About Points

A Points Profile is a reward system that can be assigned to a user account. When a Points Profile is set up, rules are created to determine how points should be accrued for employees. Points can be defined according to company preferences. For example, having a positive point balance (+5) could indicate a user has been rewarded with points, such as for good attendance. They can also be penalized with points, such as for late-in punches. Employees can be given a certain balance of points at their date of hire and are expected to maintain that balance throughout their employment.

To enable Points functionality, click the Edit Company icon under All System Companies. In the Available Functionality section, click the Points System checkbox. Save, and then log in as System Administrator.

Creating Point Categories

Points Categories are used within the rules of a points profile. You can have as many categories as necessary. Examples might include: Late, Early, Reward, and Perfect Attendance.

To create a new Point Category, first, navigate to Admin > Company Settings > Global Setup > Global List Definitions > Point Categories.

In the upper-right corner, click the Add New Point Category button. The screen shown below will display.

• Name - Enter the name of the point category (required).

• Description - Enter a description of the point category (optional).

When you are finished, click the Save button.

You have the option to add this category to an existing list by clicking the checkbox next to the applicable list, then saving.

To create a new list, click the New List button.

Type in a name for the new list and click OK.

The list name is a hyperlink; you can click o it to verify the items in that list.

You can remove or add items to the list, as well as change the name of the list.

Points Profiles

A Points Profile needs to be created and assigned to each employee being tracked by the points module. More than one profile may be necessary if you have groups of employees who are tracked with varying and different rules.

To configure a new profile, navigate to Admin > Company Settings > Profiles/Policies > Points. Click the New Points Profile button.

• Name - Enter the name of the profile (required).

• Description - Enter a description of the profile (optional).

• Active - Uncheck to make this an inactive profile.

• AutoRun - Allows you to automate points instead of manually running them each week or pay period. You can determine if you will update daily at a specific time, or weekly on a specific day and time of the week, or monthly on a specific day of the week and time.

NOTE: A system task to run the points can also be created. If setting up a system task, you must also edit the setting available under the AutoRun checkbox and define the schedule for updating the points. You can also select which types of timesheets will be considered in the update.

Select an option from the drop-down next to Please Select One of the Following:

• Profiles with Run Points on All Timesheets (Open and Closed) selected counts points based on all timesheets.

• Profiles with Run Points on Closed Timesheets Only selected counts points based on timesheets with the status Approved (PayPrep Ready).

• Profiles with Run Points on Locked Pay Periods selected counts points based on timesheets within locked pay periods.

NOTE: The system considers time zones

The system will automatically recalculate points for past dates by enabling the new Look Back checkbox. Setting the number of Pay Period(s) as 1 will run the look back for the current pay period. Setting the number as 2 will run the look back for the current and previous pay periods.

Daily Mode

• In Daily mode, if the system sees that points should have been counted yesterday (or earlier) and it was missed for any reason at the specified time in the points profile, the points will be accrued in the nearest running Auto Process Points system task. For example: If 10:00a is set in a points profile and the time of run for the Auto Process Points task is 9:00a, points will NOT be accrued at 10:00a (they will be accrued when the task runs after 10:00a.)

Weekly Mode

• The Weekly mode is based on the days of the week. For example: If Monday is selected, and on the previous Monday points were accrued, the points will be accrued on the nearest Monday (after the specified time) for the nearest running Auto Process Points system task.

Monthly Mode

• The Monthly mode is based on the period between the first day of a month and the current day. For example: If the first Monday is set within a Points profile and the period includes the first Monday of a month but does not include the second, then:

• Points will be accrued in the nearest running Auto Process Points system task if this Monday is in the past.

• Points will be accrued after the specified time on Monday if this Monday is today or in the future.

• If the first Monday is set within a Points profile and the period includes the second Monday of a month, then points will be accrued on the first Monday of the next month.

On Days Profile Mode

• The On Days Profile mode is based on the period between the Last Updated date and the current date.

• If in this period, the day that matches the specified day in the Days profile exists, and it is in the past, the points will be accrued in the nearest running Auto Process Points system task.

• If in this period, the day that matches the specified day in the Days profile exists, and it is today, the points will be accrued when the Auto Process Points system task runs after the specified time in the Points profile today.

• If in this period, the day that matches the specified day in the Days profile doesn’t exist (because it is in the future), the points will be accrued when the Auto Process Points system task runs after the specified time in the Points profile on the day in the future.

Click the Save button.

After saving, you can begin adding rules. To add rules to the points profile, click the Add Rule button. Click the flag icon to add the appropriate rule.

Once the rule has been added, you will need to configure it by clicking the pencil Edit Rule icon.

For whichever rule you selected to configure, fill in the appropriate information. Click the Save button.

