WebStation:

WebStation > Schedule Bidding

Use the Schedule Bidding pages to view and rank patterns in a schedule pattern set that is open for bidding.

For detailed information, see:

• Need to Know More?

To use the NICE WebStation - Schedule Bidding pages:

1. Log in to NICE WebStation.

2. Select WebStation > Schedule Bidding on the navigation bar.

3. Select a schedule pattern set.

4. Select sort options from the Sorting drop-down lists. If you choose to sort by days off, enter the day off preferences to use for sorting.

5. Click Continue.

6. Enter a rank value for each pattern in the BID column.

7. Click Auto-rank to add a rank value to all patterns that do not have a value. The rank value is the next available value and the system ranks the patterns in the order displayed.

8. Click Submit.

9. Select the HOURS PER DAY tab.

10. Enter the maximum number of hours you can work each day of the week, for the selected schedule pattern set.

11. Click Submit.

    You can update the rankings and work hours as often as desired until a supervisor closes bidding for the schedule pattern set.

• Overview
• Selecting a Schedule Pattern Set for Bidding
  • Schedule Patterns Table
  • View or Modify Bids
• Schedule Bidding Tabs
• Schedule Bid
  • Selecting Schedule Patterns Sort
  • Schedule Patterns
• Hours Per Day
  • Title
  • Instructions
  • Choose Another Set of Schedule Patterns to Bid On
  • Maximum Hours Spreadsheet

The Schedule Bidding feature allows you to see schedule pattern sets open for bidding. You can place bids on weekly schedule patterns in the schedule pattern sets, prioritizing the schedules by placing a preference ranking (bid number) beside each schedule available for you to bid on. Once you successfully submit bids for authorization, a supervisor can view and adjust bid preference rankings. After a supervisor adjusts and approves the bids, the system assigns these bids to schedule patterns, based on the bidding information. Once the Award Bids process assigns agents to schedule patterns, the Create Schedules From Patterns process creates schedules based on these agent assignments. You can then use the My Schedule page (as described in View or Modify Schedules on the My Schedule Page) to view these schedules.

There are two tabs available in Schedule Bidding, SCHEDULE BID and HOURS PER DAY. The HOURS PER DAY tab is only available if a supervisor configured the schedule pattern set to allow you to enter maximum hour data.

When you select the WebStation > Schedule Bidding menu item on the navigation bar in the NICE WebStation, the Schedule Bidding page displays a list of the schedule pattern sets open for bidding.

Note

The Schedule Bidding menu item is only available if you use the WebStation Schedule Bidding feature and a supervisor configured your MU to allow you to bid on schedule patterns in NICE WebStation.

When you select the Schedule Bidding menu item on the navigation bar, the system displays the Schedule Bidding - Schedule Pattern Selection page. If there are schedule pattern sets available for you to bid on, this page displays the schedule patterns table containing the schedule pattern sets open to you for bidding. You can select the set of schedule patterns for which you would like to view or modify bids. You can view and modify bids you already entered for a schedule pattern set, as long as it is open for bidding. The system considers a schedule pattern set open for bidding if today’s date falls within the open date range for bidding defined by a supervisor.

If there are no schedule pattern sets open for bidding for your MU, this message appears instead of the schedule patterns table: There are no schedule patterns open for bidding at this time.

The system also displays the Schedule Bidding - Schedule Pattern Selection page any time you click the Choose another set of schedule patterns to bid on link on the SCHEDULE BID tab - Schedule Patterns page or the Schedule Bidding - Hours Per Day page.

Figure 72 Schedule Bidding - Schedule Pattern Selection Page

Refer to these topics:

• Schedule Patterns Table
• View or Modify Bids

The schedule patterns table displays:

• SCHEDULE PATTERNS

  This column displays the titles of the schedule pattern sets currently open for bidding for your MU, even if they do not contain any schedule patterns for which you are eligible to bid on. The column does not display the schedule pattern set names, but rather the titles defined by a supervisor.

• OPEN FOR BIDDING

  This view only column displays the date range for which the schedule pattern set is open for bidding.

