Schedule Preferences
The Schedule Preferences button opens a screen to add, edit or view the activities, profiles, time frames, and/or days of the week the employee prefers to work.
The information on this screen is used when the system is validating employee preferences during automatic scheduling, when edit validation of manually entered schedules, and/or with the Scheduling Assistant Call In wizard. However, these preferences are only validated if the Preferences rule is activated in the selection style. 
More About Schedule Preferences Validation
In order for the system to validate employee preferences, the Preferences rule must be activated in the Selection Style being used. Preferences can be set up for selection styles used for automatic scheduling, edit validation of manually entered schedules, and the Scheduling Assistant Call In wizard.
- To activate the Preferences rule, open the Configuration screen>Scheduling card>Selection Styles screen.
- Search for the record of the selection style to be updated.
- If this validation is for an automatic scheduling rule or for the Scheduling Assistant Call In wizard, open (or create) a pass where you wish to validate employee preferences by clicking on the Passes button. Multiple passes can be set up to determine the hierarchy of employees selected for scheduling or for the scheduling assistant. The Preferences rule can be added to any of these passes. Note: This button is not used with the Edit Validation Type. Skip to step 4.
- To add a new pass, click on the Add button in the left pane.
- Choose a Selection option from the Field Look Up Values in the right pane.
The Selection Rule button opens a screen to display the type of process using this rule.
- Enter a Description identifying this pass.
The label used to describe this selection style pass.
- For Staffing Plan and Core Staffing Plan passes, enter the percentage of Staffing Level for this pass. For example, one pass can be set up to populate at 80% of needs, and another pass can be created to populate at 100% of needs.
The percentage of staffing needs the schedule should be populated up to, during this need-based scheduling pass. Enter the whole/decimal number of the percent (for example, enter 80.5 for 80.5% population of needs).
- This setting can be used to populate all eligible employees on a holiday. For example, if the staff requirements on the Staffing Plan is set to 10, but there are 12 employees who are eligible to work a holiday, set this value to 120% or higher and all employees will be scheduled.
- This setting can also be used to "even out" under-staffing of a schedule when an organization unit doesn't have enough staff available. For example, one pass can be set up to populate at 80%, and a second pass can be set up to populate at 100%. The first pass populates each day in the schedule up to 80% of staffing needs, and the second pass populates as many days as possible up to 100%.
With that setting, if the needs for a coverage period is 10 RN's, the system first populates 8 RN's every day, and then goes back and tries to populate 10 RN's on as many days as possible (without breaking overtime/approved hours rules). If this staffing level value is left at 100%, the days initially populated by the schedule may have 10 RN's, but the days populated later may only get 6.
- Save this page.
- Click on the Qualification button in the left pane.
- From the Available Rules section, highlight the Preferences rule.
- Drag the rule to the Selected Rules section.
- Activate the preference(s) to be validated by setting the value to Yes.
The following fields display when configuring the Preferences rule:
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When set to Yes, qualifying employees must have a matching preference set up on their Rotating Schedule screen.
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When set to Yes, qualifying employees must have a matching Position code set as a preference in their Schedule Preferences screen. If this field is left blank, any value will be considered a match.
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When set to Yes, qualifying employees must have a matching activity code set up in their Schedule Preferences screen in their employee record. If this field is left blank, any value will be considered a match.
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When set to Yes, the system selects only employees with values set up in their Schedule Preferences screen that do not conflict with the schedule opening. If any fields are left blank, any value will be considered a match.
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Qualifying employees must have a matching day of the week set up as a preference (set to Yes) in their Schedule Preferences screen.
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- Save the record.
- For each pass, repeat steps 3 through 8.
An employee can have multiple preference records. To view and/or edit the details of an existing record, click on the card arrow to the right of the record.
Note: If fields are left blank when setting up the preferences; that blank field works like a "wildcard" so any value will match. For example, if the employee sets up a preference with the RN position but leaves the activity code field blank; that means the preference is to work the RN position but any activity code is acceptable.
