Variance Advisor

Description of the Variance Advisor.

Variance Advisor notifies managers of missed goals in productivity and labor budgets as a reminder to investigate and take corrective actions. Productivity metrics and reports provide productivity data, but Variance Advisor holds managers accountable for meeting the goals.

Example: A manager has a productivity index percentage from 95—110% for a department each pay period. However this pay period, the productivity index is 80%, far below the productivity goal. This index is shown clearly on the 6 Pay Period Trend report, but the manager does not take action. The pay period closed 3 days ago, the report was generated, and the manager was notified that the value is outside the threshold and the manager must explain and start an action plan for the next level of management to review and approve the plan.

Note: If you have active notifications from Variance Advisor, see the Respond to Variance Advisor Notifications topic.

Track responses

To see how managers acted upon Response Due notifications, do the following:

  1. If the Variance Advisor tile on your Home page shows variances or late responses, click tap Variance Advisor.
    • The tile shows the number of late responses out of the number of responses that are due. Example: 2 of 6 responses are late.
    • If no variances are active, the tile shows that productivity is on target.
  2. Select the Response Due tab.

    Each row shows a response.

    The columns are as follows:

    • Pay Period: The last day of the pay period for which the data was reported.
    • Work Unit: The department, work group, business structure node, or job entity for productivity analysis.
    • Category: The name of the category.
    • Threshold Group: The name of the group of thresholds.

      Click Tap the right arrow of a threshold group to show the Threshold Names and details.

      To hide the Threshold Names and details, click tap the down arrow .

    • Threshold Name: The metrics that are compared against the threshold limits. The names and details are shown only when the Threshold Group is expanded.
    • Lower Limit: The threshold for under-budget values.
    • Upper Limit: The threshold for over-budget values.
    • Value: Up arrows indicate values above either threshold. Down arrows indicate values below either threshold.
    • Response: Click Tap the Add button to show details about or create a response. For more information, see Add or Edit Responses.
      Note: Alternatively, you can add a response by double-clicking any cell that shows information about a threshold group.
  3. (Optional) Hover the cursor over the column headers to show the menu button and do the following:
    • By default, the rows are collapsed. Click Tap Expand All to expand all of the rows and show details, or Collapse All to collapse the rows again.

    • To sort a column, hover the cursor over the column header and select the up arrow for ascending alphanumeric order, or the down arrow for descending alphanumeric order.

      To sort further by another column, press Shift while you select the header.

      Note: The default sort order is to sort first by pay period, the second by work unit.

    • To filter a column, hover the cursor over the column header and select the filter button. Select the criterion; for example, Equals, Contains. Select the date. Select the AND or OR operator. Select the second criterion and date.
  4. (Optional) Click Tap Refresh to update the list of responses.
  5. To scroll through multiple pages of responses, use the page navigation buttons: first , previous , next , last .
  6. (Optional) Click Tap Export to export the list of responses and all details to a comma-separated values (CSV) file.
    Note: Not available if no responses are listed.

Add or edit responses

To add responses or edit a manager's responses or revise actions plans, do the following:

  1. If the Variance Advisor tile on your Home page shows variances or late responses, click tap Variance Advisor.
  2. Do either of the following:
    • Createresponse:

      Select the Response Due tab.

      Select a row.

      • The top section of the table shows responses that are due.
      • The lower Filter = False section shows threshold group and threshold values that do not trigger a response. This section is for information only; you cannot act on these rows.
      • Once a response is submitted, it moves to the Response History.

      In the Response column, click tap Add .

      Note: Alternatively, you can add a response by double-clicking any cell that shows information about a threshold group.
    • Editresponse:

      Select the Response History tab.

      Select a row.

      • The top section of the table shows responses that were due.
      • The lower Filter = False section shows threshold group and threshold values that do not trigger a response. This section is for information only; you cannot act on these rows.

      In the Response column, click tap Edit .

  3. The dialog box shows the following:
    1. (Not editable) Pay Period.
    2. (Not editable) Work Unit.
    3. (Selectable only if you are reviewing responses) Select a Status.
      Note: If you are responding to a response, the Status is not enabled and shows No Status.
    4. (Not editable) Threshold Group, the acceptable range, and under- or over-budget values.
    5. In Explanation, do one of the following:
      • Select a predefined Explanation. The explanation that you select determines what Custom Explanation and Action Steps show.
      • If you select Custom, you must enter a Custom Explanation and Action Steps.
  4. Click Tap Save.
    Caution: If you are editing a response, but someone changes the status of the same response from a different user account, you cannot save your changes.
    Note: New and edited responses move from the Response Due tab to the Response History tab.
  5. (Optional) Click Tap Refresh to update the list of responses.
  6. (Optional) Click Tap Export to export the list of responses and all details to a comma-separated values (CSV) file.
    Note: Not available if no responses are listed.

Show the history of responses

  1. In the Variance Advisor tile on your Home page, click tap Variance Advisor.
  2. Select the Response History tab.

    Each row shows a response.

    The columns are as follows:

    • Pay Period: The last day of the pay period for which the data was reported.
    • Work Unit: The department, work group, business structure node, or job entity for productivity analysis.
    • Category: The name of the category.
    • Threshold Group: The name of the group of thresholds.

      Click Tap the right arrow of a threshold group to show the Threshold Names and details.

      To hide the Threshold Names and details, click tap the down arrow .

    • Threshold Name: The metrics that are compared against the threshold limits. The names and details are shown only when the Threshold Group is expanded.
    • Lower Limit: The threshold for under-budget values.
    • Upper Limit: The threshold for over-budget values.
    • Value: Up arrows indicate values above either threshold. Down arrows indicate values below either threshold.
    • Status: The current status of the response.
    • Last Update: The most recent time the response was updated.
    • Updated By: The person who made the last update.
    • Response: Click Tap the Edit button to show details about or edit a response. For more information, see Add or Edit Responses.
  3. (Optional) Hover the cursor over the column headers to show the menu button and do the following:
    • By default, the rows are collapsed. Click Tap Expand All to expand all of the rows and show details, or Collapse All to collapse the rows again.

    • To sort a column, hover the cursor over the column header and select the up arrow for ascending alphanumeric order, or the down arrow for descending alphanumeric order.

      To sort further by another column, press Shift while you select the header.

      Note: The default sort order is to sort first by pay period, the second by work unit.

    • To filter a column, hover the cursor over the column header and select the filter button. Select the criterion; for example, Equals, Contains. Select the date. Select the AND or OR operator. Select the second criterion and date.
  4. (Optional) Click Tap Refresh to update the list of responses.
  5. To scroll through multiple pages of responses, use the page navigation buttons: first , previous , next , last .
  6. (Optional) Click Tap Export to export the list of responses and all details to a comma-separated values (CSV) file.
    Note: Not available if no responses are listed.

Respond to Variance Advisor Notifications

How to respond to notifications from the Variance Advisor.

Variance Advisor notifies managers of missed goals in productivity and labor budgets as a reminder to investigate and take corrective actions. Productivity metrics and reports provide productivity data, but Variance Advisor holds managers accountable for meeting the goals.

  1. If the Variance Advisor tile on your Home page shows variances or late responses, click tap Variance Advisor.
    • The tile shows the number of late responses out of the number of responses that are due. Example: 2 of 6 responses are late.
    • If no variances are active, the tile shows that productivity is on target.
  2. Select the Response Due tab.
  3. Select an appropriate Comment that indicates how you will resolve the alert.
  4. (Optional) Enter a Note to add details to the comment.
  5. Click Tap Send to submit your action plan.