--- schema_version: "1" id: 1aafece0181d132294cd6d0e26c0c0e8711057ac3b3b3f30dd5432c6d8ad08ac title: What’s Workforce Scheduling Optimization? collection: admin version: current locale: en-us portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/service/264-0-0/wfs_optimize_what_is_opt.md canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.wfs_optimize_what_is_opt.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 source_site: help.salesforce.com content_type: documentation content_hash: c17f1d5d8ae55ae69151a9aebaf15aefa8b0312c906e80053ac31976d3c4880a description: Workforce Scheduling optimization automatically generates the ideal schedule by applying your scheduling policy and appointment priorities. Optimization is relevant to field work only. products: - Public Sector - Service Cloud release: "264" --- # What’s Workforce Scheduling Optimization? Workforce Scheduling optimization automatically generates the ideal schedule by applying your scheduling policy and appointment priorities. Optimization is relevant to field work only. ### Required Editions
Available in: Lightning Experience
Available in: Enterprise and Unlimited Editions
Workforce Scheduling offers three optimization types — Global Optimization, In-Day Optimization, and Resource Schedule Optimization (RSO). Each has a different scope, runtime, and best-fit situation. Choose the type that matches the scheduling problem you’re solving. ## Optimization Types Workforce Scheduling provides the tools to maintain schedule quality throughout the lifecycle of your service appointments. From initial creation through execution and closure, you have the flexibility to define the scope of optimization, whether it’s for a single service resource’s schedule, for an entire service territory, or for several service territories. [Global Optimization](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.wfs_optimize_inday_global.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Use In-Day Optimization to recover from same-day disruptions — such as last-minute schedule changes — by optimizing the team’s schedule across one or more service territories. Use Global Optimization to reoptimize the schedule across one or more service territories over a longer date range. In-Day and Global Optimization are relevant to field work only.") Optimize your team’s schedule for one or more service territories across a specified range of days. You can configure it to run regularly in the background, for example, every night, or you can run it manually as needed via [API](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/connect-rest-api/references/connect-rest-api-core#tag/Workforce-Scheduling-Resources). Global Optimization is the most thorough optimization type and the primary lever for long-term schedule quality. It rebalances the entire plan across the selected service territories against your scheduling policy, so the schedule stays aligned with your priorities and business goals as work is added, completed, and updated over time. Because the search space is large, Global Optimization takes the longest to run — schedule it during off-hours, when scheduling activity is quiet, so it can rebalance the schedule uninterrupted. [In-Day Optimization](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.wfs_optimize_inday_global.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Use In-Day Optimization to recover from same-day disruptions — such as last-minute schedule changes — by optimizing the team’s schedule across one or more service territories. Use Global Optimization to reoptimize the schedule across one or more service territories over a longer date range. In-Day and Global Optimization are relevant to field work only.") Navigate last-minute schedule changes by rapidly optimizing your team’s schedule for one or more service territories on the day of service and the days that follow, via [API](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/connect-rest-api/references/connect-rest-api-core#tag/Workforce-Scheduling-Resources). In-Day Optimization handles disruptions as they happen during the service day — cancellations, urgent same-day appointments, resources running late — by rebalancing the plan around the change while honoring any work that’s already in progress or dispatched. Because the runtime is capped at a few minutes, keep the date range to one or two days. In-Day Optimization needs to complete as quickly as possible, and more data means longer runtime — a tight scope keeps the run short. Speed matters because In-Day Optimization runs alongside live scheduling activity: urgent work coming in, dispatchers making changes on the Gantt. The faster the run finishes, the less it conflicts with those in-flight changes. [Resource Schedule Optimization (RSO)](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.wfs_optimize_rso.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "In Workforce Scheduling, use Resource Schedule Optimization (RSO) to reoptimize a single service resource’s schedule when a last-minute disruption occurs. RSO reshapes a single resource’s day due to a shift change, a cancellation, or an unexpected block of unavailability — without affecting the rest of the team. RSO is relevant to field work only.") Optimize an individual service resource’s schedule on the day of service. Use RSO when one resource’s schedule needs a reset — a shift change, a series of cancellations, or a long unexpected block of unavailability — without touching the rest of the team. The run honors the resource’s working hours, skills, and any pinned appointments. ## Compare Optimization Types Every optimization type uses your scheduling policy and the priority stored on each appointment. The policy’s work rules define which resource, time, and appointment combinations are valid, and its service objectives guide the engine toward a schedule that reflects your business goals — the objectives themselves define what “high quality” means. Appointment priorities matter when capacity is tight. If the engine can’t schedule every appointment, it favors the higher-priority ones over the lower-priority ones. | Type | Scope | Runtime | Best For | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Global Optimization](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.wfs_optimize_inday_global.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Use In-Day Optimization to recover from same-day disruptions — such as last-minute schedule changes — by optimizing the team’s schedule across one or more service territories. Use Global Optimization to reoptimize the schedule across one or more service territories over a longer date range. In-Day and Global Optimization are relevant to field work only.") | One or more service territories, up to a 30-day date range | Typically overnight (session timeout usually at least two hours) | Rebalancing the whole schedule after new work lands, resources change, or policies are updated | | [In-Day Optimization](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.wfs_optimize_inday_global.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Use In-Day Optimization to recover from same-day disruptions — such as last-minute schedule changes — by optimizing the team’s schedule across one or more service territories. Use Global Optimization to reoptimize the schedule across one or more service territories over a longer date range. In-Day and Global Optimization are relevant to field work only.") | One or more service territories, current day plus the day that follows | A few minutes | Recovering from same-day disruptions: cancellations, delays, resource callouts, jobs that run long | | [Resource Schedule Optimization](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.wfs_optimize_rso.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "In Workforce Scheduling, use Resource Schedule Optimization (RSO) to reoptimize a single service resource’s schedule when a last-minute disruption occurs. RSO reshapes a single resource’s day due to a shift change, a cancellation, or an unexpected block of unavailability — without affecting the rest of the team. RSO is relevant to field work only.") | A single service resource, a single day | Seconds to a minute | Handling changes like cancellations, fixing overlaps and filling gaps, without affecting the rest of the team | #### See Also - [Optimize Your Schedule in Workforce Scheduling](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.wfs_optimize.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Schedule optimization creates the best possible plan for your service resources by balancing service-level agreements according to your organization’s business needs, for example, travel time, overtime, and cost. Workforce Scheduling runs optimization across your entire schedule, on the current day of service, or for a single resource. Optimization is relevant to field work only.") - [How Does Workforce Scheduling Optimization Work?](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.wfs_optimize_how_it_works.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Workforce Scheduling optimization scores candidate schedules against your scheduling policy and appointment priorities, then applies the highest-scoring result. Optimization is relevant to field work only.") - [Configure Optimization for Field Work in Workforce Scheduling](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.wfs_config_scheduling_field_opt.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Configure org-level defaults for field-work optimization, including pin criteria and commit mode for global, in-day, and resource schedule optimization runs. Optimization is relevant to field appointments only.")