Understanding Match Score Calculation

Scheduling For All Users Shift Assignment
Last updated: January 26, 2026 • Version: 2.0
Table of Contents

Understanding Match Score Calculation

Learn how the system calculates Match Scores for staff assignments, including compliance rules, skill matching, availability factors, experience levels, and MangoScore performance multipliers that determine the best candidates for each shift.

Overview

The Match Score is a percentage (0-100%) that indicates how well-suited an employee is for a specific shift assignment. This intelligent scoring system considers multiple factors including compliance validation, skill requirements, availability preferences, experience levels, and performance history to help you make optimal staffing decisions.

How Match Score Works

The Match Score calculation follows a structured approach that prioritizes safety and compliance while optimizing for skills, experience, and operational efficiency.

flowchart TD A[Start: Calculate Match Score] --> B{Check Hard Disqualifiers} B -->|Has Violations| C[Return 0% Match] B -->|No Violations| D[Start with 50% Base Score] D --> E[Add Skills Score: 0-25 points] E --> F[Add Availability Score: 0-15 points] F --> G[Add Experience Score: 0-10 points] G --> H[Subtract Warning Penalties] H --> I[Apply MangoScore™ Multiplier: 0.8x-1.2x] I --> J[Cap at 100% Maximum] J --> K[Return Final Match Score] C --> L[End: 0% Match - Cannot Assign] K --> M[End: Final Match Score] style C fill:#ffebee style L fill:#ffebee style K fill:#e8f5e8 style M fill:#e8f5e8

Hard Disqualifiers (0% Match)

Certain violations completely prevent assignment and result in a 0% match score. These are determined by the ShiftAssignmentValidationService.

Compliance-Based Disqualifiers

Examples of Hard Disqualifiers:

  • Daily Hour Limits: Employee would exceed configured daily hour limits
  • Weekly Hour Limits: Employee would exceed configured weekly hour limits
  • Rest Period Violations: Insufficient rest between shifts
  • Overlapping Shifts: Already assigned to a conflicting shift
  • Approved Leave: Employee is on approved vacation, sick leave, or time off
  • Location Access: Employee not assigned to the shift location
  • Schedule Conflicts: Conflicts with existing assignments

Skill-Based Disqualifiers

Critical Skill Requirements:

  • Missing Critical Skills: Employee lacks skills marked as critical for the shift
  • Expired Certifications: Required certifications have expired
  • Insufficient Proficiency: Employee’s skill level below minimum required proficiency

Scoring Factors (For Qualified Employees)

When an employee passes all hard disqualifiers, the system calculates a positive match score using the following formula:

Formula: ((50 + Skills + Availability + Experience + Role - Warnings) Ă— MangoScore_Multiplier)

Maximum Possible Points: 50 + 25 + 15 + 10 + 20 = 120 points (before MangoScore multiplier)
Final Score: Capped at 100% maximum after multiplier application

1. Base Score: 50 Points

Every qualified employee starts with a foundation score of 50 points, ensuring minimum 50% compatibility for all qualified staff.

2. Skills Score: 0-25 Points

graph TD A[Shift Skill Requirements] --> B{Any Requirements?} B -->|No| C[Default: 15 Points] B -->|Yes| D[Calculate Skill Match] D --> E[Count Met Requirements] E --> F[Count Critical Requirements] F --> G{All Critical Met?} G -->|No| H[0 Points - Disqualified] G -->|Yes| I[Calculate Score] I --> J["Base = (Met/Total) Ă— 20"] J --> K{Exceeds Requirements?} K -->|Yes| L[Bonus: +5 Points] K -->|No| M[No Bonus] L --> N[Cap at 25 Points Maximum] M --> N style H fill:#ffebee style C fill:#e8f5e8 style N fill:#e8f5e8

Skill Scoring Details:

  • No Requirements: 15 points (default good score)
  • With Requirements: (Met Requirements Ă· Total Requirements) Ă— 20 points
  • Bonus: +5 points for exceeding minimum requirements
  • Maximum: 25 points total
  • Critical Skills: Must have ALL critical skills to avoid disqualification

