Manage workflow control sets and profiles in the web

IMPORTANT Workflow control sets is moving to the web on March 31, 2026. The client version will be decommissioned on this date. If you do not yet have access to workflow control sets in the web, you can still follow the steps in the Manage workflow control sets in the client article until March 31, 2026 and start to familiarize yourself with the Workflow control sets web datasheet.

Workflow control sets are rules that mainly define when agents can perform certain tasks and what rules and validations to apply for those tasks.

You can create new workflow control sets, select which workflow control sets you want to edit, and delete workflow control sets that are no longer required. You can also create a separate workflow control set for each group of agents that you want to set up unique rules for. For example, you can set up separate workflow control sets for fixed employees and hourly employees or for agents in two different countries where different labor laws apply.

You can also control how and when agents can use some of the functionality in MyTime. For example, you can control the following functions:

After how many days the agents' schedule is automatically write-protected.
How far into the future the agents can see their schedule.
When agents can enter the days and times they are available to work.
When and how agents can enter preferences on how to work.
What absence types agents can use to report illness with absence reporting.
What fairness system to use when optimizing agents' schedules based on fairness.

A workflow control set establishes the rules that dictate when agents can carry out specific tasks and what validations must be met for those tasks. A profile is a collection of configurations related to a particular type of request or task. You can link a single profile to multiple workflow control sets, ensuring that any updates made to the profile automatically apply to all associated sets simultaneously.

Prerequisites

You have the Scheduling settings permission.

Page Location

WFM > WFM settings > Scheduling settings > Workflow control sets

Procedures

Profiles

Create a preferences and availability profile

On the Workflow control sets page, click View profiles.
Click the Preferences & availability tab,
Click Add new profile.
Enter a name for the profile.
Select date ranges for Open hourly availability. Hourly availability is mainly used for hourly employees but can also be used for flexible agents on fixed contracts.

EXAMPLE The agents can enter their availabilities for the availability period in March during the open period in January.
Select date ranges for Open preferences.

EXAMPLE The agents can enter their preferences for the preference period in June during the open period in April.

NOTE All pre-scheduled days off, shifts, activities and absences which are in the default scenario and within the preference period are visible to the agents in MyTime. This can be, for example, important meetings or training sessions, or shifts on extra important days, such as New Year's Eve. The agents can then adapt their preferences based on this information. When the period for which the agents added preferences is later published, the agents can compare their preferences to the schedule.
(Optional) Select days off from the Days off available for preferences drop-down list.
(Optional) Select shift categories from the Shift categories available for preferences drop-down list.
(Optional) Select absences from the Absences available for preferences drop down-list.

EXAMPLE You can allow agents to enter preferences for absences in vacation or holiday periods, where the normal process of requesting time away does not work. Use preferences to get all agents' input on when they would prefer to have their vacation. Resource planners can then schedule these absences to get a good overview of the distribution, validate it according to the forecasted need and adjust if necessary.
(Optional) Select activities from the Activity available for extended preferences drop-down list to define for which activity agents can enter preferences for start time, end time, and length. This is often used to let agents influence when and for how long they have lunch.

NOTE The agents need to have the MyTime > Extended preferences permission to enter preferences for a specific activity.
Click Save. If you want to discard your changes, click Discard.

Create an absence profile

On the Workflow control sets page, click View profiles.
Click the Absence tab,
Click Add new profile.
Enter a name for the profile.
(Optional) The ranking system for granting absence requests is set to First come first served by default. To change the ranking system, select Enable waiting list and then select First come first served or Seniority.
(Optional) Enter a number in the Number of days before absence date that requests may be canceled field to define how far in advance an absence request must be canceled.

NOTE This setting only applies to when agents cancel their own requests, not if it is done by a supervisor.
(Optional) Enter a number in the Minimum approval time threshold (minutes prior to request start) field to define how close to the absence time an absence request can be approved. The recommended lowest value that you should set is 15 minutes. The highest value you can set is 1440 minutes (24 h).

NOTE Waitlisted requests which are still not approved when this threshold value is exceeded will be automatically denied.

EXAMPLE If the threshold is set to 30 minutes and the agent wants to start their absence at 11:00, they need to send their request before 10:30. If it is sent later than that, it will be automatically denied.
(Optional) Enter a time in the Open start and end time in UTC field.
(Optional) Edit the fields or delete a row in the Open for absence requests table.
Click Save. If you want to discard your changes, click Discard.

