Frontline Absence Management (AESOP) Integration

Owned by Michelle Drewes
Last updated: yesterday at 11:33 AM
17 min read

Determining Integration Set Up

Integration information for Frontline’s Absence Management application with ESS is provided below.

District will need to determine how they want the integration to work. This will determine the options that will be setup in both applications.

  • Use ESS only to track substitutes and leave request workflows

  • Use Frontline Absence Management (AESOP) only to track substitute and leave request workflows

  • Using both ESS and Frontline Absence Management (AESOP)

Using ESS only to track substitutes and leave request workflows

  • If your district plans to use ESS only for sub-tracking, entering leave requests, approving leave requests and exporting leave requests to USPS, there is no Frontline Absence Management (AESOP) integration setup required. For additional information about substitute tracking in ESS, please refer to the following chapters: PLEASE NOTE: ESS does not provide a sub-calling feature in the software.

    • System>Configuration>Default Substitute for Appointment Type Configuration: Allows user with District Manager or Admin role the ability to set certified, classified (or both) appointment types to require ‘Substitute Needed” on a user’s leave request.

    • Sub Coordinator: Allows user with Sub Coordinator, District Manager or Admin role the ability to view outstanding leave requests that have been marked with ‘Substitute Needed’ on the Sub Coordinator grid. Users with one of these roles will then be able to edit a user’s leave request entering the substitute information and mark ‘Substitute Scheduled’ to indicate a sub has been scheduled for the user’s requested absence. However ESS does not provide a sub-calling feature in the software.

Using Frontline Absence Management (AESOP) only to track substitutes and leave request workflows

  • If your district is using Frontline Absence Management (AESOP) for all staff sub-scheduling, leave request entry, leave request approval and leave request exporting to USPS, but you would like ESS to pull Frontline Absence Management (AESOP) leave request data into ESS for users to view (only), you will proceed with the following Frontline Absence Management (AESOP) configuration integration steps:

    • Please refer to the ESS Conversion Guideline and Employee Self Service Import from Kiosk guide if your district plans to use ESS to view USPS employee profile information, position details, leave balances, payslips, W2s and/or Frontline Absence Management (AESOP) leave requests in ESS. Since your district is not using ESS for leave request workflows, you may skip steps 7-11 in the Employee Self Service Import to Kiosk guide.

    • NOTE: Since ESS workflows will NOT be used since ESS is pulling leave requests from Frontline Absence Management (AESOP), users cannot submit and/or approve leave requests in ESS. Leave requests must be created and approved in Frontline Absence Management (AESOP).

      • Because workflows are done on the Absence Management side of the application, Employee Self Service will bring the leave requests data from Absence Management in and set different status based on the status provided from Absence Management. If the leave request in Absence Management doesn’t require any approvals, it will be set to Approved in ESS. Listed below is a matrix of the approval status.

      • image-20240909-163130.png

      • NOTE: For the initial pull, ESS will pull in Absence Management leave request data with dates up to 60 days before integration date and 90 days after. After initial pull, the scheduled job will run every 15 minutes pulling in any newly created absences into ESS and any absences that were updated in AESOP, pulling their updated info on the existing leave requests in ESS. The scheduled job will not create duplicate leave requests in ESS.

      • Users and Supervisors will be able to view (only) Frontline Absence Management (AESOP) leave requests in ESS. The leave requests will be denoted with an external ID and origin of Absence Management.

    • AESOP Integration>Data Import View will display various grids based on the current activity of the AESOP leave request. Leave Manager, District Manager and Admin roles have the ability to view the data in these grids. Please refer to the Data Import View option below for more information.

    • NOTE: Exporting Leave Requests from ESS

      • If the district chooses to export approved Frontline Absence Management (AESOP) leave requests from ESS in order to post into USPS, the status of the leave request in ESS will change from approved to exported. However, ESS does not push leave request status updates to Frontline Absence Management (AESOP), therefore the leave request status will NOT be updated in Frontline’s Absence Management (AESOP) to reflect that it’s been exported to USPS.

Using both Frontline Absence Management (AESOP) and ESS at the same district

  • If your district would like to use Frontline Absence Management (AESOP) to submit leave requests for staff who need a substitute and ESS for staff who do not need a substitute, workflow setup will need to take place in both applications. For those needing a sub, the leave request and workflow approval process must be set up and performed in Frontline Absence Management (AESOP). For those who do not need a sub, the leave request and workflow approval process can be set up and performed in ESS.

