Employee Scheduling Software

Set Up Coverage Totals to Calculate Scheduling Data in Shift Scheduling Software

Posted by Brandy on August 13, 2012

Visual Staff Scheduler shift scheduling software calculates scheduling data automatically for you, so you can make sure you have the right number of employees scheduled. For each day, you can display the number of employees or hours scheduled by position, shift, and explanation, such as department, location, or job. And, you can see at-a-glance if you are under- or over-scheduled.

What is a Coverage Total?

The Coverage Totals feature allows you to effortlessly calculate scheduling data. For example, you can calculate the:

• number of personnel working specific shifts
• number of staff who have scheduled time off
• number of training hours
• number of employees with a particular skill that are scheduled to work, and
• difference between what is required and what is actually scheduled

Where are the Coverage Totals?

The Coverage Totals feature in our shift scheduling software goes through each day in the schedule and counts the number of matches to the specific criteria that you define. This information is displayed in an easy-to-use table at the bottom of the schedule worksheet. You can change the order the coverage totals are displayed on screen and choose how many coverage totals you would like to display at the bottom of the scheduling worksheet, as well as display up to 30 different coverage totals for each schedule file.

How do I Define a Coverage Total?

From the Define menu select Coverage Totals. You can define your own unique coverage totals, as well as edit existing ones. Click on the New button or on one of the undefined options in the list to define a new coverage total. In the Edit Coverage Total window, the Names tab is used to designate which names should be included in the coverage total. By default, all names are included. You can also choose specific positions for your query. Use the Skills to designate specific skills or certifications that should be included in the coverage total. You can also select which Explanations and Shifts, if any, you want to include in the query.

If you want the coverage total to display the difference between a staffing requirement and the actual number of employees scheduled, you would choose the Requirement Row in the Variance tab. Requirement Row values and coverage totals can be added, subtracted, multiplied or divided and used to calculate percentages. Staffing variance results are displayed as negative numbers to indicate staff shortages, positive numbers to indicate staff excess, and no number to indicate that the actual coverage meets exactly the staffing requirement. You also have the option to view shift coverage in hourly time increments in the Hourly Coverage window.

With Visual Staff Scheduler you will know instantly how many employees you have working a specific shift or location. You can also set staffing thresholds levels to immediately access staffing overages and shortfalls

Watch the video to see how easy it can be to create coverage totals in this shift scheduling software.