Improved block-outs on self-roster
HosPortal has had powerful preference-based self-rostering functions for a while now, including the ability to canvass your users for shifts they are not able to do, or do not want to do. These ‘block-outs’ are used in our automated roster-building algorithm so that users are not staffed on shifts when they are unavailable.
In our latest release, Release 39, we have responded to feedback from users to improve our self-roster functions further:
Administrators can now ask for users to block out entire days, not just individual shifts. This is helpful when using our self-roster process to build complex combinations of rosters where there might be many shifts on a particular day. It saves effort for users and more closely aligns with the way users think about their availability.
Previously, the limit on the number of block-outs was defined in the same way as shift quotas. So if users had to do a certain number of weekdays and certain number of weekends, then the number of block-outs that users could apply needed to also specify separate block-out limits for weekdays and weekends. Now the roster administrator can allow users to select block-outs independently of the quota structure.
We now even allow unlimited block-outs….although we recommend you use this with caution: our algorithm currently is not programmed to override users' block-outs so it can make it difficult to fill a roster.
We know that there are plenty of hospitals that will want to use these new features straight away. Please get in touch if you want some help using these on your next self-roster.