Set up Employee Schedule Preferences
To set up employee schedule preferences, complete the following steps.
- Search for and open the employee record of the employee to set up.
- From the Employee Sections in the left pane, select the Schedule Preferences option.
- Click the Add button to open the setup screen.
- Enter the Effective Date of when these preferences are effective.
The date this schedule preference record becomes effective.
- Enter an Expiration Date if these preferences will expire on a certain date. To leave these effective indefinitely, do not enter a value in this field.
The date this schedule preference record is no longer effective, if applicable.
- If using Priority values, enter a number in this field. Note: The system will only populate preferences in this record if this Priority value matches the Priority set up on the selection style.
Numeric value that can be matched when using a selection style that specifies this same value. For example, if the selection style requires a schedule preference with a priority of 1, only employee preferences that have a value of 1 in this field are considered a match.
- Enter a Start Time for the preferred working time frame. This setting is used with the Hour Value to indicate the preferred working time frame. For example, if the Start time is set to 700 and the Hour Value is set to 12.5, the system can populate any activity code that starts on or after 0700 and ends on or before 19:30 (which is 12.5 hours after the start time).
The number of hours in the range of time the employee prefers to work, beginning with the entered Start Time. For example, a Start Time of 07:00 with Hour Value of 12.5 indicates that the employee is willing to work any shift that starts on or after 07:00, as long as it ends on or before 19:30. IMPORTANT NOTE: Be sure to include the lunch length when calculating the Hours Value. If the user wants to work up to a 12-hour shift with a 1/2 hour lunch, the ending time is 12.5 hours after the start time, and so 12.5 should be entered in the Hour Value field.
The starting time of the range of time in which the employee prefers to work. This is used in conjunction with the Hour Value. For example, a Start Time of 07:00 with Hour Value of 12.5 indicates that the employee is willing to work any shift that starts on or after 07:00, as long as it ends on or before 19:30.
- In the Shift Length (Hours) field, enter the length of schedule the employee would like to work, for example, 8-hour or 12-hour. This can be used in conjunction with the Start Time and Hour Value information.
The length of the work shift (in whole and decimal hours) the employee prefers to work. This value can be combined with the Start Time and Hour Value. For example, a Start Time of 07:00 with Hour Value of 12.5 and a Length of 8 indicates that the employee is willing to work any 8-hour shift that starts on or after 07:00, as long as it ends on or before 19:30. Note: The length value does not include lunch length.
- In the Position Code field, enter the position code linked to profiles that the employee prefers to be assigned.
The position code the employee wants to work in this preference record. The options available in the Look Up Values are previously set up in the employee's Labor Distribution section.
- In the Activity Code field, enter the activity code the employee would like to be scheduled.
The activity code the employee would like to work with this preference record. Note: The Position field must be filled in first, so that the system can display activity codes associated with the same labor distribution as the position.
- In the Sunday through Saturday fields, set each day of the week to Yes to indicate the types of schedules the employee prefers to work on the selected days of the week. Different scheduling criteria can be set up for different days of the week. For example, the employee may want to work only 8-hour schedules on Saturday and Sunday but is willing to work any length shift the other days of the week.
Indicates which day(s) of the week the employee prefers to work (Yes/No). Set the value to Yes for each day of the week to include in this preference record.
- Click on the Save button at the bottom of the screen to save the record.
- To create additional preferences, click on the Add button in the left pane and complete steps 5-13 for each preference record.
Activity Code
The activity code the employee would like to work with this preference record. Note: The Position field must be filled in first, so that the system can display activity codes associated with the same labor distribution as the position.
Effective Date
The date this schedule preference record becomes effective.
More About Date Value Fields
When a date field is highlighted, the Date Selector is displayed in the right pane to search for the date. Use the arrows in the heading bar to scroll to the Previous or Next month's calendar. Double-click on a date to enter it into the field. Alternatively, dates can be typed into the field.