    • Please refer to the ESS Conversion Guideline and Employee Self Service Import from Kiosk guide if your districts plans to use ESS for leave request workflow for staff who do not require a sub and also allow ALL staff to view USPS employee profile information, position details, leave balances, payslips and W2s.

    • For staff who require a substitute, their existing Kiosk workflow should not be converted to ESS and instead their approval workflow and leave requests must be created in Frontline Absence Management (AESOP). Please refer to Frontline’s Absence Management documentation on how to create workflows in their application.

      • Because workflows are done on the Absence Management side of the application for those who need subs, Employee Self Service will bring the data from Absence Management in and set different status based on the status provided from Absence Management. If the leave request in Absence Management doesn’t require any approvals, it will be set to Approved in ESS. Listed below is a matrix of the approval status.

        • image-20240909-163130.png

      • NOTE: For the initial pull, ESS will pull in Absence Management leave request data with dates up to 60 days before integration date and 90 days after. After initial pull, the scheduled job will run every 15 minutes pulling in any newly created absences into ESS and any absences that were updated in AESOP, pulling their updated info on the existing leave requests in ESS. The scheduled job will not create duplicate leave requests in ESS.

      • The leave requests will be denoted with an external ID and origin of Absence Management.

    • For staff who do not require a substitute, their existing Kiosk workflows will be converted to ESS and they will be able to submit/approve leave requests created in ESS.

    • AESOP Integration>Data Import View will display various grids based on the current activity of the AESOP leave request. Leave Manager, District Manager and Admin roles have the ability to view the data in these grids. Please refer to the Data Import View option below for more information.

    • NOTE: Exporting Leave Requests in ESS

      • If the district chooses to export approved Frontline Absence Management (AESOP) leave requests from ESS in order to post into USPS, the status of the leave request in ESS will change from approved to exported. However, ESS does not push leave request status updates to Frontline Absence Management (AESOP), therefore the leave request status will NOT be updated in Frontline’s Absence Management (AESOP) to reflect that it’s been exported to USPS.

Data Import View

Contains the absence data pulled from Frontline Absence Management (AESOP) and stored in various grids (tabs). When pulled in successfully, user can view the leave requests in the ‘leave request’ area of ESS. Please refer to Troubleshooting Absence Management (AESOP) Integration for further information on how to troubleshoot AESOP absences that are not being pulled into ESS successfully or being pulled into the wrong position of the employee.

Role: Leave Manager, District Manager and Admin roles.

Absence Create

ESS pulls Frontline Absence Management (AESOP) leave request details every 15 minutes. Any newly created (AESOP) leave request data will be logged under the ‘Absence Create’ grid on the next scheduled pull. Any successfully pulled Frontline Absence Management (AESOP) absences will be displayed under ‘Leave Requests' and ‘Leave Calendars’ in ESS depending on the user’s role. For example, a standard ESS user will see their Frontline Absence Management (AESOP) leave requests under ‘My Leave Requests’ and the leave request form will be denoted with an AESOP Origin, AESOP Absence Instance ID and AESOP Confirmation Number. Since the AESOP generated absence is NOT running through an approval workflow in ESS, the ‘Leave Request Approval Trail’ will be blank on the form.

When a multi-day absence is entered in AESOP (Absence Management System), when the absence is pulled into ESS, the multi-day absence is not treated as a single block. Instead, each day of the absence is pulled in and recorded as an individual leave request.

Available Grid Columns: Click on image-20241022-012020.png for detailed information on the absence pulled from AESOP. The default sort of the grid is by leave date,

  • School External Id: School Building IRN

  • Employee Identifier: USPS Employee Identifier

  • Employee External Id01: Employee’s USPS Position #

  • Aesop Conf: Absence Confirmation Number

  • Split From Aesop Conf: If the ‘Split Absence’ option is selected when updating a multi-day absence in Frontline, each split portion of the absence receives its own unique confirmation number. When the updated information is pulled into ESS, on the leave request, the ‘AESOP Configuration Number’ will be updated with the newly assigned (split) AESOP confirmation number and the previous AESOP confirmation number on the leave request will now appear in the 'AESOP Split From Number' field.

  • Absence Reason External Id: Absence Reason Types (SI for Sick; DO for Dock)

  • Leave Date: Date of Absence

  • Shift Type: How long? (Full day, half day AM, half day PM, etc)

  • Absence Start Time

  • Absence End Time

  • Processed Date:

  • Processed Message: May contain an error message if the AESOP data did not pull in successfully.

