Tag Archives: Assignment Analysis

Analyze job assignments by resource

Use the Assignment Analysis report to see how often each resource has been assigned and balance out the workload in future assignments …

Lesson #18
Calendar – Assignment Analysis function

Do you have resources who are complaining about not getting enough good assignments? If you have a big case with many daily copies, how do you evenly distribute the lucrative work among your reporters? Use the Assignment Analysis report to see how often each resource has been assigned.

View assignment info in 2 different formats

Static reports

You can generate static Assignment Analysis reports that display the total amounts of assigned, canceled, and net jobs by resource for a defined time period. You can generate similar static reports that further break down each resource’s assignments by case.

Static reports can be sorted alphabetically by resource or in descending order of net assignments. You can use search criteria to narrow your results.

You can search for a word or phrase in the static report and RB9 will highlight all instances of your searched word/phrase in the report plus list them in a scroll box along with the page number where they occur.

Interactive reports

Generate an interactive report that displays the same information overall by resource but which you can drill down into by month-, quarter- and year-to-date totals.

Refine your report

The default static report lists assignments ordered in the past month sorted in order from the most assigned resource to the least. You can sort the list by resource name instead, group each resource’s assignments by case, switch to the interactive report,  and/or use different search criteria to view assignments:

  • Job Date or Order Date range — Order Date includes assignments for write-ups ordered for previously billed non-transcribed jobs.
  • All, some, or one Job Type
  • A single resource
  • A single case
  • All, some, or one Business Unit

The static Assignment Analysis report’s footer will display which search criteria you used to generate the particular report with the exception of blank search fields, ALL list selections, or a selected resource. If you select two or more items in a list the report will display that as “(multiple values selected).”

The default interactive report uses the same search criteria and displays the same information broken down by year which you can drill down into to see each year’s monthly totals. You can choose to also include quarterly totals if you are viewing a long date range to make it easier to analyze your data.

Using the report

To figure out how to distribute job assignments more evenly on a case that your resources are asking for, run the Assignment Analysis report to see who has been given jobs on that case and how many times they’ve been assigned to it over a specific period. You will be able to see at a glance how evenly the workload is distributed between your resources and be able to make any adjustments necessary in future assignments.

You can export the static report in a variety of formats or print it from RB9. You can export the interactive report in Excel format to save, share, use in other applications, or print.

NOTE: This is an RB9-only function. It is not included in RB Lite.

TL;DR: Use the Assignment Analysis report to see how often each resource has been assigned and balance out the workload in future assignments.

RB concepts in this lesson

Business Unit (BU): One of your company’s revenue centers or any entity in your business that you want to track separately — such as branch offices, other companies you own, affiliates, and profit-sharing operations.

Job: Usually the reporting of a deposition but can also be any kind of service you provide with your reporters or other resources. More >

Job Type: Categories of jobs requested by clients such as Deposition or Real-Time.

Order Date: Instead of a job’s scheduled date, this category also includes assignments for write-ups ordered for previously billed non-transcribed jobs.

Resource: Person or thing that provides your business with a service — such as reporters, videographers, interpreters, scopists, account executives, other agencies that cover jobs for you, or a conference room.

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Calendar

Calendar is one of the largest functions in RB with many features to speed up scheduling while minimizing errors …

Lesson #2
Most important module in RB?

Maybe the most important module in RB is the Calendar. It is where you schedule and manage jobs (e.g., depos), set up and manage cases, assign tasks to reporters and other resources, and manage assignments.