Expiration Date
The date this schedule preference record is no longer effective, if applicable.
More About Date Value Fields
When a date field is highlighted, the Date Selector is displayed in the right pane to search for the date. Use the arrows in the heading bar to scroll to the Previous or Next month's calendar. Double-click on a date to enter it into the field. Alternatively, dates can be typed into the field.
Hour Value
The number of hours in the range of time the employee prefers to work, beginning with the entered Start Time. For example, a Start Time of 07:00 with Hour Value of 12.5 indicates that the employee is willing to work any shift that starts on or after 07:00, as long as it ends on or before 19:30. IMPORTANT NOTE: Be sure to include the lunch length when calculating the Hours Value. If the user wants to work up to a 12-hour shift with a 1/2 hour lunch, the ending time is 12.5 hours after the start time, and so 12.5 should be entered in the Hour Value field.
Position Code
The position code the employee wants to work in this preference record. The options available in the Look Up Values are previously set up in the employee's Labor Distribution section.
Priority
Numeric value that can be matched when using a selection style that specifies this same value. For example, if the selection style requires a schedule preference with a priority of 1, only employee preferences that have a value of 1 in this field are considered a match.
Shift Length (Hours)
The length of the work shift (in whole and decimal hours) the employee prefers to work. This value can be combined with the Start Time and Hour Value. For example, a Start Time of 07:00 with Hour Value of 12.5 and a Length of 8 indicates that the employee is willing to work any 8-hour shift that starts on or after 07:00, as long as it ends on or before 19:30. Note: The length value does not include lunch length.
Start Time
The starting time of the range of time in which the employee prefers to work. This is used in conjunction with the Hour Value. For example, a Start Time of 07:00 with Hour Value of 12.5 indicates that the employee is willing to work any shift that starts on or after 07:00, as long as it ends on or before 19:30.
More About Time Value Fields
When a field requires a Time Value, the value must be formatted in 24-hour time. This means after noon, the hour value entered should have 12 added to the hour value shown on the clock. For example, if the time is 3:00 pm, the correct value in 24-hour format is 15:00 (12+3 = 15).
- The system automatically formats entered values to hh:mm (two-digit hour value, two-digit minute value separated by a colon).
- Enter 1500 and the system automatically adds the colon between the hour and minute values to convert this to 15:00.
- Enter 900 and the system adds the leading zeros and colon to convert this to 09:00.
- The system adds leading zeros to any value less than 4 digits. For example, if 9 is entered, the system converts this to 00:09 (nine minutes after midnight).
- If the last two digits of the entered value is larger than 59, this cannot be converted to a valid time and an error message is generated.
- If the first two digits of a four-digit value is larger than 23, this cannot be converted to a valid time and an error message is generated.
- Enter midnight as 00:00; enter noon as 12:00.
- If a "p" or "pm" is entered after the hour value, the system automatically converts the time to the corresponding afternoon value in 24-hour time. For example:
- Enter 300p or 300pm and the system converts this to 15:00 and adds the colon.
Sunday - Saturday
Indicates which day(s) of the week the employee prefers to work (Yes/No). Set the value to Yes for each day of the week to include in this preference record.
Action Buttons
The following Action buttons may be available in the left pane for adding or deleting related records:
Add
The Add button opens a screen where authorized users can create a new record.
To add a new record, complete the following steps:
- From the right pane, click on the Add button.
- A screen is displayed to enter values. The fields with an asterisk are required and must be completed before the record can be saved.
- Click on the Save button to save the record,
Note: For more information, see Adding a New Record.
Delete Selected
The Delete button is used to remove one or more records from a screen.
To delete a record, complete the following steps:
- Click on the selection box to the left of each record to be deleted.
A check mark is displayed
- Click the Delete button.
- If a single record is open, select the Delete button (there are no boxes to select the record).
- A message is displayed verifying the record should be deleted. Click on Yes to continue.
