Budget Adjusted Workload (BAW) and staff requirements
Schedule to Budget rule adjusts staff requirements in a process
called Budget Adjusted Workload (BAW). The BAW process follows the original curve of staff
requirements to determine which intervals to increase or decrease according to budget
surpluses or shortfalls.
BAW increases staffing requirements when the location has a budget that exceeds the original staff requirements. When generating schedules using forecasts, BAW uses forecast volumes across all intervals to determine how to adjust staff requirements. Staff requirements are increased more in intervals with higher forecast volumes over intervals with lower forecast volumes. When generating schedules using existing workloads or location minimum staff requirements, BAW uses the original staff requirements as the basis for adjustments. BAW increases staff requirements more for intervals with higher original staff requirements over intervals with lower original staff requirements.
When a location has a budget that is less than the original staff requirements, BAW decreases the staff requirements. BAW decreases staff requirements more for intervals with lower forecast volumes or lower original staff requirements. Staff requirements are decreased to a lesser extent for intervals with higher forecast volumes or higher original staff requirements.
BAW uses a middle-out prioritization for adjusting staff requirements when a day has flat staff requirements. Staff requirements are considered to be flat when they are equal for every interval during a day's hours of operation. For flat staff requirements, intervals that are closer to the middle of the hours of operation are given higher priority for staff requirement increases. The opposite prioritization is used when decreasing staff requirements. The intervals that are closest to the beginning or end of the hours of operation are given priority for staff requirement decreases.