Absence Cancelled

Provides a log of when the AESOP absence was cancelled. Any cancelled Frontline Absence Management (AESOP) absence will be logged under the ‘Absence Cancelled’ grid on the next scheduled pull. Any successfully pulled Frontline Absence Management (AESOP) canceled leave requests data will also be displayed under ‘Leave Requests' and ‘Leave Calendars’ in ESS depending on the user’s role. For example, a standard ESS user will see their canceled Frontline Absence Management (AESOP) leave requests under ‘My Leave Requests’ and ‘My Leave Calendar’.

Available Grid Columns: Click on image-20241022-012020.png for detailed information on the cancelled absence pulled from AESOP. The default sort of the grid is by processed date.

  • Created Date: Date the absence was cancelled

  • Employee Identifier: USPS Employee Identifier

  • Employee External Id01: Employee’s USPS Position #

  • Employee Email: Employee’s email address in AESOP

  • Aesop Conf: Absence Confirmation Number

  • Log Date Time: Date and time the cancellation was pulled

  • Log Description: AESOP absence cancellation description

  • Log Status: AESOP absence status

  • Log Where:

  • Log Who: AESOP user who created absence

  • Processed Date:

  • Processed Message: May contain an error message if the AESOP data did not pull in successfully.

Absence Update Data

ESS pulls Frontline Absence Management updated leave request details every 15 minutes. Any updated data (i.e. date of leave request, type of leave, etc.) on an existing absence will be logged under the ‘Absence Update Data’ grid on the next scheduled ESS pull. The updated information will also be displayed under ‘Leave Requests' and ‘Leave Calendars’ in ESS depending on the user’s role. For example, a standard ESS user will see their updated Frontline Absence Management (AESOP) leave requests under ‘My Leave Requests’ and ‘My Leave Calendar’.

Available Grid Columns: Click on image-20241022-012020.png for detailed information on the updated absence pulled from AESOP. The default sort of the grid is by leave date.

  • School External Id: School Building IRN

  • Employee Identifier: USPS Employee Identifier

  • Employee External Id01: Employee’s USPS Position #

  • Aesop Conf: Absence Confirmation Number

  • Absence Reason External Id: Absence Reason Types (SI for Sick; DO for Dock)

  • Leave Date: Date of Absence

  • Shift Type: How long? (Full day, half day AM, half day PM, etc)

  • Absence Start Time

  • Absence End Time

  • Processed Date:

  • Processed Message: May contain an error message if the AESOP data did not pull in successfully.

Absence Updated Log

Provides a log of when the AESOP absence was updated.

Available Grid Columns: Click on image-20241022-012020.png for detailed information on the updated absence log information. The default sort of the grid is by processed date.

  • Created Date: Date the absence was updated in AESOP

  • Cancelled: true or false

  • Employee Identifier: USPS Employee Identifier

  • Employee External Id01: Employee’s USPS Position #

  • Employee Email: Employee’s email address in AESOP

  • AESOP Conf: Absence Confirmation Number

  • Conf Start Date:

  • Conf End Date:

  • Log Date Time: Date and time the updated absence was pulled

  • Log Description: AESOP absence status description

  • Log Status: AESOP absence status

  • Log Where:

  • Log Who: AESOP user who updated absence

  • Processed Date:

  • Processed Message: May contain an error message if the AESOP data did not pull in successfully.

Sub Assigned Log

Provides a log of when the AESOP sub was assigned. The substitute’s full name will be added to the ESS leave request.

Available Grid Columns: Please keep in mind, the information you see on this grid is data stored in Absence Management. Click on image-20241022-012020.png for more information. The default sort of the grid is by processed date.

  • Created Date: Date the sub was assigned in AESOP

  • Employee Identifier: USPS Employee Identifier

  • Employee External Id01: Employee’s USPS Position #

  • Employee Email: Employee’s email address in AESOP

  • Aesop Conf: Absence Confirmation Number

  • Log Date Time: Date and time the sub was assigned

  • Log Description: AESOP sub assigned description

  • Log Status: AESOP sub status

  • Log Where:

  • Log Who: AESOP user who assigned sub

  • Processed Date:

  • Processed Message: May contain an error message if the AESOP sub assigned did not pull in successfully.

Sub Removed Log

Provides a log of when the AESOP sub was removed. The substitute’s full name will be removed from the ESS leave request.

