HotSchedules - iQ Alerts & Actions

🧠 Fourth iQ: Alerts & Actions Guide for Managers using HotSchedules

The Manager iQ App has a broad set of workforce-related alerts and actions, providing managers with a single, smart interface to manage key operational decisions quickly and confidently. This covers the full scope from sales and labor alerts, overtime alerts, to scheduling review workflows.

Projected Employee Overtime 

When this alert happens:

Managers are alerted when employees projected to work overtime clock out of their shifts.

Why it matters:

This alert ensures that managers are aware of potential overtime from employees who may have worked additional unplanned hours during the scheduled week.

What you will see:

• Employee Name
• Schedule Week
• Planned Overtime Hours
• Unplanned Overtime Hours

What you need to do:

Consider adjusting the employees' hours later in the week to avoid overtime costs.

Sales and Labor Alert

When this alert happens:

A configurable company-level trigger (default 10:00 AM local time) sends one of the following alerts:

• Prior Day Alert: Summarizes the previous day’s sales and labor performance
• Week-to-Date (WTD) Alert: Tracks ongoing performance against goals for the current week

Alerts are sent to:

• Location Managers, who will see their own location’s data
• Above-Store Leaders:
  • If managing more than 6 locations, will see the Top 3 and Bottom 3 locations by variance in sales and labor
  • If managing 6 or fewer locations, will see all locations

Why it matters

By automatically delivering actionable insights, this alert enables managers to understand how labor costs are tracking against sales performance without needing to search for reports. This supports data-driven staffing adjustments and improved financial outcomes across all locations.

What you will see: 

For Advanced Customers:

• Sales: Forecasted vs Actual
• Labor: Scheduled vs Actual

For Expert Customers:

• Sales: Forecasted vs Actual
• Labor: Forecasted vs Actual

Each alert includes:

• Prior Day or WTD Summary
• Variance ( value + percentage )
• Alert Priority (e.g., “Low”)
• Report Date
• Micro-learning tip explaining why the metric matters
• Location and Client Name

What you need to do:

Use the alert insights to identify over- or under-spending on labor relative to sales. Adjust staffing or scheduling to maintain optimal labor efficiency and profitability for your location or region.

Minor Rules Alert 

When this alert happens:

An alert is triggered when a minor employee’s actual worked hours/days combined with their remaining scheduled hours/days are projected to exceed the configured maximum weekly limits.

• Supports hours and days limits based on whether school is in session or out of session
• Triggered at the location level for managers with Scheduler permissions

Why it matters:

Minor labor law compliance is mandatory and often complex, varying by state and school calendar. This alert allows managers to identify potential overages before they happen — helping ensure minors stay within legal working limits and preventing costly compliance violations.

What you will see:

• Employee Name(s)
• Work Week Start Date
• Hours or Days Worked
• Hours or Days Remaining Scheduled
• Total Hours or Days
• Amount Over Limit
• Alert Priority (e.g., “Low”)
• Location and Client Name
• Micro-learning message — explaining why the alert matters

What you need to do:

Review the employee’s schedule for the week and adjust hours or days as needed to stay within the allowable limits for minors. Confirm changes in the Scheduler to clear the projected violation.

Expiring Certificate Alert

When this alert happens:

An alert is triggered when an employee’s certification is approaching expiration or has already expired:

• Upcoming Expirations: Sent at 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5 days, and daily until expiration
• Post-Expiration: Triggered when a certification expires and the employee is removed from the schedule, made inactive, or remains active (depending on company settings)

Alerts default to manager view only. Admin users do not receive certification alerts.

Why it matters:

Maintaining active certifications is essential for legal compliance and operational safety. This alert prevents last-minute disruptions by ensuring managers can address expiring credentials before an employee is restricted from working or scheduled in error.

What you will see:

• Employee Name
• Certification Name
• Expiration Date
• Alert Priority (e.g., “Low”)
• Location and Client Name
• A micro-learning message explaining the importance of certification compliance

What you need to do:

Review the alert and coordinate with the employee to renew the certification before it expires. Confirm renewal within the system to clear the alert and maintain compliance for the location.

Schedule Score Alert

When this alert happens:

• The alert is automatically sent on the last day of the current schedule period, providing insights to help optimize the next schedule

Why it matters:

Regularly evaluating schedule performance helps managers create balanced, compliant, and cost-effective schedules. By improving their Schedule Score, managers can reduce overscheduling, avoid rule violations, and improve overall labor planning efficiency.

What you will see:

• Schedule Optimization Score (percentage)
• Alert Priority (e.g., “Medium”)
• Location Information
• Client Name
• A micro-learning message explaining why scheduling optimization matters
• Actionable recommendations to improve future schedules

What you need to do:

Review your Schedule Score to understand how effectively you’ve scheduled employees this week. Use the provided recommendations to adjust shift assignments, balance labor costs, and improve the upcoming schedule’s efficiency and compliance.