work and capture employee adherence to their schedule., delete shift events, or add shift events.
Calendar events	Allows the scheduling engine to add calendar events to the schedule (including eLearning Product that provides hard and soft skills training, applicable for the entire employee life cycle (before, during, and after the hiring process), and includes training assessment and design tools. and Coaching Application that provides a method of directing, instructing and training a person or group of people, with the aim of achieving a set goal or developing specific skills. floating calendar events and classes). You can select calendar events associated with any activity (All Activities). You can also select to schedule calendar events associated with specific activities (such as Coaching or Learning Break).
OT extensions	Allows the scheduling engine to schedule Overtime (OT) extensions, which are added before or after a shift to extend employee work time. If you select this option, set the following: Before: Allows scheduling OT extensions before shifts. After: Allows scheduling OT extensions after shifts. Maximum hours: Defines the maximum number of hours of OT extension Overtime (OT) extension in WFM, which can be added before or after a shift to extend employee work time. time that can be added to all employees being scheduled (according to the current filters).
VTO events	Allows the scheduling engine to schedule Voluntary Time Off (VTO) events. VTO events are added at the beginning or end of an employee shift to reduce employee work time. If you select this option, set the following: Beginning: Allows scheduling VTO events at the beginning of shifts. End: Allows scheduling VTO events at the end of shifts. Maximum hours: Defines the maximum number of hours of VTO event Voluntary Time Off (VTO) event in WFM, which can be added at the beginning or end of a shift to reduce employee work time. time that can be added to all employees being scheduled (according to the current filters).
Reschedule shift start times	Allows the scheduling engine to move the start times of shifts within the same day. The shift length does not change, and any activities that are part of the shift also do not change. Selecting Reschedule shift start times deselects the Add shifts, Remove shifts, OT extensions, and VTO events options, if selected. Selecting any of these options, results in Reschedule shift start times being deselected. When selecting Reschedule shift start times, for the Employees to schedule parameter, do not select Staffing profiles only or Employees and staffing profiles. Staffing profiles should not be included from the set of employees to schedule because the system can remove the shifts and add them back on a different day.
Warnings
Ignore initial schedule warnings and continue scheduling	Indicates that you want to ignore initial warning messages that appear while the schedule is being generated.
Ignore secondary schedule warnings and continue scheduling	Indicates that you want to ignore more warning messages that appear while the schedule is being generated.

Both of the warning message options allow you to bypass the warning message screens when scheduling. These settings are useful when you are generating a schedule that takes a significant amount of time to complete, allowing unattended operation.

Preferences tab

Field	Description
Scheduling time
Amount of time to spend scheduling	Defines the relative amount of time the scheduling engine spends on generating an optimal schedule: Normal: Scheduling engine spends enough time to generate a good schedule. Advanced: Scheduling engine spends more time than the Normal amount to generate the schedule, attempting to resolve conflicts and rule violations. The maximum amount of time the system can generate a schedule is 72 hours (3 days). After the scheduling engine has generated at least one possible schedule, the system prompts you to determine how to proceed: Save schedule: Scheduling engine stops scheduling and saves the current schedule. Continue: Scheduling engine continues scheduling to generate a more optimal schedule. Cancel: Scheduling engine cancels the scheduling process and does not save any schedule. Schedule until interrupted: Scheduling engine continues to refine the schedule until the process is manually stopped. If this parameter is set to Normal or Schedule until interrupted, the system does not prompt you to select further options. It completes the scheduling process, as defined by the relevant parameter.
Employees
Staffing preference	Indicates whether you prefer understaffing or overstaffing, based on a sliding scale.
Schedule at least this number of employees	Specifies the minimum number of employees that must be scheduled. The scheduling engine never schedules fewer than this number of employees.
Employees to schedule	Specifies the type of employees to schedule: Filtered employees only: Only employees that match the current filters are scheduled. Staffing profiles are ignored. Employees only (default): Only employees linked to the current scheduling period are scheduled. Staffing profiles are ignored. Staffing profiles only: Only staffing profiles are scheduled. The scheduling engine implements goal seeking to add enough phantom employees to meet the required skills and the service levels that are set. Employees and staffing profiles: Employees are scheduled, and then phantom employees are created and scheduled as necessary to meet required skills and the service levels that are set. NOTE: If the current employee schedules are locked, their portion of the schedule is unchanged and phantom employees are added to the existing schedule. If the current employee schedules are unlocked, they are scheduled first, and then phantom employees are added to the schedule.
Employee preferences	Determines whether the scheduling engine uses employee preferences when generating the schedule: No preferences: Preferences are ignored when scheduling. Preferences by ranking Rating of a specific interaction in the search results in Speech Analytics, which is determined by the number of instances of the search term within the interaction, and the interaction’s individual score.: Preferences are used, based on ranking for employees defined in the User Management Module that an administrator uses to create a profile for each employee in their organization. module, under Employees and Profiles. Preferences by seniority: Preferences are used, based on the employee start date. Preferences by seniority / ranking: Preferences are used, based on a combination of seniority and ranking. To view preferences on the Scheduling Warnings screen, the Employee preferences field must be set to a value other thanNo preferences, and the Service level versus Preferences slider must be set to a value other than zero (0). When preferences are set, the Scheduling Warnings show the percentage of preferences accommodated for each employee in the scheduling period, and the details of accommodated preferences for each day in the period.
Service level versus preferences	Indicates whether service level Set percentage of interactions in WFM that are handled in a defined unit of time. or user preferences is favored, based on a sliding scale. To view preferences in the Scheduling Warnings, the Employee preferences field must be set to a value other than No preferences, and the Service level versus Preferences slider must be set to a value other than zero (0).
Service level
Service level	Indicates how the scheduling engine defines the service level for the schedules, based on a sliding scale: Low (consistent: The scheduling engine aims for an overall lower but consistent service level, favoring less variance and creating a smoother curve. High (inconsistent): The scheduling engine aims for an overall higher but less consistent service level, favoring better overall service but allowing poor service during some time periods. This option allows spikes in the service level.
Minimize class sessions over service level	Indicates whether the scheduling engine minimizes the number of class sessions (at the expense of the service level): If selected: Scheduling engine fills up all sessions with the maximum number of attendees. Many employees are in classes at the same time, but there are fewer classes in the schedule. Therefore, it does not happen that often that many employees are unavailable because they are in classes. If not selected: Maximum number of class sessions are created (given the constraint for the minimum number of attendees). Fewer employees are in classes at the same time, but there are more classes in the schedule. Therefore, it happens more frequently that employees are unavailable because they are in classes, but fewer employees are unavailable due to classes.