Build the absence reasons list

Note: You must have the full version of PM to build the absence reasons list.

For information on upgrading to the full version of PM, go to https://www.eso.com/pm-demo/ and fill out the fields to request a demonstration and speak with a sales representative.

Interruptions can occur during the day at a fire department or agency, which disrupt a planned class or a session of a class.

Example: An incident call came in while fire fighters were attending the second session of a class, and several of them had to leave to respond to the call.

You can build a list of reasons why specific attendees were absent from a session, then link one of those reasons to the appropriate attendee when you update the session record details. The reasons you define appear as menu options for the Absence Reason field when you are managing the attendance off the session attendees.

Example: The absence reason menu options you define and enable on the Settings > Class Lists > Absence Reasons screen appear when you click the field to the right of the Did they attend? slider in the PM module.

1. (If you have not done so already) Access the PM or PM Basic module in the ESO Suite.

   Which version of the module opens depends on whether your agency or department has purchased the PM Basic or full version of the PM module.

   1. Do one of the following.

      • (If you are already working in the ESO Suite) Click the Home icon in the upper left corner of the screen.

        

      • (If you have not yet logged in) Log in to the ESO Suite.

        1. In a web browser, go to https://www.esosuite.net/EsoSuite.

           The ESO Suite login screen appears.

        2. Enter your user name, password, and agency name, then click Let's Go.

           If MFA multi-factor authentication is enabled, the Multi-factor authentication dialog box appears, displaying one or more methods you can use to verify your login credentials. The number of methods that appear in the dialog box depends on what MFA methods your ESO Suite administrators enabled in the Admin module.

           Click graphics to open them.

           Information on enabling MFA and specific MFA methods is available in the Admin module online help, in Configure multiple-factor authentication.

           Note: If your ESO Suite administrators have disabled MFA ("opted-out"), this dialog does not appear.

        3. (If the Multi-factor authentication dialog box appears) Depending on which buttons appear in the dialog box, verify your login in one of the following ways.

           With an authenticator application.

           1. Click MFA verification via authenticator app.

              The dialog box updates with boxes for entering the numbers of the authentication code, and the ESO Suite sends an authentication code to the authenticator application installed on your device.

              

           2. Open your authenticator application and note the authentication code currently displayed.

           3. Enter the authentication code displayed in the authenticator application.

           4. Click Log In.

           With a text message (SMS short message service).

           1. Click MFA verification via SMS.

              The dialog box updates with boxes for entering the numbers of the authentication code, and the ESO Suite sends an authentication code to the phone number recorded in your PM records and identified with MFA codes.

              

           2. Enter the authentication code sent to your MFA-registered phone number.

           3. Click Log In.

           With an email message.

           1. Click MFA verification via email.

              The dialog box updates with boxes for entering the numbers of the authentication code, and the ESO Suite sends an authentication code to your agency or department email address, recorded in your PM records.

              

           2. Enter the authentication code sent to your agency or department email address.

           3. Click Log In.

      The ESO Suite landing screen appears.

      Click graphics to open them.

      Note: If MFA multi-factor authentication is enabled, you can access and manage your MFA options through the PM module, on the Settings > Account page, as described in Manage a user account. If your agency or department has enabled MFA but has not purchased the full-featured version of the PM module, you can access your own MFA settings by clicking Change my Multi-Factor Authentication settings on the landing screen, then using the Settings > Account page that appears. If your agency has not enabled MFA, the Change my Multi-Factor Authentication settings link does not appear on the landing screen.

   2. On the top side of the home screen, click PM.

      Tip: If your screen or browser window is too narrow to display all your agency's ESO Suite module icons, an options icon appears on the right side of the icon bar. If you click the options icon, a menu appears containing additional module icons.

      A list of all the personnel in the PM module appears, displayed in a grid format.

      PM (full version)	PM Basic

      Note: If you can access the full-featured PM module, you can view all your own information in it. The amount of information you can edit in the PM module depends on what roles and permissions your ESO Suite administrator assigned to your user account.

      Information on user accounts, roles, and permissions is available in Manage a user account.

2. In the left pane, near the bottom, click the Settings icon.

   

   If you have the necessary permissions assigned to your ESO Suite user roles to configure settings, the Settings screen appears. The list of features that appears in the left pane reflects your permissions to access and configure the PM module

   Click graphics to open them.

3. In the left pane, expand Class Lists, then click Absence Reasons.

   The Absence Reasons screen appears, listing the absence reasons already added.

   

4. Work with the list of absence reasons in any of the following ways.

   Add an absence reason.

   1. In the upper right corner, click Add.

      The Add Absence Reason dialog box appears.

      

   2. In Absence Reason, type a name or description of the absence reason you are adding.

   3. Click Save.

      The reason you added appears as a new listing on the Absence Reasons screen.

      The next time you update the attendees on a session record, in the field to the right of the Did they attend? slider, this new absence reason appears as an option in the field's menu.

   Edit an absence reason.

   1. Open the absence reason for editing in one of these ways.

      • Click the listing for the absence reason.

      • On the right side of the listing, click Actions, and choose Edit.

        

      The Edit Absence Reasons dialog box appears.

   2. Change the information in the fields as needed.
   3. Click OK.
   Disable or enable an absence reason.

   You can disable an absence reason, so that the corresponding menu option does not appear in other areas of the PM module. You can always re-enable an absence reason later, if needed.

   1. On the right side of the listing, click Actions, and choose Disable.

      

      A red Disabled label appears to the left of the absence reason, and the absence reason moves to the bottom of the list.

   2. On the right side of the listing, click Actions, and choose Enable.

      This option appears only if you disabled the absence reason in the past.

      

      The red Disabled label disappears to the left of the absence reason, indicating that the absence reason will appear again as a menu option in other areas of the PM module.

   Sort the absence reasons list alphabetically.

   You can sort the list alphabetically to help find an item quickly.

   • In the upper right corner of the screen, click Sort Alphabetically.

     The list sorts from A-Z.

   Change the list order.

   Because some absence reasons occur more frequently, you can sort the order of absence reasons in the list for convenience when updating session records.

   Example: It is not uncommon for personnel in your department or agency to be participating in a class session when a call comes in, and have to leave the session and miss the next session entirely. It is convenient to have the Responded to incident call option appear at or near the top of the reasons list, for easy selection when updating session records for a class.

   • Place your mouse pointer on the item you want to move to a new position in the list, drag it up or down the list to the position you want it to have in the list order, then "drop" the item where you want it to be in the list.

     As the item you are dragging moves over each item in the list, the list items move up or down in the list to make room for the item in its new position in the list order.

     Video: Order the absence reasons list

     Note: While the video below demonstrates changing the order of items in the immunizations list, the same drag-and-drop process applies to all module lists where you change the list order.

   Note: The list order in the Settings > Absence Reasons screen determines the list order in the field to the right of the Did they attend? slider in the sessions records of the PM module. Disabled values on the Settings > Absence Reasons screen do not appear for this field.

5. (Optional) Export the absence reasons list.

   You can export a list of all the absence reasons currently listed in the module, regardless of whether they are enabled or disabled. The list exports to a comma-separated values (*csv) file, which may be read with Microsoft Excel or other software applications, and includes the name of each absence reason.

   • In the upper right corner of the screen, click Export.

     The file downloads to the default download location, and saves with the file name ESO_DataTypeDate.csv.