# Schedule exception history before a WFM renewal | SourceX

Canonical: https://refer.sourcex.si/guides/workflow-workforce-schedule-exceptions
Last updated: 2026-10-19

Before a workforce platform renewal or switch, inventory the records that show how the team handled days the forecast got wrong: the published forecast and any intraday reforecast, the override requests and who approved them, the ticketing record of the event that caused the spike, and the service-level outcome by interval. Note years covered, owners and when access ends. Then introduce the workforce director, who can bring in HR, counsel and finance.

## What a workforce schedule exception records

A schedule exception is a day or interval when the plan stopped matching reality and someone changed it. Volume jumps after a product event, an outage or a billing run; the forecast does not see it coming; the workforce team cancels training, moves agents between channels or approves overtime; and service level falls and recovers. Each of those actions leaves a record, usually in a different system.

The value is in reading them together. The forecast shows what the team expected, the override shows what it decided, the ticket tags show why volume moved, and the service-level history shows whether the decision worked. A contact center that kept years of those days has a record of real operational judgment. A renewal or platform switch is the moment that record is most likely to be split, because the new tool needs current schedules and agents, not old reforecasts and override notes.

## What a WFM renewal can quietly lose

Three platform behaviors explain why history does not always survive a change, even when nobody deletes anything.

- **Historical reports depend on old configuration.** Zendesk documents that historical WFM report data reflects the configuration that was active when it was recorded. Move the numbers without the configuration and they may no longer mean what they meant.
- **Schedules live in more than one place.** Zendesk also documents that WFM schedules do not sync automatically with Zendesk schedules or business hours, and that WFM forecasts volume from historical ticket data. The forecast, the schedule and the ticket history can each sit in a different tool.
- **Adherence is relative to the published schedule.** Amazon Connect calculates adherence as adherent time divided by adherent plus non-adherent time, against published schedules. If old schedule versions are overwritten, old adherence figures lose their reference point.

Forecast history can also mean two different things. Amazon Connect, for instance, documents short-term forecasts for scheduling up to 18 weeks ahead and long-term forecasts for capacity planning up to 64 weeks ahead, with intraday forecasts refreshing every 15 minutes for queues with enough volume. Ask which of these the company kept.

## A five-step inventory, starting one quarter before renewal

Inventory record classes, coverage, owners and the real access deadline, in that order. About 90 days before the renewal date is a practical start, because it leaves time to read the contract and confirm dates.

1. **List the record classes.** Published forecasts and reforecasts, schedule versions, override and time-off requests with approvals, adherence and service-level history, and the ticket tags used for incidents.
2. **Note the coverage of each.** How many years of forecasts and schedules the current tool holds, and whether old versions were kept or overwritten.
3. **Name the owner of each.** WFM team, customer operations, HR for time records, product for incident tickets.
4. **Find the real deadline.** Read the contract end and the vendor's data-return terms. That date, confirmed by the company, is the only urgency to mention.
5. **Separate obligations from options.** In the U.S., covered employers must keep time cards and work time schedules for at least two years under 29 CFR 516.6. That is a retention duty the renewal must respect; it is not a reason to keep anything else, and it does not decide licensing.

Do not recommend keeping data the company has no authority or reason to keep, and do not collect samples. The inventory is a description so a decision-maker can choose. The [client opportunity brief generator](/tools/client-opportunity-brief-generator) can turn the answers into a one-page summary.

## Inventory worksheet

**Illustrative** answers for a fictional 320-person in-house contact center; the format is the point, not the figures.

| Record class | Lives in | Coverage | Owner | Watch at renewal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forecasts and reforecasts | WFM platform | Short-term only, 3 years | WFM team | Old reforecasts not exported |
| Schedule versions | WFM platform | Latest version only | WFM team | Earlier versions overwritten |
| Overrides and approvals | WFM platform, email | 3 years, approvals partly in email | Workforce director | Email approvals outside the tool |
| Adherence and service level by interval | WFM reports | 3 years | Customer operations | Reports tied to old configuration |
| Incident ticket tags | Ticketing system | 6 years | Product, support | Tags renamed over time |
| Time records | HR and payroll | At least 2 years by policy | HR | Retention duty continues |

## Does the operation qualify?

The introduced company needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded, so outsourced agents do not count toward it), a documented operating history, rights to license the records, and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 90% of the data is in English.

Unknown until SourceX reviews it: buyer interest in schedule exception records, what employee and customer data must be removed, and whether an offer follows. Small teams raise [re-identification risk](/questions/re-identification-risk-small-workforce), and [data rights](/proof/why-data-rights-matter) are checked before anything is proposed. Partners sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting introductions; attribution goes to the first valid introduction within the 90-day window, credited when the company submits a verified application. Advisors worried about the client relationship can read [whether referring clients hurts the relationship](/questions/does-referring-clients-hurt-relationship). Related records are on the [production schedule change log](/data-types/production-schedule-change-log) and [call transfer recovery](/guides/workflow-call-transfer-recovery) pages, and more record types are on the [industries hub](/industries).

## Go deeper on workforce schedule exceptions

- [Workforce schedule exceptions examples](/guides/workforce-schedule-exceptions-exception-examples): worked cases of forecast misses traced from spike to recovery.
- [Workforce schedule exceptions records across systems](/guides/workforce-schedule-exceptions-records-across-systems): a map of the keys that join WFM, ticketing and HR records.
- [Who can license workforce schedule exceptions records](/questions/who-can-license-workforce-schedule-exceptions-records): a short answer on which executive to introduce.
- [Workforce schedule exceptions referral brief template](/resources/workforce-schedule-exceptions-referral-brief-template): a fill-in brief for the introduction itself.

## Next step

> **Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000.** Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.

If the renewal inventory shows years of exception days with their overrides and outcomes intact, and the contract names a data-return date, [register as a partner](/register), check the company against [who qualifies](/who-qualifies), and read the [program terms](/terms) before you send the workforce director your note.

## Sources

- https://refer.sourcex.si/terms
- https://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/forecasting-capacity-planning-scheduling.html
- https://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/schedule-adherence.html
- https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6514633060634-Getting-started-with-Zendesk-WFM-Manager-guide
- https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8920679615258-Zendesk-WFM-report-and-dashboard-metrics-overview
- https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-A/part-516/subpart-A/section-516.6