AUTOFILL – How it Works

WhenToWork’s AutoFill feature was developed by a team of math Ph.D.s and is the most advanced scheduling engine in the industry. Not only can the work assignments be made automatically – ensuring that no employee is assigned during their granted Time Off, Cannot Work hours, or in conflict with the maximums set, but it can also use employee “prefer and dislike times” and “Position Preferences” (skills) to optimize each weekly schedule so that it is the best possible schedule for all employees. And all of this is done in a matter of seconds with one click! You can AutoFill any unpublished schedule of shifts based on:

• Equal Priorities (regular AutoFill, see below)
• Seniority (hire date) or
• Priority Group

You can set each employee’s daily and weekly maximums for AutoFill. The system defaults to 40 hours/7 days per week and 1 shift/14 hours per day.

AutoFill can automatically assign employees to shifts based on these maximum settings and also one of these three options: 

• Using Equal Priorities (Default) – This is the option used by most companies – all employees are treated the same if they have entered preferences. AutoFill will assess the best schedule with everyone in mind – trying to distribute the shifts as evenly as possible within each employee’s maximum hours/shifts/days and based on their work time preferences (prefer, dislike & cannot work).

• By Priority Group – Takes employees in Group One – gives all of them their most preferred schedule based on their work time preferences (up to their maximum hours per week) and then takes the next group and schedules them with their best possible schedule up to their maximums, etc.

• By Seniority (Hire Date) – Takes the most senior employee (with oldest hire date) and gives them their most preferred schedule, then takes the next most senior employee and fills in with their best schedule, etc. 

You also have the option to ignore employee “prefer and dislike times” and “Position Preferences” when you AutoFill. When these are checked, AutoFill does not consider any employee “prefer” and “dislike” time preferences or position preferences that have been entered for employees.

You can AutoFill, then Clear the assignments and AutoFill again to try out the different options.

AutoFill is designed to have a somewhat randomizing effect so that if you were to repeat AutoFill for the same schedule, you may get slightly different results if no employees have entered preferences. (If any employee has entered work time preferences, then AutoFill will not schedule as randomly because it will repeatedly accommodate those few preferences added).

You can visually compare your shift assignments to current work time preferences and constraints by going to the Grid View or Sortable List view and clicking the Analyze button. 

Advanced details about how AutoFill works

 

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