Create a shift trade profile

On the Workflow control sets page, click View profiles.
Click the Shift trade tab,
Click Add new profile.
Enter a name for the profile.
Enter a number of days in the Open for shift trade requests fields.
(Optional) Enter a number of days in the Maximum consecutive days without a day off field to ensure that agents cannot perform a shift trade which would cause them to have too many workdays without having a scheduled day off or an empty, unscheduled day.
(Optional) Enter hours and/or minutes in the Tolerance for matching contract time field to control how much the schedule period contract time can differ from the schedule period target time after the trade. The tolerance for matching contract time for shift trades is in addition to any tolerance on the agents' contracts.
(Optional) Select skills from the Matching Skills drop-down list. For any skills that you select, both agents must have that skill to be able to trade shifts, regardless of what activities are scheduled for the agents on that day. The agents' ability to trade shifts is not affected by the skills that they have which are not on the list of matching skills.

EXAMPLE Skills A, B, and C are on the list of matching skills and the rest of the skills are not. Agent 1 (skills A, B, D, and E) wants to trade shifts with agent 2 (skills A, B, and C). They cannot trade shifts, because skill C is on the list of matching skills, and agent 1 does not have skill C but agent 2 does. Agent 1 can only trade shifts with other agents who have skills A and B and who do not have skill C.
(Optional) Select one or more of the following options as the ranking system for the shift trade.
- Auto grant means that the system automatically approves all shift trade requests that pass all validations.
- Anonymous trading makes all shift trades on the shift trade bulletin board anonymous. This means that agents do not know who they are trading with.
- First come first served means that the first person to respond to the posted shift gets the trade (if the request also passes the validations). If this setting is not enabled, the agent who posts their shift will get a shift trade request from everyone who responds to the posted shift. The agent who posted their shift can then choose which request to accept.
Click Save. If you want to discard your changes, click Discard.

Create an overtime profile

On the Workflow control sets page, click View profiles.
Click the Overtime tab,
Click Add new profile.
Enter a name for the profile.
Select No, Intraday, or Intraday with shrinkage from the Overtime staffing check method drop-down list. When using Intraday or Intraday with shrinkage, an overtime request passes the staffing check if at least one of the agent's skills is critically understaffed for each request interval. Select No if you do not want to use any staffing check.
(Optional) Select your preferences from the Maximum overtime per options.

NOTE The maximum overtime setting is only valid for overtime requests. It will not have any effect, for example, when scheduling overtime in the Schedules module. The maximum time limit is for approved overtime, not requested overtime. For example, if the maximum overtime is set to eight hours per week, an agent can request above the eight hours if requests are not set to auto-approve and are in a pending status. The eight hour rule applies after you add eight hours to the schedule.
(Optional) Select your preferences from the Maximum continuous work time options.

EXAMPLE An agent's shift ends at 17:00. Her lunch break is from 12:00 to 13:00 and her last break is from 14:45 to 15:00. The maximum continuous work time is 4:00 hours. The agent requests to work overtime from 17:00 to 19:00. This can be approved automatically if the minimum rest time is 15 minutes or less. If the minimum rest time is set to 30 minutes, the 15-minute break is disregarded and the maximum continuous work time is exceeded.
(Optional) Enter a number in the Minimum continuous lunch time field.
(Optional) In the Minimum hours before cancellation field, enter a time. This setting only applies to when agents cancel their own overtime requests, not if it is done by a supervisor.
(Optional) Edit the fields or delete a row in the Open for overtime requests table.
Click Save. If you want to discard your changes, click Discard.

Create a self-scheduling profile

On the Workflow control sets page, click View profiles.
Click the Self-scheduling tab,
Click Add new profile.
Enter a name for the profile.
(Optional) Select the Maximum work time without lunch (hours) check box and enter a time to define the maximum time that an agent can work without a lunch break.

EXAMPLE This setting is set to 5:00 h. This means that the latest start time of the lunch is 5 h from the start of the shift, and the earliest end time of the lunch is 5 h from the end of the shift.