On the Company Points Profiles page, navigate to the upper-right corner where Global Points Config is located.

To add the option of making a comment required if there are changes to points balances, click on Global Points Config. The screen below will display.

After creating the necessary profile(s), they must then be assigned to employees in their Profiles widget under Team > My Team > Employee Information or they can be assigned in mass under Admin > Company Settings > Mass Edit > Mass Edit Profiles.

Click the Mass Edit button, then select the drop-down next to Points and select the profile of the applicable point. Click Apply Change when you are finished.

Additionally, an email notification is available for this process under Admin > Company Settings > Global Setup > Notifications. Click New Notification, and in the section called System: Points, select the flag icon next to Auto Process Points and complete the notification.

Recipients, along with the list filters are available, as well as optional conditions.

Points Rules

Adding rules to Points profiles can be done by navigating to Admin > Company Settings > Profiles/Policies > Points. Click on the pencil View/Edit Points Profile icon next to the profile of the applicable point. Click the Add Rule button.

The rules are grouped by categories. In some cases, more than one rule type may be needed.

After you select a rule, click on the pencil Edit Rule icon.

Attendance Category

• Days Worked – Assesses points to a specific Points Category.

This rule can be set to count every day worked and to only count days containing a certain number of hours. If certain time off categories should also be included, a list can be defined and applied. Otherwise, time off categories will not be included.

•  Exceptions – Sets the exceptions that the Points module will identify to assess points for the other rules. For example, if you define a Late/Early Leave rule, you would want to add this rule and check the Late and Early exceptions to be used.

At the bottom of the Exception Settings window, you can select a frequency by clicking the dropdown next to Frequency, type in the number of points in the # Points field, and select a category by clicking the dropdown next to Category. You also have the option to check the box next to the Excuse Any Reason Code.

• Late/Early Leave (v.2) – Assesses points for leaving early or late or rewards for leaving early/late. When excusing time off from the rule, the Include Time Offs Created By Pay Calculation Rules setting will consider any time offs created by pay calculation rules. Click the dropdown arrow next to Category to select one of the categories from the Point Categories. Click the search icon next to Excuse Time Off to select an option from the Time Off Lists.

NOTE: If the radio button next to Excuse Time Off is not selected for All or List, the check box next to Include Time Offs Created by Pay Calculation Rules will be greyed out.

• Late/Early Start (v.2) – Assesses points for starting early or late or rewards for being on time. When excusing time off from the rule, the Include Time Offs Created By Pay Calculation Rules setting will consider any time offs created by pay calculation rules.

NOTE: If the radio button next to Excuse Time Off is not selected for All or List, the checkbox next to Include Time Offs Created By Pay Calculation Rules will be greyed out.

• Lunch Length – Assesses points for taking long lunches.

• Missing Time – Assesses points based on missing a specific amount of time per day.

• Scheduled vs. Worked Time – Assesses points by comparing scheduled time against worked time. This can be used as a reward or a penalty for points.

• Time Taken – Assesses points for the time taken under specific criteria, such as a Pay Category, a Time Off Category, or a certain Cost Center.

• Unexcused Absence – Assesses points for absences occurring on a scheduled day, with exception parameters for excused time off categories.

Expiration Category

• Point Expiration – Allows for the expiration of a point balance in a set period after the points were acquired. If Expire Calculated Points That Exceed Expiration Range is enabled, points that are older than X period will clear.

• No Activity Point Expiration – Allows for the expiration of points if no new points are acquired in a certain period.

• Individual Point Expiration – Allows for the expiration of certain point types in a set period after the points were acquired.

• Point Expiration N Days After Hire – Allows for the expiration of points after a certain number of days after the hire date or start date.

• No Activity Expiration Over Regular Interval – Allows for the expiration of points if no new points are acquired over a specified interval.

• Clear Points On Rehire – Allows for points to be cleared for rehired employees.

• Expire Points On Date – Allows for points to be expired as of a specific date.

Misc Category

• Filter Based – Allows for a custom filter to be created for every time entry or a specific frequency period that matches the defined criteria.

• Multiple Conditions – This will allow for multiple conditions to exist before points are assessed.

• Accrue Points For No Points – Allows for the accrual of a certain type of point, such as an award point, when there are no points accrued.

• Auto Create Incidents – Allows for the auto-creation of incidents.

There are no settings for this rule and when added to a profile, it will automatically process point incidents.

• Create Custom Form – Allows for a custom form to be generated when a defined limit is reached. A Category List option is available, which allows for the sum of all categories in the configured list to trigger the custom form to be created.

• Min/Max Range For A Balance – Allows for a specific set of boundaries for point balances.

• Failure To Punch – Will assess points for missed in/out punches.