Available Grid Columns: Please keep in mind, the information you see on this grid is data stored in Absence Management. Click on image-20241022-012020.png for more information. The default sort of the grid is by processed date.

  • Created Date: Date the sub was removed in AESOP

  • Employee Identifier: USPS Employee Identifier

  • Employee External Id01: Employee’s USPS Position #

  • Employee Email: Employee’s email address in AESOP

  • Aesop Conf: Absence Confirmation Number

  • Log Date Time: Date and time the sub was removed

  • Log Description: AESOP sub removed description

  • Log Status: AESOP sub status

  • Log Where:

  • Log Who: AESOP user who removed sub

  • Processed Date: Timestamp of when

  • Processed Message: May contain an error message if the AESOP sub removed did not pull in successfully.

Data Sync View

This option is available on an as-needed basis if, for reason explained below, the data pulled from Frontline Absence Management (AESOP) needs to be synced manually.

Role: Only visible to those who have District Manager or Admin role.

Absence Reason Sync

  • Pulls all Absence Reasons from AESOP and store the records in ESS to look up when matching Leave Request Types.

  • This will need to be synced on initial config, and any time the Absence Reasons change.

  • Please refer to the Synced Absence Management Data>Absence Reason Grid for details on the leave types that were synced between ESS and AESOP

School Sync

  • Pulls all Schools from AESOP and store the records in ESS to look up by IRN when matching Leave Request buildings / finding a position.

  • This will need to be synced on initial config and any time the Schools / Building IRN's need updated

  • Please refer to the Synced Absence Management Data>School grid for details on the schools that were synced between ESS and AESOP

Employee Sync

  • This will pull each employee record from AESOP. The Employees will be by School and stored in ESS. This is used to match employee data between ESS and AESOP.

  • This will need to be synced on initial configuration and any time a new employee is added.

  • Please refer to the Synced Absence Management Data>Employee grid for details on the employees that were synced between ESS and AESOP

Synced Absence Management Data

Contains a grid of the details from the Data Sync options (above). This grid will update when a Data Sync option has been synced manually.

NOTE: Outstanding Jira issues to improve the way the AESOP data is being pulled as well as Employee Sync Grid improvements: ESS-995; ESS-996; ESS-1000

Absence Reason

The AESOP Absence Reason is the same as the ESS Leave Type Category. When the Absence Reason Sync is performed, it will try to match the AESOP Absence Reason with the ESS Leave Type Category.

  • Is Matched: If the AESOP Absence Reason matches the ESS Leave Type Category, a green checkmark is displayed. Otherwise, if it doesn’t match, a red 'X” is displayed. NOTE: A new AESOP Absence Reason sub category will not match unless the corresponding Leave Type sub category has been added in ESS.

    • NOTE: If the reasons aren’t matched between AESOP/ESS, the AESOP leave absences containing the AESOP reason will not pull into ESS and the district will not be able to locate the AESOP generated absence via the ‘Leave Requests’ menu. To determine why the absence did not pull in, you may filter the specific absence via the Absence Management Data Import View>Absence Create grid and click image-20241028-202343.png to view the details. Review the information under ‘Processed Message’. It may include a message stating ‘Error creating leave request with conf #xxxxxxxxxxx;Reason not found’. From there, you can refer to the Absence Reason grid to determine if a mismatched reason is the issue.

  • Is Active: Indicates if the Absence Reason is active in AESOP. If it’s marked ‘Public to Employee’ in AESOP, it’s considered active

  • Description: Populates with the AESOP Absence Reason Name.

  • Absence Reason ID: is their version of the leave type category. It is located on the ‘External ID’ field on the AESOP Absence Reason record. It must match the 2 character leave type category from ESS/USPS.

    • Available ESS/USPS leave type categories:

      • CA = calamity; DO = dock; HO = holiday; JD = jury duty; MI = military; OT = other; PL = personal leave; PR = professional leave; SI = sick; UN = unknown; VA = vacation

  • Absence Reason DB Key: unique identifier in AESOP.

  • Absence Reason Id2: is their version of their leave sub category. It is located on the ‘External ID 2’ field on the AESOP Absence Reasons record. It much match the 2 character sub category code created in ESS

  • Sub Category Status: is the ESS Sub Category ‘Active’ status.