NOTE When adding hours, the maximum work time without lunch validation applies to both the block of time that the agent is currently adding and any previously scheduled work time which is adjacent to the new block. If a lunch needs to be added, it is placed within the new block of time. Only one lunch can be added each time.
(Optional) Select the Maximum contract time per day check box and enter a time to limit the number of contract hours the agents can add, and enter the maximum contract hours per day.
(Optional) Select the Minimum continuous work time check box and enter a time to ensure that agents cannot move their lunches or short breaks too close to the start or end of the shift or to other breaks.

EXAMPLE The minimum continuous work time setting is set to 1:00 h. If the agent starts their shift at 8:00 AM, the earliest possible time they can place their short break is at 9:00 AM.
(Optional) Select the Check overstaffing check box to block moves of lunches and breaks where the skills already exceed the overstaffing limit and where the move causes it to exceed the overstaffing limit.
(Optional) Select the Check understaffing check box to block moves of lunches and breaks where the skills already exceed the understaffing limit and where the move causes it to exceed the understaffing limit.
(Optional) Enter a number of days for From (days) and To (days) for Rolling period.
(Optional) Enter a time in the Lunch duration field.
(Optional) Select the Maximum work time without short break check box.
Enter a number in the Short break duration field. This is the duration of any short break added to the shift.
Enter a percentage in the Staffing threshold field. If any of an agent's skills is below the threshold, the agent can add hours. If the threshold is exceeded for all skills, agents cannot add hours. The staffing threshold can be set to a negative number.
Enter a percentage in the Intervals to keep below threshold field. This is useful if there are a few overstaffed intervals in a day, and you do not want those to block agents from adding hours to help with the understaffing at all the other intervals of the day.
Click Save. If you want to discard your changes, click Discard.

Create a trade hours profile

On the Workflow control sets page, click View profiles.
Click the Trade hours tab.
Click Add new profile.
Enter a name for the profile.
(Optional) Select the Maximum work time without lunch (hours) check box and enter a time to define the maximum time that an agent can work without a lunch break.
(Optional) Select the Maximum contract time per day check box and enter a time to limit the number of contract hours the agents can add, and enter the maximum contract hours per day.
(Optional) Enter a number of days in the Open for shift trade requests fields.
(Optional) Enter a number of days in the Maximum consecutive days without a day off field to ensure that agents cannot perform a shift trade which would cause them to have too many workdays without having a scheduled day off or an empty, unscheduled day.
(Optional) Enter hours and/or minutes in the Tolerance for matching contract time field to control how much the schedule period contract time can differ from the schedule period target time after the trade.

IMPORTANT The tolerance for matching contract time for shift trades is in addition to any tolerance on the agents' contracts.
(Optional) Select skills from the Matching Skills drop-down list. For any skills that you select, both agents must have that skill to be able to trade shifts, regardless of what activities are scheduled for the agents on that day. The agents' ability to trade shifts is not affected by the skills that they have which are not on the list of matching skills.

EXAMPLE Skills A, B, and C are on the list of matching skills and the rest of the skills are not. Agent 1 (skills A, B, D, and E) wants to trade shifts with agent 2 (skills A, B, and C). They cannot trade shifts, because skill C is on the list of matching skills, and agent 1 does not have skill C but agent 2 does. Agent 1 can only trade shifts with other agents who have skills A and B and who do not have skill C.
Click Save. If you want to discard your changes, click Discard.

Clone a profile

Click a tab. For example, click the Trade hours tab.
Click a profile.
Click Copy.

Delete a profile

Click a tab. For example, click the Trade hours tab.
Click a profile.
Click Delete and then click Delete again to confirm.

Associate a profile with workflow control sets

On the Workflow control sets page, click View profiles.
Click a tab. For example, click the Trade hours tab.
In the profiles list, click a workflow link.
Select workflow control sets that you want to associate with the profile.
Click Save.

Workflow control sets

Create a new workflow control set

NOTE If you want to view the agents that are assigned to an existing workflow control set, click the agent hyperlink beside the workflow control set in the left-hand pane.

Click on Add new workflow control set. If you are on the profiles landing page, click View workflow control set and then click Add new workflow control set.
Enter a name for the set.
Fill in the following fields:

Enable automatic write protection

Enable automatic write protection of agents' schedules when the schedules are older than the given number of days. The write protection of agent's schedules, as defined in the workflow control set, uses the agent's timezone to determine whether a particular schedule should be write-protected.

