Setting Availability
Overview
To take full advantage of the Ankota scheduling system, admins can enter their staff availability, both days and hours, into the system. (Please note some agencies will have the caregivers enter their own availability using a Caregiver portal. If you are interested in this option but do have it currently, reach out to an Ankota specialist for assistance in setting this up.) See below for a walkthrough of entering caregiver availability as an admin.
Setting Regular Availability
To enter this information, first open the caregiver's profile whose availability you wish to enter.
Next, click the Availability tab.
Click the Add New Template button.
Scroll down and enter the new template name in the New Template Name window, then Save. We recommend you use the caregiver's name.
Add your available days one at a time by clicking on the check box next to the day and pressing + Add time. Set your working hours for that day in a typical week. The default is Working. Ankota looks at Working time slots as available to be scheduled. This is because Ankota looks at Working time slots as available to be scheduled without additional confirmation from the caregiver. The following other statuses are also available:
- Busy
- Unavailable
- Unavailable (Full Day)
- Standby
- Available
Tagging hours as Busy is the same marking a caregiver out. Unavailable is partial unavailability, while Unavailable (Full Day) will mark a caregiver out entirely for the day. Standby and Available are the same, meaning the caregiver is available for offers but not automatically available to work. Typically, "Working" and "Standby" are the most commonly used options.
Setting Exceptions to Availability
At times, you'll need to make exceptions and mark a caregiver out as unavailable.
To do so, return to the Availability tab, then scroll down. Next to the Adjust Date field, enter the date or date range you wish to adjust. This will open new options.
Change the Type to an appropriate category, such as Unavailable (Full day), then click the Save Adjustment(s) button.
If you have a visit scheduled on this day, the system will warn you and ask you if you wish to proceed. Proceed if desired. The visit will not be unassigned, so be sure to delete any visits that present a conflict, unless you wish to keep them. (This functionality allows you to make the decision; this is particularly useful when a caregiver wishes to be out for the day, but agrees to keep one short visit. As the admin, you make the call on what to keep assigned or unassigned.)
The caregiver's calendar (on all calendars) will be marked appropriately to reflect the calendar adjustment.
