Out of Office

Introduction

Out of office records when somebody is not available to work: a holiday, a sick day, a college day. Once it is in, it shows up beside their name on the Build board, so you find out before you assign them rather than when they do not turn up.

It is per person, and that is what separates it from department holidays. A holiday closes the whole department. Out of office is one person, or a named group of them.

Step-by-Step Guide

Record Someone Out of Office

1. Go to Rules Engine, open Departments, and pick the Out of Office tab. It sits next to Holidays.

2. Click Add Out of Office.

3. Choose the Person. You can pick a team instead, or several people at once, which saves doing them one at a time when a whole crew is away.

4. Set the Date. Leave it as a full day, or give a Start time and End time for part of one.

5. Pick a Reason: Vacation, Sick, School, or Other.

6. Add a Manager note if you need to. It is optional and it is a private note, so it is the right place for detail you would not put on a shared calendar.

7. Save it. You get a confirmation that the out of office was recorded.

Repeat It Every Week

For something standing, like a college day every Thursday, turn on the recurring option and tick the weekdays it applies to, Mon through Sun. Give it a first and last date and Building Swell fills in every matching day between them.

Set recurrence when you create it

The recurring option is only offered while you are adding one. Editing an existing entry does not let you turn it into a repeat, so if you need that, archive it and add it again. A recurring window also cannot span more than 366 days.

Change or Remove One

• Edit Out of Office changes the dates, times, reason or note.

• Archive out of office removes it. Use this when somebody comes back early or the time off is cancelled.

What You See on the Build Board

Anyone out of office today carries a small yellow clock beside their name, both on the Build cards and in the assign panel. Hover it and you get the reason, the window they are away for, and how many hours of their day that removes.

It is deliberately an icon rather than a label, because those lists get dense and a name plus a badge would not fit.

It also shows against check-ins on your timesheets, so a day somebody was away reads correctly when you are reviewing hours.

It tells you, it does not stop you

Out of office is information, not a lock. Assigning somebody who is marked away still works, because sometimes they come in anyway and the schedule has to reflect what really happened. The icon is there so it is a decision rather than a surprise.

Tips

• Use a team for a shutdown. One entry against a team beats twenty against individuals, and it is far easier to undo.

• Put it in as soon as you know. The value is in it being there before somebody plans tomorrow around a person who is away.

• Part days are worth recording. A morning appointment removes hours from the day, and the tooltip shows those hours, so it is not wasted detail.

• Archive rather than leave it. When somebody returns early, archiving keeps the board honest.

FAQ

How is this different from Holidays?

Holidays close the whole department, so nobody is expected in. Out of office is one person or a named group. Both live on the Departments page, on tabs next to each other.

Can I still assign somebody who is out of office?

Yes. You will see the clock icon beside their name first. See Daily Team Planning for the assigning flow.

It says the person is already out of office.

They have an entry covering some of the same dates, and the message tells you which window. Edit the existing entry rather than adding a second one over the top.

I cannot record it for somebody.

Out of office can only be recorded for an active person. If they have been archived, restore them first.

Can I make an existing entry repeat weekly?

No. Recurrence is set when the entry is created. Archive it and add a new recurring one.

Conclusion

Record time off on the Out of Office tab under Departments, use a team when a group is away, and trust the clock icon on Build to keep you from assigning somebody who is not there.

Need help? Hit the chat button or click "Ask" in the app. You can also reach us at support@buildingswell.com.