Create and Manage Schedules

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

• Schedule a single, one-time benefit session.
  
• Create a benefit schedule with regularly recurring sessions.
  
• Schedule benefit sessions in the same schedule that don’t happen at a regular cadence.
  
• Add a benefit session to an existing schedule.
  

Schedule Services

You often know in advance when you’ll provide a service. For example, HNMI has a volunteer event next month, a support group that meets every Wednesday, and one-on-one counseling sessions scheduled at the end of each previous meeting.

In all of these cases, you can use a benefit schedule to plan ahead and add benefit session records as needed.

In this module, you learn about three common types of benefit schedules: a schedule with a single session, a schedule with regularly recurring sessions, and a schedule with irregular or occasional sessions.

Schedule a One-Time Benefit Session

Start with a single session—for example, a one-hour, one-time class. 

HNMI offers a few levels of cooking classes, but participants interested in the program often start with a one-time introductory session. Luke at HNMI must schedule one of those upcoming sessions. Follow along to create a schedule with only one session.

1. Find and select the Introduction to Healthy Cooking Class benefit from a global search.
   
2. Click New Benefit Schedule.
   
3. Specify these details:
   

• Name: West Side Kitchen Intro to Healthy Cooking Class
  
• Benefit Quantity: 1. This required field could be set to 0 for programs with no expected value, but this session is an hour-long class measured in hours.
  
• Maximum Participant Count: 15
  
• First Session Date: Tomorrow’s date
  
• Session Start Time: 7:30 p.m.
  
• Session End Time: 8:30 p.m.
  
• Session Recurrence Frequency: Weekly
  
• Days of the Week: Selects tomorrow’s day to match the day of the week of our first session date. If this value doesn’t match the day of the First Session Date, this value takes precedence. For example, if your First Session Date is on a Tuesday, but you select Thursday in Days of the Week, the system schedules the first session on the Thursday after the First Session Date.
  
• Benefit Schedule Ends: After
  
• Number of Sessions: 1, because there’s only one session. You could also select On Last Session Date and select the same date as the First Session Date field.
  
  

4. Click Next.
   
5. Review the benefit session in the Preview Benefit Sessions list.
   
6. Save your work.
   

You can find the benefit schedule record by searching for West Side Kitchen Intro to Healthy Cooking Class in global search.

By default, you can review a list of your upcoming sessions and other details on the record.

Schedule Regularly Recurring Benefit Sessions

The biggest gain in efficiency using benefit schedules comes from schedules with recurring sessions. With just a few changes to the steps above, you can create many sessions at once.

For example, HNMI is offering its intermediate cooking class this quarter for 10 program participants. The group meets weekly for 12 weeks for an hour and a half each session. Follow along as Luke sets up the schedule.

1. Find and select the Intermediate Healthy Cooking Class benefit from a global search.
   
2. Click New Benefit Schedule on the benefit record.
   
3. Specify these details:
   

• Name: West Side Spring Intermediate Healthy Cooking Class
  
• Benefit Quantity: 1.5
  
• Maximum Participant Count: 10
  
• First Session Date: Tomorrow’s date
  
• Session Start Time: 6:00 p.m.
  
• Session End Time: 7:30 p.m.
  
• Session Recurrence Frequency: Weekly
  
• Days of the Week: Tomorrow’s day to match the day of the week of our first session date.
  
• Benefit Schedule Ends: After
  
• Number of Sessions: 12. You could also select a Last Session Date, but you know this schedule runs for 12 weeks, so this method is simpler.
  
  

4. Click Next.
   
5. Review the benefit sessions listed in the Preview Benefit Sessions section. Only the first 5 sessions are displayed.
   
   
6. Save your work.
   

Find and select the West Side Spring Intermediate Healthy Cooking Class benefit schedule from a global search to view the record.

On the benefit schedule record, click the Related tab to review all of the sessions.

Add a Benefit Session to an Existing Schedule

What if your schedule isn’t so neat and tidy as a regularly recurring weekly meeting?

For example, HNMI offers one-on-one nutrition counseling sessions. At the end of each session, the counselor works with the participant to schedule the next session. That session could be next week, in two weeks, or in a month—it depends on what’s happening in the participant’s life.

In those situations, start by setting up a schedule with a single benefit session, then add sessions as needed. Practice now by adding a benefit session to an existing schedule.

1. Find and select the West Side Kitchen Intro to Healthy Cooking Class benefit schedule from a global search.
   
2. On the schedule record, click Related.
   
3. On the Benefit Sessions related list, click New.
   
4. The New Benefit Session page gives you many of the same fields as when you created sessions with the schedule. Specify these details:
   
   • Name: Next Tuesday’s date, followed by : West Side Kitchen Intro to Healthy Cooking Class.
     
   • Start Date Time: Next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
     
   • End Date Time: Next Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.
     
   • Status: Scheduled. If you’re creating a session that already happened, you can select Completed to enter attendance.
     
5. Save your work.
   

You can repeat these steps to create benefit sessions on any benefit schedule as many times as you need.

Now that you created these schedules and sessions, the next step is to add participants. You learn how to do that and take attendance in the next unit.

Resources

• Salesforce Help: Benefit Schedules and Benefit Participants