• ALREADY BID

  This view only column indicates whether you already entered bids for one or more weekly schedule patterns in the pattern set. If you have at least one bid for a weekly schedule pattern in the pattern set, this column displays YES; otherwise, the column displays NO.

In the schedule patterns table, select a schedule pattern set by clicking the schedule pattern set link for which you would like to view or modify your schedule pattern bids. The system displays the Schedule Bidding - Schedule Patterns Sort page (see Selecting Schedule Patterns Sort). The system uses the selected schedule pattern set throughout the Schedule Bidding module, until you select another schedule pattern set.

These tabs are available in the Schedule Bidding module after you select a schedule pattern set, as described in Selecting a Schedule Pattern Set for Bidding:

• SCHEDULE BID

  The Schedule Bidding - SCHEDULE BID tab allows you to view, enter, or modify your bids for the weekly schedule patterns you have permission to bid on. Before getting to the list of schedule patterns, this tab allows you to define the sort order to use for the schedule patterns. For more information, see Schedule Bid.

• HOURS PER DAY

  The Schedule Bidding - HOURS PER DAY tab allows you to view, enter, or modify the maximum hours you want to work each day of the week. For more information, see Hours Per Day.

Note

Depending on the permissions a supervisor defined for the selected schedule pattern set, you may not have access to all the tabs and fields referenced in this document.

The system does not automatically update the schedule pattern data on any of the tabs in the Schedule Bidding module. To update the schedule pattern data, you must refresh the page.

The first page of the Schedule Bidding - SCHEDULE BID tab allows you to select the sort options for the schedule patterns you will bid on. Once you select the sort order and click Continue, this tab displays the Schedule Patterns page, which allows you to view, enter, or modify your schedule bids.

Refer to these topics:

• Selecting Schedule Patterns Sort
• Schedule Patterns

After you select a schedule pattern set in the Schedule Pattern Selection page (see Selecting a Schedule Pattern Set for Bidding), the system displays the Schedule Patterns Sort page in the SCHEDULE BID tab. This page allows you to select sorting options to determine the order the schedule patterns appear on the Schedule Patterns page of the SCHEDULE BID tab (see Schedule Patterns).

Figure 73 SCHEDULE BID Tab - Schedule Patterns Sort Page

Refer to these topics:

• Sorting
• Day Off Preferences
• Schedule Patterns Sort Details

Click Continue to display the schedule patterns in the selected set, sorted according to the options specified on this page (see Schedule Patterns Sort Details). Click Cancel to return to the Schedule Pattern Selection page (see Selecting a Schedule Pattern Set for Bidding).

The selections in the optional Sort 1, Sort 2, Sort 3, and Sort 4 fields of the Sorting section determine the order the system sorts the schedule patterns on the Schedule Patterns page of the SCHEDULE BID tab. The Sort 1 field defaults to Number of days off. The Sort 2 field defaults to Day off preferences (uses preferences below). The Sort 3 and Sort 4 fields default to blank.

The drop-down list for each sort field contains the same options: blank, Number of days off, Day off preferences (uses preferences below), and My bids. In addition, the drop-down list can include the options listed in the table below (Table 3), if the parameters defined by a supervisor for the schedule pattern set specify to show the associated field.

For example, if a supervisor specified to show the pattern type field for the schedule pattern set, Pattern type is one of the sort options in each of the sort fields. If the supervisor does not specify to show the pattern type field, Pattern type is not available as a sort option. The Lunch start, Lunch end, and Lunch length sort options only appear if a supervisor specified to show the lunch activity codes.

Note

It is possible to leave a higher-priority sort field blank and make a selection in a lower-priority sort field. For example, you can make a selection in the Sort 3 field while leaving the Sort 2 field blank. In this case, the system treats the selected Sort 3 option as the Sort 2 option.

For each sort option, select whether to sort in ascending or descending order. The default sort is ascending.

The Day off preferences section displays a field for each day of the week a supervisor selected to show for the schedule pattern set parameters. If you selected the Day off preferences (use preferences below) option as a sort in the Sorting section, enter the order you prefer to have each day off, using 1 for the most preferred day off. For each day of the week, you can type or select a value between 1 and 7 (or you can leave the field blank).

