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Needs

Needs define your staffing requirements - how many agents with which skills you need at each time of day. The schedule is built to satisfy these needs.

What is a need?

A need specifies:

  • Which skill is required
  • How many agents are needed
  • When they are needed (time and days)
  • Where (which workplace)

Example: "On weekdays from 9:00 to 17:00, we need at least 5 agents with the Sales skill at the Main Office workplace."

Create a need

  1. In the left menu, go to Settings > Configuration > Needs.
  2. Click + Add Need.
  3. Fill in the basic information:
    • Skill - Select the required skill
    • Workplace - Select the workplace
    • Period - Select the period (optional - if not selected, applies to all periods)
    • Days - Select which days the need applies (Mon-Sun checkboxes)
    • Holidays only - Check if the need applies only on public holidays
  4. In the Requirements section, define time blocks. For each block:
    • Min - Minimum number of agents required
    • Start - Start time of the requirement
    • Duration - How long this requirement lasts (in hours)
  5. Click Save.

Add multiple time blocks

Click the + button in the Requirements section to add additional time blocks for the same need. This is useful when staffing requirements vary throughout the day.

Example: A need might require 3 agents from 8:00-12:00, 5 agents from 12:00-18:00, and 2 agents from 18:00-20:00.

Need settings

Field Description
Workplace Workplace where this need applies
Period Period for this need (optional - leave empty for all periods)
Skill Required skill
Days Which days the need applies to (Mon-Sun checkboxes)
Holidays only Apply this need only on public holidays
Min Minimum number of agents
Start Start time
Duration Duration in hours
Description Optional description

View needs

Needs are displayed in several places:

  • Settings > Configuration > Needs - List of all needs
  • Schedule plan - Coverage/Demand view shows whether needs are being met
  • Day view - Visual representation of needs alongside scheduled shifts

Mirror needs from shifts

When creating a shift, you can enable Mirror Need to automatically create a corresponding need. This is useful when your shift structure directly reflects your staffing requirements.

  1. Go to Settings > Configuration > Shifts.
  2. Open a shift.
  3. Enable Mirror Need.
  4. Save.

The system creates a need matching the shift's time and duration.

Tips

  • Start with broader needs and refine them based on actual coverage data.
  • Use the Coverage/Demand report in the schedule view to see if your needs are being met.
  • Consider creating separate needs for different skill combinations if some skills are often needed together.
  • Remember that the automatic scheduler tries to satisfy all needs - overly strict requirements may make it impossible to generate a valid schedule.