Planning for batch schedule generation
Batch schedule generation should be planned according to how far in advance schedules must be made available. Managers may require schedules with sufficient lead time to make manual adjustments before publishing schedules to employee timesheets. Requirements may also exist that specify how far in advance employees must receive their schedules. The required lead times are generally driven by corporate policy or employment regulations, and may vary between different locations.
Schedule profiles and batch scheduling tasks are configured to determine when unpublished schedules are made available to managers. Schedule profiles control the length of the schedule that is generated for the location each time the batch scheduling task executes. The batch scheduling task controls how frequently schedules are generated, usually weekly, and how far into the future the schedules start.
The Min Day Offset to Start Date parameter, or the offset number, for the batch scheduling task determines how far in the future to generate schedules. Schedules generated for a location always start on the day of the week configured as the Start Day for the location. When the batch job runs, the offset number is added to the current date to calculate the offset date. If the offset date is the same day of the week as the start day, the schedule starts on the offset date. Otherwise, the schedule starts on the next occurrence of the start day after the offset date.
| Batch scheduling task execution date | Required lead time (from execution date) | Min Day Offset to Start Date | Schedule start date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, March 7 | 3 days | 0 | Sunday, March 10 |
| Thursday, March 7 | 10 days | 10 | Sunday, March 17 |
A single batch scheduling task can create schedules for multiple locations. When the task runs, it creates schedules for all Auto-Assignment schedule profiles that are enabled for batch scheduling for the specified location and any of its child locations. Batch scheduling tasks can be created at a parent location level, such a corporate entity, to schedule multiple stores. This is the recommended configuration if all the child stores and departments share similar lead times. Multiple tasks can be created to generate schedules for locations with different requirements.
Generated schedules must be published before schedules are displayed in employee timesheets. This process can be configured to ensure employees receive the schedule with the required notice before they are required to work.
See "Publishing schedules" in the Infor Workforce Management LFSO Implementation and Administration Guide for details.