Example: Shift requires 4 skills, employee has 3

  • Base Score: (3 Ă· 4) Ă— 20 = 15 points
  • No bonus (didn’t exceed requirements)
  • Final Skills Score: 15 points

3. Availability Score: 0-15 Points

graph TD A[Employee Availability] --> B{Has Availability Records?} B -->|No| C[Default: 5 Points] B -->|Yes| D[Check Shift Match] D --> E{Perfect Time Match?} E -->|Yes| F[15 Points - Perfect Match] E -->|No| G{Same Day Available?} G -->|Yes| H[8 Points - Partial Match] G -->|No| I[0 Points - No Match] style C fill:#fff3e0 style F fill:#e8f5e8 style H fill:#fff3e0 style I fill:#ffebee

Availability Scoring Details:

  • Perfect Match: 15 points (exact day and time availability)
  • Partial Match: 8 points (available on shift day, different times)
  • No Records: 5 points (assumes available but with reduced score)
  • No Match: 0 points (not available on shift day)

4. Experience Score: 0-10 Points

Experience is calculated based on the employee’s hire date:

graph TD A[Employee Hire Date] --> B{Valid Hire Date?} B -->|No| C[Default: 5 Points] B -->|Yes| D[Calculate Years Experience] D --> E{< 6 months?} E -->|Yes| F[3 Points - New Employee] E -->|No| G{6 months - 1 year?} G -->|Yes| H[5 Points - Gaining Experience] G -->|No| I{1-2 years?} I -->|Yes| J[7 Points - Developing Skills] I -->|No| K{2-5 years?} K -->|Yes| L[9 Points - Experienced] K -->|No| M[10 Points - Very Experienced] style C fill:#fff3e0 style F fill:#fff3e0 style H fill:#f5f5f5 style J fill:#e8f5e8 style L fill:#e8f5e8 style M fill:#4caf50,color:#fff

Experience Scoring Tiers:

  • < 6 months: 3 points (new employee)
  • 6 months - 1 year: 5 points (gaining experience)
  • 1-2 years: 7 points (developing skills)
  • 2-5 years: 9 points (experienced)
  • 5+ years: 10 points (very experienced)
  • No hire date: 5 points (default)

5. Role Score: 0-20 Points

Role scoring evaluates how well an employee’s role matches the shift’s specific role requirements:

graph TD A[Shift Role Requirements] --> B{Any Role Requirements?} B -->|No| C[10 Points - Neutral Score] B -->|Yes| D[Check Employee Role] D --> E{Employee Has Job Function?} E -->|No| F[5 Points - No Job Function Assigned] E -->|Yes| G[Evaluate Role Match] G --> H{Role Specifically Required?} H -->|Yes| I{Role Deficit Exists?} H -->|No| J[Check Skill-Based Qualification] I -->|Yes| K[20+ Points - High Priority<br/>+Urgency Bonus] I -->|No| L[12 Points - Required Role Filled] J --> M{Qualifies via Skills?} M -->|Yes| N[18+ Points - Skill-Qualified] M -->|No| O{Need More Staff?} O -->|Yes| P[8 Points - Beneficial Diversity] O -->|No| Q[3 Points - Minimal Benefit] style C fill:#f5f5f5 style F fill:#fff3e0 style K fill:#4caf50,color:#fff style L fill:#e8f5e8 style N fill:#e8f5e8 style P fill:#fff3e0 style Q fill:#ffebee

Role Scoring Details:

Direct Role Matches:

  • Required Role Needed: 20+ points (base 20 + urgency bonus up to 5 points)
    • Higher scores for roles with greater deficits
    • Maximum 20 points total (capped)
  • Required Role Fulfilled: 12 points (role is needed but position already filled)
  • No Role Requirements: 10 points (neutral score when no specific roles required)

Skill-Based Role Qualification:

  • Skill-Qualified for Required Role: 18+ points (slightly lower than direct role match)
    • Applied when skill-based role matching is enabled
    • Employee has skills that qualify them for a required role
    • Includes urgency bonus (up to 2 points) for high-demand roles

Role Diversity & General Staffing:

  • Beneficial Diversity: 8 points (shift needs more staff, any role helps)
  • Minimal Benefit: 3 points (shift fully staffed with required roles)
  • No Job Function Assigned: 5 points (employee has no job function configured)

