Discover the Workforce Scheduling Architecture
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you'll be able to:
- Identify the core objects in the Workforce Scheduling data model: Visits, Interactions, and Service Appointments.
- Describe how the Scheduling Method and scheduling object on a Work Type determine which object is created and scheduled during booking.
- Map Workforce Scheduling roles to the objects and tools they use.
How the Pieces Fit Together
In the previous unit, you learned that Workforce Scheduling provides one scheduling platform for on-site and field appointments. Now you'll explore how that platform is built and how each role connects to the objects and tools behind it.
Organizations already track work using business records that are part of their everyday processes. In Agentforce Public Sector, for example, those records include Visits for field work and Interactions for on-site work. Workforce Scheduling builds on those existing records instead of requiring organizations to manage scheduling separately.
Throughout this badge, you follow Cosville, a fictional public sector agency that uses Workforce Scheduling to coordinate its foster care licensing process. Prospective foster families attend appointments at Cosville offices and receive visits from licensing specialists and inspectors at their homes.
Picture the architecture as three connected layers:
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Visits and Interactions represent the business records your organization already uses to manage work. In Cosville, Visits represent field appointments and Interactions represent on-site appointments. These are often the records users schedule and manage day to day.
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Service Appointments are the scheduling records Workforce Scheduling uses to schedule and assign work. In many workflows, they're associated with Visits and Interactions as ghost objects. In others, organizations schedule Service Appointments directly, such as for field maintenance work managed with Work Orders and Service Appointments.
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Scheduling configurations—including work types, service territories, operating hours, shifts, and scheduling policies—tell the platform how to schedule and assign work.
Together, these layers let organizations continue using the business records that support their processes while Workforce Scheduling handles scheduling and assignment. In Cosville, for example, home inspections are managed as Visits and in-office licensing interviews as Interactions, while Workforce Scheduling coordinates both on the same platform.
In this unit, you learn about these core objects and configurations that drive Workforce Scheduling.
We don’t cover the basic steps of turning on Workforce Scheduling in this badge. Check out Set Up Workforce Scheduling in Salesforce Help for details.
The Core Objects
Before you explore how records work together, get clear on the objects that do the heavy lifting. These are the key objects that power Workforce Scheduling, with examples from Cosville's foster care licensing process.
Visits
A Visit is an Agentforce Public Sector object for field work, appointments that happen at the constituent's location.
When a licensing specialist or inspector conducts a home inspection to evaluate a prospective foster family's home, that work is represented as a Visit. Behind the scenes, Workforce Scheduling also creates a Work Order and a Service Appointment so the platform can schedule and assign the work. The scheduling platform uses the Visit to help match an available field worker in the right service territory.
Interactions
An Interaction is an Agentforce Public Sector object for on-site work, appointments that happen at a branch location.
When a prospective foster family schedules an in-office licensing interview at a Cosville Family Services office, an Interaction record represents that appointment and links it to their account. Behind the scenes, Workforce Scheduling creates a Service Appointment so the platform can schedule and assign the work.
Service Appointments
A Service Appointment is a Salesforce record that represents work to be scheduled. The record contains information such as the assigned worker, scheduled time, duration, status, and other details used during scheduling.
Workforce Scheduling uses the information in the Service Appointment, together with configured scheduling logic, worker availability, skills, Operating Hours, and Scheduling Policies, to recommend available appointment slots, build optimized schedules, and, for field work, automatically adjust schedules when needed.
As noted above, when people work with Visits or Interactions, Workforce Scheduling creates the Service Appointment in the background (and a Work Order for Visits). Organizations can also schedule Service Appointments directly—for example, field maintenance work managed with Work Orders and Service Appointments.
Work Types and Scheduling Methods
Work Types are templates that define how appointments behave. A Work Type defines the type of work being performed, the scheduling method to use, and the scheduling object that represents the work.
For example, Tishon, a Salesforce admin at Cosville, configures Work Types such as Orientation, Licensing Interview, and Home Inspection to set durations and other scheduling rules.
Each Work Type includes a Scheduling Method: On-Site, Field, or Both. The Scheduling Method determines whether the work is scheduled as an on-site appointment, a field appointment, or either. A Work Type also defines the scheduling object used for that type of work, such as an Interaction, Visit, or Service Appointment.
Here's how that works in practice.
- An Orientation or Licensing Interview with a Scheduling Method of On-Site might use an Interaction or Service Appointment as its scheduling object, depending on the organization's configuration, and be scheduled with an available on-site worker at a branch location.
- A Home Inspection with a Scheduling Method of Field might use a Visit or Service Appointment as its scheduling object, depending on the organization's configuration, and be scheduled with an available field worker in the appropriate service territory.
