Manually handle absence and text requests

Select the teams or sites you want to work with, as well as choose a date period, before reviewing and approving or denying requests.

1. Click Select organization. When teams are already selected, the field states the number of selected teams.
2. Click a tab to select by Business hierarchy or Filter groups.
3. Select the check boxes for the sites and teams or group pages to open.
4. If there are many sites, teams and groups, use the search function to find the ones you are looking for.
5. Click Select.
6. The current week's requests, made by agents who belong to the selected teams and sites, will be displayed.

7. To change the date period, click the input field and select a new start and end date by clicking in the calendar view.

   NOTE   The date you select affects which agents' requests you see. For example, if you are reviewing requests for Team A the list shows the requests made by agents who belong to Team A on the selected date.

Use the filters to find certain requests. First ensure the Show filter toggle is turned on.

1. Open the menu below the Type header and select the check boxes for the absence types to see.
2. Click the input field below the Subject or Message header and enter the text to filter on in the respective columns.
3. Open the menu below the Status header and select the check boxes for the statuses to see.
4. To remove the filter again, click the Clear button at the far left on the filter row.

NOTE   By default, the list of requests only includes requests which are Pending or Waitlisted.

When you approve an absence request, the absence is automatically added to the agent's schedule. The agent receives a message that informs them about the decision, regardless of if you approve or deny. To include a written response to the agent, see Reply to a request. It is not possible to make changes to an agent's request.

1. Start by selecting teams or sites and a date period.

2. Use the information available in the table to decide to approve or deny the request.

   • Click View schedules next to the agent's name to view the agent's current shift.
   • View the information given by the agent in the Subject and Message columns.
   • Read any information stated in the Deny reason column, to see if the request has failed any of the validations.
   • Check the personal account balance in the Account column.
   • Click View allowance and select the agent's budget group and the relevant week to check if there is enough budget allowance. See Review allowance when approving absence requests for more information.
   • If the agent is in another time zone, use the toggles at the bottom of the page to show requests in the time zone of the agent.
   • Click the menu button at the far right of the header bar to select to show additional columns with information.
3. Use the Staffing tool to evaluate if the current situation allows agents to take time off.
4. Select the requests you want to approve or deny by selecting the check boxes.
5. Click on Approve or Deny to change the status of the selected requests.

When you approve a text request, an automatic message is sent to the agent to inform them about the decision. To include a written response to the agent, see Reply to a request.

1. Start by selecting agents and a date period.
2. Decide to approve or deny based on the information given by the agent in the Subject and Message columns.
3. Select the request you want to approve or deny by selecting the corresponding check box.
4. Click on Approve or Deny to change the status of the selected requests.

NOTE   If you approve a text request, this will not result in any automatic changes of the schedule.

If the situation changes, you may have to cancel a previously approved request. Cancelling a request will remove the absence from the schedule and the agent will be informed that the absence is cancelled.

1. Start by selecting agents and a date period.
2. Filter to show approved requests.
3. Select the request you want to cancel by selecting the corresponding check box.
4. Click Cancel.
5. Click Yes to confirm.

NOTE   The setting in the workflow control set that defines how late absence requests can be cancelled only applies to when agents cancel their own requests.

Use the Reply option if you want to reply to a request with a text message. This can be used for example to ask why the agent needs time off or to give a reason why the request is denied or cancelled. Choose to just send a text message, or to send a text message and approve, deny or cancel the request.

1. Start by selecting agents and a date period.
2. Select the request you want to reply to by selecting the corresponding check box.
3. Click Reply.
4. Write your reply and click on one of the reply options; Reply and approve, Reply and deny, Reply and cancel or just Reply. The Reply options do not change the status of the request.

The absence request waiting list is processed regularly, but it will not be triggered by for example changes in the forecast or when the budget allowance is increased. For these situations you can manually start the processing of the waiting list, to ensure any absence requests that can be approved will be approved directly.

1. Click Process waiting list.
2. Select the period for which you want to process the waiting list.
3. All requests which include a date within the selected period will be validated according to the settings in the workflow control set and approved if possible.

4. Click Run.

   The process is done in the background and can take some time before it is finished. The agents will get a message in MyTime if the request is approved or denied. If the request is approved, the absence will be added to the schedule.

NOTE   You can bypass the waiting list order, for example if someone has requested time off for something important, like to attend a funeral. Just select the request and click Approve.