Working with schedules in Timeline Scheduling

When using Timeline Scheduling, "schedules" refer to planned, filled (or scheduled) shifts that are required to complete work for a specific time frame. The Shift Operations menu provides several features that can be used for developing work schedules.

  1. In the upper-left corner of the screen, select Access your applications ( main menu icon ).
    The menu expands.

  2. Select Labor > Timeline Scheduling.
    The Timeline Scheduling screen appears.

timeline scheduling screen

When you first open the Timeline Scheduling screen, a single timeline view opens with the Job view selected.

Operations section – control descriptions

# Control Description Notes

1

Shift Operations


Add Shift

Opens the Add Shift dialog box.

For more information, see the following:

Undo

Undoes the most recent action.

Gear

Opens a drop-down list to select the following:

If you clear all schedules using the Clear Schedules option, this action cannot be undone.

If you clear all shifts using the Clear Shifts option, this action cannot be undone.

The Recalculate Shifts option is used mainly by Unifocus Service Desk and Implementation.

2

View Options


Refresh

Refreshes the views in the Timeline Scheduling screen.

This feature is helpful if you have added or edited many shifts and want to ensure that you are viewing the most current schedule that has been updated with all of your changes.

Top

Opens drop-down list to select the following:

  • Job View—Select to display the Job timeline view.

  • Employee View—Select to display the Employee timeline view.

  • Show Statistics—Select to display the Statistics timeline view.

  • Work Content View—Select to display the Work Content timeline view.

  • Workflow View—Select to display the Workflow timeline view.

When using single-timeline view, use the view you see in the scheduling section. When using dual-timeline view, use this drop-down list to select the view for the top panes in the scheduling section.

The Work Content view applies only to event-related job standard types.

Bottom

Opens drop-down list to select the following:

  • Hide—If using dual-timeline view, select to hide the bottom panes and return to the single-timeline view.

  • Job View—Select to display the Job timeline view.

  • Employee View—Select to display the Employee timeline view.

  • Show Statistics—Select to display the Statistics timeline view.

  • Work Content View—Select to display the Work Content timeline view.

  • Workflow View—Select to display the Workflow timeline view.

When using dual-timeline views, use this drop-down list to select the view for the bottom panes in the scheduling section.

The Bottom drop-down menu applies only to the dual-timeline schedule views.

The Work Content view applies only to event-related job standard types.

Zoom slider

Zooms in and out of the timelines in the schedule panes.

  • To zoom in, move the slider to the right.

  • To zoom out, move the slider to the left.

For more information, see Working with the scheduling section of Timeline Scheduling.

3

Select Jobs and Dates


Job selector

Opens the Labor Selector dialog box. Use this dialog box to filter what types of job and employee groupings appear in the left pane.

For more information, see Labor Selector dialog box in Timeline Scheduling.

Calendar selection

Opens drop-down menu to select the date range that appears in the schedule pane.

 

Scheduling section

You use the scheduling section to schedule labor and view work content, workflow, and statistics. This section contains two panes: the left pane and the schedule pane. If you are using dual-timeline views, there is a left and schedule pane for each view.

# Pane Description Notes

4

Left pane(s)

Depending on your selected view, this pane displays:

  • Jobs—List of jobs.

  • Employees—List of employees.

  • Work Content—Distributed and undistributed work required to complete an event.

  • Workflow—Workflow relative to planned shifts.

  • Statistics—Statistics for job groups.

Read-only.

5

Schedule pane(s)

This pane displays the timeline that correspond to the selected view in the left pane.

The appearance of the timeline in this schedule pane depends on the zoom magnification. If the zoom slider is moved all the way to the left (zoomed out), the timeline displays each day as a separate entry. If the zoom slider is moved all the way to the right (zoomed in), you see an hourly breakdown of each day. Shifts and work content appear as bars on the schedule.

Generating schedules

Prerequisites:

  • Configure thorough, accurate employee availability.

  • Enter all time-off requests.

Generating schedules autoschedule employees. When you generate schedules, the software assigns employees to all unfilled, planned shifts.

  1. In the Shift Operations section, select the gear menu (  ).

  2. From the drop-down list, select Generate Schedules.
    The Generate Schedules dialog box appears.

  3. Complete the fields as necessary.

    Fields on the Generate Schedules dialog box

    Field Description Notes

    Pre-Schedules

    Selects Pre-Schedule schedule type, which schedules employees with pre-schedules entered.

    Default: Cleared.

    Permanent

    Selects Permanent schedule type, which schedules employees with permanent schedules.

    Default: Cleared.

    Regular

    Selects Regular schedule type, which schedules employees with regular schedules.

