Give'em a Break

Frequently Asked Questions

What is my active role and responsibilities during the management of Give'em a Break operations throughout a workday shift?

Your main role is managing Time and monitoring Time. While Give'em a Break offers many intuitive features, it cannot know or learn when unexpected or expected situations occur during the workday. When you are operating in Manual Tracking Mode it is your responsibility to manually start and end employee breaks based off of the current time of the shift, employee break start times and the duration of breaks given to those employees. Example: The shift hours are 8:00AM - 5:00PM. An employee is scheduled to receive their First Break at 10:00AM. Since this employee will be relieved for a break by another employee (relief employee), at 9:55AM, you would first manually email the relief employee to provide a break to the employee at 10:00AM. Secondly, at 10:00AM, you would then manually place the employee on break. All employees receive a 15 minute First Break. At 10:15AM, you would then manually end the break for the employee.

Here's an example when managing the shift scheduler in Automatic Tracking Mode. The shift hours are the same. 8-5. The current time is 12:55PM. All employees have already automatically completed their first breaks. The next employee Lunch Break Start Time is scheduled for 1:00PM. You now have to change a different employee's Lunch Break to a different start time at 1:15PM. Since the current time is 12:55PM, you have less than 5 minutes to temporarily stop Automatic Tracking Mode, make the start time modification to 1:15PM for the different employee then complete the Pre-Check analysis requirement and then start Automatic Tracking Mode again before the other employee starts their Lunch Break at 1:00PM. Here's another way to understand this: It's 12:59PM. You temporarily stop Automatic Tracking Mode and make the necessary start time change for the one employee and complete the pre-check and then restart Automatic Tracking Mode but now the current time is past 1:00PM. Since Automatic Tracking Mode was started again after 1:00PM, the employee who was scheduled to receive their break at 1:00PM would not get their break because Automatic Tracking Mode was not actively running at 1:00PM.

When operating in Automatic Tracking Mode, the rule is to always determine how much time is available before the next employee break is scheduled to start. If the next break start time is 30 minutes from the current time, you'll know that you have plenty of time to stop Automatic Tracking Mode, make your changes, confirm changes are okay via pre-check and restart Automatic Tracking Mode with plenty of time to spare before the next break is automatically invoked.

Conversely, you must also take into account the End Time of employee breaks while in Automatic Tracking Mode too. Example: An employee is on their Lunch Break and you want to temporarily stop Automatic Tracking Mode to make other employee scheduling changes. Prior to temporarily stopping Automatic Tracking Mode, you would click the middle yellow sort button labeled L to sort the Employees list by employees who are currently taking their Lunch Break. Next, double click on the first employee at the top of the Employees list. Give'em a Break will now display the remaining amount of time left in the upper status bar for that employee. Let's say, the remaining break time was 33 seconds left. You must now decide if that is enough time available to temporarily stop Automatic Tracking Mode, make changes, confirm changes are correct and then restart Automatic Tracking Mode before that employee's break ends because if you restart Automatic Tracking Mode after that employee's break was scheduled to end, that employee will remain on break since Automatic Tracking Mode was not actively running at the time to automatically end the Lunch Break for that employee. In this scenario, it would be best to wait the 33 seconds, let the Automatic Tracking Mode feature end the break for that employee and then if there no other breaks starting, stop Automatic Tracking Mode, make your changes and then restart Automatic Tracking Mode again.

The descriptive scenarios above seem pretty involved and complex but once you become comfortable with these types of caveats, it will become second nature to you when operating Give'em a Break in Automatic Tracking Mode because you, as a human have to account for real world impromptu situations and Give'em a Break cannot do that.

What do I do if I make a mistake and temporarily stop Automatic Tracking Mode at the wrong moment/time and disrupt the automated start of an Employee's break?