Each field defaults to blank, and duplicate values are acceptable.

The system sorts the schedule patterns listed in the Schedule Patterns page of the SCHEDULE BID tab according to the sort options selected in the Schedule Patterns Sort page. If you did not select any sort options, the system sorts the schedule patterns by pattern ID.

When sorting schedule patterns, the order of the daily patterns within a weekly pattern is always the same. The daily pattern that corresponds to the first day of the week is first, if one exists, followed by the second day of the week’s daily pattern, and so on.

Number of days off

If you selected Number of days off in ascending order as one of the sort criteria, the system sorts the schedule patterns with the fewest number of days off first. For example, if there are weekly patterns with no days off, the system puts these schedule patterns first, followed by the patterns with one day off, and so on. If sorting by number of days off in descending order, the system puts the weekly patterns with the most days off first.

Day off preferences

If you selected Day off preferences (uses preferences below) in ascending order as one of the sort criteria, the system sorts the schedule patterns according to the preferences entered on the Schedule Patterns Sort page for each day of the week. If you did not enter day off preferences for a day of the week, the system treats that day as if you assigned it a preference ranking of 8. If two or more days have the same preference, the system gives the preference to days off in this order: Saturday, Friday, Thursday, Wednesday, Tuesday, Monday, Sunday.

If the sort is in descending order, the system reverses the sort. In this case, the system sorts the schedule patterns with the most preferred days off at the bottom (last).

Example 1

The following table is an example of the sort order result if you sort using the Day off preferences (uses preferences below) option, but you do not enter any day off preferences. In this example, assume all patterns have two days off.

Example 2

The following table is an example of the sort order result for a set of 12 schedule patterns, if you sort using the Number of days off option as the first sort and the Day off preferences (uses preferences below) option as the second sort. In this example, none of the days have day off preferences defined.

Example 3

The following table is an example of the sort order result for the same set of 12 schedule patterns, if you sort using the Number of days off option as the first sort and the Day off preferences (uses preferences below) option as the second sort. In this example, there are different day off preferences defined for each day of the week, as indicated in the column headers of the table.

Example 4

The following table is an example of the sort order result for the same set of 12 schedule patterns, if you sort using the Number of days off option as the first sort and the Day off preferences (uses preferences below) option as the second sort. In this example, there are day off preferences defined for some days of the week, but not all, and there are duplicate preferences, as indicated in the column headers of the table.

Example 5

The following table is an example of the sort order result for the same set of 12 schedule patterns, if you sort using only the Day off preferences (uses preferences below) option. In this example, there are day off preferences defined for some days of the week, but not all, as indicated in the column headers of the table.

Click Continue on the Schedule Patterns Sort page to display the Schedule Patterns page in the SCHEDULE BID tab. This page displays weekly schedule patterns for the schedule pattern set you selected in the Schedule Pattern Selection page. In the Schedule Patterns page, you can view, enter, or modify your preference ranking (bid number) for the weekly schedule patterns. A supervisor sets the permissions for the weekly schedule patterns you can see.

Figure 74 SCHEDULE BID Tab - Schedule Patterns Page (page 1 of 2)

Figure 75 SCHEDULE BID Tab - Schedule Patterns Page (page 2 of 2)

Refer to these topics:

• Title
• Instructions
• Choose Another Set of Schedule Patterns to Bid On
• Rank or Seniority
• Your Order in the Bidding List
• Schedule Patterns Spreadsheet

The title of the selected schedule pattern set appears near the top of the Schedule Patterns page.

If a supervisor defined bidding instructions for the selected schedule pattern set, these instructions appear below the title.

Click Choose another set of schedule patterns to bid on to return to the Schedule Pattern Selection page (see Selecting a Schedule Pattern Set for Bidding), without saving any bid changes, and select another schedule pattern set for bidding.

If a supervisor defined the bidding parameters for the selected schedule pattern set to display agent rank or seniority, fields above the Schedule Patterns spreadsheet display your seniority date (Your seniority date) and seniority extension (ext), alternate seniority date (Your alternate seniority date) and alternate seniority extension (alt ext), or rank (Your rank), depending on the schedule patterns batch assignment order defined for your MU.