In the Write-protect schedules older than (days) field, enter the number of days after which schedules should be write-protected.

Write protection can be added manually in Schedules. If you do not want to add write-protection automatically, leave this field empty.

NOTE The write protection settings can impact an agent's ability to use self-scheduling and absence requests. For self-scheduling to allow agents to move their break or lunch for today, the write protection setting must be set to 1 or greater and cannot be left at 0.
The write protection setting is based on the day a shift starts for an agent in their local time zone which can impact how absence requests are handled. For example, if write protection is set to 1 day and an agent works an overnight shift, starting Thursday 8:00 PM to Friday 7:00 AM+1, they cannot request an absence for Friday morning once the midnight threshold passes. In this case the agent could request a same-day absence request on Thursday between 8:00 PM and midnight, but they will not be able to submit a same-day request once Friday has started. This is because the write protection is protecting any shift starting 1 day ago.

Publish schedules

Set a schedule publishing date to define up until when schedules are visible to agents. This is an end date. Schedules later than this date are only visible to users with the Global Functions > View unpublished schedules permission. If there is no publish date set, no schedule is published.

NOTE During the open period for preferences, all pre-scheduled days off, shifts, activities, and absences which are in the default scenario and within the preference period are visible to the agents in MyTime. The purpose of showing this information to the agents is that they can use this information to adapt their preferences accordingly.
You can also publish schedules in the Schedules module.

In the Publish schedules to (includes preference period) field, define an end date.
Select how to calculate fairness
The fairness system is used to define how fairness is calculated when optimizing agent schedules based on fairness.

In the Fairness system used for scheduling section, select one of the following options:
- The Equal of each shift category option will work towards achieving a balance where all agents have the same number of shifts of the different shift category. This can be used for example to balance the number of late shifts.
- The Seniority option will work towards giving preferred shift categories and workdays to agents with higher seniority.
NOTE Do not use fairness optimization in combination with agent preferences. When using preferences, use the preference fulfillment measure for follow-up.
Enable absence and overtime probability
Select Enable absence probability and/or Enable overtime probability.

Absence probability is based on one of the following factors:
- Intraday staffing levels - the absence probability that is based on staffing levels gives the agent information on the staffing situation. It indicates for each interval of the shift how likely it is to get an absence request approved.
- Budget allowance - the absence probability that is based on budget allowance gives the agent information on the allowance levels. It indicates on day level how likely it is to get an absence request approved.
Overtime probability provides the agent with information about the staffing situation. It indicates for each interval of the shift how likely it is that the agent will get an overtime request approved.
Deny absence requests that overlap with certain activities

Select one or more activities from the Absence request blocked activities drop-down list to ensure that agents are not absent from important activities which are not skill-related, like training. The absence requests will be automatically denied if the agent is scheduled with any of the blocked activities during the requested absence time.

Select absences agents can use to report that they are absent

From the Allowed absences for absence reporting drop-down list, select which absences agents can use to report that they cannot work using the absence reporting functionality. This is commonly used for agents to report that they are ill. Absence reporting is only available for today and tomorrow, and only for full-day absences.

NOTE Do not use absence reporting for absence types for which the balance is tracked through personal accounts. When reporting absences, the personal account balance is not checked before adding the absence.
Apply profiles to workflow control sets
A workflow control set defines the rules that determine when agents can perform certain tasks and what validations apply to those tasks. A profile is a group of configurations pertaining to a specific type of request or task. You can associate a profile with multiple workflow control sets, so that when you update the profile, it applies the change across all the connected sets at once.

From each of the following profile drop-down lists, you must select one profile to associate with the workflow control set:

NOTE If you do not want to associate a profile, select ----- from the profile drop-down list.
- Preferences & availability
- Absence
- Shift trade
- Overtime
- Self-scheduling
- Trade hours
NOTE You must create at least one profile for each drop-down list before you create a workflow control set. For more information about creating a profile, see Profiles.
Click Save. If you want to discard your changes, click Discard.

Clone a workflow control set

Click a workflow control set.
Click Copy.

Delete a workflow control set

Click a workflow control set.
Click Delete and then click Delete again to confirm.