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Chapter 3 - Staffinder Basic Functions

We have provided numerous ways to keep your status up to date.  First, we have provided 8 In/Out choices that are common from office to office.  These are In Office, Break, Lunch, Out for the Day, Meeting, Dr. Appt., Sick and Vacation.  Using the Setup utility (with Administrative rights), you can customize Staffinder with new In/Out choices as needed by your company.

If you wish to enter Back and Comments you must use the Sign In/Out screen.  The other methods are intended to be quick and simple.

Here are the different ways your In/Out status can be changed...

Preference Options:
Configured on the Options tab in  Preferences, Staffinder can be configured (by each user) to automatically change your status when the program is started, stopped or when your PC in inactive and your status is In Office.  Chapter 2 of this manual covers these settings in detail.

Reminders:
Configured within Preferences, Reminders can be set to pop up onto the screen to alert you to sign IN OFFICE, take a BREAK, eat LUNCH or sign OUT FOR THE DAY.  At the time you specify for each reminder, Staffinder will show a pop-up window that allows you to either change your status, dismiss the reminder or postpone the reminder.  Setting Reminders is discussed in Chapter 2 of this manual.

Using the "Status" drop down menu:
Clicking the Status menu will show the standard 8 In/Out choices that ship with Staffinder.  Clicking a status will effect the currently selected user.  If the selected user has not granted you rights to change their status, the choices on the menu will be inactive.  Selecting a status instantly changes the In/Out status without further prompts or dialog boxes.

Using the Toolbar:
Staffinder contains two toolbars, one for general functions, and another for standard and custom In/Out choices.  The second toolbar can be used to change your (or another persons status) to any of the 8 standard choices, as well as any custom choice added by your company.  Clicking a In/Out choice on the toolbar will attempt to change the status of the currently selected user.  If the selected user has not granted you the rights to change their status, these buttons will be inactive.  Clicking a toolbar status instantly changes the In/Out status without further prompts or dialog boxes.

Right-Clicking on a User:
Right-clicking on any user will instantly launch a pop-up that contains the standard 8 In/Out choices that ship with Staffinder.  Clicking one of the choices will change the status of the user that was clicked upon.   If the selected user has not granted you rights to change their status, the choices on the pop-up will be inactive.  Selecting a status instantly changes the In/Out status without further prompts or dialog boxes.

Right-Clicking the Staffinder Tray Icon:
Right-clicking the Tray Icon (down by the Windows clock) will launch a pop-up that contains the standard 8 In/Out choices and also the custom defined options.  Clicking a status in this pop-up will effect the currently logged in user only.  The choices on this list should always be available and provide a very quick status change that does not require the main screen to be opened or viewed.

Using the Sign In/Out Screen:
The Sign In/Out screen contains all possible options for Sign In/Out.  It not only contains all standard and custom In/Out choices, but also contains entry boxes for Back At time, Comments, Do Not Disturb and custom Reminders and also the ability to schedule future changes. The Sign In/Out screen can be launched from many of the options listed above and does have its own button on the toolbar.   By default the double click action on a user in the browser will display the properties screen.  However, in the preference screen you can change the behavior of the double click and make the Sign In/Out screen display when double-clicking the browser.  Below is the Sign In/Out screen (Figure 3.1).

Figure 3.1

The Sign In/Out Screen options:

In/Out Board Choices: This list contains all standard and custom In/Out choices.  In this example, the choice "Whatever" is a custom choice with a custom icon.

I'll be Back At/On:  This box allows the user to let other staff know when they will return.  This box was designed with flexibility in mind, allowing entries like "3:40PM", "10/25/01", "Thursday", etc.

Comments:  If you would like to offer a note to other employees about your whereabouts, simply enter the text in the comments box.

Set "Do Not Disturb Flag":  Check this box if you would like the Do Not Disturb flag set.

Show Reminder in X time:  Staffinder allows the user to set a custom Reminder after a specified amount of time.  If you would like Staffinder to remind you to change your status after a certain time, check the "Show Reminder in" box and set the delay time.

Schedule Status will display the scheduler screen and allow you to enter status changes that need to occur in the future.  This will only be available if you have installed the Status Scheduler Add-In Utility.

Staffinder is a program that requires the information within it to be accurate in order for the business to receive the full benefit.  When you first start using Staffinder, your status may drift between accurate and inaccurate as you learn the program.  In general, most employees just get up and start walking to their destination.  Remembering to stop and change your status requires memory, habit forming, realization that this improves business productivity and a commitment to keep your status up-to-date.  Many companies have even offered incentives to  employees who have made an effort to keep their status accurate.

Realizing that accuracy is critical, Staffinder contains built-in features and tools that help you keep your status in check.  Below is an explanation of these features:

Reminders:  Reminders can pop up at different times during the day to remind you to sign In Office, Break, Lunch and Out for the Day.  These can be customized to fit your individual schedule.  See Chapter 2 of this manual to learn how to configure the Reminders.  Below is an example of how they appear on the screen (figure 3.2).

Figure 3.2

Custom In/Out Choice Reminder:  On the Sign In/Out screen is a selection to activate a custom Reminder.  This reminder will appear on the screen after a period of time specified on the screen.  See above for details on the Sign In/Out screen.  Below is an example of a custom Reminder as it appear on the screen (Figure 3.3):

Figure 3.3

Auto Sign In when Staffinder starts:  Staffinder can be configured (in Preferences) to sign you "In Office" when the program is started.  We strongly recommend enabling this feature in Preferences.

