Smart Schedule¶

Smart Schedule is WFM's automatic schedule generation feature. It uses an AI optimisation algorithm (Timefold) to assign employees to shifts while respecting all constraints - needs, contracts, skills, and preferences.

How it works¶

Smart Schedule:

Creates the day structure for the entire period
Loads staffing requirements (needs) for each day
Runs the optimisation algorithm to find the best assignment
Assigns employees to shifts while satisfying requirements and respecting contracts

The algorithm considers:

Staffing needs (minimum agents per skill per time slot)
Employee contracts (working hours, days, breaks)
Skills and proficiency levels
Shift constraints (valid days, employee allowlists)
Minimum rest periods between shifts
Employee preferences (if configured)

Generate a schedule¶

Open the schedule detail (created via Creating a Schedule).
Click the Smart Schedule button in the top bar.
Wait for the calculation to complete (typically a few seconds).
Review the generated schedule.

The schedule is now in Calculated state with shifts assigned to employees.

What Smart Schedule considers¶

Needs¶

Smart Schedule tries to satisfy all defined needs. If a need requires 5 agents with the Sales skill from 9:00-17:00, the system assigns shifts to meet this requirement.

Contracts¶

The system respects all contract constraints:

Maximum hours per day/week/month
Working days
Required breaks
Minimum rest periods
Holiday and night shift permissions

Skills¶

Employees are assigned to shifts based on their skills. The system matches employee skills with the needs' required skills.

Skills combinations¶

If employees have skills combinations defined, the system can assign multiple skills to a single shift, reducing the total number of required shifts.

Shift constraints¶

The system only uses shifts that are:

Active and valid for the period
Allowed at the workplace
Permitted for the specific employee (if a whitelist is defined)

After generation¶

Once Smart Schedule completes, you can:

Review the schedule in the grid view
Make manual adjustments by dragging shifts or editing cells
Validate the schedule to check for constraint violations
Fill gaps to add more shifts where needs aren't fully met
Publish when the schedule is ready

Fill Gaps¶

If you make manual changes and some needs are no longer satisfied, use Fill Gaps to add shifts only where needed.

Click Fill Gaps in the right panel.
The solver adds shifts to cover unmet needs.
Existing assignments are preserved.

This is useful for incremental adjustments without regenerating the entire schedule.

Regenerate Needs¶

If staffing requirements change after you've started scheduling:

Click Regenerate Needs in the right panel.
The system reloads needs from the current definitions.
Run Smart Schedule or Fill Gaps again.

Validation¶

The right panel shows validation results. The system checks:

Contract compliance (hours, breaks, rest periods)
Need coverage (are all requirements met?)
Skill requirements (do assigned employees have the required skills?)

Validation errors are highlighted and should be resolved before publishing.

Tips¶

Define realistic needs - overly strict requirements may make it impossible to find a valid schedule.
Make sure contracts accurately reflect actual working conditions.
Use skills combinations to allow more flexibility in shift assignments.
Review and adjust the generated schedule before publishing.
If the algorithm can't satisfy all needs, consider adding more employees or adjusting requirements.

Troubleshooting¶

Issue	Solution
Schedule generation takes too long	Reduce the number of employees or simplify constraints
Needs not fully covered	Add more employees with the required skills, or reduce the need minimums
Contract violations	Adjust contracts or reduce assigned shifts
No shifts generated for an employee	Check that the employee has assigned skills and allowed shifts