Intelligent Staffing Examples

The following examples illustrate how weightings and priorities influence the results of resource matching. For an explanation of weightings and priorities, see Intelligent Staffing Overview.

Note:

These examples show a small number of resources being filtered and ranked. There might be hundreds, or possibly thousands, of resources in your org. For advice about using resource matching with high volumes, see Improving Resource Matching Performance at Scale.

The following matching criteria are used in all the examples unless stated otherwise:

Matching Criteria used in Intelligent Staffing Examples
Filter Criteria Skills Availability

Region = US

Practice = Publishing

Group = Media

Role = Translator

Worked With Customer = True

Custom Field: Willing to Travel = True

French, Minimum Rating = 2

Public Speaking, Minimum Rating = none

 No minimum availability specified

In this example, all the filter criteria are essential including a custom field called Willing to Travel. The two skills are also essential, and resources must match both of them.

The default order of priorities applies, meaning that resources are ranked first by filter fields, then by skills, and finally by availability.

Example 1 Resources Before Resource Matching
  Filter Fields (Priority 1) Skills (Priority 2) Availability (Priority 3)
Resource Region Practice Group Role Worked With Customer Willing to Travel French, Minimum Rating = 2 Public Speaking  
A US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 2 Y 100%
B US Publishing Research Translator Y Y 2 Y 100%
C US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 1 Y 50%
D US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 4 Y 75%

Filtering Results:

  • Resource B is filtered out because they do not match Group which is an essential criteria.
  • Resource C is filtered out because their skill rating for French does not meet the minimum required rating.

Ranking Results:

  • Resource A is ranked first because they match all criteria and have 100% availability.
  • Resource D is ranked second because they match all criteria but have less availability. The higher skill rating has no bearing on rank.
Example 1 Resource Matching Results
  Filter Fields (Priority 1) Skills (Priority 2) Availability (Priority 3)
Resource Region Practice Group Role Worked With Customer Willing to Travel French, Minimum Rating = 2 Public Speaking, Minimum Rating = none  
A US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 2 Y 100%
D US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 4 Y 75%

In this example, the Group field is weighted as Ideal, Worked With Customer is weighted as Desirable, and the custom field Willing to Travel is weighted as Suggested. There are two requested skills but only French, Minimum Rating = 2 is essential; Public Speaking is Desirable. All other criteria are essential.

The default order of priorities applies, meaning that resources are ranked first by filter fields, then by skills, and finally by availability.

Example 2 Resources Before Resource Matching
  Filter Fields (Priority 1) Skills (Priority 2) Availability (Priority 3)
Resource Region Practice Group - Ideal Role Worked With Customer - Desirable Willing to Travel - Suggested French, Minimum Rating = 2 Public Speaking - Desirable  
A US Publishing Media Translator N N 2 Y 100%
B US Publishing Research Translator Y Y 2 Y 100%
C US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 1 Y 50%
D US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 4 Y 75%
E US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 2 N 100%

Filtering Results:

  • Resource C is filtered out because their skill rating for French does not meet the minimum required rating.

Ranking Results:

  • Resource D is ranked first because they match all essential and non-essential criteria and skills.
  • Resource E is ranked second because they match everything except one Desirable skill (Public Speaking).
  • Resource A is ranked third because they match everything except one Desirable criteria (Worked with Customer) and one Suggested criteria (Willing to Travel).
  • Resource B is ranked fourth because they match everything except one Ideal criteria (Group). Even though Resource B matches more non-essential criteria than Resource A, Group is weighted as Ideal which is more important than Worked With Customer and Willing to Travel, therefore Resource A ranks above Resource B.
Example 2 Resource Matching Results
  Filter Fields (Priority 1) Skills (Priority 2) Availability (Priority 3)
Resource Region Practice Group - Ideal Role Worked With Customer - Desirable Willing to Travel - Suggested French, Minimum Rating = 2 Public Speaking - Desirable  
D US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 4 Y 75%
E US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 2 N 100%
A US Publishing Media Translator N N 2 Y 100%
B US Publishing Research Translator Y Y 2 Y 100%

If you alter the priorities to be Filter Fields (1), Availability (2), Skills (3), Resource E is ranked first because although they do not match one Desirable skill, they have more availability than Resource D. The results for this scenario are shown in the table below.

Example 2 Resource Matching Results if the Priorities are Filter Fields (1), Availability (2), Skills (3)
  Filter Fields (Priority 1) Availability (Priority 2) Skills (Priority 3)
Resource Region Practice Group - Ideal Role Worked With Customer - Desirable Willing to Travel - Suggested   French, Minimum Rating = 2 Public Speaking, Minimum Rating = none - Desirable
E US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 100% 2 N
D US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 75% 4 Y
A US Publishing Media Translator N N 100% 2 Y
B US Publishing Research Translator Y Y 100% 2 Y

In this example, all the filter criteria are essential including a custom field called Willing to Travel. The two skills are also essential but resources only need to match one of them.

The default order of priorities applies, meaning that resources are ranked first by filter fields, then by skills, and finally by availability.

Example 3 Resources Before Resource Matching
  Filter Fields (Priority 1) Skills (Priority 2) Availability (Priority 3)
Resource Region Practice Group Role Worked With Customer Willing to Travel French, Minimum Rating = 2 Public Speaking  
A US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 2 N 100%
B US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 2 Y 100%
C US Publishing Research Translator Y Y 2 Y 75%
D US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 1 Y 50%
E US Publishing Media Translator Y Y N N 75%

Filtering Results:

  • Resource C is filtered out because they do not match Group which is an essential criteria.
  • Resource E is filtered out because they match neither skill.