Global Points Policies

There is a global points setting available under Admin > Company Settings > Global Setup > Company Setup, within the Points Policies widget, that allows you to enable comments for changes in points balances by checking the box next to Changes To Points Balances Require Comment.

You can also access this option from the Company Points Profile under Admin > Company Settings > Profiles/Policies > Points, by clicking the Global Points Config button.

Viewing and Modifying Balances

Managers

Employee Points balances can be viewed, monitored, and edited by managers as needed.

To view or modify employee balances, navigate to Hamburger Menu > Team Icon > Time> Points. Click the pencil Edit Points icon to view a specific employee’s point balances.

The employee’s Points Balances screen will display, as shown below. Click the pencil Edit icon.

Here you can edit the employee’s point balance and leave a comment as to why the edit was made.

From the Employee Points page, you can add points by clicking on the Add Points button. The screen shown below will display.

• Category – Enter the appropriate category.

• Points - Enter the total number of points.

• Comment - Enter a comment as to why the points are being added.

You can preview, update or test the point rules. To run the points, go to the Points Balances screen and select one or more employees, then click the Run Point Rules button. The screen shown below will display.

• Preview or Test – Allows you to view the calculations without actually accruing points to the employee.

• Do Update – This option will execute the points.

A date must be selected.

If the date entered is before the original Updated to Date, any points between the new date and the original date will be removed.

 You have the option to delete any manual edits when changing the date; you may either delete any edits that fall on or after the original date or delete any edits that fall on or after the new date.

Employees

Employees can view their detailed Points history from My Info > My Information > My Profile > My Profile, within the Points widget so they can check their points balances in different categories.

Points Balance is also available under My Time > Points Balance to allow employees to easily access their Points History report from the menu. This report is the same report that employees can access in their Employee Profile, and it can be included in the start widget, employee quick links, etc.

View Points History, should be enabled in the security profiles (ESS tab, Time Tracking widget) to allow users access to view their detailed points history from the Points widget in their employee profile.

Importing Points

You can import points from an external system using the Points import template, which is available under Admin > Company Settings > Imports > Overview, under the Time & Attendance Data category.

After downloading and filling in the template, it can then be imported back into the system under Admin > Company Settings > Imports > Time & Attendance Data > Points. 

• Input Type - Choose the input type of the file. For example, Excel or CSV.

• File to Upload - Click the Choose File button to find and attach the file you are importing.

• Import - Import the file.

• Test – Test the import to see if there are any errors in the file. It is advised as best practice to test the file first before importing.

Reports – Viewing and Running Points

Point reports can be found by navigating to Team > Talent > Reports, where you can choose two reports as follows:

• Detailed Points Report – This will show you a detailed view of the employee’s points.

• Points History Report – This will show a detailed history of the employee’s points. This report will also allow you to select and run points by clicking the Run Points Rules button. After selecting this option, the following page will display where you can click Preview, Update or Test the points being applied. In the example shown below, one (1) employee has been chosen. If more than one employee had been chosen, it will be reflected as Employees (#).

AutoRun of Points for Employees Not in Payroll

Points can be automatically run for employees with an account status of not being on the payroll.

Not in Payroll is configured as a global definition under Admin > Company Settings > Global Setup > Global List Definitions > Account Status Definitions.

Not in Payroll can be assigned within the employee account in the Account Status setting in the Personal Information widget.

In the Points Profile, when AutoRun is checked and then assigned to an employee’s account, points will automatically run for those employees with Not in Payroll assigned to their Account Status.

Notifications

Points Notifications can be configured by navigating to Admin > Company Settings > Global Setup > Notifications.

Click the pencil View/Edit Notification icon next to Points.

• Auto Process Points – This will send an email notification when an employee accrues or loses points during the automatic processing of point rules. This notification contains options for recipients, optional point conditions, and a message field with pre-defined tags that can be added to the message.

• Employee Points – This will send an email notification when an employee accrues or loses points. This notification contains options for recipients, optional point conditions, and a message field with pre-defined tags that can be added to the message.

This notification can be configured similarly to all other notifications.

The following configuration options are available within the Conditions (Optional) widget of the notification:

• Risen To Or Over - Notification will go out ONE time once you reach OR go above the number listed.

• Risen Over - Notification will go out ONE time once you go above the number listed.

• Fallen Below - Notification will go out ONE time once you go below the number listed.

• Fallen To Or Below - Notification will go out ONE time once you reach OR go below the number listed.

• >=, <=, >, and < have the same theories applied, but will trigger EVERY time the same concepts are reached.

You can select a point Category List. Click the search View Point Category Lists icon next to If Employee’s Balance and the Point Category Lists window will display.

To add a new Point Category, click the New Point Category List button. From the Edit List: Attendance Points window, you can add or remove any number of categories to the list. This will allow for notifications to be sent when the sum of all points in the Point Category Lists meets the condition.