Role Requirement Examples:

  • Shift needs: 2 Managers, 3 Operators
  • Manager applies: 20+ points (if <2 managers assigned)
  • Operator applies: 20+ points (if <3 operators assigned)
  • Supervisor applies: 8 points (beneficial but not specifically required)
  • Employee with Manager skills: 18+ points (skill-qualified for Manager role)

6. Warning Penalties: Negative Points

Warnings from the validation service can reduce the base match score:

  • Each warning may include a penalty value that is subtracted
  • Common penalties include approaching hour limits, tight rest periods, etc.
  • Penalties are subtracted before applying the MangoScore multiplier

7. MangoScore™ Performance Multiplier: 0.8x - 1.2x

The final step applies a performance-based multiplier based on the employee’s MangoScore™ tier:

graph TD A[Base Match Score] --> B[Apply MangoScore™ Multiplier] B --> C{MangoScore™ Tier} C -->|Top Tier 90%+| D[1.08x - 1.2x Multiplier<br/>8-20% Boost] C -->|Reliable 75-89%| E[1.0x - 1.08x Multiplier<br/>0-8% Boost] C -->|Watchlist <75%| F[0.8x - 1.0x Multiplier<br/>0-20% Penalty] C -->|Unranked| G[1.0x Multiplier<br/>No Change] D --> H[Final Match Score] E --> H F --> H G --> H style D fill:#e8f5e8 style E fill:#e8f5e8 style F fill:#fff3e0 style G fill:#f5f5f5 style H fill:#e3f2fd

MangoScore™ Multiplier Tiers:

  • Top Tier (90%+ MangoScore): 1.08x - 1.2x multiplier (rewards high performers)
  • Reliable (75-89% MangoScore): 1.0x - 1.08x multiplier (slight boost for good performers)
  • Watchlist (<75% MangoScore): 0.8x - 1.0x multiplier (penalty for poor performance)
  • Unranked (new/low activity): 1.0x neutral multiplier (no penalty for new employees)

The exact multiplier within each tier range is calculated based on the employee’s specific MangoScore percentage.

Complete Calculation Example

Let’s walk through a real example:

Scenario

Employee: Sarah Johnson
Shift: Saturday 2PM-10PM, requires Food Safety Certification, needs 1 Manager and 2 Staff
Employee Details: 2 years experience, role type “Manager”, has required certification, available Saturday afternoons, 85% MangoScore (Reliable tier), shift currently has 0 managers assigned

Step 1: Hard Disqualifiers âś…

  • âś… No compliance violations
  • âś… Has required Food Safety Certification
  • âś… No schedule conflicts
  • âś… Not on leave

Result: Passes all hard disqualifiers, continue to scoring

Step 2: Calculate Match Score

graph TD A[Base Score: 50 points] --> B[Skills: +20 points] B --> C[Availability: +15 points] C --> D[Experience: +7 points] D --> E[Role: +20 points] E --> F[Warning Penalties: -3 points] F --> G[Subtotal: 109 points] G --> H[MangoScore™ Multiplier: 1.05x] H --> I[Pre-Cap Score: 114.45 points] I --> J[Final Score: 100% - Capped] style A fill:#e3f2fd style B fill:#e8f5e8 style C fill:#e8f5e8 style D fill:#e8f5e8 style E fill:#4caf50,color:#fff style F fill:#fff3e0 style G fill:#f5f5f5 style H fill:#e8f5e8 style I fill:#fff3e0 style J fill:#4caf50,color:#fff

Detailed Breakdown:

  • Base Score: 50 points
  • Skills Score: 20 points (meets all required skills)
  • Availability Score: 15 points (perfect time match)
  • Experience Score: 7 points (1-2 years experience)
  • Role Score: 20 points (Manager role specifically required and needed)
  • Warning Penalties: -3 points (approaching weekly hour limit)
  • Subtotal: 109 points
  • MangoScore™ Multiplier: 1.05x (85% MangoScore = Reliable tier)
  • Pre-Cap Score: 114.45 points
  • Final Match Score: 100% (capped at maximum)

Tooltip Information

When viewing match scores in the assignment modal, you can hover over the info icon to see a detailed breakdown showing:

  • Match Percentage: Final calculated score
  • Skills: Individual skills score (0-25 points)
  • Availability: Availability preference score (0-15 points)
  • Experience: Experience-based score (0-10 points)
  • Role: Role compatibility score (0-20 points)
  • Warning Penalties: Any warning deductions (if applicable)
  • MangoScore: Raw performance score percentage
  • Performance Multiplier: Applied multiplier value
  • MangoScore Boost: Actual percentage boost/penalty from multiplier

For employees with hard disqualifiers, the tooltip shows the specific conflicts instead of the scoring breakdown.

