Organization And Employees
In this article, we will discuss the functions, options and information displayed on the Organization And Employees page which is available to Administrators from ‘Configuration’ on the main menu. The page allows you to add locations, work groups and employees so that you can create a virtual model of your real organisational structure within LeaveWizard.
The page has a navigation tree on the left hand side which shows the company structure. Below the tree is a list of all the Ex-Employees. On the right hand side is an information pane which provides some details about the selected node of the navigation tree and a user list of members.
Each row of the members list has a user name link on the left hand side which will take you to the ‘Employee Details’ page for that user. Also, on the right hand side of the row is a ‘View Leave Taken’ link which will take you to the ‘Leave Requests’ page for that user.
The Company Node
There is only one company node at the root of the navigation tree. If you select the company by clicking on the node and highlighting it, the information pane will list details about the company and list all users as shown on the screenshot above.
If you right click the company node you will get a pop up menu with the options ‘New Location…’ to add a new location to your company and ‘Edit…’ to edit the company details. You can also edit the company details by clicking the ‘Pencil’ icon in front of the company name on the information pane. Editing of the company details is performed on the ‘Company Settings’ page which can also be accessed from ‘Company Settings’ on the main menu.
The following sub set of company settings are displayed on the information pane:
The Company Name
This is the ‘Your company name’ field from the ‘Details’ section of Company Settings.
This is the ‘Main contact email address’ field from the ‘Details’ section of Company Settings.
Leave Year Starts On (DD / MM)
This is the ‘Our company leave year starts on’ field from the ‘Leave Year and Types’ section of Company Settings.
Work Pattern
This is the company default work pattern as defined on the work patterns page.
Max Staff On Leave For The Whole Company
If ‘Set the number of employees that can be off at the same time for the entire organisation?’ is set to ‘Yes’ in the ‘Restrictions’ section of Company Settings then this is value from the ‘How many?’ field.
Overtime Enabled
This is the ‘Do you want to record overtime or TOIL for your employees?’ field from the ‘Overtime/TOIL’ section of Company Settings.
The Location Node(s)
The company has one or more location nodes on the navigation tree. Each location node has a list below it of work groups which are located there. You can click on the arrow to the left of the location name to expand or collapse the list. If you select a location by clicking on the node and highlighting it, the information pane will list details about the selected location and list all the users based at that location.
If you right click the location node you will get a pop up menu with the options ‘New Workgroup…’ to add a new workgroup to that location and ‘Edit…’ to edit the location details. You can also edit the selected location by clicking the ‘pencil’ icon on the information pane.
The following location details can be edited and are displayed on the information pane:
Name
This field allows you to enter the location name.
City
This field allows you to enter the location city name.
Country
This setting allows you to select the location country from a drop down box.
Work Pattern
This setting allows you to select a work pattern that all users at this location will normally use from the drop down box. As the work pattern used by a user can be defined in different places there is an order of precedence, in descending order as follows: Employee, workgroup, location and then company. So, for example if a user is at a location which has work pattern A set. But, has a user work pattern B set, then that user will use work pattern B as the location setting will be overridden.
Active?
This setting allows you to specify if the location is currently in use or not by ticking the box.
Maximum Staff On Leave
This field allows you to specify the maximum number of staff from this location that can be on leave at the same time. If a number is not entered then there is no restriction and all staff can be off. It should be noted that using Leave Restriction Groups or Event Restriction Periods which are covered in the Restrictions Part 1 article is now the recommended way to achieve this and use of this setting should now be considered deprecated.
The Workgoup Node(s)
Each location has one or more workgroup nodes listed. If you select a workgroup by clicking on the node and highlighting it, the information pane will list details about the selected workgroup and list all the users in that workgroup.
If you right click the workgroup node you will get a pop up menu with the options ‘New Employee…’ to add a new user to that workgroup and ‘Edit…’ to edit the workgroup details. You can also edit the selected workgroup by clicking the ‘Pencil’ icon on the information pane.
The following workgroup details can be edited and are displayed on the information pane:
Name
This field allows you to enter the workgroup name.
Workgroup Lead
This setting allows you to select a work group leader for the workgroup from a drop down box of available Line Managers and Administrators.
Location
This setting allows you to select a location for the workgroup from a drop down box. If you don’t want to drag and drop workgroups from one location to another on the Organization And Employees page, then you can use this setting to move a workroup between locations.
