Staff Role - A position for a specific shift on the schedule. Tie into certification templates to determine can bid on open shifts. Can also be tied to the time clock and block punches if unexpired certs.
Examples - EMT, Firefighter, Mechanic, Accountant, etc.
Tips - If you have a spot on the schedule that anybody can work, name a staff role "all staff". Tie it to a cert everyone has in their profile, or issue a cert to all employees.
Job - Label used to signify shifts on the schedule. This will be the label of the shift on your editors.
Examples - Medic 1, Station 3, Special Event, Billing, etc.
Tips - These do not need to be specific, shift groups can break down jobs into smaller groupings.
Shift Groups - A label that can be used to group together jobs.
Examples - BLS, ALS, etc
Tips - Use groups to narrow down shifts into sections. For example, your job could be "Special Event" and groups could be Nascar, Football, Parade, etc.
Shift Types - Type of shift being worked, can be used to break down groups into more specific types.
Examples - Day Shift, Night Shift, Office, 24hr, etc
Tips - These can get very specific. For example a job of special event, shift group of football, you could name types such as first aid station or tunnel.
Shift Template - Combination of a job and staff role, where you signify the time this shift is worked. Shift templates are used in pattern templates to create schedule rotations.
Examples - link job of Office, staff role of accountant, and give it a time frame of 0900-1700.
Tips - create a shift template for anyone that could pick up this shift. If for example it's a station shift, create a template for EMT, Paramedic, Supervisor, etc.
Shift Bid - An open shift on the schedule that staff can bid on.
Tips - You can automate who is awarded shifts based on criteria that you pick and choose. This configuration is within system configuration - schedule setup - Shift Bid/Give-Away - Automatic Shift Bid Selection Rules.
Workloads - Staffing required for a job. Used to create openings on the schedule when demand is not met by assigned patterns. Use the "Open Shift Creation Tool" under Generation & Publishing to create openings.
Examples - You are creating a workload for an ALS unit, the workload may be 1 paramedic and 1 EMT needed on the schedule each day for this shift.
Tips - The open shift creation tool can be run unlimited times, the generation tool should only be ran once per time frame and location.
Pattern Templates - The rotation of the schedule.
Examples - Monday thru Friday 0900-1700, or a multiple week rotation such as week 1 MTW, and Week 2 SMT.
Tips - When creating multiple week patterns, use the copy week feature.
Pattern Assignments - Assigning a pattern template to an employee.
Example - Jane Doe is assigned to the Mon-Friday 0900-1700 office pattern template.
Tips - Once your schedule is generated, you can make make changes to any assignments to take effect on the schedule in real time, no need to regenerate again. If two employees are swapping patterns, this can be done easily using the pattern tools function.
Generation - Generates the schedule for all pattern assignments for the selected time frame and location. You should only generate once per time frame and location. Once manual changes have been made to the schedule, regenerating can cause extra shifts and openings.
Open Shift Creation - This tool will take into account your configured workloads and staff assigned via pattern assignments and create openings where needed. The open shift creation can be used as many times as needed.
Publishing - Publishes schedules to your staff on the user side of the system. Admins can view any generated schedule regardless if it is published or not.
Time Off - A code used in the system to add time off and remove a user from shifts with designated code. Using a time off code rather than manually changing a shift to "open" creates better reporting in the system.
Examples - Paid Time Off, Call-Off, Tardy, Medical Leave, Unpaid Time Off, Jury duty, etc.
Tips - You can link time off codes to attendance events during setup, this enables the system to automate attendance each time the time off code is applied. Having different types of time off also creates better reporting company-wide to track each time a code is used with time stamps. If using our accrual system, time off can also be auto deducted from time off banks when applied.