For more information, view our Schedule Templates webinar presented 21-Aug-2025 or see the video Creating Schedule Templates.
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Common Day Floating Schedule Template
Overview
CommunityWFM utilizes Schedule Templates along with Break Sets as the fundamental building blocks to scheduling in CommunityWFM. You may assign templates to agents in both a date-based, production-oriented manner, as well as in a non-date-based, ad-hoc or what-if mode.
Combining different schedule templates allows you to create an almost limitless combination of schedules. Every scenario cannot be addressed by this document. We encourage you to contact the support desk to discuss potential new scenarios and we can guide you toward the best approach for your specific needs.
Scheduling Basics
The foundation of an agent schedule is a Schedule Template. Schedule Templates are assigned to agents with an effective date. Working Schedules, generated under normal circumstances, will reflect the agent’s assigned Schedule Template for the specified date range.
What this means
- Agents with no schedule template assignment will not receive a schedule.
- Agents with a schedule template assignment date later than the date range being scheduled will not receive a schedule.
- Agents with a schedule template assignment in the middle of the schedule week, will get a schedule from the assignment date forward.
- Agents can have a current assignment and a future assignment enabling schedulers to “see what the holiday schedule looks like” without impacting the current production schedule.
Schedules Templates are not the entire picture but are a fundamental building block in any schedule scenario.
Break Sets
A break set is a named object that defines any off-phone activity such as a break or lunch that would be scheduled on a recurring basis within a Schedule Template. A break set can have multiple events such as a break-lunch-break pattern of events.
A Schedule Template may be defined without a break set, but in most cases if your agents take breaks and lunches, break sets are the correct place to configure those events.
Break set options
- Can be assigned to multiple Schedule Templates.
- Commonly, a unique break set is created for each Schedule Template duration. For example: a 4-hour shift may have 1 break whereas a 9-hour shift has 2 breaks and a 60-minute lunch.
- Earliest start and latest start are configured for each defined event.
- Earliest and latest start may not be the same time.
- Events are optimized within the flexible windows configured for the event.
- Events are optimized on the quarter hour only: :15, :30, :45, :60.
Template Types
CommunityWFM Enterprise features five different Schedule Template types that can be combined to create almost any schedule scenario. CommunityWFM Essentials includes three schedule template types.
Understanding the capabilities of each template type is important. Different scheduling approaches may require different template types. You may be able to accomplish the same thing with two different template types, but it may be easier using one type versus another.
The five schedule template types in the Enterprise version are:
1. Floating
2. Fixed
3. Rotating
4. Common Day Floating
5. Composite
Essentials includes three template types: fixed, rotating, and common day floating.
Floating Schedule Template
A Floating Schedule Template has floating start times and optional workday settings.
- A defined duration applies to all scheduled days.
- The days off are assigned by the scheduler at the time assigning the schedule template to the agent.
- The schedule optimization engine assigns the scheduled agent at the optimal start time on each scheduled day, which means the agent can have a different scheduled start time each scheduled day.
- The window of available assigned start times can be restricted with a window of potential start times.
- Floating split shifts can be setup within the floating schedule template by setting up multiple fixed start and end time windows that do not overlap within the same template.
- Agents can have a different schedule each week, based upon the requirements and the schedules assigned to other agents.
- The floating schedule template is commonly used in an environment that requires great flexibility from agents.
- Fixed off-phone events such as breaks and lunches are defined by associating a constrained break template.
Example 1 floating schedule:
Cindy Op is assigned to work Monday through Friday for a duration of 8.5 hours with a 30-minute lunch and can start any time between 6:00am and 11:00am.
CommunityWFM will schedule Cindy Op Monday through Friday with an optimized start time based upon maximizing agent requirement coverage.
Example 2 floating schedule:
Jill Op is a student and needs a non-normal schedule: a floating split schedule. Jill Op is not available any day between the hours of 1:00pm and 4:00pm but can work any time outside the 1:00pm to 4:00pm window.
Jill Op’s template is set up with a start time of the first shift within the template with all possible start times that would not have an end time after 1:00pm. The second shift would be set up with any start time 4:00pm and after.
Fixed Schedule Template
A Fixed Schedule Template has fixed start and end times.
- The start and end times of the schedule are not optimized.
- The start and end times can be different on different scheduled days.
- The duration of the schedule can be different on different scheduled days.
- Fixed split shifts can be setup within the fixed schedule template by setting up multiple fixed start and end times within the same template.
- Breaks can be different each day.
- Can have off-phone events such as breaks and lunch fixed to specific times.
Example 1 fixed schedule:
Jo Operator works the same schedule each day of the week.
8:00am–5:00pm Monday thru Friday with a 60-minute lunch each day.
Example 2 fixed schedule:
Sally Op works a different schedule on different days of the week for a total of 40 paid hours.
8:00am–6:30pm Monday with a 30-minute lunch, a total of 10 paid hours, then works a different schedule the rest of the weekdays.
8:00am–4:00pm Tuesday thru Friday with a 30-minute lunch, a total of 7.5 paid hours each of the four scheduled days.