- A Family Consultation with a Scheduling Method of Both gives constituents a choice of how to receive the service. They can schedule the appointment at a branch or as a field visit, and Workforce Scheduling uses the appropriate scheduling flow based on their selection.
By defining both the scheduling method and the scheduling object, Work Types let organizations support different business processes while managing on-site and field appointments from the same scheduling platform.
Supporting Configuration
Work Types define the type of work being performed and the requirements for completing it. For example, a Work Type can specify the required skills, duration type, estimated duration, and due date for the work.
Service territories define the geographic areas where work is performed. Depending on an organization's configuration, a service territory can support on-site appointments, field visits, or both. For field scheduling, Service Territories help match workers to constituents within the appropriate service area. For on-site scheduling, they can represent a branch, office, or service area where appointments take place.
Operating Hours define when work can be performed by specifying availability for Service Territories and Service Resources. Time slots within operating hours are classified as either On-Site or Field, allowing Workforce Scheduling to use the appropriate availability for each appointment type. For on-site scheduling, operating hours associated with a Service Territory determine the appointment slots available at a branch or office. For field scheduling, Workforce Scheduling uses the operating hours associated with a worker's Service Territory Membership to determine resource availability.
Shifts define when individual workers are available to perform work. Each shift is classified as either On-Site or Field, so a worker is available only for the corresponding appointment type during that period. For example, if a Cosville licensing specialist is assigned to a Field shift, Workforce Scheduling schedules that worker only for field appointments during that time.
Service Resources represent the workers who perform appointments, whether in a branch or in the field. Tishon assigns Cosville's licensing specialists and inspectors as Service Resources so they can be matched to the appropriate work.
Service Appointments are also classified as either On-Site or Field. When a Service Appointment is created from a Visit or Interaction, its Scheduling Method is assigned automatically. When a Service Appointment is created directly, the appropriate Scheduling Method must be assigned so Workforce Scheduling uses the correct service resource and availability.
Scheduling Policies define the work rules and service objectives that Workforce Scheduling uses when scheduling appointments. Work rules determine which resources are eligible for an appointment. Service objectives then prioritize the eligible resources based on the scheduling method. For field scheduling, service objectives use weighted goals to evaluate and rank candidate workers and appointment time slots. For on-site scheduling, the available service objective balances work across eligible resources.
Organizations can use separate scheduling policies for on-site and field scheduling, or a shared policy for both. Within a shared policy, the same work rule can be configured differently for each scheduling method.
For example, Cosville uses separate scheduling policies for its on-site and field appointments. Both policies respect skill matching, so workers must have the right skills for the work. The field scheduling policy also includes a required resource rule—for example, assigning work to a worker already serving the constituent’s home. The on-site scheduling policy has no specific resource restriction; it assigns licensing interviews to any available worker with the appropriate skills at the selected branch.
Map Roles to Objects and Tools
The first unit introduced the people involved in Workforce Scheduling. Now, map each role to the objects and tools they use every day.
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Salesforce admins, such as Tishon, configure Workforce Scheduling. They work with Work Types, Service Territories, Operating Hours, Shifts, Service Resources, and Scheduling Policies. Service Resources can support both on-site and field work and be managed in the same Service Territory. Administrators also configure worker skills, availability, and scheduling policies so the platform can match the right worker to the right appointment.
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Dispatchers and supervisors work in the Operations Console to schedule, assign, and monitor work. Depending on the organization's configuration, they manage Visits, Interactions, or Service Appointments from a single interface.
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Field workers and inspectors use the Salesforce Field Service mobile app to manage work away from the office. Their assignments appear as Visits, Interactions, or Service Appointments, depending on the organization's configuration. They update appointment status in real time and can view related records while in the field. For inspectors, the view can also include inspection form questions linked to regulatory codes.
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Greeters manage constituent arrivals at on-site locations. They check constituents in, direct them to the correct service, and manage walk-ins and scheduled arrivals.
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Constituents use the self-service portal or guest scheduling experience to schedule appointments. When an appointment is scheduled, Workforce Scheduling uses the scheduling object defined by the Work Type, such as a Visit, Interaction, or Service Appointment. Dispatchers and workers then use that record to manage the appointment.
Together, these roles support the entire scheduling process, from configuration and scheduling through service delivery.
What’s Next?
In this unit, you learned about the objects and configuration that power Workforce Scheduling. You also explored the objects and tools each role uses.
Next, you see Workforce Scheduling in action as you follow an example in Cosville through the scheduling flow, the Operations Console, and the constituent experience.
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