Work Pattern
This setting allows you to select a work pattern that all users from this workgroup will normally use from the drop down box. As the work pattern used by a user can be defined in different places there is an order of precedence, in descending order as follows: Employee, workgroup, location and then company. So, for example if a user is a member of a workgroup which has work pattern A set but has a user work pattern B set, then that user will use work pattern B as the work group setting will be overridden.
Active
This setting allows you to specify if the workgroup is currently in use or not by ticking the box.
Maximum Staff On Leave
This field allows you to specify the maximum number of staff from this workgroup that can be on leave at the same time. If a number is not entered then there is no restriction and all staff can be off. It should be noted that using Leave Restriction Groups or Event Restriction Periods which are covered in the Restrictions Part 1 article is now the recommended way to achieve this and use of this setting should now be considered deprecated.
Workgroup Members List
A paginated list of work group members is displayed and you can edit their employee details from here by clicking the ‘Edit’ button on the left hand side of their entry.
Reassign All To Workgroup
Below the work group member list is the ‘Reassign All To Workgroup’ function which allows all the work group members to be moved to another work group at the click of a button. Once you have selected the destination work group from the the drop down box just click ‘Transfer’ to move them. Please note that the work group leader needs to be unassigned if you want to move them as well.
The Custom Groups Node
If you have set up any custom groups then the ‘Custom Groups’ node will be created below which will be a list of all the custom groups. You can click on the arrow to the left of ‘Custom Groups’ to expand or collapse the list. If you select a custom group by clicking on the node and highlighting it, the information pane will list all the users in that group.
You can also edit the selected custom group by clicking the ‘Edit’ button on the information pane. Editing of the custom group is performed on the ‘Custom User Group Details’ page which can also be accessed from ‘Groups’ on the main menu.
The Ex-Employees List
Clicking on a user name link in the list will take you to the ‘Employee Details’ page for that user. Also, if you right click on the user row you can select ‘Make Active’ from the pop up menu to remove them from the list and make them a current user again.
Dragging And Dropping
On the navigation tree you can ‘drag and drop’ a workgroup from one location to another. You can use Ctrl or Shift click to select multiple workgroups at the same time and then ‘drag and drop’ them to another location. You can also move users from one workgroup to another by using drag and drop. On the information pane click on the row of the user to highlight it. You can use Ctrl or Shift click to select multiple users. Once you have selected all the users you wish to move then drag and drop them onto the workgroup node on the navigation tree.
The Organization And Employees Sub Menu
Near the top of page, just below the main menu is the Organization And Employee sub menu which has five buttons as:
New Location
New Workgroup
Clicking this button will take you to the ‘Workgroup Details’ page with a blank form for you to create a new work group. You can also add a new work group by right clicking a location name on the navigation tree and selecting ‘New Workgroup…’ from the pop up menu.
New Custom Group
Clicking this button will take you to the ‘Custom User Group Details’ page with a blank form for you to create a new custom group. You can also add a new custom group from ‘Groups’ on the main menu and then clicking ‘New Custom User Group’.
Add Employees
Clicking this button will take you to the first step of the ‘Add Employee’ page which is covered in depth on the Adding New Users article. You can also add a new user by right clicking a workgroup name on the navigation tree and selecting ‘New employee…’ from the pop up menu.
Send Welcome Message
When you add employees using the ‘Add Employee’ page, in the final step, you are given the option to send a welcome email. If you skip sending an email when you add the employees or if you just want to send the email again, you can click this button to send welcome emails to selected users. On the navigation tree choose the company, location or work group node from which you want to choose users. Then on the information pane click on the row of the user to highlight it. You can use Ctrl or Shift click to select multiple users. Once you have selected all the users then click the ‘Send Welcome Message’ and emails will be sent to all of the selected users.
The ‘Global’ Location And ‘Default Group’ Work Group
If you initially set your company up without defining a location the system will create a ‘Global’ location for you. Also, if you create a new workgroup without defining a location a ‘Global’ location will be created. It is recommended that you create a new location that is specific and descriptive of your company and move your workgroup(s) to that location. This is particularly relevant if you intend to use Public Holidays which are regional and rely on the location being specified. When all work groups are moved to another location(s) and the ‘Global’ location is empty it will be automatically removed by the system.
Similarly, if no workgroup is defined when you initially set up your company the system will create a ‘Default group’ work group. Again, it is recommended that you create a new work group with a name specific and descriptive of your company.