Auto Sign Out when Staffinder closes:  Staffinder can be configured (in Preferences) to sign you "Out for the Day" when the program is closed.  In most cases, you would want Staffinder to sign you out when you close the program or the PC is being shut down.  However, when you do not want to be automatically signed out, Staffinder can show an alert that lets you intercept and modify this action before it happens.  Below is an example  of this alert (Figure 3.4).

Figure 3.4

Idle Workstation Detection:  Also in Preferences (see Chapter 2), Staffinder can be set to detect when your keyboard and mouse are inactive and automatically change your status after the specified time is elapsed.  This can only occur if your status is set to "In Office".   Once Staffinder makes this change, your status will be set to "Unknown - Status changed automatically by the system."   Moving the mouse or pressing a key on the keyboard will automatically change your status back to "In Office".

Throughout the day you will want to see the status of another employee.  We have provided a number of ways to get that information.   Below are the different ways to view Employee Status:

Using the Main Screen:  You can use the Staffinder main screen to view the status of any employee.  You may need to select the employee Department or Everyone to find the employee.  The main screen can show employee name, department, status, back at time, comments, last entry and contact information.   If the column you are looking for is not available by scrolling right or left, click View > Columns to enable the columns you want to see.  You can also click the employee to highlight the row, making it easier to track the correct row as you scroll.

Employee Properties Screen:  The Employee properties screen will show status and contact information on any employee.  This screen can be brought up by right-clicking on the employee and selecting "Properties" from the pop-up menu or by double-clicking the employee.  If double-clicking shows the Sign In/Out screen instead, check the Options tab in Preferences to change the "Show Sign In/Out on Double Click" setting.  See Chapter 2 for details on this setting.  The Employee Properties screen is shown below. (Figure 3.5).

Figure 3.5

Viewing Resources: To view a resource simply select it in the resource group.   You will be shown a complete breakdown of the times throughout the day.  There are two different views you can use.  The month view (Figure 3.7) shows a general view of the events for an entire month.  You will not be able to see all the events for a given day but you will be able to see what days have events.  A short description of the event will be visible in each day.  Simply double-click any day and you will be taken to the daily view (Figure 3.8) where you will be able to enter events for that day.  You can toggle between the day and month view by clicking the view buttons (Figure 3.6).  When you are in the month view you can navigate from month to month with the arrow buttons (Figure 3.6) next to the view buttons.

Figure 3.6

Figure 3.7

Figure 3.8

Adding an Event:

1. Double-click the time slot that you want the event to start at.

2. You will be shown the event details screen.  Here you can enter the start and stop times for the event along with the description of the event.  Click OK to add the event.

3. If this event is a recurring event then click the recurring event button at the bottom of the details screen (figure 3.9) and assign the parameters of the event.  Staffinder will do the rest.  If you need to change the parameters you can simply open the event and change the parameters at any time.  Refer to figure 3.10 for the recurring parameters screen.  If you delete the recurrence it will remove all instances of the event except for the initial day.

Figure 3.9

figure 3.10

Modifying an Event:

1. Double-click the event you wish to change.

2. You will be shown the event details screen.  Here you can change the start and stop times for the event along with the description of the event.  Click OK to save the event.

Deleting an Event:

There are 2 ways to delete an event.  In either case you will be prompted with a dialog to confirm your action.

1. You can double-click the event to view the details screen.  At the bottom left is the delete button (Figure3.9).  Click it to delete that event.

2. Highlight the event and hit the delete key on the keyboard or right-click on the event and choose the Delete menu option.

Vacation Schedules: Staffinder now comes with a vacation scheduler so you can keep track of time off for your employees.  This is an easy to use graphical display that you can quickly get a visual indicator of who will be gone.  Refer to figure 3.11 for the vacation scheduler main screen.  You can click directly on the vacation scheduler and drag the bar across the time bars for the duration of the schedule.  After you have created the event the details screen will automatically be displayed so you can confirm the date and times and also enter the detailed description of the event.

Also built into Staffinder is the vacation request process.  This is an effective way to track your requests and also to approve or disapprove the requests.  You can assign who is responsible for the requests in the setup screen under the employee section.  The person requesting time off will receive a message when their request has been approved or disapproved.  Refer to figure 3.12 for the vacation request form.  Once an individual has submitted the request the person receiving the request will have the option of approving the request or not (figure 3.13).  If the request is approved then a message will be sent to the requestor letting them know it has been approved.  If the request in not approved then the person who is disapproving the request will be asked if they want to send a message indicating why they are denying the request.  If they choose Yes then they will be shown a custom message that they can fill out with the reason why the request is being denied.
 

figure 3.11

This is a view of the request screen that the user will fill out when they need to take time off.  They will have the option of who to send the request to.

figure 3.12

This is a view of the request that the authorizing person will receive.  If you have been designated as a vacation administrator in the setup screen you will have a new item in the navigation bar called "Vacation Requests".  This list will contain all the request that you have received.  Once you approve or disapprove the request it will be removed from your list and a message with the results of your decision will be sent to the person.

figure 3.13

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