Your course of action depends on your break activities business model. Example: You have trained all employees to only start their breaks after they have received a Give'em a Break email notification prompting them to take their break. If this is true, you would manually change the break start time of the employee past the current time and then restart Automatic Tracking Mode. This action would effectively move the employee's break to a later start time. However, let's say you have trained all employees to start their breaks at their pre-scheduled start time whether they receive a Give'em a Break email notification or not. If this was true, you would not need to manually change the break start time. Instead, you can manually place the employee on break (because their already taking it) and then restart Automatic Tracking Mode. These actions would sync Give'em a Break to match actual employee breaks occurring in real-time which is what you want since Automatic Tracking Mode will then automatically end the break for that employee at the correctly scheduled end time.

We are currently operating Give'em a Break in Automatic Tracking Mode. We noticed that the Stop button on the main dashboard interface always becomes disabled 10 seconds before any employee's starts or ends their break and the Stop button continues to be disabled until all break events are processed completely. In addition to these experiences, we can't shutdown the program either. Why does these situations happen?

When an upcoming employee break event is imminent, Give'em a Break's Automatic Tracking Mode cannot be disrupted or stopped and the program cannot be shutdown because background processes and functions are occurring in real-time. Once all employee break events are processed, the Stop button will automatically became enabled again and you can also shutdown the program if desired.

We have installed Give'em a Break into a Windows Administrator account. Now, we want a Shift Supervisor to operate Give'em a Break while they are logged into their own separate Windows Local account. Is there anything that we need to do to ensure that the Shift Supervisor can operate Give'em a Break without any problems?

Yes. There is. Any Windows Local account that is not an Administrator account must have the required Windows file and folder permissions to successfully operate Give'em a Break. Complete these steps below to configure the needed security permissions on the computer.

1. While logged into a Windows Administrator account, navigate to the Program Files (x86) folder.
2. Right click on the Business Logic Solutions folder and select Properties from the menu that appears.
3. Click on the Security tab.
4. Click the Edit button.
5. Click the Add button.
6. Type in the word Everyone, click the Check Names button and then click OK.
7. Click on the Everyone group entry to highlight it.
8. Within the Allow column, add a checkmark to the Full Control permission.
9. Click Ok twice.
10. Logout of the Windows Administrator account.
11. Login to the Windows Local account.
12. Navigate to the Program Files (x86)\Business Logic Solutions\GivemaBreak folder.
13. Right click on the GivemaBreakStart file and select Create shortcut from the menu that appears.
14. Move the shortcut to the Windows Local account's desktop.

15. Double click on the GivemaBreakStart shortcut file located on the desktop.

16. Open a Shift Scheduler to confirm that no file access error messages display on the screen.

How do the grey sort buttons labeled S and D on the main dashboard interface actually work?

The S (set as default) button will save the order of how the employees are displayed in the Employees list. Once that's completed you can then use the D (default) button to sort the Employees list based on how it looked when the S button was last used. Example: You use the up/down vertical arrows on the main dashboard interface to move employees in the list to your preferences. You then click the grey sort button labeled S. The default sort has now been saved. Next, you sort the Employees list by job position by clicking the grey sort button labeled P. You then click the grey N sort button to sort by name. Now you click the D button to sort back to default which is the order of the employees in the Employees list at the time that the set default sort (S button) was clicked. Here's the caveat... If you move one or more employees from the Employees list to the Off Work list, you will have to click the S sort button again because the employees who were originally included in the previous "set as default" sort are no longer included in the Employees list.

Can Give'em a Break automatically change employees job positions displayed in the Current Position list without the need to schedule a break for them?

No. Give'em a Break cannot schedule any time to automatically move employees to different job positions without receiving a break. Example: The current time is 10:47AM. An employee has just completed their First Break at 10:15AM and their Lunch Break doesn't start until 12:30PM. This employee is currently assigned to the Cashier job position. Can you automatically schedule this employee to move from the Cashier job position to the Host job position at say 11:00AM without taking a break? No. You cannot. This feature will be available for use in version 2.0 of Give'em a Break. Please note: If you are operating in Manual Tracking Mode, you can always manually change an employee's job position in the Current Position list at any time. If you are operating in Automatic Tracking Mode, you can Stop that mode and revert to Manual Tracking Mode and manually make the job position change. Once that change is completed, you can re-start Automatic Tracking Mode again.