If a supervisor defined the bidding parameters for the selected schedule pattern set to display agent bidding order, the Your order in the bidding list field appears above the Schedule Patterns spreadsheet. This field displays your order number (position) in the bidding list based on your seniority or rank. For example, if your order number is 38, there are 37 other agents in the MU whose schedule pattern bids have a higher priority than your bids.

The Schedule Patterns spreadsheet displays each weekly schedule pattern that belongs to the selected schedule pattern set and is available for bidding. A weekly schedule pattern is available for bidding if it meets the criteria defined for the selected schedule pattern set’s bidding permissions.

If no weekly schedule patterns meet the criteria defined for the selected schedule pattern set’s bidding permissions, this missage appears instead of the Schedule Patterns spreadsheet, the instructions, the rank or seniority, and the bidding order: There are no patterns available for you to bid on in this schedule pattern set.

Click Choose another set of schedule patterns to bid on to return to the Schedule Pattern Selection page (see Selecting a Schedule Pattern Set for Bidding), where you can select another schedule pattern set.

The Schedule Patterns spreadsheet always contains the BID column, but only contains other data item columns for the selected schedule pattern set if a supervisor selected to show them for the schedule pattern set. The Schedule Patterns spreadsheet displays these data and data items according to the bidding parameters specified by a supervisor:

• ID

• <agent data group name>

• PATTERN TYPE

• TOTAL SLOTS

• ASSIGNED SLOTS

• AVAIL SLOTS

• TOTAL HOURS

• PAID HOURS

• WEEKLY HOURS

• Days of the week specified by the supervisor

• Pattern start time

• Pattern end time

• Activity code data (start, end, length) for the activities specified (Lunch, Break, and so on)

The system sorts the schedule patterns listed in the Schedule Patterns spreadsheet according to the sort options selected in the Schedule Patterns Sort page. If you did not select any sort options, the system sorts the schedule patterns by pattern ID. For more information, see Selecting Schedule Patterns Sort.

On the Schedule Patterns page, the Schedule Patterns spreadsheet lists the daily schedule patterns associated with the same weekly schedule pattern together. The spreadsheet lists the earliest day of the week for which the weekly schedule pattern has a daily schedule pattern first. The spreadsheet does not show days of the week for which no daily schedule pattern exists.

The Schedule Patterns spreadsheet lists activity code data for each daily pattern in chronological order, beginning with the earliest activity in the pattern. Within a column, the spreadsheet can show different activity codes, depending on the activity codes associated with each schedule pattern. The spreadsheet only shows data for the activity codes specified by the supervisor for the selected schedule pattern set. The spreadsheet shows the activity code data in as many columns as necessary on each row.

The Schedule Patterns spreadsheet combines, and shows only one time, the daily schedule patterns that belong to a weekly schedule pattern that are alike. The daily schedule patterns are alike (for the displayed data), within the same weekly pattern, when they have the same values for all the displayed daily pattern fields (pattern start and end times, activity codes, activity code start times, end times, and lengths). In this case, the spreadsheet shows the pattern one time and marks both days of the week for that pattern.

Figure 76 SCHEDULE BID, Combined Daily Schedule Patterns

Refer to these topics:

• Bid
• ID
• <Agent Data Group>
• Pattern Type
• Total Slots
• Assigned Slots
• Avail Slots
• Total Hours
• Paid Hours
• Weekly Hours
• Days of the Week
• (Pattern) Start
• (Pattern) End
• Activity Icon
• (Activity) Start
• (Activity) End
• (Activity) Length
• Auto-Rank
• Clear All
• Submit or Cancel

The BID column allows you to bid on your preferred weekly schedule patterns, in order of preference. The lower the bid number, the higher your preference (the weekly schedule pattern assigned a bid number of 1 is the most important preference to you). Valid bid numbers are from 1 to the number of weekly schedule patterns in the Schedule Patterns spreadsheet, or blank.

