Work Patterns in Workforce Scheduling
To identify the shifts framework for a worker during a specific cycle, create a work pattern for their work assignment. The shifts can have specific start and end times or durations for specific days. Or they can be flexible.
For multiweek patterns, you can also set a shift to be a nonworking week. This framework is used to decide the worker's default contractual schedule.
Here’s an example of a work pattern for Kris’s Shelf Stocking assignment. The pattern is for a 2-week cycle and has shifts with start and end times.
- For week 1, Kris works Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:00 am to noon and Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from noon to 4:00 pm. All the shifts include a 15-minute paid break that Kris can take any time during the shift.
- For week 2, Kris works from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Kris also gets a 15-minute paid coffee break at 4:00 pm. and a 30-minute unpaid meal break at 6:00 pm.
Here’s an example for the same assignment and cycle, but with shifts that have flexible days and times.
- For week 1, Kris can work Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for a maximum of 4 hours. Kris can also work Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday for a maximum of 6 hours. All the shifts include a 15-minute paid break that Kris can take any time during the shift.
- For week 2, Kris can work on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for a maximum of 6 hours. Kris can take a 15-minute paid coffee break between noon and 3:00 pm and a 30-minute unpaid meal break between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm.
Nonflexible work patterns are validated to ensure the weekly hours total to the standard working hours defined for the worker assignment. For example, if a worker has an assignment-level FTE of 40 hours, then their work pattern needs to total to 40 hours for any week. Flexible work patterns aren’t validated.
To create a work pattern, use the Work Patterns quick action for . On the Work Patterns page, search for and select a specific work assignment to see the existing inactive and active work patterns. You can also add other work patterns here. Or you can load work patterns for worker assignments using HCM Data Loader.
Tips
As a line manager or HR specialist, you can assign work patterns to only the workers you've permissions to access.
A worker’s work assignment can have only one work pattern active at a time and work pattern dates can’t overlap. The work assignment can have gaps between when one work pattern ends and another pattern starts.
The fields that you see when adding shifts depend on the selected work pattern type. For example, start and end times types include time fields while duration types don’t. You can add existing shifts to the work pattern or create the appropriate shift while you’re creating the work pattern.
For flexible work patterns, the days or days and times are when the person needs to be available to work that assignment. You don’t need to schedule them to work on all the specified days and at all the specified times. For example, Kris's manager schedules Kris to work the week 1 pattern on Mondays and Fridays from 9:00 am to noon. They don’t schedule Kris to work at all on Wednesdays.