Ranking Results:

  • Resource B is ranked first because they match all essential criteria and both skills.

  • Resources A and D both match all essential criteria and one skill. Therefore they are ranked next by availability with the result that:

    • Resource A is ranked second because their availability is 100%
    • Resource D is ranked third because their availability is 50%
Example 3 Resource Matching Results
  Filter Fields (Priority 1) Skills (Priority 2) Availability (Priority 3)
Resource Region Practice Group Role Worked With Customer Willing to Travel French, Minimum Rating = 2 Public Speaking  
B US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 2 Y 100%
A US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 2 N 100%
D US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 1 Y 50%

In this example all the filter criteria are essential, including both the skills and the Cost Rate priority will also be used in ranking the resources. The Cost Rate Priority is 3.

Note:

If the Default Cost Rate is Daily Rate checkbox is selected for a resource, the cost rate used for ranking is calculated by dividing the resource's default cost rate by the standard hours per day defined in the work calendar. For example, if the default cost rate is 80 USD and the standard hours per day is 8, the ranking cost rate will be 10 USD.

The following order of priorities will be applied:

  1. Filter fields - Must match all (Region, Practice, Group, Role, Worked with Customer, Willing to Travel)
  2. Skills - Must match both French (Min 2) and Public Speaking
  3. Cost Rate - Lower cost ranks higher.
  4. Availability - Higher availability ranks higher (only if Cost Rate is tied).
Example 4 Resources Before Resource Matching
  Filter Fields (Priority 1) Skills (Priority 2) Cost Rate (Priority 3) Availability (Priority 4)
Resource Region Practice Group Role Worked With Customer Willing to Travel French, Minimum Rating = 2 Public Speaking    
A US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 2 Y 150 USD per hour 100%
B US Publishing Research Translator Y Y 2 Y 110 USD per hour 100%
C US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 1 Y 100 USD per hour 50%
D US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 4 Y 120 USD per hour 75%

Filtering Results

  • Resource B is filtered out: Does not match the essential Group.
  • Resource C is filtered out: Does not meet the minimum French skill rating.

Ranking Results

  • Resource D is ranked first: Although Resource D has lower availability (75%) than Resource A, it has a lower Cost Rate . Since Cost Rate is Priority 3 and Availability is Priority 4, the cost savings are higher in the ranking.
  • Resource A is ranked second: Matches all essential criteria and skills, but is more expensive than Resource D.
Example 4 Resource Matching Results
  Filter Fields (Priority 1) Skills (Priority 2) Cost Rate (Priority 3) Availability (Priority 4)
Resource Region Practice Group Role Worked With Customer Willing to Travel French, Minimum Rating = 2 Public Speaking    
D US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 2 Y 100 USD per hour 75%
A US Publishing Media Translator Y Y 2 Y 150 USD per hour 100%

The following matching criteria are used in this example:

Matching Criteria used in Example 5
Filter Criteria Skills Availability

Region = US

Practice = High Tech

Group = Consulting

Role = Business Analyst

Preferred Resource = Dean

Analytical Thinking, Minimum Rating = 2

Problem Solving, Minimum Rating = none

 No minimum availability specified

In this example, all the filter criteria are essential including Preferred Resource which has the value "Dean". There are two requested skills but only Analytical Thinking, Minimum Rating = 2 is essential; Problem Solving is Desirable.

Resources are ranked first by filter fields, then by skills, and finally by availability.

Example 5 Resources Before Resource Matching
  Filter Fields (Priority 1) Skills (Priority 2) Availability (Priority 3)
Resource Region Practice Group Role Analytical Thinking, Minimum Rating = 2 Problem Solving - Desirable  
Anne US High Tech Consulting Business Analyst 2 Y 100%
Bill US High Tech Research Business Analyst 2 Y 100%
Carol US High Tech Consulting Business Analyst 1 Y 50%
Dean US High Tech Consulting Business Analyst 4 N 75%

Filtering Results:

  • Anne is filtered out because she is not the Preferred Resource which is an essential criteria.
  • Bill is filtered out because he does not match Group, and he is not the Preferred Resource, which are both essential criteria.
  • Carol is filtered out because she is not the Preferred Resource which is an essential criteria, and her skill rating for Analytical Thinking does not meet the minimum required rating.

Ranking Results:

  • Dean is the only resource returned because he is the Preferred Resource which is an essential criteria. He does not have the Problem Solving skill but that is weighted as Desirable so it is not essential.
Example 5 Resource Matching Results
  Filter Fields (Priority 1) Skills (Priority 2) Availability (Priority 3)
Resource Region Practice Group Role Analytical Thinking, Minimum Rating = 2 Problem Solving - Desirable  
Dean US High Tech Consulting Business Analyst 4 N 75%

If you change the weighting of Preferred Resource to Suggested, and you alter the priorities to be Skills (1), Filter Fields (2), Availability (3), Anne is now included in the results and ranked first because she matches both skills. She is not the Preferred Resource but that is weighted as Suggested so it is not essential. The results for this scenario are shown in the table below.

Example 5 Resource Matching Results When Preferred Resource is Suggested and Priorities are Skills (1), Filter Fields (2), Availability (3)
  Skills (Priority 1) Filter Fields (Priority 2) Availability (Priority 3)
Resource Analytical Thinking, Minimum Rating = 2 Problem Solving - Desirable Region Practice Group Role  
Anne 2 Y US High Tech Consulting Business Analyst 100%
Dean 4 N US High Tech Consulting Business Analyst 75%