I moved an employee from the Employees list over to the Off Work list. Now, when I click on a different employee who is still in the Employees list, I noticed that that employee doesn't have any Relief Employee assigned. Why is this happening?

This situation will occur when the employee who was the Relief Employee of the employee who is still in the Employees list was moved over to the Off Work list. Example: Employee A and Employee B are both in the Employees list. Employee A has been assigned as the Relief Employee to Employee B. You now move Employee A from the Employees List to the Off Work list. Now, Employee B who is still in the Employees List no longer has a Relief Employee assigned because her

Relief Employee (Employee A) was moved to the Off Work list. At this point, you would need to assign a different Relief Employee to Employee B or assign Employee B to relieve them self.

We removed a job position from the shift scheduler. Now, we noticed that certain employees no longer have a job position assigned. Why?

The job position that was removed from the shift scheduler was previously assigned to those certain employees. This is true for applicable employees who are in the Employees list and employees who are in the Off Work list too. At this point, you would need to assign a different job position to those employees.

I discovered the notes textbox feature located in the Final Break Report Branding window. I have included information in that section but the next day, the information is no longer there. What's going on?

That textbox field is used to record important employee situations or work situations that occur during the current workday shift. Since the information is included in the Final Break Report for the current workday shift, it is automatically removed when the shift scheduler is prepared for the next day's shift. Example: You have added information/details into the notes section. The workday shift is now over. You then email and/or archive the Final Break Report and then leave work. The next day, you return to work and you are preparing the shift scheduler for the new workday. In doing so, you navigate to Tools on the menu and then select the Reset Scheduler for New Shift menu item feature. This menu item feature will automatically clear the contents in the notes textbox field in preparation for the new workday shift.

Is there an UNDO option for the main dashboard interface?

There isn't. This option may be available in a future version release of Give'em a Break. Please note: While there isn't an undo option, you can always use the Save Scheduler as Template feature first to save all employees current break assignments and settings in the main dashboard before making any changes because you can then restore the template at any time, if desired. Additional features to revert the dashboard to a previous configuration are: Backup/Restore All Shift Schedulers and the Duplicate Shift feature.

I removed an employee from the shift scheduler. Now, I want the employee back including all of the employee's break assignments, workday schedule, settings, email address etc... How can I make that happen?

If the Backup All Shift Schedulers feature was invoked before the employee was removed, you can use the Restore All Shift Schedulers feature to restore the applicable backup which will contain all of the employee's data. If there is no relevant backup to restore, you can use the Restore Scheduler Template feature if the employee was present in the scheduler at the time that the most recent Save Scheduler as Template feature was used. If this is true, the employee's name, current position, break assignments and settings on the main dashboard interface would be restored only because the Save Scheduler as Template feature does not save employees workday schedule, contact details (email address etc...). As a third option, you can use the Duplicate Shift feature before the employee is removed because that feature will save all of the employee's data too. The caveat to this option is that you would then need to use the duplicate shift scheduler instead of the current shift scheduler that you are managing because that duplicate shift scheduler contains the employee's data. *The rule here is to always use the Backup All Shift Schedulers feature first before removing one or more employees from the currently active shift scheduler.

We have assigned one employee (Relief Employee) to relieve multiple employees for their First Break. How can we easily view which employees are receiving their break from the one Relief Employee?

While at the main dashboard interface, navigate to Reporting on the menu and click on the Employees Work Status menu item. Next, click on the Additional Work Status... menu item. Click on the column header labeled First Relief to sort that column. Now locate the Relief Employee's name and then view the corresponding names in the Employee Name column.

How can I view the amount of time left until an employee starts a break?

While at the main dashboard interface, double click on the relevant employee in the Employees list. The amount of time will display in the upper status bar. Alternatively, while at the main dashboard interface, navigate to Reporting on the menu and click on the Employees Work Status menu item.