    Default: Cleared.

    Variable

    Selects Variable schedule type, which schedules employees with variable schedules

    Default: Cleared.

    Clear Selections

    Clears all check boxes in the Job Selector section.

    Expand All

    Expands the tree menu in the Job Selector section.

    Collapse All

    Collapses the tree menu in the Job Selector section.

    Job Selector

    Tree menu and check boxes for all organization layers (divisions, departments, and jobs) at the property.

    Default: The selected check boxes are the jobs that have been selected for scheduling from the Select Jobs and Dates section on The Timeline Scheduling screen

    The tree menu is organized with the following levels:

    • Property

      • Division

        • Department

          • Jobs

    Clear Schedules

    Check box to clear all schedules and then regenerate for all shifts.

    Select this check box if you want to clear all shifts, start over, and autoschedule all shifts.

    Do not select if you want Timeline Scheduling to only fill any remaining unfilled shifts.

    OK

    Applies your changes and closes the dialog box.


    Cancel

    Closes the dialog box without applying your changes.


  4. Select OK. 
    A Generating Schedules progress bar appears. When the progress bar reaches 100 percent, the schedules have been successfully generated. A Success dialog box appears. It confirms that the schedule was successfully generated.

  5. Select OK.
    The Success dialog box closes.

Copying schedules

When you copy a schedule, you can copy all filled shifts from one week to another week. This feature is helpful if you are not interested in using the Generate Schedules option for autoscheduling or if you are in a department where the schedule does not change much from planning period to planning period.

Note: Copying schedules does not affect projected hours, which are based on forecast business volumes for the current planning period.

  1. In the Shift Operations section, select the gear menu (  ).

  2. From the drop-down list, select Copy Schedules.
    The Generate Schedules dialog box appears.

  3. Complete the fields as necessary.

    Fields on the Copy Schedules dialog box

    Field Description Notes

    Copy From Week Ending:

    Drop-down list to select the date of the schedule from which you are copying.

    Date is the week-ending date for planned periods.

    Copy To Week Ending

    Drop-down list to select the date to which you are copying.

    Date is the week-ending date for planned periods.

    Check boxes for each day of the week

    Select the check boxes for each day of the week you want included in the schedule.

    Default: All days of the week are selected.

    Clear Selections

    Clears all check boxes in the Job Selector section.

    Expand All

    Expands the tree menu in the Job Selector section.

    Collapse All

    Collapses the tree menu in the Job Selector section.

    Job Selector

    Tree menu and check boxes for all organization layers (divisions, departments, and jobs) at the property.

    Default: The selected check boxes are the jobs that have been selected for scheduling from the Select Jobs and Dates section on The Timeline Scheduling screen.

    The tree menu is organized with the following levels:

    • Property

      • Division

        • Department

          • Jobs

    OK

    Applies your changes and closes the dialog box.


    Cancel

    Closes the dialog box without applying your changes.


  4. Select OK. 
    A Copying Schedules progress bar appears. When the progress bar reaches 100 percent, the schedules have been successfully copied. A Success dialog box appears. It confirms that the schedule was successfully copied.

  5. Select OK.
    The Success dialog box closes. All selected scheduled shifts are copied to the specified week.

Clearing schedules and shifts

Clearing schedules

Clearing schedules remove all assigned employees from the planned shifts. Use this option if you want to completely start over with the process of assigning planned shifts. 

  1. In the Shift Operations section, select the gear menu (  ).

  2. From the drop-down list, select Clear Schedules.
    The Clear Schedules dialog box appears. Because you cannot undo the action, the message asks if you are sure you want to clear all shifts. 

    Warning: After the schedules have been cleared, you cannot undo this action.

  3. Select Yes.
    The Clear Schedules dialog box closes. All scheduled shifts are cleared from the schedule pane. In the Jobs view, the shift bars return to an unplanned status.

Clearing shifts

Clearing shifts deletes all shifts and removes the shift bars from the schedule pane. This feature is useful if you want to create your own shifts rather than use the planned shifts that are available on the schedule pane.

Remember: Clearing schedules unassigns all scheduled shifts; however, the shift bars remain on the schedule pane.Clearing shifts deletes all shifts and removes the shift bars from the schedule pane.

  1. In the Shift Operations section, select the gear menu (  ).

  2. From the drop-down list, select Clear Shifts.
    The Clear Shifts dialog box appears. Because you cannot undo the action, the message asks if you are sure you want to clear all shifts. 

    Warning: After the shifts have been cleared, you cannot undo this action.

  3. Select Yes.
    The Clear Shifts dialog box closes. All scheduled shifts are cleared from the schedule pane.