Understanding the 120-Point System

The match score calculation allows up to 120 points before applying the MangoScore multiplier, but final scores are capped at 100%. This design provides several benefits:

Why Allow Over 100 Points?

  1. Buffer for Performance Penalties: Employees with poor MangoScore ratings (0.8x multiplier) can still achieve reasonable scores if they excel in other areas
  2. Reward Excellence: Employees who exceed requirements in multiple areas are properly recognized
  3. Maintain Granularity: Provides fine-grained differentiation between highly qualified candidates
  4. Account for Penalties: Warning penalties can be substantial, so starting with higher potential scores ensures qualified staff aren’t unfairly penalized

Example Scenarios

Scenario 1: Perfect Candidate with Performance Issues

  • Base: 50 + Skills: 25 + Availability: 15 + Experience: 10 + Role: 20 = 120 points
  • MangoScore Multiplier: 0.8x (poor performance) = 96%
  • Result: Still achieves excellent score despite performance issues

Scenario 2: Good Candidate with Excellent Performance

  • Base: 50 + Skills: 15 + Availability: 8 + Experience: 7 + Role: 12 = 92 points
  • MangoScore Multiplier: 1.15x (top performer) = 105.8 points → 100% (capped)
  • Result: Performance excellence pushes good candidate to maximum score

Scenario 3: Role-Critical Assignment

  • Base: 50 + Skills: 10 + Availability: 5 + Experience: 3 + Role: 20 = 88 points
  • MangoScore Multiplier: 1.0x (neutral) = 88%
  • Result: Role criticality ensures decent score even with lower other factors

Best Practices

For Managers

  1. Review Match Scores: Staff are automatically sorted by match percentage - start with highest scores
  2. Understand Score Components: Use tooltips to see why someone has a high or low score
  3. Consider Multiple Factors: Don’t just pick the highest score - consider other operational needs
  4. Check Conflict Reasons: 0% matches show specific reasons for disqualification
  5. Understand Score Limits: Perfect candidates can score over 100 points before multipliers, but final scores are capped at 100%

For Administrators

  1. Monitor Score Distributions: Ensure scores are reasonable across your workforce
  2. Adjust Skill Requirements: Overly specific requirements can reduce match scores
  3. Review MangoScore Impact: Ensure performance multipliers align with business goals
  4. Track Override Usage: Monitor when managers override low match scores

For HR/Compliance

  1. Understand Legal Requirements: Ensure hard disqualifiers align with labor law requirements
  2. Monitor Experience Distribution: Track how experience scoring affects assignments
  3. Review Performance Impact: Ensure MangoScore multipliers are fair and motivating
  4. Audit Assignments: Regularly review assignments to ensure optimal utilization

Troubleshooting Common Issues

“Why is everyone showing 0% match?”

  • Check hard disqualifiers: Compliance rules may be too restrictive
  • Review shift requirements: Critical skills may be unavailable
  • Verify employee assignments: Staff may not be assigned to the shift location

“Match scores seem too low overall”

  • Review skill requirements: Overly specific requirements reduce scores
  • Check MangoScore™ distribution: Many low-performing staff will reduce scores
  • Examine availability patterns: Mismatched availability preferences lower scores

“Experienced employees getting low scores”

  • Check hire dates: Ensure hire dates are accurate in employee profiles
  • Review skill assignments: Experienced staff may be missing required certifications
  • Verify MangoScore: Poor performance can offset experience benefits

This article covers the comprehensive match score calculation system as implemented in version 2.0. The algorithm balances compliance, skills, experience, and performance to provide data-driven staffing recommendations.

Article ID: match_score_calculation