  • ESS Sub Category: If matched, it populates with the ESS Sub Category code

  • ESS Sub Category Description: If matched, it populates with the ESS Sub Category Description

School

The School data pulled from Absence Management is stored on this grid and used when trying to determine which position to select for the absence request. When the School Sync is performed, it will try to match the AESOP Building Code’s IRN with the ESS Building Code’s IRN.

  • Is Matched: If the AESOP Master Data>School>General Information ‘External Number’ matches the ESS Building Code’s IRN, a green checkmark is displayed. On the ESS School grid, the AESOP External Number is stored under the ‘Building IRN’ column. Schools are linked through the USPS Building Code>Building IRN property (which is synced to ESS when a position is synced). Otherwise, if it doesn’t match, a red 'X” will be displayed.

    • NOTE: If the buildings aren’t matched between AESOP/ESS, AESOP leave absences containing the AESOP building will not pull into ESS and the district will not be able to locate the AESOP generated absence via the ‘Leave Requests’ menu. To determine why the absence did not pull in, you may filter the specific absence via the Absence Management Data Import View>Absence Create and click image-20241028-202343.png to view the details. Review the information under ‘Processed Message’. It may include a message stating ‘Error creating leave request with conf #xxxxxxxxxx;School not found’. From there, you can refer to the School grid to determine if a mismatched school is the issue.

  • Is Active: Indicates if the building is active in AESOP.

  • Name: Populates with the AESOP School Name.

  • NOTE: If the AESOP External ID does not match up the ESS Building Code’s IRN, the Building Code, Building IRN and USPS Description columns will not populate

    • Building Code: If matched, populates with ESS/USPS Building Code number

    • Building IRN: If matched, populates with the ESS/USPS Building Code’s Building IRN

    • USPS Description: If matched, populates with the ESS/USPS Building Code’s description

  • Web Id: AESOP unique identifier

  • External ID: AESOP Building Code identifier found on the AESOP Master Data>School>General Information ‘External Number’

  • Start time/end time and breaks: These values are unused in ESS, but they are imported from AESOP. They serve as defaults in AESOP when entering leave by building. ESS will pull the start/end times from the AESOP Absence Record

Employee

The Employee data pulled from Absence Management is stored on this grid. When the Employee Sync is performed, it will try to match the AESOP Employee Identifier to the employee’s ESS Employee Number.

  • Click image-20241219-191941.pngto drill down further to view position data, showing which positions in ESS match one of the AESOP Employee Records.

  • Matched: If the AESOP Employee matches the ESS Employee, a green checkmark will be displayed. Otherwise, if it doesn’t match, a red 'X” will be displayed.

  • Active in AESOP: Indicates if the the employee is active in AESOP.

  • ESS Username: ESS username

  • Full Name: AESOP Full Name

  • AESOP Employee ID: AESOP Identifier

  • AESOP External ID 01:

  • AESOP Email: employee email address on their AESOP employee record

  • ESS Email: employee email address on their ESS user record

  • AESOP Phone: employee phone number stored on their AESOP employee record

  • ESS Phone Number: employee phone number stored on their ESS user record

More Information on Absence Management (AESOP) Integration

Turning Off Kiosk/AESOP Integration

Please click here for the steps involved in turning off Kiosk/AESOP integration.

Absence Management District Configuration

Please click here for more information on enabling the Absence Management Integration.

User Grid

  • Under the More option, the Sync to Aesop column can be added to indicate if the user is synced with AESOP.

Absence Management Custom Absence Calculation

For Absence Management absences that are less than 0.25 of a day, the custom leave calculates as follows when pulled into ESS:

  • Three properties used from Absence Management to determine the length of an absence (if daily or hourly conversion is required)

    • Shift Type

      • Full Day

      • Half Day AM / PM

      • Custom

    • Employee Hours Per Day

    • Duration Absence

    • If any of the above fields are missing, an error will be added to the Process Message on the Absence Management Sync view

  • Flow of Processing

    • If Shift Type is Full Day AND Unit is Daily

      • Leave Request will be created for 1 day of leave

    • If Shift Type is Full Day AND Unit is Hourly

      • Leave Request will be created for employee hours per day

    • If Shift Type is Half Day AM/PM AND Unit is Daily

      • Leave Request will be created for 0.5 day of leave

    • If Shift Type is Half Day AM/PM AND Unit is Hourly

      • Leave Request will be created for duration

    • If Shift Type is Custom AND Unit is Daily

      • duration / employee hours per day

        • If result > 1 day, 1 day will be created

    • If Shift Type is Custom AND Unit is Hourly

      • Leave Request will be created for duration