Tag Archives: Resource Availability

Give resources time off or extra hours

Use Resource Availability to grant a resource time off or add them to the pool of resources outside of their normal working hours …

Lesson #8
Calendar – Resource Availability function

When a resource wants to take a vacation or a personal day — or if they want to pick up extra hours of work outside their normal schedule — use Resource Availability to view their schedule, then quickly add or remove time for specific days.

The default view in Resource Availability is all resources’ work schedules for today. (Resources’ regular work schedules are set up in their individual listings.) Work schedules are color coded so you can easily track resources’ schedules by assignments, available/unavailable times, and time off.

Search for a resource

Use any of the search criteria to narrow your search to find a particular resource/resources:

  • Date range
  • A resource’s name
  • One or more Priority Levels
  • One or more Resource Types
  • One or more Specialties
  • Text in time-off notes/comments

You can sort your results in the grid by one or more columns in ascending or descending order but when you exit the function, RB will revert back to the default order.

Include notes about time off

When granting time off, you can include reasons for it and any notes or comments about it for your records. Resource Availability will display this information in the search criteria results.

Quickly change a resource’s schedule

Use the Change Availability option to add time to resources’ schedules when they are willing to work extra hours for a month, or quickly block out time off for a resource if you do not need to keep track of the reason.

During a resource’s scheduled time off — whether it’s their regularly scheduled time off or time off added here — the resource’s name will not appear in the list of available resources when assigning tasks. If you try to assign a resource in Quick Assignments who is not available, it will alert you so you can pick a different resource or override the resource’s time off.

TL;DR: Set up resources’ regular work schedules in their individual records in RB; use Resource Availability for one-off changes, such as vacations or availability outside of their normal working hours.

RB concepts in this lesson

Priority Level: Order of selection preference for resources. For example, resources on staff vs. affiliates.

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.

Resource Type: Professions and other categories of resources.

Specialty: Skill or specific expertise required for some jobs, such as medical reporting, Spanish, or realtime.

Task: Service requested with a job, such as reporting, interpreting, or video, that require a separate resource (person, company, thing) to accomplish. More >

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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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