Schedule vs. Template
There are two different active views of the schedule. The Schedule includes all published shifts, whereas the Template displays the recurrent schedule for a site, zone, or department.
Template: The template can be set to follow a recurring schedule template by site, zone, or department. This allows admins to create templates for each site based on the requirements for the site. Some locations may use a weekly recurrent schedule, but this flexibility will enable admins to define the recurrent schedule period by weeks or days. Schedule templates are an efficient way to automate recurring or known shifts week after week. Schedulers will use the Rolling Schedule to prepare weekly schedules that TrackTik will repeatedly apply until the end of the service period. Once the schedule has been prepared for a period, it can be published. Publishing will move those shifts to the Master Schedule.
Schedule: The Schedule includes all shifts published from the Template. This is the final version of the schedule for all sites. Typically, the Schedule is only edited for an exception, such as an employee requiring a replacement. Using the Quick Shift Tool feature, you can batch edit multiple exceptions.
Example: An employee has a doctor's appointment on a Tuesday. Since this is not a recurring appointment, You can make the change in the Master Schedule. If the employee has frequent visits, the employee can be replaced in the Rolling Schedule, replacing the employee for every recurring Tuesday shift.
Publishing Shifts
It is the action of making the schedule viewable/available. It will allow the schedule to flow to many different areas in TrackTik.
Publishing shifts allows employees to see the shifts in sites, zones, and departments. This feature will enable schedulers to send schedules to employees regularly without changing the schedule. Once a Scheduler is satisfied with a site's schedule, they can publish those shifts. You can only edit published shifts from the Schedule, not the Template.
Distributing Schedules
Simply put, it is the action of sending the schedule to all affected employees by email.
The email address in each employee's profile is used to send the published schedules. It is always recommended that employees include their email address in their employee profiles so they can receive schedules.
Skills and Attributes
Skills and Attributes (certifications, permits, uniforms, etc.) are assigned to an employee to note whether the employee complies with the requirements for a position or shift.
There are three different kinds of requirements.
Soft Requirements: These are skills or certifications that are preferred but not required for the position. Officers can be scheduled if they do not meet the Soft Requirements for a shift, but TrackTik will inform the scheduler of the discrepancy.
Conditional Requirements: The employee must have at least one of the conditional requirements to work at the position.
Hard Requirements are required skills, certifications, or permits for a shift. TrackTik will block security guards from the shift if they do not possess the credentials defined in the Hard Requirements.
Please refer to Skills and Attributes.
Payrun
The Pay Run is a defined period that includes all hours an employee will be compensated for during a pay period. The Pay Run is the recurring time period that defines what shifts and hours will be included in a pay period. For example, an employee paid weekly would have a 7-day Pay Run.
Pre-Process a Payroll
Pre-processing is the first step in processing payroll and constitutes a mock process for payroll. The pre-processed data notifies administrators of conflicts before they process the payroll. It notes all the exceptions present in the current period, such as unapproved shifts, and allows administrators to correct any discrepancies before officially processing payroll.
HR / Employee Profile
The Employee profile is accessible directly within the schedule. It provides a quick view of employee information, including availabilities, pay rate, site assignments, skills and attributes, and other information that may influence scheduling decisions.
Overtime Period and Cut-Off Day
Overtime is calculated every seven days. Overtime rules can vary by site. Since security guards need to navigate different sites and different rolling schedules, an employee can define the Overtime Period. The Cut-Off day marks the end of an overtime period. For example, you could set the Cut-Off day for overtime to a Monday. Doing this would end the overtime period and effectively restart overtime calculations each Monday. The Overtime Cut-Off day allows the system to understand where rules like "consecutive days" should be ended and restarted.
Posting to the Shift Board
The Shift Board is a calendar view that can be accessed through the employee portal and allows employees to pick up extra shifts. That board is accessible for administrators with permission to review posted shifts and post new ones.
If the Shift Board is enabled, Schedulers can post uncovered shifts. The Shift Board collects all unassigned shifts, making them available to security guards who meet the shift criteria.
Availabilities
Availabilities work on a recurring weekly schedule. Officers can have three different classes of availability. These are color-coded for easy identification:
Green: The employee is available to work and can be scheduled without exception.
Yellow/Orange: The employee is available if needed but preferably will not be scheduled during this time. The employee can be scheduled, but the system will notify the scheduler that issues could arise with the employee accepting the shift.
Red: The employee is unavailable to be scheduled during this time and will be blocked from accepting shifts.
Preferred Schedule Publish Frequency
This is the recurring period for posting a new schedule. Typically, schedules are posted weekly, bi-weekly or semi-monthly. The Preferred Schedule Publish Frequency is a timer in the system that will notify schedulers when a new schedule needs to be prepared and posted.
Target Weekly Hours
Target Weekly Hours allows Schedulers and Admins to set the expected weekly hours for an employee. This will trigger notifications for Schedulers while assigning shifts. It also helps ensure that security guards are provided the hours they expect each week. Since security guards can be paid hourly or receive an annual salary, salaried employees are scheduled for an entire week.
Features that require Scheduling
The Scheduling Module must be activated and configured beforehand for some features to work. Three key features require Scheduling:
IVR system: It stands for "Interactive Voice Response." It allows employees to clock in/out for their scheduled and published shifts using a phone number specific to each region of the TrackTik portal. It also allows "Shift offer by SMS" from the "Replace Window."
BYOD stands for "Bring Your Own Device." It is used in conjunction with Departments to allow users to use their mobile phones to work and only connect if they have a published shift on the schedule of a site or a zone.
Lone Worker: This allows a user working alone to signify their presence through the mobile application or the IVR system. Their scheduled check-in will be embedded in their regular shift schedule.