Scheduling: Overtime and VTO
Objective. Use overtime and voluntary-time-off levers against planned shortage and surplus intervals and read the cost-versus-coverage trade-off - without mistaking an offer for worked hours.
This screen answers: when a schedule is short or over, what overtime or voluntary-time-off levers close the gap, and at what cost? The key read is that offered OT or VTO is a planned adjustment to a planned gap, not hours actually worked.
See it in the demo
What this screen answers
A Sales or CSM person opens overtime and VTO to answer: for a planned shortage, is overtime the right lever, and for a planned surplus, can voluntary time off cut cost without risking service? These are the fine-tuning levers after planning and optimization.
The task
For a shortage window, review overtime offers; for a surplus, review VTO. Read the trade-off: overtime buys coverage at premium cost, VTO cuts cost but can reopen a gap if demand rises. Match the lever to the planned gap and its size, not to a hunch.
How to read it
Overtime and VTO are planned levers against planned gaps - offering overtime or VTO is not the same as it being accepted and worked. OT buys coverage at a premium; VTO saves cost but can create a shortage if the forecast was understated. The misread to avoid: reading an OT offer as hours already covered, or VTO as safely surplus - acceptance and the actual day are confirmed later in adherence and actuals.
Honest limits
This screen plans adjustments; it does not confirm who accepted or what was worked, and pay rules vary by customer and jurisdiction. Confirm overtime and VTO pay rules, eligibility and approval policy with product and the customer; the demo shows the model on seeded data.
Interpretation check
Offered overtime or VTO is a planned adjustment to a planned gap, not worked hours - what is accepted and actually worked is confirmed later in adherence and actuals.
In the field
A back office using VTO to trim an overstaffed trough while offering OT on the evening peak: the screen plans both, but the CSM stresses that acceptance and actual hours are confirmed afterwards, not here.
Practical task
On the demo, take one shortage and one surplus interval and write which lever (OT or VTO) you would use, its cost/coverage trade-off, and why an offer is not yet worked hours.
Self-check
You have offered overtime to cover a peak. Is that peak now covered?
Not yet. An offer is not accepted-and-worked hours. Coverage is confirmed only once accepted and reflected in the published schedule, and actuals are seen in RTA.
When is granting VTO on a surplus risky?
When the forecast was understated. VTO cuts cost but can reopen a shortage if real demand is higher than the forecast the surplus was measured against.
How do you choose between OT and VTO?
Match the lever to the planned gap: OT for a shortage (coverage at premium cost), VTO for a genuine surplus (cost saving), sized to the interval, confirming pay rules.
Verified vs demo. Screen is live in the demo at /#/flex; exact controls, labels and figures are SME-validation-pending.