Tag: availability

Scheduling by Availability

This article is for Schedulers or Administrators.

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Availability for Schedulers & Administrators

About Availability

Availability can be used to schedule members for any open shifts on the schedule. It is generally used by organizations that have per diem/part-time employees or volunteer staff that submit availability in advance of an upcoming scheduling period. However, it can be used for any member type based on how your organization schedules.

See: Submitting Availability

Availability Deadline

eSchedule offers the ability to set a standard availability deadline / due date each month. This is a configuration setting that our Support Team can configure. For example, if availability is due from all members by the 15th of each month, we can “lock” the availability entry screen as of 0000 hours on the 16th of each month. This will prevent members from editing or adding availability after that date.

Viewing Availability

There are 4 different ways for a Scheduler to view/use availability:

  1. Availability Report
  2. Availability Submission
  3. Availability View on Weekly Spreadsheet
  4. Auto Scheduler

Availability Report

  1. Navigate to “Schedule > Availability Report”.
  2. Alter the search filters at the top of the report as needed.
  3. Click “Refresh”.

Many Schedulers like to open the Availability Report on one computer monitor (or browser tab) while placing members onto shifts on another monitor (or browser tab).

Availability Submission

This is a simple report that allows you to see who did (or didn’t) submit availability.

Availability View on Weekly Spreadsheet

  1. Navigate to “Schedule > Weekly Spreadsheet”.
  2. Activate the availability view (icon is on the Schedule Taskbar).
  3. You will now be able to see who is available for any given day/shift in line within the schedule.

Notes:

  • Someone who submitted availability but is already scheduled for that day will appear as grey text with a dot next to their name.
  • Someone who submitted availability and is not currently scheduled for that day will appear as black text with no dot.
  • Someone who has approved PTO for the day will appear with a colored background.

Auto Scheduler

The Auto Scheduler feature can be activated within your account. It will compare your open shifts with submitted availability and attempt to propose a schedule for you.

Please contact our Support Team for details.

Submitting Availability

This article if for members who are submitting availability within the Scheduling Module.

Video Help

Submitting Availability

About Availability

Availability is used by Schedulers to place staff into open shifts that exist in the future.

How to Submit Availability

  1. Navigate to “Schedule > Submit Availability”.
  2. The availability screen generally defaults to the following calendar month. To navigate to a different month, use the back or forward arrows in the bar just above the availability calendar.
  3. On the availability calendar, the default selection for any given day is “Unavailable” (at the bottom of the day).
  4. If you’re available to work, click the checkbox(es) for that correspond with the shifts/times that you’re available.
  5. Depending on your organization’s settings, you may be able to enter availability for multiple sets of custom time ranges. Check the box next to each custom time range and enter the start time and end time for which you’re available to work.
  6. Once your availability is complete for the month, click “Update” (at the top or bottom of the page).
  7. You can make changes to your availability at any time (see below) and click “Update” as needed.

    Note: Some organizations have a deadline for which availability is due each month. For example, availability for the following month may be due by the 15th of the prior month (no later than 2359 hrs ET). If this is the case, your organization may “lock” the availability screen to prevent any additions or updates to your availability after that date each month.