Solution Generator

If you have a large number of employees requesting time off for some reason (IE during the holiday season), there may not be enough available employees to cover all of the required shifts. When this happens, a message box will be displayed informing you of the shifts which were not covered.
A second message box will be displayed immeadiately thereafter asking if you would like assistance finding people to cover the required shifts.

Clicking yes will load the Solution Generator window.


The Solution Generator is a powerful utility which will assist you in finding available employee to cover all required shifts. The window consists of the following components:
The Problems list displays a list of all of the sections which were not covered. Clicking on a problem will show you a list of potential solutions, as illustrated below:
The list of solutions is ordered by likliness of acceptance. In other words, you are more likely to like the solutions at the top of the list then those at the bottom. This is not to say, however, that the options on the bottom of the list will always be preferable over those on the top. For that reason, it is suggested that you review all of the available solutions and select the one that is most advantageous to the resolution of the particular problem.

There are several options that the Solution Generator can use to create solutions. Depending on the circumstances and your personal preferences, some options may be more beneficial then others at different times.
  • Option 1 will force the computer to display solutions that correspond to employee requests for time off and other temporary alterations in employee availability. In other words, solutions that will prevent an employee from getting the time off that they requested will not even be displayed.
  • Option 2 will completely ignore temporary alterations in employee availability and rely completely on their permanent availability information. In other words, all requests for time off will be ignored and only solutions based on permanent availability information will be displayed.
  • Option 3 combines both options 1 and 2. This options will likely be a better choice then option 2 on most occasions, as it will attempt to show you solutions that will ensure employees get the time off that they requested, while simultaneously providing you with less preferable solutions when required.

When you have found a solution that you like, click it in the list above to highlight it and then click the "Use Selected Solution" button to automatically paste the solution to the schedule. The computer will automatically update the schedule and remove it from the "Problems List" described above.

When you are done with the Solution Generator, click the "Close" button.