The work position coverage chart provides a visual summary of the coverage schedules, including schedule times, assignments, schedule overages and schedule shortages, for a work position on the day selected.
To view a coverage chart, click the work position in the schedule template and select Show Coverage Chart.

The schedule template is replaced with the coverage chart in the Visual Scheduling window. The bar chart above the dateline indicates the number of employees required for the shift and the number of employees assigned when more employees have been assigned than required. The bars below the dateline show the names of the employees who are assigned to each shift (pink bars indicate assigned employees over the required coverage) and the open shifts (yellow bar).

See Work Position Coverage Chart for details.

If an additional coverage schedule needs to be added to a work position in your Visual Scheduling template, it can be added from within the template. In order to add a new coverage schedule, you will need to:

1. Click the desired work position name.
2. Click Add Coverage Schedule.
3. Assign a zone (if needed).
4. Click Ok. If your schedule is using sub positions, you will want to assign a sub position to the new schedule.

See Adding a Coverage Schedule for details.

Coverage schedules in a Visual Scheduling schedule template can be adjusted to increase coverage, adjust schedule times and change the workgroup levels. Below are the steps to adjust coverage schedule properties.

1. Click the desired coverage schedule.
2. Click Adjust Schedule Properties.
3. Change the Start/End Time by typing the new time directly in the field.
4. Click OK.
5. Change the number of Employees Needed by clicking the up and down arrows in the field.
6. Change the Zone using the drop-down menu.
7. Click OK when you have finished making changes. When you make a change to the Start/End Time of a coverage schedule where multiple employees are assigned, all assigned employees will have their Start/End time updated for that day.

See Adjusting Coverage Schedule Properties for details.

Below are the steps that you can take to add an employee in the candidate list to an open schedule.

1. Click the open schedule.
2. Click View Candidates.
3. Locate the desired candidate.
4. Click the Assign button under the desired candidate.
5. Click Save. If you don’t see the employee that you are looking for, make sure that you have the appropriate candidate filter enabled.

To assign a candidate to a coverage schedule, see Assigning a Candidate to a Coverage Schedule for details.

The coverage schedule menu provides access to view and manage assigned employees, access the candidates who are eligible to work the coverage schedule, adjust schedule properties and remove the coverage schedule. To view the coverage schedule menu, click the coverage schedule in the schedule template. Coverage schedule menu items include:

• The View Candidates menu item opens the Candidates panel with a list of employees who are eligible to work the coverage schedule.

• The Current Assignments menu item opens the Assignments panel with a list of the employees assigned to the coverage schedule.

• The Release All Assignments menu item lets you remove the assigned employees from the coverage schedule.

• The Change Schedule Notation menu item can be used to add a note about the schedule for other users.

• The Adjust Schedule Properties menu item can be used to make changes, such as coverage numbers, schedule times and workgroup assigment.

• The Remove Schedule menu item can be used to remove the coverage schedule from the template.

  See Coverage Schedule Menu for details.

A candidate list can be managed more easily by applying filters to narrow the list to the most relevant candidates based on eligibility and availability for the coverage schedule. A default filter set, called “My Filter Set” is already avaiable in the filter list. You can modify this filter set to meet your needs or add a new filter set.
To apply a filter set to a candidate list, click the My Filter Set button. The list will be modified base on the filters in the set. To adjust a filter set, select the Customize menu item which opens the Manage Candidate Filter Sets panel. Click the Add Filter button to add a new filter to the set. Click the Delete icon to remove a filter. Enable, show and sort the filters in the set using the checkboxes.

See Filtering a Candidate List for details.

Dividing a facility into physical areas to localize work positions and minimize distances employees must travel to perform work is the basis for zone scheduling. Zones may represent floors, wings, or other areas in your organization which your schedules may be based on. If your schedule template is using zones, you will see orange text, with the assigned zone name, within the date cells of your schedule. To assign the correct zone when adding a coverage schedule:

1. Click the work position in your schedule template and select Add Coverage Schedule.
2. In the new coverage schedule window, select the workgroup level that matches the zone in the Workgroup field.
3. Click OK. You can follow the steps below to change an employee’s zone.
4. Click the coverage schedule that the employee is assigned to.
5. Click Current Assignments.
6. Click the icon for the employee that needs to be changed.
7. Click Change To.
8. Click on the desired zone.

See Using Zone Schedules for details.

The Escalate Search feature in Visual Scheduling allows you to send a callout to employees with a request to work an open schedule. This feature is most often used when there is a critical need for employees to work an upcoming coverage schedule. This function is available for any schedule in the schedule template in any stage within one week from the current date. The call out sequence prompts a polling box in the template that allows you to track employee responses and access the Polling panel to assign employees to the schedule.

Polling Box	Employee Response to Callout

Here’s how it works:

1. A text is sent to a schedule’s candidates describing the schedule and including codes for yes and no responses.
2. Employees respond with the code representing either yes or no.
3. The scheduler selects a candidate from the yes responses and assigns the schedule.
4. The assigned employee receives a confirmation text. Other employees who responded positively receive a text explaining that the position has been filled.

Watch the video below on how use the escalate search.

Sending a Callout

Locate the open schedule in your Visual Scheduling template and click the schedule to select View Candidates from the drop-down menu.

In the Candidates panel, Click the Operations button and select Escalate Search.

An Escalate Search window is presented displaying text details, including the number of employees who will receive the text and the contents of the message about the open shift.

The default text message can be edited or replaced. Click in the Message field and edit or type a new message to replace the default

Employee Responses

Employees receive a text with the message added in the Escalate Search window and two codes to respond back to the scheduler. A five digit code can be typed in the replying text field to indicate interest in picking up the shift. An alternate five digit code can be typed in the replying text field to indicate that the employee is not interested in working the shift.

After responding with to the text message with a code, the employee receives a response from the system:

Employee Response	System Response
Yes	No
Your affirmative response has been registered. Confirmation will follow later.	Thank you. Maybe next time.

ESS Mobile Contact Preferences for receiving text notifications must be enabled which is indicated by the blue highlight and the appropriate phone number is selected. For additional details, please visit the Employee Mobile section

Tracking Responses in the Template

Click the Polling box in the Visual Scheduling template and click Refresh to update the polling response numbers.

Before Refresh	After Refresh

Assigning an Employee to the Coverage Schedule

To review the employee responses in the Polling panel, click the Polling box and select Show Responses.

The Polling panel lists all of the candidate responses to the call out. Employees who have not responded are listed as Pending. Click the Assign button for the employee or employees you want to add to the schedule. Click the Save button after making your selections.

The system sends a text to the employee indicating the employee has been assigned to the schedule with the date and time of the schedule.

Closing the Callout Session

When the coverage schedule is fulfilled, you can close the callout session by clicking the polling box and selecting Close Callout to send a message to the candidates.

Enable the checkbox to send the closeout text to employees who responded, but were not selected, and employees who have not responded yet to the callout text. Send the default message displayed in the Message field or edit the default message with a new message.

Employees will receive a text that the position is filled. Replies to the callout will no longer be received for the position.

Download the PDF Escalate Search for further details.