If your firm has been set up with the BigTime Foresight resource management module, you’ll notice a few changes will occur. Some buttons, links and tabs will no longer be visible, and new ones will be visible instead. These changes will vary depending on whether you’re a manager or a staffer. This is because your managers will be granted different permissions and more access to higher-level data than staffers. Read this article to learn more about user rights and access permissions within Foresight.
One change that is consistent between both the staffer view and the manager view is that the SKILLS option under the MY COMPANY tab in the main navigation bar will be hidden when Foresightis turned on.
The SKILLS category, and all the user rights within it, will also no longer be visible in the USER RIGHTS settings window. This is because skills are managed within Foresight, and thus BigTime’s skills matching feature will be redundant.
Beyond that, the staff view and manager view with Foresight will differ in a number of ways. Below we will discuss how activating the Foresight resource management module changes the BigTime experience for both staffers and managers. Note that you’ll need the help of your firm’s support person to activate Foresight.
The Staff View
Staffers that use Foresight for resource management will gain a few additional options within BigTime. They’ll see these new options added to their main navigation bar. Let’s walk through how Foresight changes the BigTime navigation bar for staffers, tab by tab.
Time/Expense
Staffers will still be able to log timesheets and expenses as they normally would. But they’ll also have a new option to submit their own time off requests. They can do this by clicking the MY TIME OFF option under the TIME/EXPENSE tab.
Resourcing
A new tab will be added to the main navigation bar in BigTime. This tab is labeled RESOURCING, and within it are two options: MY CALENDAR, and MY PROFILE. Clicking MY CALENDAR will redirect staffers to their own calendar, where all their allocated hours and time off will be visible. When a staffer clicks MY PROFILE, they’ll be taken to a page where they can view their personal details and information. The extent to which a staffer can edit either page is dependent on the user rights they’ve been granted.
Tasks
Staffers who have access to Foresight will also see another new tab labeled TASKS. This tab and the RESOURCING tab will replace the default WORKFLOW tab, which will no longer be visible. The new TASKS tab functions similarly to the WORKFLOW tab – it can take you to both the Task Board and your Task Workflow Manager, where you can create a list of task types if you’ve been granted the permissions to do so.
The Manager View
If a Foresight user has been granted management permissions as well as staffer permissions, their experience in BigTime will be more expansive. They’ll see the same new tabs as staffers (listed above), but will be granted access to even more options within these tabs. We’ll walk through each of these options below.
Time/Expense
Under the TIME/EXPENSE tab, users with management permissions will still see the TIMESHEETS and EXPENSES options. They’ll also see a new option labeled TIME OFF REQUESTS. Clicking this tab will take them to a screen where they can approve or deny time off requests submitted by the staffers they manage. Note that a manager will need the additional user right “Request Time off as a staffer” (in the STAFF ACCESS section of the RESOURCE MANAGEMENT user rights category) turned on in order to submit their own requests.
Resourcing
Managers have a lot more options under the RESOURCING tab than employees do. First of all, they can view the calendars for all employees they manage, so they can see all the scheduled work hours as well as requested time off. They can see project calendars to keep track of progress on tasks and projects. They’ll also be able to navigate to the Skills List, where they can add new skills for their firm and assign skills to employees. Finally, the RESOURCING tab offers managers access to analytics tools, including Availability and Utilization reports and the Utilization Board where they can compare employee allocations against their input hours.
Tasks
Just as staffers do, managers will be able to access a TASKS tab in the navigation bar that will take them to the Task Board and list of Task Types. The amount of options a person has in either of these screens depends upon the user rights their security group has been granted.
If a manager has been given all of the Staff Access permissions in addition to all the Management Access permissions, they will be able to access all the tab options in both the staff view and the manager view. As an example, they’ll be able to see both the TIME OFF REQUESTS option and the MY TIME OFF option under the TIME/EXPENSE navigation tab.