Example 3 fixed schedule:
Jim Op is a student and needs a non-normal schedule; a fixed split schedule Monday through Wednesday and then different shifts each on Thursday and Friday.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 8:00am-1:00pm and then 5:00pm-8:00pm.
(This would be similar to giving a 4.0-hour lunch break, but it is easier to define two start and end times.)
Thursday 8:00am–4:30pm with a 30-minute lunch
Friday 12:00pm–8:30pm with a 30-minute lunch
Rotating Schedule Template
A Rotating Schedule Template rotates through a set of predefined fixed, floating, common day floating, and / or composite schedules in ordered weekly steps.
- Covers multiple weeks.
- Comprises multiple schedule templates.
- Agent works one template one week and then another template the next.
- Any number of weeks can be set up.
- A single schedule template can be defined to occur multiple weeks prior to progressing to the next schedule template.
- Commonly used when agents work non-weekend covering schedules one week and then work a schedule that has some weekend hours the next week.
- Commonly used to have agents work fixed schedules for a week and then be optimized the next week’s schedule.
- Commonly used to provide optimized flexing schedules while still providing agent schedule consistency for most of the scheduled weeks.
Example 1 rotating schedule template:
Alex Op works a fixed 8.5-hour with 30-minute lunch 8:00am– 4:30pm Monday through Friday schedule for two straight weeks and then works a common day floating schedule that will optimize an off day between Monday and Saturday and assign an optimized start time that will start any time between 7:00am and 9:00am.
In this example, if all agents are assigned this schedule the center would have Saturday coverage and optimize one-third of the staff each week. Each week will optimize a different one-third of the staff.
Common Day Floating Schedule Template
Common Day Floating Schedule Template is optimization to pick workdays / off days and establishes uniform schedule start times, end times, and off-phone start times for all optimized scheduled days for a week.
- Days off / days scheduled determined by requirements, agent assigned skills, agent availability, and agent preferences. The available template scheduled workday patterns are defined by the schedule at the time the schedule template is designed. The scheduled days assigned will only be within the defined patterns. So, if Monday off is not defined as an option within any of the patterns, then the agent will not be scheduled with a Monday off.
- Same start times for each scheduled day.
- Window of available assigned start times can be restricted with a window of potential start times.
- Same schedule duration for each scheduled day.
- Agents can have a different schedule each week, based upon the center requirements and the schedules assigned to other agents.
- Floating split shifts can be setup within the floating schedule template by setting up multiple fixed start and end times windows that do not overlap within the same template.
- Fixed off-phone events such as breaks and lunches are defined by associating a constrained break template.
- The common day floating schedule template is commonly used in an environment that requires some agent schedule flexibility, but the operation wants to provide the agents consistency of start time.
The two differences between a floating schedule and a common day floating are that a common day floating schedule will have consistent start time for all scheduled days and will also use a scheduled day pattern from within the list, while a floating schedule will have different start times each day and the days off are user selected from the scheduled day list.
Example 1 common day floating schedule:
Billy Op is available to work any day with a start time between 6:00am–11:00am and will work an 8.5-hour shift with a 30-minute lunch. The requirements are greatest on Monday and if everyone is scheduled, the queues are properly staffed, thus no patterns are defined with Monday as an off-day option.
Based upon Billy Op’s skills, the requirements of those skills, the skills of other agents and the requirements of all skills, Billy will be assigned a work schedule that will have optimized days off and a consistent start time for all scheduled days within the scheduled week that is also optimized.
Example 2 common day floating schedule:
Samantha Op is a student and needs a non-normal schedule; a common day floating split schedule. Samantha Op is not available any day between the hours of 1:00pm and 4:00pm but can work any time outside the 1:00pm to 4:00pm window.
Samantha Op’s template is setup with a start time of the first shift within the template with all possible start times that would not have an end time after 1:00pm. The second shift would be set up with any start time 4:00pm and after.
Samantha Op’s assigned schedule will have the same start and end times for each day during the scheduled week based upon optimized coverage.
Composite Schedule Template
A Composite Schedule Template is composed of multiple fixed, floating, and / or common day floating schedule templates, which are all assigned to the agent. These are used primarily for variable work habits or to accommodate availability constraints.
- A combination of more two or more fixed, floating, and common day schedule templates.
- Commonly used in an environment that requires agents to be scheduled with different schedule start times or durations due to flexing hours of operation for some or all activities.
Example 1 composite schedule template:
Jackie Op works in a contact center that is open 7:00am–5:30pm Monday thru Friday and 9:00am–3:00pm on Saturday and closed Sunday.
Jackie Op is going to work a fixed 10.5-hour Monday schedule of 7:00– 5:30 with a 30-minute lunch on Monday because the high Monday volume requires her to be scheduled a shift covering the majority of the peak times of the day.
Tuesday through Friday she will be scheduled three of the days with an 8.5-hour schedule with a 30-minute lunch that will be optimized with a common day floating schedule with start times anywhere from 7:00 to 9:30am.
The remaining time will be assigned to Jackie to work Saturday during the hours of 9:00am–3:00pm by assigning a 6.0-hour fixed schedule.