The bid number must be unique for the weekly schedule patterns in a schedule pattern set. You do not have to enter a bid number for every weekly schedule pattern. If you already submitted bids for this schedule pattern set, the system displays the previously entered bids in the BID column.

You can also add bids to weekly schedule patterns using the Auto-rank button. For more information, see Auto-Rank.

The view only ID column displays the ID of the weekly schedule pattern. This column only appears if a supervisor defined the bidding parameters for the selected schedule pattern set to show it.

This column heading is the name of the schedule bidding agent data group defined for your MU. This view only column displays the agent data group values assigned to the weekly schedule pattern for the agent data group. This column only appears if a supervisor defined the bidding parameters for the selected schedule pattern set to show it.

The view only PATTERN TYPE column displays the pattern type assigned to the weekly schedule pattern. This column only appears if a supervisor defined the bidding parameters for the selected schedule pattern set to show it.

The view only TOTAL SLOTS column displays the number of slots assigned to the weekly schedule pattern. This column only appears if a supervisor defined the bidding parameters for the selected schedule pattern set to show it.

The view only ASSIGNED SLOTS column displays the number of agents currently assigned to the weekly schedule pattern. This column only appears if a supervisor defined the bidding parameters for the selected schedule pattern set to show it.

The view only AVAIL SLOTS column displays the total number of slots currently unassigned for the weekly schedule pattern (TOTAL SLOTS - ASSIGNED SLOTS). This column only appears if a supervisor defined the bidding parameters for the selected schedule pattern set to show it.

The view only TOTAL HOURS column displays the total length of the daily schedule pattern, in HH:MM format. If the schedule is split, this column displays the sum of each segment's length. If the daily schedule pattern displayed on a row applies to multiple days of the week, the system multiplies the daily pattern’s total hours by the number of days to which the pattern applies, and displays the result in this column. This column only appears if a supervisor defined the bidding parameters for the selected schedule pattern set to show it.

The view only PAID HOURS column displays the time on the daily schedule pattern for which paid activities exist, in HH:MM format. If the daily schedule pattern displayed on a row applies to multiple days of the week, the system multiplies the daily pattern’s paid hours by the number of days to which the pattern applies, and displays the result in this column. This column only appears if a supervisor defined the bidding parameters for the selected schedule pattern set to show it.

The view only WEEKLY HOURS column displays the time on the daily schedule pattern for which work activities exist, in HH:MM format. If the daily schedule pattern displayed on a row applies to multiple days of the week, the system multiplies the daily pattern’s work hours by the number of days to which the pattern applies, and displays the result in this column. This column only appears if a supervisor defined the bidding parameters for the selected schedule pattern set to show it.

These view only columns define the days of the week the daily schedule patterns apply. The Schedule Patterns spreadsheet uses the first letter of each day of the week to represent that day, and lists each day in a separate column, beginning with your MU’s first day of week. A day of the week column only appears if a supervisor defined the bidding parameters for the selected schedule pattern set to show that day of the week.

The view only START column displays the start time of the daily schedule pattern. This column only appears if a supervisor defined the bidding parameters for the selected schedule pattern set to show it.

The view only END column displays the end time of the daily schedule pattern. This column only appears if a supervisor defined the bidding parameters for the selected schedule pattern set to show it.

If an activity code exists in the daily schedule pattern that a supervisor selected to show in WebStation - Schedule Bidding for the selected schedule pattern set, the Schedule Patterns spreadsheet displays the icon in this view only column, followed by columns for the activity code fields selected for display, such as start time, end time, and length.

If the daily pattern contains other activity codes a supervisor selected to show in WebStation - Schedule Bidding, these columns appear in chronological order, beginning with the earliest activity in the pattern. The Schedule Patterns spreadsheet displays all columns associated with one activity (icon, start time, end time, length) before the columns for the next activity.

The view only START column, after an activity icon column, displays the start time of the activity code in the daily schedule pattern. This column only appears if a supervisor defined the bidding parameters for the selected schedule pattern set to show it.

The view only END column, after an activity icon column, displays the end time of the activity code in the daily schedule pattern. This column only appears if a supervisor defined the bidding parameters for the selected schedule pattern set to show it.

