Note: This feature is available in preview for select customers.
- Preference-Based
- Creating a Bidding Round
- Active Round & Agent Preference Bidding
- Reviewing and Publishing Assignments
- Rules and Guidelines
Preference-Based
Preference-Based Shift Bidding allows agents to rank available shift options while giving Resource Planners control over participant priority and how shifts are awarded.
Creating a Bidding Round
Resource Planners create a bidding round by defining the round name, bidding start and close times, Shift Effective Start Date, Planned End Date, participating agents, and the blank agents that provide the available shift options.
Select the agents who will participate in the round and the blank agents whose shift patterns will be offered for bidding.
Participant priority can be arranged manually, sorted by Hire Date or Seniority Date, or customized by uploading a CSV file containing the customer-defined priority order.
Resource Planners can choose automatic awarding or manual approval. With automatic awarding, WFM processes agents according to the configured participant priority and assigns each agent the highest-ranked available shift from their submitted preferences.
Any remaining unclaimed shifts can either be distributed randomly among participants who have not received a shift or left for manual assignment. With manual approval, an administrator reviews and assigns shifts manually.
Active Round & Agent Preference Bidding
After the round is saved, it remains scheduled until its configured start time. When the start time is reached, the round becomes active, and participating agents can review the available shifts.
While the round is active, agents can review the available shifts, rank their preferences, and save or update their selections until the round closes.
Reviewing and Publishing Assignments
After the round closes, Resource Planners can review submitted preferences and any automatically generated assignments. They can assign, reassign, or unassign shifts before publishing the results.
Once all assignments have been reviewed, the Resource Planner publishes the round. After publication, participating agents can view their final assignment and receive an assignment notification.
Rules and Guidelines
- Agents can save or change their preferences only while the round is active.
- The round must close before the Shift Effective Start Date.
- The Shift Effective Start Date must match the account’s configured week start day. The Planned End Date must match the corresponding week end day and cannot exceed the configured schedule duration.
- The Planned End Date defines the schedule preview period. It is used for planning and communication and does not automatically terminate the assigned shift pattern. The shift pattern remains effective until a newer effective-dated schedule replaces it or the schedule is changed manually.
Note: Blank-agent shifts must be created before they can be included in a bidding round.