It is one of the largest modules with 16 functions, all related to your job calendar. What you can do with those functions includes:

  • Start a job with as little information as ordering client, date, and time.
  • Start a new job by copying an existing job and updating it.
  • Automatically import job information clients include in job requests made via RB Connect.
  • Include jobs in cases so they automatically share case parties and information.
  • Use the job wizard to set up multiple related jobs including their shared information at once.
  • Create linked jobs that share information but can be billed separately and canceled independently of each other.
  • Include complete information about cases and individual jobs, including parties, requirements, location, and LEDES e-billing information.
  • Grant parties access to jobs and related files online through RB Connect.
  • View jobs as a list, a monthly calendar, or week by week.
  • Search jobs by multiple criteria including job location, client, and witness.
  • Update, confirm, reschedule, and cancel jobs.
  • Notify clients when their requests for services are received.
  • Send clients their upcoming job calendars.
  • Email clients job confirmations as you set jobs or send a batch at a time.
  • View tasks as a list or a monthly calendar.
  • Assign, notify, and confirm reporters and other resources to job tasks.
  • Assign resources to job tasks before or after job confirmations.
  • Assign resources on the fly or print out your job calendar to make your list, then assign and notify resources in batches.
  • Include worksheets and other files in assignment notifications.
  • Send assignments via email, text, or printout.
  • Send email and text blasts to resources about last-minute jobs.
  • Update, confirm, and cancel job tasks.
  • Schedule conference rooms.
  • Log resources’ acknowledgements.
  • Audit new and canceled jobs for errors.
  • Analyze jobs by client to see how many jobs they are ordering.
  • Analyze jobs by resource so you can distribute work better.
  • View and update outstanding tasks as they progress.
  • Give resources To-Do lists.
  • Initiate a job’s turn-in.
  • Award redeemable points to contacts.
  • Upload case-, job-, and task-level files, such as notices, to the repository.
  • Maintain log of job milestones and client interactions.
  • Make hard copies of your future calendar.
  • Update and track resource’s time off.

Calendar functions by name

Calendar functions are where you will probably first see how RB’s automated processes save time and reduce errors:

  • Information entered anywhere in the system — whether by your staff entering job information in RB, a client requesting a depo through RB Connect or RB Connect Mobile, or a reporter acknowledging a job online  — automatically flows to where it’s needed. No re-keying.
  • Information and processes are easier to access than in previous versions. For example, instead of remembering shortcut keystrokes or dealing with drop-down menus, there is a New Job button in Calendar. In addition, the New Job window opens with a fly-out panel for selecting the Ordering Firm. Not a single click required to get to the first thing you will probably know when contacted about a job. Enter a few keystrokes to find the firm or add a new firm right there in the job.
  • Enter a job location’s zip code, and RB will automatically populate the city and state fields correctly.
  • RB prompts you to do certain tasks, like send notifications after scheduling a job, so nothing gets overlooked. And if you prefer, it also offers batch options for things like notifications, so you can do a day’s worth at once.
  • RB automatically enters log entries for certain activities to help you maintain a paper trail, so you know who did what when in RB9. Sometimes, it includes other information too, such as when you send a job confirmation email, RB makes an entry that includes the receiver’s email address.

TL;DR: If you schedule depos or other services, you can maintain complete details about everything in your RB calendar easily and error-free.

RB concepts in this lesson

Job: Usually the reporting of a deposition, but can also be any kind of service you provide with your reporters or other resources. More >

Linked Jobs: Jobs, such as video done by a third party of a depo, that are listed separately on the calendar and billed separately, but because they are tied together, you will be notified when one is canceled that there is a linked job, so you can cancel that job too and notify the resource.

RB Connect: Online repository, calendar, and access to your office for clients and resources, including interactive transcripts, downloadable invoices and e-commerce for clients, and one-touch job acknowledgements, online turn-in, and downloadable pay statements for resources.

RB Connect Mobile: Clients and resources can access your RB Connect on their smart phones and tablets in an interface optimized for mobile devices.

Repository: RB has 9 repositories where you store files for safekeeping and quick retrieval. When you store files in a case, they are in R9’s Case Repository; when you store files in a job, they are in RB’s Job Repository; etc.

Resource: Person or thing that provides your business with a service, such as reporters, videographers, interpreters, scopists, account executives, other agencies that cover jobs for you, or a conference room.

Tasks: Service requested with a job, such as reporting, interpreting, or video.

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