The view only LENGTH column, after an activity icon column, displays the length of the activity code, in HH:MM format, in the daily schedule pattern. This column only appears if a supervisor defined the bidding parameters for the selected schedule pattern set to show it.

Click Auto-rank to add a bid preference to any weekly schedule patterns with a blank BID field. The system populates each blank row with the next available bid value between 1 and the total number of weekly schedule patterns in the Schedule Patterns spreadsheet, in the currently displayed order. You can use the auto-rank feature when all, or some, of the BID fields are blank. When you click Auto-rank, the system does not modify BID fields that are not blank.

To clear the BID column, click Clear All. You might want to clear the BID column if you are using the auto-rank feature to assign your bidding preferences (see Auto-Rank).

Click Submit to validate and save your bidding preferences. Click Cancel to return to the Schedule Bidding - Schedule Pattern Selection page without saving any changes you made to your bidding preferences.

The system does not require you to enter a bid in all the BID fields, however the bid numbers must be unique. If a duplicate bid exists, the system displays the duplicate bid number in a message. If the system does not find any duplicates, it displays the Schedule bid confirmation page and stores your bidding preferences.

The Schedule bid confirmation page displays a message that your bid has been submitted successfully. Click Choose another set of schedule patterns to bid on to return to the Schedule Bidding - Schedule Pattern Selection page (see Selecting a Schedule Pattern Set for Bidding), where you can select another schedule pattern set for bidding.

If you do not submit your changes, but select the HOURS PER DAY tab to enter preferences for maximum hours, the system asks if you want to save your changes. Click No to discard the changes, close the message box, and continue opening the Hours Per Day page. Click Cancel to close the message box and return to the Schedule Patterns page with the unsaved changes. Click Yes to close the message box, save the changes on the Schedule Patterns page, and continue opening the Hours Per Day page.

If you entered or modified bidding preferences for schedule patterns, you need to submit your changes before selecting another page in NICE WebStation.

The Schedule Bidding - HOURS PER DAY tab is only available if a supervisor defined the selected schedule pattern set to allow agents to enter maximum hour preferences. This tab allows you to view, enter, or modify your preferences for the maximum number of hours you are willing to work each day of the week for the selected schedule pattern set.

Figure 77 Schedule Bidding - Hours Per Day Page

Refer to these topics:

• Title
• Instructions
• Choose Another Set of Schedule Patterns to Bid On
• Maximum Hours Spreadsheet

The title of the selected schedule pattern set appears near the top of the Hours Per Day page.

The instructions for entering your maximum hour preferences for the selected schedule pattern set appear below the title.

Click Choose another set of schedule patterns to bid on to return to the Schedule Pattern Selection page (see Selecting a Schedule Pattern Set for Bidding), without saving any changes, and select another schedule pattern set.

The Maximum Hours spreadsheet displays the maximum number of hours you are willing to work each day of the week for the selected schedule pattern set.

Refer to these topics:

• Day
• Max Hours
• Submit or Cancel

The view only DAY column displays each day of the week, in order, beginning with your MU’s first day of week.

The MAX HOURS column displays the maximum number of hours you are willing to work each day of the week, in HH:MM format. The system considers this length of time as paid hours.

Valid values are from 0:00 to 24:00 in 1–minute increments. The default value for each day is 24:00, if you don’t already have preferences for the maximum hours.

Click Submit to validate and save your maximum hour preferences. Click Cancel to return to the Schedule Bidding - Schedule Pattern Selection page without saving any changes to your maximum hour preferences.

If you do not submit your changes, but select the SCHEDULE BID tab to enter or view bidding preferences, the system asks if you want to save your changes. Click No to discard the changes, close the message box, and continue opening the SCHEDULE BID tab. Click Cancel to close the message box and return to the Hours Per Day page with the unsaved changes. Click Yes to close the message box, save the changes on the Hours Per Day page, and continue opening the SCHEDULE BID tab.

If you entered or modified maximum hours, you need to submit your changes before selecting another page in NICE WebStation.