How can I view the amount of time left until an employee ends a break?

While at the main dashboard interface, double click on the relevant employee in the Employees list. The remaining amount of time left for the employee's break will display in the upper status bar. Alternatively, while at the main dashboard interface, navigate to Reporting on the menu and click on the Employees Work Status menu item.

We have installed Give'em a Break and now our anti-virus software displays a message concerning the program. What do we do?

Many anti-virus programs offer the option to add safe third party programs to their Allowed List. Open the anti-virus program and add the C:\Program Files (x86)\Business Logic Solutions folder to their list.

I have a single or multiple shift schedulers open and actively running in Automatic Tracking Mode. Recently, I noticed then when multiple employees breaks are starting or ending simultaneously, Give'em a Break doesn't seem to be processing these actions as fast as it used to. Why is this happening and what is the fix?

The problem may be related to some other third party program constantly and abnormally using the computer's system resources (CPU usage, disk space, system memory). To identify the offending program, right click on the Windows taskbar and select Task Manager from the menu that appears. You can now view the list of actively running programs on the computer and identify the responsible program involved. At this stage, it is advisable to contact the makers of that program to notify them of the experiences that are occurring. The cause of the problem may also be due to one or more virus infections on the computer. Use the installed anti-virus program to attempt to clear these infections.

We noticed on the main dashboard interface that there is a menu item named Purge All Employees/Positions located on the Scheduler menu. What is this feature's primary function?

This feature was primarily created as a management tool after the Import Employees feature (also located on the Scheduler menu) was used. Example: You use the Import Employees feature to immediately import up to 50 employee names and their associated job positions from an Excel spreadsheet into the shift scheduler simultaneously. After that process completed, you realized that for whatever reason a mistake was made and you now want to reverse the import of all of that data. Instead of having to manually remove each employee one at a time and then having to remove each job position one at a time from the shift scheduler or delete the entire shift scheduler and then create a new one, you can conveniently use the Purge All Employees/Positions to remove all of the data instantly and go back to square one.

I've selected the View Final Break Reports feature on the Reporting menu but there isn't any reports to view yet. Why not?

You have to manually create a report first or configure Give'em a Break to automatically create and archive one. Navigate to Reporting on the menu and then click on Generate Final Break Report to manually create a report. The newly created report will now be available for viewing. Click on Generate Final Break Report to continue to create reports at any time. To automatically create and archive a Final Break Report, configure the End Time for Shift Scheduler feature located in the Options and Settings window. Once the report is automatically created, you can view it at any time in the View Final Break Reports feature window.

I went to the Employees Work Status worksheet and clicked on the View Worksheets menu item but there's no worksheets to view yet. What must happen in order to view these worksheets?

You have to create a worksheet before it can be viewed. Click on the Export to Excel... menu item to export the Employees Work Status worksheet to an Excel file. Once that is done, you can then view the Excel file at any time in the View Worksheets menu item. *Tip: You can sort any column first before exporting to Excel.

Our business model requires that our employees work 10 hour shifts per each workday. These means that the employees are entitled to 4 breaks per workday shift. I can see that Give'em a Break was designed for the traditional 3 breaks (First, Lunch and Last) per shift. How can we manage and record the 4th break for these employees?

You'll have to spawn an additional Shift Scheduler and use that second scheduler for 4th break operations. Example: You have a custom shift scheduler named Monday Shift. The Monday Shift scheduler is configured to provide three breaks to the employees. Within the currently loaded Monday Shift scheduler, navigate to Scheduler on the menu then click on the Duplicate Shift menu item feature. Name the new duplicate shift to Monday 4th Break and click OK. Next, navigate to Scheduler on the menu again and then click Spawn Shift. Spawn the Monday 4th Break shift scheduler to start a second instance of Give'em a Break. Using your mouse, highlight all employees in the Employees list and remove the top checkmarks in the First Break and Lunch Break columns so that all employees will only receive a Last Break (which will be the 4th and final break of the 10 hour workday shift).