WFM UK: Scheduling 2023: New Scheduling Functionality

A video guide for this article can be accessed here.

Scheduling 2023 Version Overview for Customers Migrating from the 'Classic' Scheduling Version  

Select a heading from below to go straight to that part of the article.

The Schedule Page	Deployment Graph	Costs	Allowed Hours
Warnings	Scheduling Functionality	Contracted Hours	Schedule Notes

 

The Schedule Page 

• Users with access to more than one, need to select the required Location from the drop-down before the Scheduling tab becomes available 
• Select the Scheduling tab from the Homepage 

The current week’s schedule will then display.

New Functionality - Schedule Page Supported on Tablet Devices 

Viewport Size: A minimum screen viewport width of 992px to ensure proper display and functionality. Users will not be able to access the Schedule page if their device does not meet these requirements. 

Viewport size is not the standard screen size advertised for a device – it’s the useable space. To check the viewport size of a device, go to: https://whatismyviewport.com/ from any web browser on that device, ensuring the device is being held in landscape orientation.

When using tablet view, elements onscreen will condense down (see Fig.2) to the most suitable view for the screen size used. If the screen is less than 992px wide, a notification will display to advise that it is not supported.

 

• Move to future weeks by selecting the arrow icon >, or by selecting the week dates to load the date picker to select the required schedule week

The Scheduling table is broken down into a number of sections which have been renamed in the new 2023 Scheduling version. 

Classic Version	2023 Version	Tablet Icons
Schedule by Demand	Deployment
Schedule by Budget	Costs
Scheduling Warnings	Warnings

 

Fig.3 - The Scheduling Table options - Classic Scheduling Page

In the new scheduling page these options are in a vertical list and displayed on the left side of the screen - see Fig.4. 

Fig.4 - The Scheduling Table options - 2023 Scheduling Version

 

Deployment Graph

If using the deployment graph within your scheduling package you will notice that productivity data is displayed for each day of the week when previously the system would only display the data for a single day at a time.

• To view the deployment graph for a specific day simply select the day or use the arrow icon >

Fig.5 - Deployment Cards & Graph - 2023 Scheduling Version

New Functionality - Productivity Calculations by Area & Timeslot

When filtering the deployment graph by 'Area', the 'Totals' section will update and display productivity calculations for that Area.

Fig.6 - Deployment graph, filtering by Area, updated Totals section

• To view more data and productivity calculations by timeslot, select/tap on a timeslot (one of the bars on the graph) and the timeslot card will open
• Use the small button at the bottom to display sales/items data

Fig.7 - Timeslot card

 

Costs

The new Costs table section displays the wage cost for each day and is updated with daily sales figures. Wage budgets are displayed in monetary (£) and percentage (%) values. Until sales are completed, the variance in £ and % is based on the forecasted sales values and will be recalculated once the actual sales values have been loaded.

There is a new 'weekly totals' pop-up which can display additional data to help users manage their labour costs. Both the costs table and the weekly totals table are fully customisable. The costs table can display a maximum of 5 pieces of data. These are configured by admin users.

New Functionality - Additional Labour Cost Data & Weekly Totals Table

Weekly totals are displayed in the top row of the costs table and up to 5 rows of data can be displayed and scrolled through.

Fig.8 - Costs Table - 2023 Scheduling Version

An 'A' Icon is displayed to indicate where sales values are 'actual'. If no actual sales are loaded for that day the forecasted sales are used in the labour cost calculations.

• If using UK HR & Payroll and a shift is modified, an Update Costs button will appear in the middle of the Costs table. Use this button to recalculate the labour costs with the most recent shift changes

Once the costs are updated a green confirmation message is displayed at the bottom of the screen.

• Select the Weekly Totals button to load the pop-up as shown in Fig.10

Fig.9 - 'A' for actual sales icon, 'Update Costs' and 'Weekly Totals' buttons

Fig.10 - Weekly Totals Cost Pop-Up 

 

Allowed Hours 

The Allowed Hours functionality has been preserved but is now presented in the refinement bar on the Scheduling page. The functionality and calculations remain the same. 

 

Fig.11 - Allowed Hours - Classic Version

Fig.12 - Allowed Hours - 2023 Version

 

Warnings

The warnings functionality has been preserved, but it is now presented in a new layout and view. To access more information about a scheduling warning, simply hover over or tap on the corresponding reason. Additionally, you can sort the data in the table by selecting the desired column header.

 

Fig.13 - Schedule Warnings - Classic Version

 

Fig.14 - Schedule Warnings - 2023 Version

 

Scheduling Functionality 

On the Scheduling tab, beneath the Costs section is the Schedule itself. Initially, the display will be for all areas, and as such will show all team members within the site.

• Drill down into finer detail with the Areas and Roles drop-downs, as required

New Functionality - Search by employee

A new search box has been introduced to help find employees easily by first or last name.

Fig.16 - Search for employees - 2023 Version

 

New Functionality - Saving Employees Ordering By Location

In the previous classic Scheduling version, it was possible to drag and drop employees on the main Schedule page. In the 2023 version, a dedicated reorder mode has been created. This ensures that no shifts are modified or disturbed when moving employees up and down.

Employees are saved by location, meaning that they are displayed specifically by location and will not revert to the ordering from their main location. This allows for multiple-employed employees to be placed at the bottom of the schedule but they will not move if they are re-ordered in their primary location.

It is important to keep in mind that when wanting to position an employee at the bottom of the schedule, they will need to be moved upwards from the bottom, rather than selecting the employee and moving them downwards.

 

• Go to the reorder mode
• Drag and drop employees into the order by which they will appear on the Schedule page

Fig.17 – Reorder mode button

 

Fig.18 – Reordering employees

 

Contracted Hours

The colour-coded Contracted Hours icon displays the number of contracted hours for the employee. Select or tap on the employee's hours next to their name. The hours are colour coded, as shown below.

-Green if scheduled hours for the employee match their contracted hours
-Red if scheduled hours are less than their contracted hours
-Amber if scheduled hours for the employee exceed their contracted hours

These statuses are based on the total hours that an employee works in all Locations within the portal.

 

Fig.19 -Contracted Hours - Classic Version

Fig.20 -Contracted Hours - 2023 Version