Overview

Below will outline some new methods for configuring time frames. Ultimately, there are several ways to accomplish this and the right choice will come down to your business requirements.

At the end of the day you can always simply create a ‘specific dates’ time frame, and hand-select the specific dates and times to manually manage.

Do note that these must be used in conjunction with Answering Rules, and it is a requirement that the time frame exist before configuring those rules.

Timeframes

Traditionally Observed Holidays

Traditionally observed holidays can be selected by searching for the specific holiday on the Time Frame configuration page. It uses the Calendarific tool to find holidays. 

1. This company wants to make sure a Time Frame is created for New Year's Day, which is a commonly observed holiday. Select "Holidays" as the type of Time Frame.

1. Search for the specific holiday and select it.

1. Now configure what a typical work week looks like for your company. In this instance, the employees work a Monday - Friday week. Each of those days is selected across from "Workweek".
   
   Then think about when this holiday occurs. Is it the same day every day, such as Thursday, and it doesn't ever occur on a non-working day? If so, then use the dropdown tool next to each day and select, "Observe on holiday only".
   
   If it changes every year, and there's a possibility it will fall on a non-working day, then choose, "Observe on holiday only" for each of your company's typical workdays (Monday - Friday in this example) and then decide what happens on the weekends. In this example, if the holiday occurs on a Sunday, when nobody is at work, then it will be observed on the following workday (Monday). Likewise, if the holiday occurs on a Saturday, then it will be observed the day before. Commonly, if a holiday falls on a Sunday, companies will give the next workday off (Monday) and if it falls on a Saturday, they will give the day before off (Friday). Here is an example of how that is configured:

Bonus Holidays (Not Commonly Observed)

For holidays that are not commonly observed (not an option using the Calendarific search tool), but are next to a holiday that is commonly observed, you can still use the "Holidays" type. 

In this scenario, the company gives their employees January 2nd off every year, in addition to the commonly observed holiday of January 1st (New Year's Day).

1. Select the Holidays type

1. This method works for days that are next to an observed holiday. It can be the day before or the day after the holiday. Search for that holiday that it's near and add it. Decide what time it should be in effect. For this scenario, the employees will be given the entire day as a holiday, so the time period is the entire day.
   
   Choose whether this should recur every year and if it should ever end.

1. On the next tab, first configure what a typical work week looks like for your company. In this instance, the employees work a Monday - Friday week. Each of those days is selected across from "Workweek".
   
   Then it's time to think critically.
   
   In this scenario, the employees have the holiday off plus the next day, so the option, "Observe holiday and next workday" is the best choice for each of the workdays except for Friday. For Friday, decide if they will also get Monday off ("Observe holiday and next workday").
   
   If January 1st and January 2nd happen to fall on a Saturday and Sunday, decide whether they will have the prior workday off and/or the next workday. In this scenario, they won't have two days off if both of these days fall on a non-working day, but they will at least have one day off.
   
   Decide what best aligns with your company's observed practices.

Specific Dates

For company holidays or events that are not commonly observed and are not next to a commonly observed holiday, use the "Specific Dates" type of Time Frame.

1. This company has an annual picnic on the 2nd Friday of May. This is a unique holiday and not one that can be found using the "Holiday" search. Select the "Specific Dates" type of Time Frame.
   
   Note: Adding a "Custom" type of Time Frame for this scenario would work too, but that's not the purpose of a "Custom" Time Frame. Refer to the next section for how best to use a "Custom" type.

1. Input the first date when the Company Picnic will take place (May 8, 2026 in this example). Then click the blue + button to add that date.

1. The date you added will now appear in a list below the "Specific dates" input row. Now that you have a date, this allows you to select an option in the "Recurrence" dropdown. In this case, we choose "Custom". Then additional options will appear below it.
   
   "Recur Every" should be 1 year. The third dropdown field in this row is only visible when selecting a "Months" or "Years" recurrence. The available dropdown options for this field matches your specific date. For instance, the start date here is May 8, 2026. May 8th is the 8th day of the month and the 2nd Friday of the month in 2026. So the dropdown options will say, "Every 1 year on May 8" and, "Every 1 year on the second Friday of May".
   
   Note: Selecting multiple dates will limit your recurrence options.
   
   Lastly, choose when this Time Frame should end.

Custom

Custom Time Frames are intended for combining multiple types of Time Frames together. For instance, you can create a single, custom Time Frame with a "Days of the Week", "Specific Dates", and "Holidays" subset. The benefit being you can add the single Time Frame to an Answering Rule and it will cover all of your configured possibilities (the subsets). 

In this example, the Time Frame will be in effect every Tuesday and Wednesday, every New Year's Day (January 1), and the day following New Year's Day (January 2).

Error: Minimum / Maximum Weekend Days

The error, "Minimum of 1 weekend days" will popup when you attempt to define the workweek as more than 6 days (selecting more than 6 of the blue bubbles). You must leave at least 1 day unselected (at least one "weekend" day). 

The error, "Maximum of 3 weekend days" will popup when you attempt to define the workweek as less than 4 days (selecting 3 or fewer of the blue bubbles). You must leave no more than 3 days unselected (no more than 3 "weekend" days).